Ridley

Fenix Alloy Tiagra Double Complete Road Bike - 2015

You won't see the Ridley Fenix Alloy Tiagra Double Complete Road Bike on the cobblestones of Northern France in April. You also won't see it on highlight reels of grand tours and multi-summit days in the Alps. But you will see it every day on local roads under non-sponsored cyclists who have an eye toward serious training and some competitive dreams. Make no mistake; this isn't a bike for the Cat 1 climbing specialist who's knocking on the pro-continental door. Instead, it's for every rider whose cycling aspirations demand a light, stiff frame and components that don't shine on the tech sheet but provide reliable, consistent operation where it really matters: on the road, every day, putting in the miles.

Though it may seem like a throwback material to the connoisseur of road bike technology and fashionable industry trends, the frame's AL 7005 aluminum alloy has tensile strength and weight numbers that make it something of a boutique material. Instead of AL 6061's magnesium, 7005's primary additive is zinc, which stiffens the alloy to allow for thinner tube shapes without compromising responsiveness or efficiency. It's also more difficult to work with, so many manufacturers avoid it based on the investment required to shape the tubes. It's use here indicates that Ridley's engineers not only believe in the continuing relevancy of aluminum in cycling, but that they also insist on taking the material as far as they can.

Aluminum can be harsh, though. This is especially true of the stiffer AL 7005 alloy, and it's one reason for the rush to carbon over the past decade. To address this, and thanks in part to its unprecedented tube shaping abilities, Ridley flattens out the thin seatstays for some vertical compliance and pops a 24t carbon fork into the front end. Both additions serve to eat up road noise and smooth the ride without sacrificing the efficiency of the chainstays, the bottom bracket, or the tapered head tube. Ridley has also managed to effect internal cable routing, an especially impressive feature considering the inherent difficulties of working with 7005.

The build kit is a full Shimano Tiagra double group, which currently reigns as Shimano's top 10-speed groupset. Though much of the industry has moved on to 11-speed, Shimano's 10-speed drivetrains have an impressive pedigree of grand tour and monument wins, and the technology underwriting those wins has trickled down to Tiagra. It's not what the pros are winning on today, but it's similar to what they were winning on less than a decade ago. As with many of its more expensive carbon builds, Ridley finishes the Fenix with a 4ZA cockpit and wheelset, capping the frame with complementary aesthetics.