The Noah Fast is our most technological bike, and it has lots to do with its tube shapes. This includes its F-Tubing, F-Wings, lowered seat stays, D-shaped seatpost and aero handlebars.
In addition, the Noah Fast features many other outstanding tech advantages such as integration of fork and handlebar with the frame.
Many developers thoroughly test each part for aerodynamics, but forget to test the bike as a whole. Our testing method, in contrast, ensures that all aspects of the bike are tested as well as the perfect integration of all essential components.
In addition, the massive bottom bracket and lowered chain stays play an important role in converting every watt into maximum speed. Now you see why Caleb Ewan relies on this bike!
Our carbon is manufactured by world market leader: Toray. The Japanese manufacturer is leader in every aspect of carbon development and supplier to absolute top world brands in many industries. For the Elite Series, we use every type of available carbon: 60T, 50T, 30T and 24T.
The higher the 'Ton', the higher the tensile strength of the carbon fibers and the more intensive the development and processing. With 60T, you may need fewer layers of carbon to achieve the desired stiffness as well as the lightest possible bike, but if you built the whole frame with 60T you'd have a very uncomfortable, over-responsive ride. Hence, a mix of 24T, 30T, 50T and 60T carbon is essential as each carbon serves a certain purpose in perfectly balancing stiffness, weight and comfort.
Each bike's unique carbon mix is dependent on its purpose, such as climbing, endurance, etc. In addition, each area of each frame requires its own unique mix depending on its function such as to provide comfort or stiffness. It is here, in the unique carbon compositions, where Ridley makes the difference!
As all our professional teams ride our Ridley Elite Series bikes - including the likes of Tim Wellens, Caleb Ewan or Thomas De Gendt, this means that your bike is treated with the exact same care as theirs.
At the bottom of the bike’s fork there are small, aerodynamic “wings” – hence, the name F-Wings.
Our engineers developed these fairings after extensive testing in the wind tunnel, where they noticed that the hub and its connection to the fork were causing turbulence. These F-Wings fairings ensure that this turbulent airflow flows smoothly again.
You can compare the F-Wings with the modern wings of an airplane, which are also referred to as 'broken wings' because their tips fold upwards. The tips allow aircrafts to save a lot of fuel because it significantly reduces turbulent air behind the wings. Now you see how our F-Wings have a significant impact on your fuel economy!
How can you ride faster without pedaling harder? How do objects "cut" through wind? While researching ways to improve aerodynamics, the bicycle industry began to gather knowledge from the aviation industry. From this, well-known NACA flight profiles, for designing wings and other components, began to be applied to the tubes of a bike frame.
With further research, our engineers found many additional potential optimisations. By shortening the end of the NACA profiles (F-Tubing), we discovered that drag was reduced. We also created a groove in the frame called the F-Surface Plus. By applying this technique, we created an airflow that flows more efficiently along the tube.
Want to know more about aerodynamics and NACA profiles? Read this blog!
Cables at the front of your bike have a major impact on its aerodynamic performance. On the flipside, getting rid of cables at the front has an aero advantage of a whopping 10 to 14%, depending on the bike.
That's why our R&D department dedicated much time and effort into developing the D-shaped steerer tube, which integrates all front-end cables.
This uniquely shaped steerer tube allows all cables to pass through the handlebar and stem, along the flat front area of the steerer tube and down into the frame. Here the cables are completely hidden from the wind - and from your eye, leaving you with a clean looking bike that wins you speed.
Download the manual here to find out how to properly guide all cables through all components.
The D-shaped seatpost on our aero bikes has a dual function of aerodynamics with a strong emphasis on comfort. Its aerodynamic influences are clearly seen as its profile and groove are both features of our F-Tubing. The cross profile of the seatpost is also shorter than that of the shortened NACA profile of, for example, the down tube.
While very aerodynamic, we certainly built much comfort into this unique D-shaped seatpost design. The flat backside filters out a lot of shock by incorporating flex into the seatpost. This is an important extra feature that we added to our aero bikes as comfort can certainly improve performance, especially during those extra-long rides.
The rear end of a bike is crucial for both adding comfort and maximizing power transfer.
For added comfort, the seatstays are connected lower down on the seat tube. Due to this lower point of contact, both the seat tube and seatpost can more effectively filter out vibrations. In addition, the seatstays can provide more vertical flexibility. All this results in a more comfortable bike ride.
As for winning watts, the shape of the seatstays is oval with the widest side on the horizontal axis. This is key to maximizing power transfer. By placing this wide side horizontally, every watt produced is converted into speed, without losing power on the way to the rear wheel.