Five reasons why we hope this isn't the future of race bikes (and five reasons we like it)

Last week, Ridley unveiled its latest Noah Fast race bike, a bike that the Belgian brand hopes will finish ahead of the pack under its sponsored UNO-X riders. The press release has us torn on bike aesthetics vs performance, though... is the sight of more radical aero frames the sign of things to come, and if so, is that a good thing? Let's break down some positives and negatives.

Before we get into it, this article and video is certainly not designed to be a dig at Ridley, which makes some very impressive bikes. This latest one appears to have been designed for a very specific purpose, which doesn't mean everyone has to like the idea of it! 

5 things that are not so good

The seat tube angle

> What is the ultimate road superbike?

One of the more intriguing features of the new Noah Fast is the 76 degree seat tube angle. For reference, popular race bikes such as the Tarmac SL8 and Cannondale Supersix have seat tube angles of around 74 degrees depending on the size of frame, bikes that are regarded as some of the best handling in the world.

Ridley says that this "boundary pushing" is to put its pro riders more "over the pedals", which is thought to aid power transfer. In fact, a 76 degree seat tube angle wouldn't be out of place on a time trial bike, that isn't usually associated with sympathetic handling or descending prowess.

Under the hands of a seasoned pro I'm sure this won't be a problem, but you can guarantee some cyclists will be turning up to local road races on the new Noah Fast, only to quickly realise that there's a lot more to racing a bike than aero.

'One bike to rule them all' is good for us consumers

Over the last few years, it's frequently looked as though brands have been settling on one race bike for all occasions; Trek killing off the Emonda with the latest Madone release last summer springs to mind. Although I do like to moan that this does create quite a lot of similar-looking bikes, it's actually quite handy for those of us that don't have a fleet of bikes available for every eventuality.

For example, that latest Trek Madone (below) can easily be built to be on the UCI weight limit, and yet is more than fast enough for Mads Pedersen to win the biggest sprints in the world. What that means is that consumers like you and I can go race a crit on Tuesday without any excuses, then take the same bike on a mountainous weekend ride without thinking our equipment is holding us back.

> The bikes of the men's WorldTour

Thanks to a whole heap of research and development, the latest crop of do-it-all bikes are comfortable, aero and light, something that is great for the consumer. Recent aero bike releases such as Ridley's new Noah Fast and Colnago Y1Rs suggest that brands are moving away from this model again. That might be better for professional teams, but for us, I'm not so sure.

The super aggressive reach/stack ratio

We often use the reach/stack figures of a bike's geometry to define its target market and/or use. For example, a gravel bike typically has a reach/stack figure of around 1.5. An endurance road bike will typically have a figure of around 1.45, a road race bike such as the Giant TCR a figure of around 1.43, and the new Ridley? Well, that's 1.29 in a size medium.

What that means is that it has a low front end, and you will be more stretched out on it, which isn't great for those of us who get achy backs. Again, this is fine for the twenty or so pro riders on the team, but one of the great things about cycling is that we can ride the same bikes as our idols. 

It looks disproportioned

> Ten bikes we want to ride in 2025

Call me vain, but I just don't personally think this bike looks pretty! Think of the steel- tubed Bianchi bikes of old, Pogacar's V3Rs that he won his first Tour de France on, or the Look 795 Blade RS that Cofidis are racing this year.

Those UCI rule-bending tube shapes on the new Noah Fast might claim to be fast, but I hope all bikes don't end up looking like this.

It costs £4,999 for the frameset

The final reason why we hope that this isn't the future of road race bikes is the price, the frameset alone costing £4,999! For comparison, UNO-X's rivals Intermarche will be using a Cube C:68X Aero frameset that can be purchased for £2,599 albeit that doesn't come with the integrated handlebar.

With the previous generation of the Noah Fast, Ridley were one of the key brands driving down the RRP of bikes in the pro peloton. This new one hopefully isn't a sign of things to come when it comes to price... 

5 things I do like about the new Ridley Noah Fast

There are plenty of good things about the new Noah Fast too. Here are some of them...

One of the first UDH road bikes

> What is UDH?

SRAM's UDH (Universal Derailleur Hangar) system has rapidly taken hold in the mountain bike and gravel markets, and now looks set to do the same on the road. The new Noah Fast joins Ridley's Falcn RS and other bikes in the range by being one of the early adopters of UDH, and in our eyes that's a good thing.

We'd love more standards in the industry, because it makes spare parts more readily available and simplifies things for the end user. UDH seems the best bet of getting brands to agree on a derailleur hangar standard, which could help save your mech and/or frame in a crash.

Aero is good for everyone

The new Ridley Noah Fast claims to be 8.5 watts faster than its predecessor at 50kph, which is no mean feat. Granted, not many of us are going to be racing or riding at those kinds of speeds, but everyone, no matter what ability, can benefit from aerodynamics.

I haven't met a rider yet that wants to put in more effort to go less far, and aero drag is a huge part of what's sapping your energy. As long as the aero gains haven't come at the cost of too much comfort or weight, then we're all for it!

Customisation

This is a big one. Ridley, like many brands, has an online configurator so that you can tailor your new bike to your desires. More importantly, you can also make it fit you. You can choose the handlebar width, crank length, stem length and all kinds of other useful things that will make far bigger differences than the marginal savings between any of the top-tier bikes.

Here at road.cc, we think that this is a dealbreaker in 2025. If you're spending £3,000 or more on a shiny new bike, then the least that a brand can do is have a look through their parts bin to make it fit you as best as possible.

A well-fitting bike is a comfortable bike after all, and in my opinion a comfortable bike is a fast bike.

It can fit 34mm tyres

> Why wider tyres on road bikes are here to stay

Aero bikes of old were rather limiting, often bone-rattling, and best suited to bunch sprints. Modern day aero bikes such as the latest Canyon Aeroad are much more refined, and a large part of this is down to the wider tyres they can now accommodate.

Deep tube profiles are inherently going to be less comfortable than a skinny round- tubed frame, so we think it's great that Ridley has future-proofed its latest all-out aero bike with space for up to 34mm tyres. Right now that might seem excessive, but with pros already racing on 30mm wide tyres and often training on 32mm, rubber width is only going one way.

It’s got flared drops

Flared drops are narrower at the hoods than they are at the drops. This enables the rider to find a more aerodynamic position when riding in the hoods without sacrificing the control lent by wider bars in a sprint or on a descent.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the move towards these flared drops, so am very happy to see them on the Noah Fast and other recent aero bikes.

In conclusion...

The latest Ridley Noah Fast is unapologetically an aggressive race bike with aerodynamics as the top priority. I'm pretty sure that the UNO-X riders will love the bike for this reason, but the concern is that other brands follow suit, leaving us mere mortals with fewer choices.

Road cycling is one of the few sports where (for a price) you can use the same equipment as the best in the business. The new Noah Fast seems to put what is best for the pros first and foremost, which leaves less money to spend on researching and developing the bikes that the majority of us will want. It's a cool bike, it does a job and there's a place for radical aero bikes, but to repeat what it says in the title of this article - I hope that this isn't the future of all road race bikes.

What do you think of the new Ridley Noah Fast, do you want to see more bikes like it? Let us know in the comments below.