THROWBACK THRUSDAY, 2015: RIDLEY FENIX SL FIRST RIDE

During the wild world of Bike PressCamp in Deer Valley, Utah, only a few road bicycle brands were unveiling new bicycles for the pavement. Belgian bicycle company Ridley was out to show the world that, yes, a European company can produce a great riding, lightweight and price-conscious complete bike. With plenty of prices to choose from between $2200-$6500, there are options for cyclists with all budgets.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on the Fenix SL with a full Dura-Ace build and Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels. For the climbs around Park City the Fenix SL was more amazing of a climber than we could have hoped. Actually, compared to its predecessor, the Fenix SL is about 15% lighter and 8% stiffer which are the aspects that climbers are continuously searching for in a road bike.

As the adventure aspect of road riding becomes more popular with dual surface events, such as Belgian Waffle Ride, Ridley has you covered. The Fenix SL has ample room for 30mm wide tires for the roughest of roads or those mixed surface rides. Even if you are going to be riding on smooth pavement, wide tires may just increase that confidence for you to hit fast descents and sharp corners without worry of sliding out. With the ability to equip 30mm tires you can apply extremely low pressures for ultimate comfort without worrying about pinch flatting. The Fenix SL caters to endurance riders with 8% more compliance thanks to the arched top tube and a new proprietary carbon layup and resins.

At $2200 the Fenix SL starts off with a full Shimano 105 build. This is very competitive price for a high quality carbon fiber road bike spec’d as such. Each price range step up has the same competitive pricing for the build, even up to the $6500 high end build that is equipped with a full Dura-Ace drivetrain and 4ZA Cirrus Pro C-30 Carbon fiber wheels , absolutely amazing. Frame weights ranges from 1050 grams for a small (54 equivalent) to 1070 for a large (58 equivalent). Though these numbers may not be extremely low, you must remember that these should be compared to the typical endurance road bike, which in this case the Fenix SL is very light weight.