Park City, Utah – Cyclocross Magazine’s Utah resident Tim Akers crashed the 2012 Press Camp party in Park City to grab an early look at the 2013 cyclocross bikes from Belgium’s Ridley Bikes. On display were the company’s carbon flagship world championship-winning X-Night, with its integrated seatmast, three carbon X-Fire models including two disc brake models and a Di2 model, and the company’s aluminum disc-brake equipped X-Ride model. As we already witnessed at Sea Otter 2012, disc brakes are all the rage for 2013, with nearly every manufacturer offering several disc brake models at various price points.
We snapped some shots of these five Ridley cyclocross bikes, and although full specs and MSRP were not yet available, it’s clear that Ridley has full embraced disc brakes and will provide multiple options to cover several price points. With electronic Di2 and disc brakes moving towards mainstream equipment on higher-end race bikes, it looks like cyclocross bikes will continue to evolve from a technology standpoint over the next few years.
The 2013 Ridley X-Fire ’cross bike in "Hot Tamale" red and mechanical disc brakes. ©Cyclocross Magazine
The red version comes in what they call the “Hot Tamale” color, and comes in both a SRAM Force-equipped model with Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes and a Shimano Ultegra Di2 rim brake model. The Ridley X-Fire Di2 has reportedly already sold out in pre-orders for Ridley, and if that’s any indication, it looks to be a popular race bike this season.
Shimano Ultegra Di2 graces one carbon 2013 Ridley X-Fire bike model. ©Cyclocross Magazine
Also on display was a black and yellow Shimano Ultegra disc-equipped model, complete with Shimano’s new mechanical disc brakes. Obviously, if two of the three X-Fire models being disc-equipped represents where the industry is headed, disc brakes are going to be mainstream in a few years.
The 2013 Ridley X-Night top-of-the-line carbon cyclocross bike with an integrated seatmast. ©Cyclocross Magazine
The X-Night is Ridley’s top-of-the-line bike, ridden by Bart Wellens and Kevin Pauwels, and Ridley showed off the 2013 X-Night fully kitted out with a SRAM Red kit, and rolling on with Reynolds Assault 46mm-tall, 1263 gram carbon deep section cyclocross tubular wheels. An FSA SL-K Light crankset transfers the power to wheels.
The aluminum SRAM Apex-equipped 2013 Ridley X-Ride disc brake bike. ©Cyclocross Magazine
Ridley continues to bring an extensive ’cross bike lineup to cover all price points, and their aluminum X-Ride brings disc brakes and a tapered steerer to a lower price point. SRAM Apex componentry and Alex disc wheels keep the bike affordable and value-oriented.
Common among all the models were Ritchey cockpits and Clement PDX tires. Stay tuned for more details on these bikes and a full review of the X-Fire disc model. Next up: A look at Cannondale’s new cyclocross bikes for 2013.
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