Ridley

Noah Road Bike Frameset - 2013

Mathematically, your odds in a solo breakaway aren't particularly favorable. The Ridley Noah Road Bike Frame is a carefully calculated equation designed to improve those odds. Incorporating a number of Ridley's FAST Concept technologies, the Noah has been tested to reduce the required power input by up to 15 watts in a 50km/h (just over 30 mp/h) breakaway. The less power that you need to maintain your breakaway speeds, the greater your ability is to stay away from the field. That makes your odds for the top spot on the podium a little bit better.

And while most bicycle manufacturers would be content to rely on tubes alone for an aerodynamic advantage, Ridley's research and development on its flagship Noah go far beyond tube shapes and bike geometries. The latest generation of Ridley's groundbreaking Noah shares the same proven aerodynamic features as its earlier iterations — including an aerodynamic down tube, internal cable routing, an aero seat tube that extends into an integrated seatmast, and a deep rear wheel cut-out. What sets the Noah apart from other aero bikes is its use of Ridley's FAST Concept technology. As we all know by now, drag increases exponentially with airspeed, which means small changes to reduce your drag will have a disproportionately positive impact as your speed increases. FAST Concept technology focuses on several specific issues of bicycle aerodynamics. According to Ridley, your wheels produce eight times more drag where they pass through your fork due to the turbulence of the colliding air masses there. The Noah was built to minimize this drag with its use of long, slotted airfoils built into the fork legs, referred to as "F-Splitfork" by Ridley. These airfoils redirect oncoming air away from the turbulent areas near the front wheel.

The story of the Noah doesn't stop at F-Splitfork. Ridley used oil mapping in the wind tunnel to isolate spots of turbulent airflow. And where structural limitations kept it from re-sculpting the frame, Ridley applied a textured surface treatment for boundary layer control. Ridley calls it "F-Surface," also affectionately referred to as "aero paint." These thin strips of texture are amazing: they purposely trigger a known amount of turbulence that re-energizes lost boundary layers, ultimately re-establishing laminar flow and minimizing drag. In other words, they carefully create an airflow mess in order to make an unprecedented level of cleanliness. Airflow control is why you see vortex generators on aircraft wings, and why you see dimples on golf balls. And it's exactly what Ridley does with its F-Surface paint.

The Ridley Noah Road Bike Frame is available in four sizes from X-Small to Large and in the color Black/white/green. Given its semi-compact geometry, we strongly suggest that you focus on the effective top tube length as you make a determination of the proper size. The Noah requires a PressFit BB30-compatible bottom bracket and a braze-on front derailleur. It includes a 120 gram seat clamp assembly that allows an 18mm range in saddle height and comes with 1mm micro-spacers for small adjustments. Ridley also provides an aftermarket clamp that provides 40mm of height adjustment.