Ridley

Fenix Carbon Force Complete Road Bike

While we're grateful for the endurance trend in the peloton, which moves away from the tendency to privilege aggressive aerodynamics and weight loss at the cost of rider comfort, we aren't necessarily keen on adding weight in order to achieve a more comfortable ride. Ridley's Fenix Carbon Force Complete Road Bike, which limits its claimed frame weight to just 1,230 grams for a size medium, addresses this issue by combining a geometry that's proven podium-worthy at Flanders with an efficiency and weight that also recommend it for a multi-summit day in the high mountains. In an overly-specialized industry, the Fenix rises above limiting categorization.

The key to the frame's limitless ride is Ridley's artful layup of vibration devouring 30 and 24 ton unidirectional carbon fibers. While the harsher, purely weight-focused frames in Ridley's line use 50 to 60 ton moduli, the Fenix's carbon strikes a balance between smoothing the road and promoting rigid efficiency. Potholes, cobblestones, and other road hazards — which may feel like repeated hammer blows to the kidneys on 60 ton carbon — take on all the disagreeability of crosswalk paint. Just in case you ever do get tired of wantonly riding over road obstacles, the stiff, tapered head tube nets responsive steering to dodge through debris with ease.

Comfort and handling aside, the Fenix is meant to get angry when the road turns up or when you start turning the screws. The built-up bottom bracket junction, PressFit 30 bottom bracket, and burly chainstays address your power transfer needs, ensuring that comfort doesn't come at the cost of a uselessly wagging drivetrain spine during hard efforts. The seat tube is also squared-off at the bottom with gradually softening edges as it rises to the seat collar. This makes for less lateral flex where you're putting power into the road and a more compliant ride where the road's putting impact into you.