Ridley Kanzo Fast Review

Mar 4, 2024 6 min

The fastest gravel bike in the world?

Combine mountain bikes and road bikes, and you get a gravel bike. That's the approximate recipe. Ridley has thought with the Kanzo Fast but a bit differently and given a few neat pinches of racing character and aerodynamics, more in developing this particular bike.

But is it the fastest gravel bike on the market? Nic took a closer look at our latest YouTube video, and today we're on the blog, also taking a look at the Ridley Kanzo Fast:

1. Aerodynamics

Admittedly, the title "fastest gravel bike in the world" comes from the fact that the bike is in order. The Kanzo Fast is unbeatable aerodynamically. Ridley has taken the best of her aero road bike, the Noah Fast and the Kanzo gravel bike and created the Kanzo Fast gravel speed machine.

The bike features truncated NACA tubes that reduce drag by controlling the airflow around the wheel. This is when the wind hits the tubes straight from the front at 0 degrees and comes from the side at angles of up to 15 degrees. - Alice Huot @ buycycle

The seamless transition between fork and frame, or the curved seat tube that protects the rear wheel, looks chic and contributes to aerodynamics, just like the d-shaped seatpost with f-surface plus technology and the fully integrated cable routing. The handlebar is installed. All this allows the bike to defy air resistance to the maximum and cut through the air even faster. You feel it especially at speeds around 25-30 km/h.

2. Geometry

The geometry is what you would expect on a gravel bike. A shorter reach, higher stack, and longer wheelbase than a typical road bike provide more stability and control on gravel. Still, it's cut relatively aggressively and even feels like a pure road bike, except it's a bit slower in corners. Unfortunately, this means it struggles a bit on more technical trails, but it's not that uncomfortable.

The intentionally lowered seatstays, the D-shaped carbon seatpost, the carbon frame and the tire clearance of 42 mm all allow for dampening vibrations and thus provide you with solid comfort even on rough terrain. However, it gets uncomfortable once you hit rooted trails or extreme gravel. Tire clearance is also pretty limited for a gravel bike, but that shows that this bike is made for fast riding.

The frame is made of high-quality 24, 30, 50 and 60t Torayca carbon, so the Ridley team made the bike stiff yet comfortable in certain areas without using much material. - Alice Huot @ buycycle

This saves weight, and the resulting stiffness is particularly noticeable in the area of the thick bottom bracket, which provides efficient power transfer when pedalling.

3. Weight

Speaking of weight, the frame and fork weigh 1.7 kg in size L, and the entry-level version weighs 9.2 kg. Considering that aero bikes usually weigh much more, they are already an L size, and "only" the entry-level components are installed, so this weight is hardly acceptable. However, if every gram counts, you can opt for higher-quality components and reduce the weight to up to 8.2 kg.

4. Mounting and configuration options

Surprisingly - and fortunately - the Ridley Kanzo Fast has mounting options for mudguards. This is something you hardly ever see on race-gravel bikes, but ensures that you can use this bike comfortably all year round. And three bottle cages are also available, one directly under the down tube.

Almost cooler? Ridley's configuration feature. Not only can you customize the color of your bike, but you can also choose from various derailleur groups, wheelsets, cockpit setups, saddles, etc.

The most classic model is the entry-level model and comes with a SRAM Rival 1x11 mechanical groupset, which Nic tends not to be a fan of, a Ritchey Buttano handlebar, which is fine, and Vittoria Terreno Dry tires, which are mounted on Ridley's in-house Forza Norte aluminum wheelset.

However, it's important to note that your options in the configurator are limited depending on which components you choose in detail. For example, you won't be able to choose the Kanzo Fast Carbon Aero handlebar, which is the Noah Fast handlebar, but optimized for riding on gravel.

5. Components

The Kanzo Fast is a bit limited in terms of groupsets. It's almost only available in 1x options, which have only one chainring. This improves power transfer and aerodynamics and also makes room for a 42mm tire in a short chainstay.

But if you want at least the feel of a front derailleur and have the cash on hand, you can outfit the bike with the Classified G30 wheelset. This is equipped with a Power Shift rear hub and rides like a 2-speed setup.

6. Price

Price-wise, the entry-level model starts at €3,569. Now that's not the best deal on the market, and the SRAM Rival groupset feels pretty cheap, but it's still pretty decent compared to gravel bikes in the same "racing" category. You're paying handsomely for the highly engineered and well-tested aerodynamic frame. If you want the aero handlebars, the cheapest option is the GrX 800 setup with the Rotor Vegas crank, which will set you back €4,539. Pretty solid deal. Prices range up to €8,219 if you choose the most expensive components.

7. Is it for you?

🚵🏽

If you are looking for a gravel bike that is a true racing machine, wants to be ridden very fast, can keep up on asphalt and is reasonably versatile, then the Ridley Kanzo Fast is the perfect bike for you!

Road cyclists: Insiders who want to enter the gravel scene will especially love it because of its somewhat aggressive geometry. You could also consider a second wheelset with thinner tires and use it as a road bike.

If you're more interested in adventurous long-distance riding, we recommend a bike like the Canyon Grizl. In the category of fast gravel bikes, the Cervélo Aspero 5 or the Pinarello Grevil are quite in front; the Kanzo has the best price-performance ratio.

We would not be buycycle, if we introduced you to a bike you can not find with us. If you are now on fire for the Ridley Kanzo Fast or generally looking for a new road bike, gravel or mountain bike, then look at buycycle.com. For questions about Izalco, our team is always there for you, and if you need more tips and tricks about bicycles, take a look at the blog! Until then, we wish you: Happy browsing, happy cycling!

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