Overall the visual appeal doesn’t come at a cost of the bike riding like an endurance bike should — smooth and comfortable.It’s got good overall plushness (with 28mm tires mounted) and the stability expected of an endurance bike. So if you like your endurance with a sprinkling of André Greipel, this machine delivers.If the look and feel of the bike falls within your preference pallete, or if you just love the Belgian cycling tradition, then go for it. Ridley Fenix SL Ultegra Review Level 5 expert In all, the Fenix SL is a damn fine machine at a good price. At its absolute widest it’s 12.5cm, but realistically it’s in the 7–8cm range for available seating due to its curvature. We can. With the specced 25mm tires, it ended up not really riding that smoothly, but with 28mm (29.5mm measured) rubber mounted it was a delight to pedal.While on the ‘things I’d do differently’ high horse, I should include the contact points. Features It flicks easily from side to side when out of the saddle, and it’s free from any sluggish front wheel flop when wiggling up the steepest inclines.When letting it go fast and loose on the descents, I was stoked to see the fork didn’t flex to and fro during hard braking efforts.As any long wheelbase will do, it can be difficult to get the bike to dive into a turn. The Ridley Fenix SL Disc is clearly an all-rounder, with a geometry-induced endurance attitude.Here in the rolling hills of the middle-country, it goes up and down without resisting. The Ridley Fenix SL is tested on the bumpy stuff. 6.4.
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It’s no featherweight and for the price it’s got stiff competitionThe Fenix SL Disc takes a stand against the spindly tubes typical of endurance bikesWith all that extra room, why spec a 25mm tire?
The Fenix SL Disc is the perfect “all-rounder” suitable for any on-road terrain and the most popular bike with Ridley cyclists. I’m talking about the masses — the ones who pay retail prices, the ones who keep the shop lights on.As such, the first three endurance bikes I researched had matching spec at slightly lower prices than the Fenix SL Disc Ultegra at £2,999 / $3,800. Few can use the "Made in Belgium" or "Made for cobbles" quality mark. 6.3.1. It offers the perfect blend of performance, weight, strength, stiffness and comfort… Read more…Disc brakes are one of the newest game-changing evolutions in road cycling. And it all starts with our choice of raw materials… Read more… Far too often endurance bikes have anaemic fork legs, with large down tubes, head tubes, and bottom brackets, resulting in an unbalanced appearance.We all like light bikes, but with a few grams to spare Ridley gave the Fenix SL some nice industrial design lines. Race this, aero that, do-it-all-thingy, call it whatever you want but the geo numbers tell a story.The wheelbase, head tube angle and front-center of the Fenix SL mean you could point it down the road blindfolded and you’d still be headed in the right direction. |
About the Fenix SL The Fenix SL is the only bike you need for all jobs, the perfect all-rounder. I’m a bike fitter and I take issue with product teams not giving the saddle, handlebar and bar wrap the attention they warrant.The 4ZA Pro saddle is almost certainly too narrow for anybody to sit on for hours at a time. The Fenix SL Disc is more of a have-it-all kind of bike.The endurance category is crowded, and for good reason. For these reasons, it’s the top choice for our Soudal Lotto pro men when tackling the most demanding Spring Classics like Paris-Roubaix.The 30mm tire clearance combined with flat-mounted disc brakes result in a perfect all-round endurance bike that is ready to conquer everything in its path no matter the weather conditions or terrain.The lowered seatstays that compensate for the absence of a caliper brake bridge increase the frame’s stiffness for that extra boost in power-transfer.The Fenix is the quintessential “all-round” bike. That’s like the Ventoux or the Mortirolo for climbers. It’s an endurance bike.From that base, with modern tires and wheels, comfort can be fine tuned for your preference. Its purposeful ride rewards powerful riders and it’s suited better to bigger stature pilots. SEAT POST The Fenix SL Disc is compatible with a 27,2mm seatpost. That’s a legendary name for cobblestone lovers. For riders looking for that all-day-long bike that doesn’t balk when the power hits the pedals, the Ridley Fenix SL Disc is worth a look.Combining a stiff frame with endurance geometry, Ridley aims for the high-performance end of the endurance spectrum with the Fenix SL Disc. It’s really difficult to wrap my head around the value of the Fenix given the likely replacement of contact points. Go from tackling the climbs and hitting the cobbles to competing for town line sprints.