Ridley X-bow Review

Ridley is about as Belgian as it gets. The owners, I am assuming, feel most at home finishing mayonnaise covered chips and glugging frothy unpronounceable blondes from oddly shaped glasses. Similarly, if you happen to be sitting waiting for a rainy, cobble effected bike race to scream past, under a sea of black and yellow lion of Flanders flags, don’t be surprised if most of the other spectators (and probably quite a few of the riders) are on Ridley bikes. All this is a haphazard, roundabout way to say: when Ridley, this most Belgian of manufacturers, say they have made a bike fit for cyclocross, the most Belgian of race types, we pay attention.

The X-Bow is Ridley’s entry-level ‘cross bike, and it must be said that for the price point, it is quite a looker. The 7005-T6 alloy frame is painted, in this livery, such that it almost has the look of a titanium bike, but at a fraction of the cost. The near-horizontal top tube only adds to this classic aesthetic and helps make shouldering the bike a dream compared to a more compact design. A curved carbon fork continues to lend a sense of timelessness, a welcome change to the stock straight forks seen on nearly every other bike. A nice touch which is harking back to the old steel cyclocross bikes used before the modern carbon upsurge.

Ridley describe this frame as a ‘versatile all-road bike’ meaning should you want to set this up as a gravel/winter/touring bike, you have the mounts, tire clearance and ability to do so. All while feeling safe in the knowledge that this bike has been built to last; each of the eyelets has the satisfying stiffness and rigidity of a solidly made bike. This sturdy feel continues down to the rear dropouts and chunky disc brake mounting plates, not an area you want to be flimsy and the X-bow duly doesn’t disappoint.

This focus on high strength and longevity on a budget does, however, come with the obvious caveat: added weight. The frame and forks alone come in over a heavyweight 2500g in an extra small. With this in mind, the mass of any other components has been carefully taken into consideration for the rest of the build.

Shimano’s brilliant mid-range 105 groupset adorns the frame. A modern classic, with enough trickle-down technology to outperform 10-year-old range topping Dura-Ace, while being widely available for under the £600 mark. Here we make use of the semi-compact 52-34 chainrings paired to an 11 to 34 rear cassette; a big enough range of gears to be comfortable pedalling at 70kph and if you are grinding the 36x34, you’re probably better walking.

The general heft of the bike and the 36mm WTB tyres do mean that the bike isn’t going to win any awards for quickest off the line. But once moving the rigid aluminium frame zips along happily on road and dirt. Even allowing me to take a cheeky town sign sprint victory along the way; whether or not my competition knew we were racing is another matter entirely.

For my riding type, the 700c Prime Stagiaire disc wheels paired to the 36mm slick WTB tubeless tyres offer the perfect compromise. Not losing too much of that road bike feel when ploughing on the connecting tarmac, but also the comfort and ability to ride on looser terrain that is offered by wider rubber. Ridley say that this 36mm width is the maximum tyre clearance, but on inspection a 38mm tyre could fit easily with enough room for mud clearance not to be an issue. So, should you feel the need, go big.

With all that said, the first upgrade I would think of getting is another pair of wheels. Really make use of both aspects of the bike’s capabilities. With a pair of 33mm cyclocross tyres on the 700c rims for racing and a new 650b set with more knobbly 57mm tyres for those rougher all-day epics.

The in-house Forsa headset and complete external cable routing are not here nor there performance wise, but they are easily serviceable. Whether that’s in your local bike shop or somewhere on an unsupported bike packing trip in Nairobi is up to you. My only slight quibble with this setup is the front mech band-on clamp seems to want to be in the same place as the shifter cable coming down the seat tube, after a little fiddle you can get it to work but it does make the front derailleur set up more complex. On a more range topping bike, this would be something that shouldn’t happen. At this price point though, raving about it might be churlish.

The X-Bow is the sort of bike that is grabbing the cycling world by storm at the moment; the do-it-all bike. A bike fit for those long multiday gravel events ridden by people with flannel shirts and cool beards. A bike, with mudguards, fit for long winter miles with the occasional exotic dirt twist. Yet also, as Ridleys Belgian reputation implies, a bike that can win you your local ‘cross race – or in my case at least, not be the excuse for losing it.