Ridley Falcn RS 2023

Ridley has gone lightweight and aero with its new Falcn RS to create a high-performance bike that isn't pigeon-holed to a specific road genre. With clearance for 34mm tyres, that term 'road' can be used loosely too. It's a lovely machine to ride thanks to plenty of feedback and a comfortable all-round feel, although it's up against some tough competition price-wise.

For more options, check out our guide to the best road bikes from £300 to over £13,000.

Ride

Ridley describes the Falcn RS as being optimised for maximum performance and it has been tested by the Lotto Dstny pro team, so that means an aggressive riding position, with speed being the main focus, along with stability and reactivity, according to the marketing blurb that arrived with the bike.

I found the most noticeable thing to be the reach, which is longer than most bikes of this size thanks to the lengthy top tube, but not by so much that I found it too much of a stretch to the handlebar.

The head tube is 150mm on this medium, which means the front end isn't as slammed as some similar bikes, so the overall position isn't too extreme. And with the spacers added here, the position is still comfortable for longer rides.

You can get long and low on the Falcn RS, so the speeds achievable in regards to your effort feel impressive, and thanks to a relatively low weight of 7.42kg it's responsive away from the flat sections and downhills too.

It doesn't ride like a full-on aero bike in terms of flat-out speed, but the aero tweaks to the frame and the deep-section wheels do mean it feels efficient and quick in real world terms.

The steepness of the seat tube puts you in a forward position to allow you to get the power down, but the head angle isn't overly steep, so the steering is well balanced, meaning that the Ridley isn't a twitchy handful to ride.

I could knock out rides at some impressive averages, speed-wise, without everything feeling frantic in twisty or technical sections, so the Ridley is actually quite a relaxing bike to ride. You can just focus on getting the power down and having fun.

It reminds me of Specialized's Tarmac SL7 (I haven't ridden the SL8 yet) from that point of view.

The stiffness on offer is impressive, but one look at the size of the bottom bracket junction and chunky chainstays means that it is no surprise really. Hard efforts in or out of the saddle see the power from your legs transferred through the rear wheel and out onto the road, giving a great feel of efficiency.

The fork is impressively stiff too. Chucking the Ridley downhill through some twisty sections found the front end to be very tight, whether under high steering loads or when hauling heavily on the front brake. There were no signs of any understeer or chatter from the legs no matter how hard I pushed the Falcn RS into the bends.

Comfort hasn't been overlooked either. The Falcn RS has a firm ride, but it is no boneshaker, and the carbon layup does a great job of just taking the edge off high-frequency road buzz, plus the chance to use up to 34mm tyres means you can soften the ride a bit more for longer distances.

Overall, I think Ridley has done a great job of balancing performance with rideability. The Falcn RS might be designed for the top-level racer, but you don't need to be elite to ride this bike fast, and the payback from your input is very impressive indeed.

Frame and Fork

For the fully detailed lowdown on the Falcn RS's frame and fork you can head over to Mat's launch piece, but I'll give you a quick rundown.

First up, the weight. For this medium sized frame and fork Ridley claims 825g and 380g respectively. A bit heavier (110g) than its Helium SLX Disc climbing bike, but it says the Falcn RS is more aerodynamic, which makes up for the extra weight.

Ridley has created a very clean-looking machine here, following the current trend of running any wires and hoses through the handlebar and stem into the frame and fork via the headset and head tube.

The fact that the SRAM Force groupset is fully wireless also helps; in fact, the Falcn RS is designed to accept electronic groupsets only.

The seatpost is an aero design and comes with an internal expanding wedge style clamping system, which extends the 'aeroness' to that part of the frame too.

Ridley has included two bottle cage mounts, with the set on the down tube having three bolts, to give two different position options for your cage.

In terms of the bottom bracket, Ridley has gone for the BB86 press-fit standard, which is what allows the Falcn RS to have such a large junction where the down tube, chainstays and seat tube all meet.

Other neat touches include a universal derailleur hanger, which means you don't have to buy a model-specific hanger if it is damaged in a crash. It's not something that has been adopted that widely in the road market, but fingers crossed that'll change at some point. How much better would it be to walk into your local bike shop and just buy a hanger of the shelf without having to order directly from the bike manufacturer?

If you want to run a 1x system, the front mech hanger is also removable.

As for the geometry, the Falcn RS is available in six sizes, ranging from XXS to XL. We have the medium, which has a top tube length of 565mm, head tube height of 150mm, and a seat tube length of 499mm. Stack and reach figures are 551mm and 397mm respectively.

The head angle is 73 degrees and the seat angle is 73.5 degrees. The wheelbase is just 987mm, which is what gives the Ridley its nimbleness and flickability.

Builds & prices

The Falcn RS is available in three builds, starting with Shimano 105 Di2 for £6,399, plus Ultegra Di2 and this SRAM Force eTap AXS option both coming in at £8,199.

If you want something a little different, Ridley has a configurator on its website which allows you to swap in and out various components.

The SRAM Force eTap AXS on our test bike is a groupset I enjoy using, mainly down to the gear ratios and the design of the shift levers.

For the three builds that Ridley offers, you get a 52/36-tooth chainset with the Ultegra, and a 50/34T with the 105, but with the SRAM option it's 48/35T.

I find the smaller 48-tooth chainring suits my high-cadence riding style, feeling much more efficient, and I barely use the inner ring unless the climbs become really steep. To offset the loss of high gears from the chainset Ridley specs a 10-33T 12-speed cassette, which offers a great range overall, with the only trade-off being that there are some slightly larger gaps between the sprockets compared with the 11-30T of the Ultegra or the 11-34T of the 105.

The shifting from the AXS groupset is very quick, and there is a noticeable click at the lever to let you know you have shifted across a sprocket.

To change gear on SRAM's wireless groupsets you use the right lever to drop to a smaller sprocket, and the left lever to skip up to a bigger one. Press both levers together and you move the front mech to the opposite position of where it is sat. Once you get used to it, it is very intuitive and simple to use.

As for the brakes, the Falcn RS uses a 160mm rotor on the front and a 140mm on the rear, which provides all of the stopping power you're likely to need. SRAM's callipers work well in terms of control, with a good feeling of bite that allows you to modulate the amount of pressure on the lever to reduce the chance of locking up your tyres.

Finishing kit

Up front, the Forza Cirrus Pro Integrated Road cockpit is an aero-shaped handlebar and stem combination. The drop of the handlebar is relatively shallow, which means it's not restricted to those with great flexibility, and one thing I do like is the subtle five-degree flare at each side. Since I've been riding a lot of gravel bikes, I quite like the feeling of a flared handlebar for extra stability when descending, but you still keep a narrow position with quick steering when on the hoods.

The only downside of an integrated cockpit is that you don't get the adjustment offered by a traditional setup. There are four different stem/width options, but obviously you can't rotate the bar at all if you like a setup a little different to the norm.

The seatpost is a carbon fibre Forza Aero with 6mm of offset and a two-bolt seat clamp. It is easy to set up for saddle angle, and once done it all stays put.

Saddle-wise Ridley has specced Selle Italia's SLR Boost. It has a minimal amount of padding, which I like, and its overall shape suits powerful riding positions, allowing you to turn the pedals even when you're crouched and aero.

A huge cutout in the middle section should reduce any numbness, but it's not something I really suffer from so I can't really tell you how good it is in that respect.

Wheels & tyres

Ridley has gone with DT Swiss ARC1400s in a 50mm depth, a cracking set of wheels (not literally, thankfully!) in terms of aerodynamics, and with a claimed weight of around 1,550g and great stiffness they accelerate and climb well too.

The rear uses DT Swiss's Ratchet EXP 36 freewheel, which engages impressively quickly, especially from a standing start.

While the Ridley can take 34mm tyres, it comes specced with 28mm Vittoria Corsa Pros with a rather eye-catching tan wall to set the aesthetics off.

The Graphene and Silica compound is very tacky and therefore grippy in all conditions and when paired to the 320 threads per inch Corespun casing they are very supple indeed. Basically, they are an excellent tyre for this kind of bike and it's great to see that Ridley haven't scrimped here.

Value

Opposition in this category is strong, as many brands have bikes of this type in their range. And although the Falcn RS isn't the most expensive, others do offer slightly better value for money.

Trek's 'do-a-bit-of-everything' road bike is the Émonda, with the SLR 7 (we tested the SL 6 Pro in 2020) coming with the same Force eTap AXS groupset, but you only get 37mm-deep carbon wheels and clearance for 28mm tyres. A claimed weight of just 7.25kg puts it in the same ballpark as the Ridley, but it costs more at £9,200, though it does come with a power meter.

Specialized's new Tarmac SL8 is a blend of aero and low weight and is available in a large range of builds, with the closest being the SL8 Pro. With that you get a traditionally styled handlebar and stem, and deep-section wheels, plus the same SRAM Force eTap AXS groupset, but it is also fitted with a power meter, for £8,000. Our review of the SL8 is on its way very soon.

Canyon's Ultimate CF SLX 8 again uses the Force eTap AXS groupset and also comes with a power meter, Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels and Schwalbe Pro One tyres. It costs £6,699.

Another cheaper option, a little more aero than most but still capable of taking 32mm tyres, is the Handsling A1R0evo, a bike I found very pleasing to ride, with impressive performance. In a similar Force build (and without a power meter), Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels and the same Vittoria tyres found on the Ridley, it will cost you £6,139.99.

Conclusion

The Falcn RS is a great bike to ride, being fast, fun, nimble and above all else very easy to ride at speed. It might be designed for the racers, but as long as you get on comfortably with the geometry, you don't need to have the handling skills of a seasoned pro to exploit the handling benefits. For the money, though, I'd like to see a power meter included in the package, as some of its competitors do.

Verdict

A cracking all-round road bike that is both fast and light – a power meter would be nice for this money, though