Flanders-based Ridley proudly states that it ‘is cyclocross’, and as Belgium is the world’s dominant ’cross nation, who are we to argue? Of the company’s X-branded models, the Ridley X-Bow is the entry point for any aspiring Sven Nys, former cyclocross World Champ and widely considered to be one of the greatest ’cross racers of all time.
For around a grand you get Ridley’s classic horizontal top-tubed geometry formed from 7005-T6 alloy, and sporting a curved carbon fork with alloy steerer. There are mounts for mudguards and a rear rack, making it ideal if you’re looking to press your bike into all-rounder duties. Chunky plate rear dropouts provide a solid fixing for the mounts and disc brake, and everything gives the impression of being built to last.
High strength on a budget comes with a weight penalty, and the 10.69kg mass of ours is considerable. The weight is probably an agglomeration of slightly heavier components, but the wheels would be our first performance upgrade, as the front wheel with tyre, tube and rotor weighs a portly 1.9kg.
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Ridley’s size guide works if you’re looking for a relaxed fit, but its trademark short head-tubes usually mean a spacer stack, unless running pro-level saddle to bar drop. If you like to stretch out, you’re faced with going for a longer head tube and top tube, but losing standover height, or lengthening the stem.
The ride quality is very smooth, and the X-Bow wants to roll over everything. Except hills. Any upward gradient, or attempted sprint, will see your power output rising rapidly — with little noticeable speed increase. Even though our brakes weren’t dragging, and we had reasonable air pressure in the tyres, riding up any minor bump felt like someone had fitted a parachute to the seatpost.
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