Ridley Noah Fast Road Frameset 2015

Shopping for a new frameset has become a daunting task. In days gone by, there was no doubt about what you wanted: Reynolds 531, lugged, with a tight wheel base. Sold. But now, it's become almost impossible to sort through the claims and stated benefits of different frames and technologies. Integrated seatposts, weight, aerodynamics it often sounds like so much superstition and marketing hype. With its new Noah Fast Road Frameset, Ridley throws you a lifeline to rise above the swelling tide of too good to be true bike technologies by providing the test numbers behind the acronyms, giving you proof positive that the frame is actually doing what the marketing materials claim. The key to the Noah Fast's appeal is alluded to in a non subtle way by the frame's name: Future Aero Speed Technology, which is the expansion of the acronym FAST. Ridley estimates that the frame's combination of strategically arranged 50, 40, and 30 ton carbon moduli and FAST elements result in up to 2. 8 extra kmh 1. 74 mph while hammering out of the saddle and 20 fewer watts to maintain a rouleur speed of 40 kmh 24. 86 mph. The high modulus carbon fiber speaks for itself, and the different moduli are used in different areas of the frame based on desired properties of stiffness, weight, durability, and the ability to absorb road noise. If you're looking for a top end, full carbon frameset, then this is no doubt an old hat by now, so let's jump into the Noah Fast's real meat, the F Brake, F Splitfork, and F Surface technologies. The Noah F Brake brings a delicious irony to the frame: it's a brake that makes you faster. Brakes like this have been in evidence on time trial and triathlon frames for a couple of years now, but Ridley is claiming to be the first manufacturer to make it work on a road race frame. The F Brakes' calipers are attached to the frame rear and fork front, and the cable just runs through them at the top. This reduces the obtrusive, drag creating face area of re...