Michael Vanthourenhout riding his Ridley X-Lite to eventual 3rd place in the Belgian National Champs
The Bike Industry's Enfant Terribles
Ridley from Belgium are the cycle industry's contrarians. And whilst Ridley may not be as large as Trek or Specialized, they are almost certainly bigger than you think. Ridley are definite anglophile's (Ridley is named after Alien Director, Ridley Scott), and most importantly have their roots and flag firmly planted in European cyclo-cross.
Unapologetically Obsessed
They are unapologetic about their obsession with the formerly underground sport, that is fast becoming essential voyeuristic viewing. Ridley Bicycles has duly come of age with a whole generation of cyclo-x stars - Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock et al. Most of Cyclefit are similarly obsessed with Cyclocross and therefore adore Ridley for their heritage, roots and unabashed commitment to cause.
The Cyclefit Five went to Ridley Cycles as VIP guests for a snowy weekend.
Ridley's factory in Beringen, Belgium is ultra-modern and thrums with technology
"Ridley are unapologetic about their obsession with the formerly underground sport of Cyclo-X"
Belgian Cycling Factory Campus
Ridley forms part of the Belgian Cycling Factory campus at Beringen. It is a collective of like-minded companies that work co-operatively in pursuit of pure cycling performance. The Bike Valley wind tunnel offers state of the art aero testing and is used by professional cycling teams, Lazer helmets and Bio-racer clothing who are based locally.
Wind-tunnel, bike-fitting, climate chamber, physiological testing are available to amateur and professional alike. The Famous Five are based on campus for most of the weekend. Let out only to spectate the Belgian National Cyclo-X Championships, held at, wait for it... Beringen.
Ridley is still 100% a family business and offers bikes for road cycling, gravel, mountain biking, cyclocross, time trials, triathlons, track cycling, and e-bikes. Bikes are assembled and packaged at the Beringen site or a factory in Moldova. BCF has over 1000 sales points in Europe. Belgian Cycling Factory now employs over 180 people globally, producing up to 400 custom bikes daily, distributed in 60 countries.
The In-house paint shop custom paints the frames that consumers design in the Ridley Configurator - components and wheels can also be selected when ordering for a truly bespoke build. Cyclefit provides the measurements and dimensions to ensure a great riding experience.
The Ridley production line
The Bike Valley wind tunnel is available to rent - for 500 euros an hour (That's Tony Martin's likeness on the bike).
New Team Uno-X Triton Fast TT frames waiting for assembly
Triton Fast base bars await inspection
Brake hoses threaded through the handlebars before assembly
Newly arrived frames are inspected and prepped
The Hunger Games? No, it's a Belgian Cyclo-X race. So, not dissimilar. Belgian Alps in the background
The Cyclefit Five and the Party Tent - James, Barna, Jimmy, Grace and Julian
A disused mine, decaying infrastructure and a slag heap? Let's put on a cyclocross race.
18,000 spectators attended and it was -5 degrees.
Ridley have a large showroom and experience center with test bikes. We had a look through the range but as the weather conditions were so bad had to pass on the test rides. Nearby is the Zonder race circuit and many trails and can tow paths to ride.
The Ridley Kanzo Adventure - fits up to 53mm tyres
The Ridley Grifn All-road in commuter mode
The Ridley Falcn RS road bike at 865 grams and aero is a great all-rounder
The Ridley E-Astr assisted gravel bike
Ridley's parent company also own the Eddy Merckx brand - new frames are in production.
It's all about the fans!
