ridley helium

[fvracer72]

I've been looking to make the leap to carbon after years on steel and Ti.
I was going to go with a Van Dessel rivet, but there are some good deals on ridley heliums right now.......does anyone have anything good/bad to say about these frames. To be honest, as a metal guy, the all carbon drops and isp have me worried. I'm used to bikes that are pretty "tough"

[ultraman6970]

Well if you arent to carefull with your bikes then keep steel and AL because eventhought carbon is pretty tough it wont stand user that like to go rock mountain with them you know.

Ridley bikes are the bomb, the helium was the lightest frame they produces i believe thats why is called helium...

Carbon drops and frames are ok, as with all the stuff some people just have bad luck. What you will feel from pedaling 1 will be different than with steel and TI. Probably you wont let the carbon bike go next season, specially if a ridley, good stuff.

[nightfend]

I've been looking to make the leap to carbon after years on steel and Ti.
I was going to go with a Van Dessel rivet, but there are some good deals on ridley heliums right now.......does anyone have anything good/bad to say about these frames. To be honest, as a metal guy, the all carbon drops and isp have me worried. I'm used to bikes that are pretty "tough"

I ride and race a Ridley Helium. The bike is great. Don't let the dropouts freak you out. They are pretty re-enforced on the back and the front fork actually has aluminum dropouts.

The bike is very lightweight and stiff, which makes it especially great for climbing.

Two major drawbacks to a Helium (pre-2013):
1.)ISP seat. Which makes it harder to travel with the bike
2.)The rear tire clearance is not great. You will at most get a 25mm tire in there.

[ultraman6970]

That's a racing road bike, to me is just laughable (not in a bad way ok?) when guys look at these and start asking if they can fit 28s or 32s or just get pissed off of the bike manufacturer because the super fast brand new super wide rim wheels they bought don't fit in the frame.

Racing bikes are racing bikes, but for some is hard to understand. Well end of the rant hehe

[Likes2ridefar]

I've been looking to make the leap to carbon after years on steel and Ti.
I was going to go with a Van Dessel rivet, but there are some good deals on ridley heliums right now.......does anyone have anything good/bad to say about these frames. To be honest, as a metal guy, the all carbon drops and isp have me worried. I'm used to bikes that are pretty "tough"

ISP no experience, but carbon dropouts, the last two bikes I rode had those on the frame and fork and I never had any problems.

[Likes2ridefar]

That's a racing road bike, to me is just laughable (not in a bad way ok?) when guys look at these and start asking if they can fit 28s or 32s or just get pissed off of the bike manufacturer because the super fast brand new super wide rim wheels they bought don't fit in the frame.

Racing bikes are racing bikes, but for some is hard to understand. Well end of the rant hehe

it's worth mentioning, I think. My cervelo r5 wont even go beyond a 23c from most tire brands.

[slidey]

I don't have a Ridley Helium, but I do have a Ridley Excalibur. It's at the most one-down from the Helium, not too sure. What I am sure about though is that the bike is the best in my humble stable. Other horses include - Merckx MX Leader, Merckx Premium; blows both of them out of any contest except if you want to devise one where you declare the heavier bike as the winner :eek:

In short, you can't go wrong with the Helium.

[MattTuck]

I've liked Ridley's, but was dissuaded from buying one by an LBS owner who had carried Ridley and then stopped carrying them. The frames themselves were good, but Ridley's in house components left something to be desired.

Not sure if the Helium uses the in-house stuff, or if you'd just buy the frame and build it up yourself.

I believe in court, this would be referred to as hearsay evidence and wouldn't be allowed. Legal experience: Lots and lots of Law & Order.

[slidey]

Ah yes, the infamous 4ZA componentry! I too have heard not very glowing reviews of these, but my Excalibur is a 2008, and I've not made any structural changes to the bike. The only 4ZA component on my bike, so far as I can make out, is the fork...but, given that this has been Ridley's point of focus ever since the Noah-fork design took off, I'd wager that they're doing a decent enough job with forks, at least. Everything else, is perhaps best left to the people who've been doing what they're doing for a very long time - Shim/Campy/SRAM, as per one's choice.

I've liked Ridley's, but was dissuaded from buying one by an LBS owner who had carried Ridley and then stopped carrying them. The frames themselves were good, but Ridley's in house components left something to be desired.

Not sure if the Helium uses the in-house stuff, or if you'd just buy the frame and build it up yourself.

I believe in court, this would be referred to as hearsay evidence and wouldn't be allowed. Legal experience: Lots and lots of Law & Order.

[batman1425]

I have a Damocles as my primary road bike. Stable, predictable handling and smooths out the rough stuff very well. Plenty stiff enough for me as a 165lbs roleur.

I have close to 8k miles on it and it has held up well. My only complaint (I've heard this about Ridleys in general as well) is the paint left something to be desired. There were a handful of cosmetic issues from day one and I'd say the paint on this bike is more "fragile" than any other I've owned. Mine is showing a lot of paint wear for its age and how well it is taken care of.

I'd say go for it. If the ISP bothers you (deal breaker for me because of transportation issues) the new 2013's go back to regular posts.

[slidey]

The founder of Ridley bikes, I believe was more famous as a painter, yeah yeah, I know he doesn't paint the bikes with his own hands, but still...a bit ironic. ;)

However, this is the first I'm hearing about Ridley's cosmetic issues. To be honest though, I haven't had my head to the ground for a while now, and so a lot of reviews/murmurs could've easily passed me by.

My only complaint (I've heard this about Ridleys in general as well) is the paint left something to be desired. There were a handful of cosmetic issues from day one and I'd say the paint on this bike is more "fragile" than any other I've owned. Mine is showing a lot of paint wear for its age and how well it is taken care of.