I’m looking at a Ridley Noah RS on competitive cyclist. They offer it in a force build but I would probably do Ultegra. Curious on people’s opinions… I understand the RS is cheaper but haven’t found a good comparison as to why. I am also looking at Felt, Scott and probably cervelo. I am looking for an aero road bike with Ultegra for the right price. Any feedback much appreciated…
Noah FAST didn’t score all that well in Tour aero test http://www.cervelo.com/media/docs/Tour-Mag-3370aff0-217e-43b7-8024-8a305634944f-2.PDF
RS gets telescoping seatpost (improvement on the ISP on the FAST) and normal brakes (also an improvement compared the integrated ones on the FAST).
If you want aero it’s very hard (and somewhat foolish) to go past Cervelo/Felt (and surprisingly, based on that test, Merida).
Very happy with my Felt AR4.
The Scott and Ridley are probably similar in terms of drag. The Scott wasn’t designed with aerodynamics as the very top priority and the design dates back to about 2010 when Scott sponsored HTC.
Cervelo is clearing out their first generation S5s, so I know you can score a deal on those. Ask your LBS. I think they had the Ultegra bike for 1000$ off retail.
I would choose a new Felt or S5 if money were no object.
The price differences between bikes can be due to the carbon fiber used and the layup patterns they follow.
Ridley make very nice bikes, as do Felt, Scott and Cervelo. I have a Cervelo road and Ridley cross bike. You can’t go wrong with Ridley – very well made and have a “cool factor” to them. The one thing to check: I read somewhere that past Ridley models have had pretty narrow forks and rear triangles, so check with Competitive Cyclist about that IF you are ever thinking of running wider wheels or bigger tires in the 27 mm+ range (and if you’re not, this doesn’t matter much). Ridley may have widened tire clearance for their 2014 models.
An aero road bike is on my list too. Just trying to decide on a short list. I’d be curious to know how the new Ridley Noah SL would stack up against a Cervelo S3.
Marty
The Felt AR is another thing to look at also. You can sell the ultegra and get a nice force group