Ridley Excalibur Carbon Road Bike Frame

You can think of the Ridley Excalibur frameset as a slightly heavier, slightly stiffer, non-integrated seat mast version of a Ridley Helium. Ridley opts for 30 ton and 24 ton high-modulus carbon fiber on the Excalibur frame as opposed to the 50 ton, 40 ton, and 30 ton mix of the Helium, which keeps the cost down and helps keep the Excalibur nice and stiff in the bottom bracket. The Ridley Excalibur frame still maintains a comfortable ride, though, thanks to the minimal, flattened seat stays which are designed to add a little bit of vertical compliance to the back end of the frame.

To make sure the Excalibur stays stiff when you get on the power, Ridley uses massive chainstays and mates them up to the large bottom bracket/downtube junction. The Ridley Excalibur frame’s large downtube further enhances stiffness and steering precision as it meets up with the Excalibur’s head tube and oversized lower headset bearing. This larger downtube, head tube, and bearing make the Ridley Excalibur corner predictably, climb efficiently, and sprint with stability.

The Ridley Excalibur uses a taller head tube, which keeps the front end a bit higher and makes things more comfortable. Ridleys don’t have a front end so tall that it rules them out for racing use, but they’re just tall enough to add comfort for everyday use. The Ridley Excalibur fork uses the same curved shape as the Helium fork, which gives a little more comfortable ride than the straight legged fork found on the Damocles.

A note on Ridley sizing: Ridley uses a sloping top tube on their bikes, so in order to select the proper size, it’s important to pay attention to the effective top tube as opposed to the seat tube length. You really should focus on effective top tube on any frame, but it’s especially critical on sloping top tube frames.

• 1000 gram frame, 390 gram fork
• Includes headset and seat collar
• Requires 31.6 seat post

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