Ridley Phaeton R Road Bike Frame

New for 2010, the Ridley Phaeton R frameset brings Ridley’s legendary aerodynamic expertise to a far more approachable price point. The Phaeton features an aluminum frame with a carbon fiber fork. The simple list of materials, though, doesn’t even begin to tell the story on the Phaeton.

Borrowing some aerodynamic cues from the Noah, the Ridley Phaeton takes great measures to cheat the wind. Obvious things like teardrop shaped tubing are just the beginning, though. Just like on the Noah, Ridley uses their R-Flow design on the fork to allow your front wheel to pass by the fork legs with less wind resistance. Further drag reduction comes from Ridley’s R-Surface paint, which helps to create a more laminar air flow over the tubes. If the air hugs the tube more tightly and doesn’t get turbulent, it moves faster, meaning you move faster, too.

These claims of reduced drag aren’t just hypothetical, either. Ridley has wind tunnel data showing that the R-Flow fork reduces drag by 5.5% and the R-Surface paint reduces it by 3.3%. That may not sound like much, but over a long ride it can really add up. The Ridley Phaeton frameset will never be the best start to a pure climbing bike, but if you’re the type that likes to take long pulls and hurt your buddies, the Phaeton is hard to beat from a speed-for-the-money standpoint.

The Ridley Phaeton frameset includes frame, fork, headset, and seatpost clamp. Your Phaeton will need a 27.2mm seatpost and a braze-on front derailleur.

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.

• 1565 gram frame
• Aluminum frame, carbon fork
• Includes headset and seat clamp

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