FIRST LOOK: RIDLEY KANZO ADVENTURE

As we first spoke about in our coverage of the recently held Sea Otter Classic, famed Belgian bike brand Ridley is rolling out a new Kanzo gravel bike that is designed less for sleekness and speed – as with their Kanzo Fast – and more for frame mounts and adventure.

Of all the Euro brands jumping into gravel, we hold Ridley high on the list given the early effort we shared with them competing on one of their first-run gravel bikes, the X-Fire. Neil Shirley rode a super-secret pre-production bike at Dirty Kanza in 2015 (below) and unfortunately had a repeat occurrence of a torn rear derailleur just as he had in 2014.

Ridley was probably one of the earliest Euro brands to compete at Dirty Kanza when former RBA editor Neil Shirley raced a pre-production X-Fire in 2015.

And now they’ve expanded the off-road/drop bar family to three models (including their ‘cross bike) with the Adventure model that is available in three different versions. priced from $4589 to $6469.

THE RIDLEY KANZO ADVENTURE

Press Release

It’s safe to say that the popularity of gravel bikes has exploded over the last few years. Ridley was one of the first European brands in the gravel market with the release of the X-Trail in 2015, although they called it ‘all road’ instead of gravel back then. Over the years gravel bikes have evolved and multiple types emerged on the market: from light and fast bikes meant for gravel racing to bikes finding the perfect balance between road and gravel that are perfect for bike packing trips. All these types of bikes come with different geometry, tire width and mounting points.

THE KANZO ADV EVOLUTION

After the release of the X-Trail, Ridley rapidly developed their gravel bikes, because they know that not every cyclist has the same interpretation of gravel riding. The current Kanzo Adventure was added to the Ridley gravel fleet in 2019. At the same time the X-Trail was renamed Kanzo Speed. In 2020 the Kanzo Fast was added to the line-up.

Ridley already owned a wide range of gravel bikes with these three frames. However, a bike at the more adventurous side of the gravel spectrum was still missing. That’s where the new Kanzo Adventure comes in.
This newly developed bike differs from Ridley’s other Kanzo Fast.

KANZO ADV VS KANZO FAST

Ridley’s Kanzo Fast in one of the year’s most striking color combos.

When taking a look at the geometry of the new Kanzo Adventure and the Kanzo fast, there are some clear differences.
• The bottom bracket of the Kanzo Adventure is lower compared to the Kanzo Fast (75mm versus 72mm) and therefore provides a more stable riding feel on difficult terrain.
• The head tube angle of the Kanzo Adventure is slacker than the Kanzo Fast. Where Kanzo Fast is focused on fast gravel tracks on which you want a reactive bike, the Kanzo Adventure offers more confidence and stability on rougher terrain and technical downhill sections.

Because of these geometry characteristics the rider’s center of gravity is lowered and positioned more centrally. This makes the bike easier and safer to handle, especially at high speed and with luggage.

RBA tested Ridley’s Kanzo Fast in the May 2021 issue.

KANZO WEIGHT
During the development process of the new Kanzo Adventure, instead of weight, the focus was on durability and strength of the frame in order to ensure the bike can handle a wide array of terrains and setups. Therefore the frames are tested according to mountain bike standards instead of normal road standards.

The weight of an unpainted frame in size medium is 1250 grams. The weight of the bike with the SRAM Rival XPLR specification is 9 kilos in size medium.

WHAT ABOUT TIRE CLEARANCE?

Another feature to distinguish the Kanzo Adventure as adventure gravel bike is the maximum tire width. With the advent of more and more demanding terrain in bike packing events, Ridley has designed the bike to fit tires up to 29×2.1”, while leaving enough space around the bottom bracket and fork crown for extremely muddy conditions. The Kanzo Adventure feels at home on all surfaces: from smooth gravel with a narrower tire set-up to rougher terrain which, until now, you would only dare tackle with your mountain bike. Here too the Kanzo Adventure
offers unrivalled flexibility to adapt your setup to the terrain of your next adventure.

Ridley went to the extra effort of providing internal routing for front and rear lights.

SINGLE CHAINRING
To combine the increased tire clearance with the responsive rear end, Ridley decided to use a single front chainring. Just like the Kanzo Fast, the Kanzo Adventure frame is Classified Powershift ready for those that want even more range than modern one-by drive trains offer.

Here’s a Kanzo Adventure sporting some nice colors spotted at the recent Sea Otter Classic.

Customized Kanzo Adventure
The Kanzo Adventure is completely customizable with the online Configurator. Use the Configurator to build your dream adventure bike. You can completely customize it to your liking: choose your favorite design, colors, finish, group set, components, wheels, tires, saddle and accessories.

All its features make the Kanzo Adventure an extremely versatile gravel bike giving you heaps of ride enjoyment. This bike is ready for any new gravel adventure, even when your destination is still unknown.

THE THREE ADV MODELS

SRAM Rival1
FrameKanzo AdventureFork4ZA Gravel Disc,12mmTA, FM, 54mmGroupset (General)Sram Rival1ShiftersSram Rival1Front/Rear DerailleurSram Rival1BrakesSram Rival1 HDBCranksSram Rival 42TSprocketSram PG-1130 11-42ChainSram PC1130WheelsForza Norte Gravel, Tubeless Ready, 24mm internalTyresVittoria Mezcal TNT 44mmStemForza StratosHandlebarRitchey Butano II COMPSeatpostForza StratosSaddleSelle Italia Model X Superflow.

Retail Price $4589

GRX800 1xShimano GRX800
1xFrameKanzo AdventureFork4ZA Gravel Disc,12mmTA, FM, 54mmGroupset (General)Shimano GRX800 1xShiftersShimano GRX800 1xFront/Rear DerailleurShimano GRX800BrakesShimano GRX800 HDBCranksRotor Vegast 42TSprocketShimano M8000 11-42TChainKMX X-11WheelsForza Norte Gravel, Tubeless Ready, 24mm internalTyresVittoria Terreno Dry TLR 47mmStemForza StratosHandlebarRitchey Butano II COMPSeatpostForza Cirrus alu-carbonSaddleSelle Italia X-LR.

Suggested Retail Price: $5279

Sram Rival XPLR
FrameKanzo AdventureFork4ZA Gravel Disc,12mmTA, FM, 54mmGroupset (General)Sram Rival XPLRShiftersSram Rival AXSFront/Rear DerailleurSram Rival XPLRBrakesSram Rival HDBCranksSram Rival 42TSprocketSram XG-1251 10-44TChainSram Rival 12sp FlattopWheelsForza LevantoGravel Carbon, Tubeless Ready, 23mm internalTyresVittoria Terreno Dry TLR 47mmStemForza StratosHandlebarRitchey VenturemaxSeatpostForza Cirrus alu-carbonSaddleSelle Italia X-LR.

Suggested Retail Price $6469

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