In days passed by off-road drop bar racing meant just one factor: cyclo-cross. A world the place a motorbike’s dealing with is quick and positive, the place tyres are skinny and dirt clearance is aplenty. However the quick tracks and unrestricted tyre sizes of top-end gravel racing has introduced a distinct drop bar race bike to the fore; the wide-tyred aero race bike. Enter the Ridley Kanzo Quick.
The body
The Kanzo Quick borrows some tube shapes from the Ridley’s aero race bike, the Noah Quick
(Picture credit score: Future)
Based mostly on the model’s aero highway race bike the Noah Quick, the Kanzo Quick is a gravel bike designed for flat out pace on the tough lengthy tracks (the Kanzo Journey is Ridley’s different gravel bike).
The carbon body and fork of the Kanzo Quick is full-on aero. The fork and built-in cockpit circulation into the D-shaped headtube, there are fairings on the fork ideas, dropped seat stays and one-by solely design.
The deep part head tube and absolutely built-in cabling assist its gravel race credentials
(Picture credit score: Future)
The lay-up of the carbon all through the body and cockpit in addition to the geometry is designed to supply the shock absorbency wanted to trip off highway. So, while it seems to be like a highway racing bike, there’s much less stiffness and much more consolation than you would possibly anticipate.
The geometry follows swimsuit, a highway race bike base with gravel tweaks. The Kanzo had the shortest wheelbase of all of the bikes we had on take a look at (1,001 mm on XS) with the bottom stack top (537 mm) and longest attain when taking the stem size into consideration (480 mm complete; 110 mm spec’d on our take a look at bike). To offer the bike entrance finish stability on rougher terrain the pinnacle tube has a 71o angle which was fairly commonplace throughout all of the bikes in our evaluate. To sum it up, it’s quick and low however not as quick and low as its highway cousin.
The Kanzo is out there in 5 completely different sizes with reaches 373 – 400 mm (not together with stem) and stacks 537 – 638 mm.
The construct
For this 12 months’s gravel bike of the 12 months we seemed to incorporate bikes priced £2,500 – 3,500 and the bottom priced of the Kanzo Quick falls inside our price range at £3,200. This base mannequin options the aero body and fork with Norte wheels, mechanical SRAM Rival 1×11 shifting and disc brakes. It doesn’t characteristic the Kanzo cockpit, as an alternative it runs a two piece non-aero alloy stem and bars. However… due to availability, that base mannequin was not the bike we needed to evaluate.
Although fitted with 38mm tyres, the Kanzo Quick can accommodate tyres as much as 42mm
(Picture credit score: Future)
Our take a look at bike was a ‘configured’ construct (the place you possibly can choose your individual specification) which might price round £5,000. It featured an built-in carbon cockpit (110 x 380 mm), SRAM Rival AXS XPLR 1×12 shifting and brakes, Forza Lavanto Gravel Carbon wheels and 38 mm Vittoria Terreno tyres.
The trip
On testing UK gravel the Kanzo Quick’s consolation proved extra interesting than its aero properties
(Picture credit score: Future)
Unsurprisingly given its construct, the Kanzo Quick was an absolute great thing about a motorbike to trip. The primary hanging characteristic was – regardless of its onerous n’ quick seems to be – this can be very snug. The lay-up of the body and bar, supposed structural flex and the quantity of the tyres took all of the anticipated chatter away from the trip. This made the trip on easy gravel surprisingly just like on tarmac and simple to keep up an environment friendly pedalling place and a fair cadence.
It’s not simply the lengthy and quick that feels good. It has such a enjoyable, reactive really feel that I wished to go and trip it round within the park with pals as a lot as go for a again highway blast.
The built-in carbon cockpit proved snug over lengthy distances
(Picture credit score: Future)
The built-in carbon cockpit on our take a look at bikes was extraordinarily snug (I managed a continuous 10 hour trip throughout testing with none hand points). Nonetheless, it’s unlikely that the alloy bar that’s spec’d on the decrease priced mannequin would share the identical properties.
The seat tube profile would not be misplaced on a WorldTour highway bike
(Picture credit score: Future)
For all its race pedigree, the Kanzo didn’t shift as shortly on the highway as I anticipated, maybe the draw back of all that integral gravel consolation. In fact, a gravel bike isn’t a highway bike, however I’d assumed that one which was to date to the racing finish of the spectrum would maintain its personal.
For almost all of the driving the aero advantages of the bike weren’t notably evident; I don’t have both the native gravel trails or the ability to attain speeds to actually revenue from them. Even after I was driving the Kanzo on this 12 months’s Tour de France stage route with its gravel sections (200 km with 35 km gravel and a pair of,000 m climbing) it was solely actually the longer and quickest highway descents I perceived any aero profit. If I may select I’d maintain the geometry however with out the aero tubing and so not sacrifice weight and tyre clearance.
Regardless of its design intentions, the Kanzo is basically enjoyable and regular on technical singletrack driving. Its quick wheelbase and direct dealing with giving it the reactivity wanted for the twists and turns and that’s regardless of the lengthy and slim cockpit on our take a look at bike (commonplace stocked bars and stems are somewhat shorter and wider so ought to give much more management). Because it’s so quick it’s not very secure on steeper descents and so extra restricted when you often discover off-piste. On the XS there was some toe overlap which wasn’t nice for gradual technical trails, that is unlikely to be a difficulty on bigger fashions although.
Specs (as examined)
- Body and fork: Kanzo Quick, 30T HM/HR UD Carbon
- Groupset: SRAM Rival AXS XPLR – 1×12
- Crankset: SRAM Rival – 42T, 172.5 mm
- Cassette: 10-44T 12sp
- Wheels: Forza Levanto Gravel Carbon
- Tyres: Vittoria Terreno Dry TLR – 38mm
- Handlebar: Kanzo Quick aero built-in cockpit 38 x 110mm
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR
- Sizes: XS – XL (5 sizes)
- Max tyre clearance: 42 mm
- Weight: 9.1 kg (XS as examined)
