Even if that’s true, the question remains whether that difference is at all significant.The one-piece cockpit is only offered in four sizes, but if one of them works for you, it looks fantastic.As you’d expect, the Kanzo Fast is equipped with 12 mm thru-axles front and rear, as well as flat-mount disc brakes at both ends.All Kanzo Fast models are exclusively 1x-only with no provision for a front derailleur whatsoever.That said, the inclusion of the innovative Classified two-speed rear hub effectively combines the range of 2x drivetrains with 1x simplicity. Straight fork in carbon construction reduces weight. About the Kanzo A The Kanzo A is Ridley’s alloy gravel bike for adventurous riders on a budget. Our mission is to help your mind wander, even if your body can’t. This is all brought together in a frameset that has a claimed weight of 1680g (1190g frame, 490g fork) for a painted medium. Photo: Classified.Shifts are said to happen in just 150 milliseconds and can be performed under full load. Want to know more about the Classified hub? Ridley has an international reputation for making great cyclocross bikes & beautiful all-round endurance road bikes. Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive content, deals & events. Ridley’s new Kanzo Fast is an aero gravel bike with ingenious 1×2×11 gearing Shimano GRX is here: gravel-specific and 1× components for Ultegra, 105 and Tiagra Photo: Classified.The Classified hub is controlled wirelessly. The Classified system in the wild Photo: Classified.We want CyclingTips to be that place for you. Disc brakes are a game-changing evolution in cycling. On return to their home villages, they would tell the inhabitants about their adventures using three different genres. The Kanzo Speed frameset is available starting at 1700€ in two main color options, plus the Ridley online customizer, Pure Line builds, and complete Dreambuilder spec customization. “The Noah Fast and this new Kanzo Fast are almost twin brothers,” said product manager Bert Kenans.Down below by the fork dropouts are Ridley’s F-Wing tab-like extensions that are claimed to help divert airflow around the front hub, and the rear of the seat tube closely follows the rear tire to provide some shielding effect.The fully hidden cables makes for an especially sleek front end on the top-end models.Also like on the Noah Fast, Ridley has given upper-end versions of the Kanzo Fast an integrated one-piece carbon fiber handlebar and stem, with fully internal cables and hoses that run through the stem and then down along the side of the D-shaped carbon fiber steerer tube. The bar dimensions are more tuned for mixed-terrain riding, however, with a shallower drop (120 mm instead of 130 mm) and shorter reach (70 mm instead of 75 mm) relative to what’s found on the Noah Fast, as well as 16 degrees of flare to provide more leverage and control on loose ground.Handlebars will be offered in widths from 38 to 44 cm, together with stems ranging in length from 90 to 140 mm, although there are just four combinations available in total, which will greatly hamper sizing adjustment. Then the Kanzo Speed is the ideal solution. In the 1:1 ratio, Classified says that all of the internal bits are moving at the same speed as the hub shell, so there’s no additional drag whatsoever. FSA Vero Compact crankset with a 50-34T powers your ride efficiently and smoothly with versatile gearing. But alas, Classified has partnered exclusively with Ridley — at least for now — so the only way to get the system is to buy a Kanzo Fast.
That bike certainly isn’t particularly cushy, either, but it’s nonetheless one of our favorites for riders looking for a one-bike-to-do-it-all solution.Other details include clearance for 700c tires up to 42 mm-wide, five available sizes and four stock colors (along with custom options), and compatibility with both mechanical and electronic drivetrains.
Classified even says its rear hub is surprisingly light. And while the system plays well with Shimano Di2 levers, we haven’t yet heard if it also works with anything else. The Classified hub is actually modular, with all of the gear guts contained in a surprisingly small unit that can be easily swapped into different hub shells. The lower ratio is claimed to be “99% efficient” — whatever that means — but even then, rider speeds will also be lower than in the higher ratio so it shouldn’t be as much of an issue, either. Ridley claims that, at an unspecified speed, the Kanzo Fast saves 17 watts over an “ordinary gravel bike” and is within 4 watts of the Noah Fast “across all the yaw angles”. And sorry, Ridley, but while the Kanzo Fast looks like a perfectly reasonable option for gravel and mixed-terrain riders who value speed above all else, it’s the hub that’s really got us excited right now.The new Ridley Kanzo Fast certainly looks the part given its sleek shape.The fully internally routed lines are a nightmare in terms of setup and service, but they sure do look cool when all is said and done.Ridley says the lowered seatstays adds a bit of compliance to the Kanzo Fast rear end. Ridley claims the Kanzo Fast’s dropped seatstays help somewhat in this regard (along with the 42 mm-wide rubber, of course), but there’s little in the design of the bike to suggest that it’ll be a particularly buttery ride — and the Noah Fast aero road bike on which the Kanzo Fast is based isn’t exactly renowned for its compliance, either.Then again, it’s also possible that the Kanzo Fast could be similar to the Cervelo Aspero in being unusually adept at straddling the line between tarmac and unpaved applications.
The Kanzo Speed is actually an all road bike with its comfortable geometry and eyelets for the mudguards. Ridley also says that a Kanzo fast with Forza Vardar wheels and a Shimano GRX Di2 groupset results in a total weight of 8.55kg. This means you literally have a road bike and a gravel bike in one bike. Going along with that sleek cockpit are profiled split headset spacers and a similarly shaped upper headset cover — both borrowed from the Noah Fast. The somewhat modest tire clearance should fine given the expected audience for the Kanzo Fast. And it all starts with our choice of raw materials… Complete bikes start at 2800€ with Shimano 105, 3300€ with SRAM Rival1, 3600€ with Ultegra, or around 54800€ for this Campagnolo Chorus & carbon Forza wheel build.