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The new Noah Fast 3.0 looks to be genetically merely a distant relative of the bike it replaces. Ridley has made the most of relaxed UCI aero regulations to create a bike that it is claiming is 8.5 watts faster than the outgoing model at 50 km/h. Interestingly this figure drops to seven watts when compared with the Falcn RS (suggesting the all-arounder Falcn was actually more aero than Ridley's outgoing version of the Noah Fast).
One look at the head tube makes it obvious that this bike has been designed to cut through the air as efficiently as possible. But Ridley clearly doesn't want the Noah Fast 3.0 to be seen as a one-trick pony. Instead, the brand says a ‘holistic approach’ was taken when creating the bike.
That intention shows up in specs like the 34 mm tyre clearance, a generous amount for an unquestionably aerodynamic race bike. Ridley says that this should allow the bike to be used in Paris-Roubaix. Combining wide tyre clearance and aerodynamics looks to be a winning combination for this race as speeds continue to climb year on year.
Another part of this holistic approach was to carry out simulations of the bike as it would be used in a race: this means bottles, computers and wheels were all factored in during this phase of the design.
The Uno-X Mobility women's team will be putting the Noah Fast 3.0 through its paces in Australia. Here we take a look at the bike of Dutch rider Anouska Koster ahead of the racing getting underway to see what we could find out about Ridley's newest bike.
The new Noah Fast makes the most of the UCI's relaxation of the 3:1 aero profile regulations to a more generous 8:1 ratio. Ridley claims that its engineers pushed the design of the bike to the limit, taking inspiration from the Dean Fast TT bike.The cut-away head tube allows for the stem to nestle inside this space, reducing turbulent air around the front of the bike. What this has meant is that the Noah Fast 3.0 naturally has an incredibly aggressive riding position.Koster's bike at TDU featured a Deda handlebar and stem; the consumer-version Noah Fasts use a new, integrated one-piece bar/stem, the Nimbus Aero, with flat tops and a stem shape that transitions cleanly to the frame. The Nimbus Aero features a flared handlebar in a single width (36 cm at hoods, 40 cm at drops) with a 75 mm reach and 125 mm drop. All Uno-X team bikes at TDU were equipped with the two-piece set up as shown due to limited availability and to help in getting riders dialled in, they'll switch to the one-piece Nimbus Aero upon return to Europe.From the front, it is possible to see just how compact the effective head tube length of the Noah Fast 3.0 is (especially on this smaller frame size), with the handlebar drops sitting at the same height as the top of the front tyre.Uno-X runs Shimano drivetrains and brakes but as a non-partner team it has the freedom to use whichever crankset and power meter it sees as the best fit. The team has opted for FSA's K Force Road Team Edition Powerbox. Although she is currently running a 54/40 chainset this will be swapped out to a 52/36 when it becomes available.An 11-34 cassette is Koster's choice (along with the rest of the team). The exit routing for the Di2 cable is neat with a simple path to the derailleur saving the need for taping the cable in place. The derailleur itself mounts to the bike via a UDH hanger which Ridley hopes will future-proof the Noah Fast 3.0 for any new tech developments in this area.There is no T47 bottom bracket here; Ridley has decided to stick with a BB86 press-fit system instead with CeramicSpeed providing the team with bearings for both the headset and the bottom bracket.The 34 mm tyre clearance for an outright aero bike is certainly a sign of the times, edging it ahead of the likes of Specialized's Tarmac SL8, Trek's Madone SLR Gen 8 and Canyon's Aeroad CFR (all 32 mm). This increase in clearance shows the versatility of modern road bikes.Although Decathlon-AG2R LaMondiale was the launch partner for Continental's Aero111 tyre last year, the team was rarely seen using the aero-optimised front tyre at the Tour de France. But its use is growing; the design aims to smooth the detachment of air, reducing the turbulence in this area.Koster has a Prologo Nago R4 147 mm saddle fitted atop her Noah Fast 3.0. This is the wider of the two widths offered for the Nago R4.The bottle cage placement has the bottles sit just about as close as possible to one another. These are early production frames where such things may be tweaked in future, but such close placement can have the positive effect of acting as somewhat of a fairing, filling in the void towards the bottom of the front triangle.Koster's name sticker blends in with the gloss black frame colour.It's Fast by name and Uno-X Mobility will be hoping it's fast by nature too. The opening sprint stages of this year's TDU will act as the perfect proving ground for the Noah Fast 3.0.Matched to the 26 mm front (26.5 mm measured) Aero111 tyre is a classic Continental GP5000 S TR on the rear wheel in a wider 28 mm width (29.6 mm measured). With aerodynamics less of a concern at the back, Continental suggests pairing the Aero111 to a rear tire with a low rolling resistance. Without a tidy airflow coming onto the tyre, the benefits of the Aero111 quickly diminish if used on the rear wheel.The Noah Fast 3.0 is the latest in the new breed of aero bikes to make the most of the UCI regulation changes with versatility also a top priority. Given the 34 mm tyre clearance, this will likely be the bike of choice for most Classics and one-day races.
Anouska Koster's Ridley Noah Fast 3.0 specs
Frame: Ridley Noah Fast 3.0
Wheels: DT Swiss ARC 1100 50mm
Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 with CeramicSpeed OSPW
Chainset: FSA K Force Road Team Edition Powerbox with Power2Max power meter 54/40
Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace/XTR M9100
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-R9200 11-34
Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-R9270
Tyres: Continental GP5000 S TR (rear 28mm), DT Swiss / Continental / Swiss Side Aero111 (front 26mm)
Handlebars: Deda Superleggera with Deda Superbox DCR (temporary measure)
Saddle: Prologo Nago R4 147 mm width
Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro
Bar tape: Deda Tape
Weight: 7,.9 kg (as shown, including temporary alloy handlebar and stem)
