Ridley Damocles

Price Paid:  $1299.00 at Competitive Cyclist

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Tour of the Battenkill

Bike Setup:
Campy Centaur Carbon with compact crank, 11/23 cassette. Williams 30x wheelset, FSA handlebars, stem, seatpost and Selle Italia Prolink saddle

Summary:
Frame is actually a 2008. Bought frame and built bike up. Review is based on carrying over components that I have used for a while and placing them on a new frame. I feel this allow me to make a review without bias agains the components.

I have done 150 miles since dialing in My Ridley and I have to say I am impressed. It is firm without being too rigid. There is no loading of the frame on corners and it takes off immediately when pressure is applied to the pedals. When I get out of the saddle and shift my weight forward to climb, the Damocles tracks straighter than other bikes I have ridden, there is simply no lateral twist at the head tube when weight is shifted over the handlebars for sprinting or climbing. Obviously, no sway at the bottom bracket When sprinting or climbing as well. Additionally, either the pavement in my area has miraculously healed itself or the Damocles is WAY smoother than what I am used to. I will not say it is lively but I will say it is responsive, compliant, comfortable and the bloody thing takes off like a rocket. DId I make a good choice? No doubt about it. I was worried after working tons of overtime that I would have wasted the money. Absolutely no need to worry here. This is one sweet ride

Strengths:
Handles precisely, accelerates better than I do, rides smoothly (very smoothly)Power at the pedal is transfered forward and nowhere else.

Weaknesses:
Will have to check my set up again, but it seems to have a tiny, tiny bit of resistance when first diving into a hard corner - I swing maybe 6" wider than I am used to. This may be a function of the seat tube angle and head tube angle being a bit more relaxed, so the weakness may be I don't know all the ins and outs of the way this otherwise phenominal frame rides.

Price Paid:  $1299.00 at Competitive Cyclist

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Rolling Hills around Bend Oregon

Bike Setup:
Dura Ace, FSA, Easton Wheels

Summary:
Frame is actually a 2009 - not a choice in the set up field. Damocles is stiff and very responsive. Seems to "jump" from under you when you sprint or put the power down on a climb. handling is phenomenal and the ride is very smooth for such a stiff frame. No road "buzz" what so ever, even on bad or rough roads

Strengths:
acceleration in sprints, handling, smooth ride, quality of construction and finish. This is a great design at a great price

Weaknesses:
1200G is a bit heavy, but the bike rides much lighter than actual weight

Similar Products Used:
Litespeed Titanium

Price Paid:  $1900.00 at Bikers Edge

Favorite Ride:
rollers

Bike Setup:
sram force groupo 2010, fsa carbon post, bar and stem.
chris king/dt swiss 32 hole rims, dura ace pedals

Summary:
Built this bike up for LOTOJA 09. Great bike, can't say enough good things. In the last year I have brought a few bikes to try to find the one. A new madone 5.2, time edge racer(still have great bike)and a steel seven custom. Well this bike kills them all. I am a big guy 6'1" 220 and man is this ride nice. Stiff in all the right places but comfy enough for long rides. Amazing for the price, flat out kills the madone in a lot of ways, handles better on the decent, also in the tight stuff. This bike just feels right on all surfaces, it wants to be abused. Great finish. The frames run large though, I ride a medium with a 110 stem.

Strengths:
light enough 15.6 # with my kit.
super strong, replaceable drop out and hanger\
just looks mean

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
06 madone 5.2, 08 madone 5.2, time edge racer

Price Paid:  $2200.00 at eBay

Model Year:
2006

Favorite Ride:
Western Wisconsin back roads

Bike Setup:
Small frame, Campagnolo Record seatpost, 10-speed shifters, derailleurs, brakes and crankset (39x53). Easton carbon bars, Specialized carbon stem (120mm). Easton EC90 Aero wheels, Michelin Pro2 Race tires, Fizik Arione saddle.

Summary:
I bought my Damocles, size small, on eBay a couple years ago basically with everything described in the Bike Setup section (Campy Record, some Easton) after getting the bug to have a carbon bike but 1) wanting something unique and 2) being unable to drop $5000 or more. I had been riding a very nice pre-Trek Klein Quantum Pro for years (compact aluminum with a carbon fork and rear carbon stays) equipped primarily with Dura Ace.

Compared to my Klein -- which also had carbon seatpost, stem and bars -- the Ridley offers a smoother ride, although it's not a night-and-day difference. Less road buzz. The Damocles felt very good, but I wasn't overwhelmed -- at first.

I'm a heavier rider (yeah, heavier than I ought to be by 15 pounds) at 5'8" and 175 pounds with a longer torso and shorter legs. The small fits me beautifully with a 120mm stem. A rider in this height range with normal upper-to-lower body proportions would do just fine with a shorter stem.

The more I rode it, the more it grew on me. I've done some 60+ mile rides on it and have never felt that it's too harsh. As other reviewers have noted, it's great when climbing. Especially when I'm out of the saddle, it feels as if the rear wheel just digs in with every pedal stroke. Ridden heads down into the wind, taken down fast descents -- the bike feels wonderful.

Strengths:
Stiff but still smooth enough, stable, great fit (for me), looks super, unique.

Weaknesses:
Not the lightest carbon frame available.

Similar Products Used:
> Klein Quantum Pro (aluminum w. carbon) w. Dura Ace
> Giant TCR 1 Carbon compact w. Dura Ace (small frame; felt too small and twitchy for me even after getting it setup for my build)

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Price Paid:  $2399.00 at Competitive Cyclist

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Rim To Rim - Palo Duro Canyon

Bike Setup:
FSA stem and carbon wing bars, SRAM Force shifters, 2009 SRAM Rival components everywhere else, Fulcrum Racing 7 wheelset, 53/39 cranks with 12/25 cassette, a few housebrand parts like bar tape, saddle, Alum. seatpost.

Summary:
This review is actually for a 2008 model. I have about 2500 miles on this bike as I write this. I have done climbing, road racing, crit's, and a 24 hour event on this bike and feel like I have a pretty well rounded experience on it. Competitve Cyclist was great to deal with. Two day shipping to Texas by UPS ground. The packaging was awesome and arrived in great shape. Minimal assembly required; well within my limited mechanical abilities. Once it was all together, I found everything to be dialed in an functioning perfectly. I was so impressed with the paint and finish on this frame. Ridley has really put some time and quality control into the final finish of their product. I get alot of comments on the appearance of the bike. I have the red-white-black color scheme. It appears that most of the "badging" on the frame is actually painted reather than stickers. The through-the-headtube cable routing gets alot of notice as well and gives a clean look up front. As with many carbon bikes, the aggressive tube shaping looks pretty cool. This frame is very quiet on rough pavement as well, and I find myself not searching for the smoothest line on chip seal like I do on my aluminum and steal bikes. The in house branded saddle is the best I have ridden in a long time. No numbness, and the saddle sore I developed last year has disappeared since getting this bike. The saddle already looks like it has 10,000 miles on it with the silver sections wearing off, but it is still structurally sound. The Damocles steers very precisely. It has the larger lower headset bearing for added stiffness up front. I have to pay attention to my steering in a tight pack. It is not twitchy, it just immediately goes where you point it. This has resulted in me descending with alot more confidence. Absolutely no shimmy at high speeds, and I am carrying up to 2 mph more speed through curves. Bottom bracket stiffness lives up to what you'd expect from a high end carbon frame. I get up to speed from a stop, respond to accellerations in a race, and climb at 2 or 3 beats per minute less than on my other bikes, and this is with the heavy Fulcrum 7's that came on the bike. The effect is even more pronounced when I throw on my race wheels and shed 500 grams. The bike absolutely jumps beneath you when you put on the power on a climb, allowing you to open a quick gap on a climb that is hard for those on your wheel to respond to quickly. The fit of this bike is the best I have ever had. It is my first full compact design frame, though I have had sloping top tube frames. Ridley's tend to run large. I am 6' 3 1/2", and bought a size Large with a 120mm stem. The compact handle bars and long head tube allow me to spend alot more time in the drops with total comfort. That is a big benefit where I live since the wind is usually blowing 15-25 mph on any day. This is my first non-Shimano experience, and I find the SRAM hoods to be too small and narrow, resulting in hand numbness. A change of gloves and hood positioning has helped. Double Tap shifting took a little time to adapt to, but I now shift it just as naturally as the STI. I really like the upshifting. It is just click it and forget it. The down shifting is not as precise and requires you to move the lever further than on STI to complete the shift. This originally resulted in some missed shifts, but I have adjusted and have no real problem with it now. It's just not as seamless as on STI. The Rival brakes are great with no fade on descents and a very strong response. I have had an issue with both the bottom bracket/crank arms and the headset loosening. This is my first all carbon frame. Others I ride with that have been carbonized for along time say this is common for a carbon frame. It is easily enough fixed. Just slightly irritating. Competitive Cyclist is already running out of these, but if you can get the right size, I'd highly recommend the Damocles. This full bike deal is hard to beat for a pro level ride.

Strengths:
Stiffness, compiant ride, precise steering, sprinting, climbing, exceptional fit, paint and finish.

Weaknesses:
Bottom bracket and headset adjustment. Heavy stock wheels. Double Tap shifting takes some getting used to. No trim adjustment on front derailleur.

Similar Products Used:
Nishiki, Cannondale, Paterek, Jamis, Cervelo