We already obtained an excellent up-close preview of the brand new Ridley Kanzo Quick 2.0 aero gravel bike at Eurobike. It was fitted there with 55mm tires, already a major improve since its first era six years in the past. However now that it has formally launched, we see that max tire clearance is a whopping 58mm huge, or 2.3″ in mountain bike tire phrases. And it manages that with race-ready geometry and full 2x drivetrain compatibility. May this bike redefine what gravel bike racers select on the startline?
2026 Ridley Kanzo Quick 2.0 fat-tire aero gravel race bike
Gravel racing is actually getting sooner. And whereas among the programs (like current Worlds tracks) appear moderately tame from a technical perspective, many different occasions are getting rougher and extra demanding. Because the competitors ratchets up, racers want sooner bikes. However they actually must be extra technically succesful, too.
Ridley’s resolution is to mix street race-inspired aerodynamics and drivetrain functionality with large tire clearance that wouldn’t have been misplaced on an XC race bike just a few years in the past. Now riders can simply decide from all of the tires on the market, optimizing for the circumstances of every racecourse. As a result of actually any gravel tire will match on this bike. And lots of XC mountain bike tires, too!
Fats tire aerodynamics & velocity
From a tech perspective, we already hit many of the highlights again in July with our Eurobike sneak peek of the brand new bike. Ridley took every little thing they realized about making final 12 months’s Noah Quick 3.0 sooner by pushing the boundaries of the latest UCI body design packing containers, and utilized it to the Kanzo Quick 2.0 with a lot larger tire clearance.
Their in-house wind tunnel testing even confirms that with the identical wheels & tires, v2.0 is 2W sooner than the first-gen for the bike solely, and 13W sooner with a rider. Then, they examined the brand new bike with 38mm vs. 55 mm tires. The narrower tires have been simply 6W extra aerodynamic. However Ridley assures that on tough gravel, the decrease rolling resistance would greater than offset that distinction.
Plus, simply mix the brand new 2.0 bike with 55mm tires and a rider vs. the first-gen bike with 38mm tires, and the brand new setup is clearly extra aerodynamic. And can be even sooner when rolling resistance comes into play.
What all is new?
The identical deep aero headtube extension connecting high & down tubes, and the identical dropped seatstay design that spreads huge across the rear tire like the brand new Noah Quick. Even the identical large connection above the underside bracket, from the aero downtube to the rear wheel cutout within the seattube. And but the brand new bike’s body can be 150g lighter, presumably making a medium body ~1040g.
The large tires additionally necessitated a geometry replace to retain agile dealing with. The brand new bike will get extra backside bracket drop and revised fork offset to account for the change in top by transferring to tires that obtained taller on the similar time they obtained wider. However surprisingly, Ridley was nonetheless capable of maintain the identical 425mm brief chainstays.
We initially thought the brand new bike would return to 2x compatibility, because of what seemed like a braze-on-style mount for the adjustable Wolf Tooth chainguide. However Ridley confirms that the brand new Kanzo Quick 2.0 remains to be 1x-only. And a Categorised hub goes to be your solely choice in the event you want tighter gearing steps.
The brand new Kanzo Quick 2.0 additionally strikes away from a D-shaped design to a deep full-aero wing seatpost inherited from the Noah Quick 3.0. However the gravel race bike makes use of a pair of grub screws from the again to carry the publish in place, not an inner wedge-style clamp for a extra strong clamp resolution.
And the brand new body now additionally will get inner body storage, by way of a pleasant huge opening very low within the downtube the place it doesn’t have an effect on the mounting level for the principle downtube bottle cage.
Why such huge tires for gravel racing within the first place?
58mm tire clearance is a reasonably large step up from the 42mm of the unique Kanzo Quick. However actually, that’s greater than only a technical replace. It’s a elementary shift in how gravel racing is continuous to evolve. When the primary Kanzo Quick debuted in 2020, high-speed gravel racing was nonetheless just about reserved to smoother gravel roads and road-style peloton racing. There have been, in fact, already loads of technically troublesome gravel races on the time. And plenty of tough ultra-distance gravel races. However the common speeds on these occasions have been usually so much decrease, and fewer top-level athletes have been combating for these wins.
However now, even the tough gravel races are attracting extra expertise, extra competitors, and the speeds are going up. A lot in order that aerodynamics now performs a a lot larger function. Till lately, for this sort of racing – suppose Traka or Unbound as examples – racers have needed to decide both a sooner aero setup or a extra forgiving fat-tire or suspension setup. Both undergo for aerodynamic good points, or sacrifice just a few Watts to enhance grip, management & consolation. This new Kanzo Quick 2.0 says you don’t have to make that trade-off.
Tech particulars
Extremely Hello Mod carbon aero gravel body
large 58mm / 29 × 2.3” gravel or MTB tire clearance
totally built-in inner cable routing via the headtube
lifetime CeramicSpeed SLT headset bearings
inner body storage, with two padded device/spares baggage included
recessed toptube bag mounts, plus standard bottle cage mounts inside the principle triangle solely
proprietary deep aero seatpost
ONLY 1x drivetrain appropriate, however electronic-only
56T max chainring clearance
UDH on the rear; detachable braze-on mount up entrance – swappable for a mini chainguide
12mm thru-axles & flat mount disc brakes
PressFit BB86 backside bracket
custom-fit Curana full-coverage fenders obtainable aftermarket
4 sizes (XS-L)
2026 Ridley Kanzo Quick 2.0 – Pricing, choices & availability
Ridley affords their new Kanzo Quick 2.0 now in simply 4 body sizes (XS-L). Though, it truly is a a lot wider match vary than the earlier era, primarily based on body Attain & Stack.
The brand new gravel race bike is obtainable in three inventory builds, or may be totally custom-made of their on-line bike builder device.
Framesets begin from round 4500€, and may even be semi-custom-painted in Ridley’s on-line {custom} configurator.
Full bikes begin at 5500€ With SRAM Rival Xplr 1×13, normal Forza Skiron CG40 carbon wheels and the older Cirrus Professional cockpit. At 7000€ you get a Power Xplr drivetrain, and improve to the 1350g carbon-spoke Skiron RS wheels (27mm inner x 50mm deep) and a brand new Nimbus Professional cockpit. Or go all-in with the 11,700€ SRAM Crimson Xplr construct with deep DT Swiss GRC 1400 wheels and the Nimbus Professional bar.
Or customise your bike and construct on-line now – with a lot extra drivetrain and part choices – and decide it up at an area Ridley seller inside 8 weeks.
Ridley-bikes.com
