Q&A

A comfortable Ridley

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Parent Category: Q&A

Category: Q&A Bicycles

Published on Friday, 09 September 2011 07:00

Written by Luca Salvatelli

I have 5 years old bike Merida with aluminium frame and weight of 9 kg. Since a couple of years I suffer of back pain, luckily not acute, lower back. The bike itself is not causing me pain, just after much uphill.

Now I would like to change the aluminium frame with a more comfortable one. The salesman advised me a Ridley Orion Ultegra, or, better, but spending a lot more, going on Cannondale. Not knowing the brand Ridley would like your opinion. In your tests you speak very well in terms of comfort, but according to you, this comfort, can benefit those with back problems? What do you recommend, I can make a reasonable and sensible purchase with Ridley, or will the case take a frame of high price otherwise you might as well keep the aluminium? And, if Ridley, may be just the XS (480x525) as indicated by their tables, instead of S (510x545)? Thanks for the reply.

Signed letter

The Ridley Orion is certainly a good bike for comfort and certainly better than your actual bike. Size XS is the best for you. Also in the range Ridley advise you, for comfort, quality and reliability, the Excalibur Flandrien model, designed for the races of Northern Europe, that will ensure optimum comfort. For the Orion can also adopt 28 mm tires, inflated to 6 bar, then it may take Flandrien 4ZA wheels, which are really good for comfort, as well as very reliable. If you want, but leave the brand Ridley, the models should target Bianchi Infinito and Specialized Roubaix SL3, or Cannondale Synapse. The value for the price of Ridley is still slightly higher than the models listed above and in general Ridley is unmatched in quality and technology of its products. Finally, the most important question, do not need an expensive frame for improved comfort, but you must choose a good frame and good components, it not is said that these are the most expensive. If you have back problems a comfortably good frame certainly improves the situation and relieves pain. The improvement is proportional to the quality of comfort of the bike, in milder cases may disappear altogether or significantly relieve the most serious cases.