Ridley has announced the arrival of a new iteration of its Dean Fast time trial bike. The Dean has been Ridley’s time trial offering for several years and the brand has now released the latest version during the Glasgow World Championships where it should see action in the time trial events.
We spotted Lotto-Dstny riders Victor Campenaerts and Thomas De Gendt riding what looked like prototype Ridley time trial bikes at the Critérium du Dauphiné during the stage four time trial. We assumed the new bike would be a new version of the Dean with Ridley’s announcement now confirming that. Caleb Ewan was also spotted riding a prototype Ridley road bike at races this summer including the Tour de France.
Ridley says the new bike has been developed from the ground up using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis and wind tunnel testing sessions. Aiming to achieve the least drag and maximum speed whilst adhering to the relevant UCI regulations.
We have seen a lot of new and different frame designs and shapes since the UCI revised its 3:1 rule which pertained to the length and width ratio of certain components. The new Dean Fast is no different. The updated 8:1 ruling in place now means that in a nutshell, riders can benefit from more aerodynamic (and visually more striking) frame designs.
Increased length-to-width ratios allow certain components to be elongated enhancing aerodynamics overall. The brand says compensation triangles have been used in the bike’s design to minimize drag. Ridley cites the bike’s deep head tube profile as a good example of this, the deeper head tube shape can help eliminate turbulence behind the head tube of the frame.
According to Ridley, CFD modelling was used during development to identify effective frame designs that would minimise drag at around 55km/h or 35mph. Since this bike is going to see action in the WorldTour, it’s safe to assume pro riders spend plenty of time at speeds like this on their TT bikes. Ridley then took these designs to its Bike Valley wind tunnel and innovation hub where time was spent refining the bike and its aerodynamics. Ridley claims a stiff and well-handling bike was also a priority, the stiff carbon fibre frame is said to help with power transfer whilst creating a stable platform to maximise performance.
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