Ridley Crossbow vs Ridley Crosswind

[Mads Kock]

Is it worth the money to buy the more expensive Crosswind? It's lighter which is a really good thing but does the frames have the same "riding-style"?

Thanks for some advices!!!

[Müsing]

Hi Mads,
why don't you have a look at www.occp.de. They sell nice and durable crossframes which are handmade and light as well. I have one and I am really happy with it.

[Mads Kock]

Hallo and thanks!

I have looked at the OCCP frame (429 euro and 1630 grams) and it looks nice but has the same weight as the Crossbow (339 euro and about 1590 grams) but cost almost the same as the Crosswind (539 euro and 1400 grams)!

Besides that the OCCP only comes in 52cm and I need a 48cm so it's not an option!

[Mads Kock]

Simon or Boonen - any golden words???

[simon]

hello mads
i rode crosswind frames last season and they are very good. i don't know about the crossbow frame. i think this year the crosswind has easton tubes. be careful with real weights at ridley, they add very much paint and because they have a lot of different designs, the paint quantity may vary. x-night is supposed to be 1190 grams, my is 1450(56 c-c). what i would really go for is the fork, i don't know a fork that rigid and light(398 grams uncut, 30 cm).

[Mads Kock]

Thanks Simon - I have decided to go with the Crosswind frame and now after your review the Phyton forks. I hope that I can get the black Crosswind frame - look really cool!

BTW - I read about you in Frichtknechts diary! HOW COOL IS THAT TO HAVE YOUR NAME MENTIONED BY HIM??? Hope you'll do well in this season!

[Boonen]

Hi Mads, It looks like you already made you choice, just wanted to say I think you made the right one IMO the crosswind is a very nice frame and the Phyton fork is one of the very best light weight forks you can get for cross. A friend of mine switched from the more expensive supercross to the crosswind and thinks it rides better (both 2006 models).
I think the crosswind is definetly worth the extra money over the crossbow when you have it. The geometry is the same but the crosswind is lighter and looks to be made more special with shaped tubes. Just my 2ct.

Hæld og lykke

[Mads Kock]

Tak Christian!

Nice to hear it from both experts! I'm sure now to go for the Crosswind with Phyton forks. What is the talk about integrated headset being really bad for cross - is this true?

[Oswald]

I have the Crossbow. I like it a lot, it's a fast, easy to handle bike. But the top tube should have been half a cm longer for me. My toes can rub the front tubular in tight corners when I keep pedaling.

[Mads Kock]

I have a normalt Shimano Ultegra (BC and Octalink) 68/108,5mm - can I use this with the XTR crankset?

[Boonen]

What is the talk about integrated headset being really bad for cross - is this true?

It isn't nescessarily bad, it just needs more maintenance to keep it clean and working properly as dirt can get in more easy than in a standard headset. The nice thing about the ridleys is the headset is fitted with cups inside the frame, so if anything should go really wrong you can just change the cup and you won't ruin the frame. It is the frame's with bearings pressed in the headtube itself that give the most trouble. (I have seen a couple of these go bad when people have ridden them too long with a loose headset)

[Mads Kock]

Anyone actually has a picture of the different 2005 models? I'm interested how they look if not build like on the Ridley homepage!!!!

THANKS!!!!!

[711977]

Hi

On the Ridley homepage you can see the frame only also (if you click on the magnifying glass next to the frames)

But here's a picture of a Rings (same frame) and I think it's a really nice bike, not so expensive either. I hope the picture works....

[Mads Kock]

Thanks - nice looking bike! Is that Rings frame the same as a Ridley Crosswind? What is the price of a Rings frame??

The blue looks really nice but I have decided to go with the standard silver/white/black/red/whatever colored the Ridley Crosswind. The allblack had a delievery of 5-6 weeks and I maybe think it will be too boring with allblack!

What cranks do you have and what size chainrings/cassette do you use?

[711977]

Yes it's the same frame. Ridley does a lot of LBS "brands" Rings also have the crossbow. But it is not my bike. They build it up for one of theire sponsored riders.

Price is euro 819. I don't know if it is the same as Ridley (I presume they are).

Big chainring is TA (44 or 46 don't know because it's not my bike). All the rest is 105.

Bas