For 2013, Ridley have four cyclo-cross platforms: X-Night, X-Fire, X-Ride and X-Bow. This is the X-Fire Ultegra DiscBen Delaney/BikeRadar
X-Fire Disc’s fork is heavily reinforced at the lower legsBen Delaney/BikeRadar
The X-Fire Disc’s huge bladed fork connects to the frame at a 1.5in lower bearingBen Delaney/BikeRadar
Hayes CX Five discs provide X-Fire’s stopping powerBen Delaney/BikeRadar
Ridley have neat cable mounts along the 4ZA Oryx forkBen Delaney/BikeRadar
Shimano Ultegra levers and rear derailleur feature on this $3,395 bike. The cassette and front derailleur are Shimano 105Ben Delaney/BikeRadar
Continuous pieces of housing run from the shifters to the derailleurs and the brakes. The rear shifter and brake housing enters the bottom of the top tubeBen Delaney/BikeRadar
The rear shifter and brake housing pieces exit at the rear of the top tube, and drop down their respective seatstaysBen Delaney/BikeRadar
A close look at a tidy housing mount on a chainstayBen Delaney/BikeRadar
While not as visually clean as internal routing, this external routing with full housing keeps the cables mechanically cleanBen Delaney/BikeRadar
The X-Fire’s disc brakes are mechanical, not hydraulic. And a short section of naked cable does pop out below the barrel adjusterBen Delaney/BikeRadar
Similarly on the derailleur, the otherwise carefully protecting cable is exposed to the grime of cyclo-cross at its final junctionBen Delaney/BikeRadar
In a departure from traditional internal front derailleur cable routing, the X-Fire pops the housing out of the side of the down tubeBen Delaney/BikeRadar
The front derailleur cable is exposed at a critical, high-slop area in front of the rear wheel. For use in muddy conditions, Gore’s Ride-On sealed shift kit could be a useful upgradeBen Delaney/BikeRadar
FSA’s SL-K Light 386 crank and a Shimano 105 derailleur are stockBen Delaney/BikeRadar
A Shimano 105 chain runs from the 46/36-tooth chain rings back to the 12-27-tooth cassetteBen Delaney/BikeRadar
The X-Fire has a press-fit 30 bottom bracket, so Ridley use an adapter to convert down to the 386 cranksBen Delaney/BikeRadar
While you can’t switch to caliper brakes on the X-Fire Disc, you can switch to a Shimano Di2 drivetrain, as the frame is prepped for internal routing of the wiresBen Delaney/BikeRadar
A rubber stopper on the chainstay awaits Di2 wiringBen Delaney/BikeRadar
And a downtube Di2 port is also stockBen Delaney/BikeRadar
Have Ridley told you that they are a Belgium company? Just ask the Prologo Zero II saddleBen Delaney/BikeRadar
If you don’t believe the saddle, just ask the chainstayBen Delaney/BikeRadar
The X-Fire comes with decent Velocity Handbuilt wheels and better-than-decent Clément PDX clinchersBen Delaney/BikeRadar
The Crusade PDX mud tires are named for Portland’s often-mucky conditionsBen Delaney/BikeRadar
Another view of the Crusade PDX tireBen Delaney/BikeRadar