For 2013, Ridley have four cyclo-cross platforms: X-Night, X-Fire, X-Ride and X-Bow. This is the X-Fire Ultegra Disc
X-Fire Disc’s fork is heavily reinforced at the lower legs
The X-Fire Disc’s huge bladed fork connects to the frame at a 1.5in lower bearing
Hayes CX Five discs provide X-Fire’s stopping power
Ridley have neat cable mounts along the 4ZA Oryx fork
Shimano Ultegra levers and rear derailleur feature on this $3,395 bike. The cassette and front derailleur are Shimano 105
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 tube
The rear shifter and brake housing pieces exit at the rear of the top tube, and drop down their respective seatstays
A close look at a tidy housing mount on a chainstay
While not as visually clean as internal routing, this external routing with full housing keeps the cables mechanically clean
The X-Fire’s disc brakes are mechanical, not hydraulic. And a short section of naked cable does pop out below the barrel adjuster
Similarly on the derailleur, the otherwise carefully protecting cable is exposed to the grime of cyclo-cross at its final junction
In a departure from traditional internal front derailleur cable routing, the X-Fire pops the housing out of the side of the down tube
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 upgrade
FSA’s SL-K Light 386 crank and a Shimano 105 derailleur are stock
A Shimano 105 chain runs from the 46/36-tooth chain rings back to the 12-27-tooth cassette
The X-Fire has a press-fit 30 bottom bracket, so Ridley use an adapter to convert down to the 386 cranks
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 wires
A rubber stopper on the chainstay awaits Di2 wiring
And a downtube Di2 port is also stock
Have Ridley told you that they are a Belgium company? Just ask the Prologo Zero II saddle
If you don’t believe the saddle, just ask the chainstay
The X-Fire comes with decent Velocity Handbuilt wheels and better-than-decent Clément PDX clinchers
The Crusade PDX mud tires are named for Portland’s often-mucky conditions
Another view of the Crusade PDX tire
A Ritchey WCS 4-Axis stem and Ritchey WCS Evo Curve handlebar provide the cockpit
Note how the tops bend back towards the rider on the Evo Curve
A Ritchey Carbon Pro seatpost
The X-Fire Disc has a tapered headtube, from a 1-1/8in top bearing down to a 1-1/2in lower
The X-Fire Disc does not weigh 24 tons. But the monocoque frame is made from relatively high-grade carbon fiber
Joining the swell of bike companies offering disc brakes on cyclocross bikes, Ridley choose to spec four of their six cyclo-cross bikes with mechanical discs. Ridley launched their top-end 2013 disc ’cross bike, the X-Fire Disc, at Boulder Cycle Sport in Colorado on Wednesday, and BikeRadar borrowed the bike for a closer examination.
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The 2013 X-Fire Disc comes in two spec options: Shimano Di2 Ultegra for $4,395 and mechanical Ultegra for $3,395. We looked at the latter.
With full-length shift and brake housing, plus Clément’s mud-specific PDX rubber, the X-Fire Disc looks ready for some truly epic ’cross conditions.
The bike comes dressed with Shimano’s Ultegra mechanical shifters and rear derailleur, with a Shimano 105 cassette, chain, and front derailleur. Clément’s PDX clinchers are mounted on Velocity Handbuilt wheels. Hayes CX-5 mechanical disc brakes, a Ritchey cockpit and an FSA K-Light crankset with 46/36 rings round out the package.
Ridley uses the same frame for the Di2 and the mechanical Ultegra bike, so upgrading to electric later is an option. As is becoming the standard, the rear wheel spacing is 135mm, so your 29er mountain wheel could be subbed in, or kept for spares in the pit.
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 wires:Ben Delaney/BikeRadar
Routing for the Di2 battery wires, should you decide to go electric
This is the first year Ridley has produced a disc cyclocross bike. Other disc options include the $2,695 X-Fire Disc Apex and the X-Ride Disc Apex. Ridley’s top-end bike, the $5,395 X-Night Red, is a cantilever bike.
To counteract the disc-brake forces, the X-Fire Disc’s 4ZA Oryx fork is designed with heavily reinforced lower legs. The X-Fire Disc’s huge bladed fork connects to the frame at a 1-1/2in lower bearing, and the steerer tube tapers up to a 1-1/8in upper bearing.
Hayes cx five discs provide x-fire’s stopping power:Ben Delaney/BikeRadar
The beefed up fork and Hayes CX Five mechanical caliper
