The Helium frame is our ultra-gourmet bike. It’s simply at the highest level when it comes to stiffness to weight ratio. We’ve designed it to be as light as possible to tackle the longest, steepest climbs.続きを読む »
The Helium frame is our ultra-gourmet bike. It’s simply at the highest level when it comes to stiffness to weight ratio. We’ve designed it to be as light as possible to tackle the longest, steepest climbs. Yet it is stiff and durable enough to expertly handle the likes of André Greipel putting all his power on it in a sprint. Hence, weight as well as performance is built into this frame as it must satisfy the most demanding of our pro cyclists.
The Helium is not only built for the pros, but is designed for anyone who wants to pull everything out of their bike. It’ll help you to be fast on the climbs to grab those Strava KOM’s, fly on the flats and rolling terrain, and sprint like a pro. It’s also comfy enough to keep you motivated to ride long distances to tackle Gran Fondos.
About the Helium SLX
Helium SLX is the top of our ultra-gourmet Helium line of bikes. It’s the lightest frame of them all, barely tipping the scale at 750g for a size medium. It’s a mixture of 60/40/30-ton high-modulus carbon fibre. If vertical speed is your thing, this is the ideal bike for you. Simply tap on the pedals and up you go! It is also incredibly stable through high speed turns and descents.
Not ‘just a circle’
The Helium / Aura frame is at the absolute highest level when it comes to stiffness to weight ratio. We’ve designed it to be as light as possible (750g for SLX size M) to tackle the longest, steepest climbs. Yet still stiff and durable enough to take the likes of Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) putting his power on it in the Strade Bianche race. We’ve not just focused on weight but performance since it has to satisfy the most demanding of our pro cyclists.
It’s all in the tubing, especially with the Helium as it is easily our most complicated frame. The shape of the tubing has to be exact, including its tapering for selective lateral, vertical and horizontal stiffness. Some of these details can be seen when simply looking at the frame, such as the inner bulge of the chainstays for added lateral stiffness.
Don’t think that this stiff featherweight is losing its comfort. Its longer head tube adds that extra adjustability option for raising the handlebar a bit for a more comfortable riding position during the long distances. These details give the Helium / Aura that feeling of floating in air while maintaining the stiffness needed for exemplary power transfer.
Ridley Carbon
Here at Ridley, we set extremely high standards for ourselves. And it all starts with our choice of raw materials. We use only the best quality carbon available, sourced from Toray. They are the world’s leading carbon manufacturer, supplying mainly to the aerospace industry. The grades of high-modulus carbon we use vary from our most pliable 24-ton, which gives the frame flex and comfort, to 60-ton which is our stiffest.
When developing our carbon products, we strictly follow the principle of “form follows function”…down to the last detail. When creating a frame, we first analyse the exact function it needs to serve – how it will be used, how it needs to feel in every possible scenario. Next we design the shape of the frame, taking extreme care of the exact curves, lines and varying thickness of each tube. Lastly is the carbon layup. Combining the grades of carbons to get the exact feel of the bike is like piecing together the most intricate 3-D jigsaw puzzle. It usually involves hundreds of pieces of carbon, assembled in a few dozen layers.
Once this puzzle is complete, what you have is a piece of machinery that is perfectly tuned for its task at hand. Every single one of our carbon bikes exemplifies this extreme attention to detail.