The Grifn RS is a brand new, lighter, quicker model of the Grifn all-road bike which has been round for just a few years now. We examined a Grifn again in 2022 and had been instantly impressed, so now it is time to see what the most recent iteration can do.
I attended the Grifn and E-Grifn launch occasion in Tarragona, Spain to experience the brand new Grifn RS which makes use of lighter, stiffer carbon fibre, decreasing the body weight and aiming to offering a quicker experience.
The Grifn RS is offered in each highway and gravel variations, however with the ability to experience each builds again to again actually helped me perceive what the bike brings to the desk and the sort of experience efficiency it supplies.
Ridley says the carbon gravel bike market phase is exploding for them proper now, with prospects these sorts of bikes as an improve or to fill the function of an all-rounder providing highway, gravel, and anything-else-you-can-think-of functionality.
The Grifn RS might be obtainable in six totally different builds, three highway and three gravel, with costs ranging from €4,999 by to €7,999. You might after all purchase a construct after which equip it for highway and gravel use your self together with your most popular wheels, tyres and parts.
Head to our Grifn RS information piece to experience all in regards to the new fashions.
Design and Aesthetics
Aesthetics-wise, the Grifn RS appears to be like good when arrange for both gravel or highway for me. The Ridley brand tends to fill a downtube effectively and and there’s a entire vary of customized colors to select from ought to prospects want. My black and gold Grifn RS take a look at bike seemed nice with the tan wall Corsa Pro tyres.
The body design would not function something particularly ‘on the market’; there are semi-angular tube profiles, dropped seat stays and an built-in Forza cockpit that retains issues just about bang on pattern for highway and gravel bikes proper now. Importantly I feel, the body appears to be like good with highway or gravel rubber fitted which is sweet. It would not appear like a gravel body with skinny highway tyres fitted when in highway mode. Wider inner wheel widths most likely assist right here, but it surely all helps visually.
I used to be fortunate sufficient to get assigned a Sram Force geared up Grifn RS gravel bike to experience, a 1X setup, completed off with DT Swiss ERC1400 wheels with Vittoria Terreno Dry Endurance tyres.
In the highway spec the Forza handlebar and stem remained in place however my bike had a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset fitted which supplied predictably stable efficiency. The similar DT Swiss ERC1400 wheels had been current fitted with Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres.
I’ve had the prospect to check the bike with two totally different tools configurations for each gravel and highway, however I feel it will be fairly simple to decide on the right drivetrain and tools configuration to cater to your terrain and the kind of using you need to do.
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Performance
I had the chance throughout the Grifn launch occasion to experience a Grifn RS in each highway and gravel setups again to again. This supplied an awesome comparability and perception into what the bike can supply. I used to be impressed, inside a brief house of time at how succesful the bike feels on each sorts of terrain.
The first experience I did on the Grifn RS was on the gravel model of the bike so it is smart to begin there. I put in the pedals on my Grifn RS gravel, and set my seatpost top and saddle angle and by chance issues felt just about spot on. The very first thing that jumped out rolling down the road was the very comfy attain and front-end place of my measurement small bike. It would not occur all that usually on take a look at bikes however when it does it’s extremely good and I used to be at house from the off.
The take a look at loop and terrain had been largely off-road and featured lots of dusty, fairly rocky trails and tracks. There had been additionally some deeper sandy sections together with common tarmac roads. There wasn’t a large quantity of elevation acquire and loss so the descents tended to be shallower and carrying pace and momentum was vital and an excellent take a look at for the bike.
I used to be just about in a position to bounce onto the Grifn RS gravel after just a few hours of sleep after a really delayed flight and simply get caught into the experience. I felt comfy on the bike instantly and the dealing with felt snappy and confidence-inspiring.
It is not an enormous shock given its twin use or all-road credentials that the Grifn RS sits within the extra nimble, racier finish of the gravel spectrum. It felt very succesful climbing and when using on the highway, however using off-road, threading it by tough rocky descents or braking exhausting into deep sandy corners on the loop it felt succesful and planted. The Terreno Dry Endurance tyres helped too, gripping effectively with out including a lot drag because of a really low profile centre.
It’s definitely a quick bike, I might see myself racing on it very simply, and as I’ll go on to debate, you could possibly set up some highway wheels and quick tyres and race on the highway with this bike. The 46T entrance chainring will present pace however could make gearing a contact massive for some riders who’re doing much more climbing, however that is a straightforward sufficient swap if desired.
It additionally ticks many of the packing containers when it comes to fascinating gravel options proper now for any such gravel bike. There’s a UDH rear hanger to get you out of bother, plus there are numerous body mounts for additional cages and body baggage. Ridley additionally let on that they’ve some aero-enhancing body baggage from Apidura on the best way that are wind tunnel examined and first noticed motion at Unbound a few years in the past.
Tyre clearance does max out at 42mm however this is not actually a motorbike designed with beefy 50mm gravel tyres in thoughts. I additionally appreciated the 5mm hex bolt used on the seatpost clamp, the bigger measurement is only a bit simpler to work with and makes the job much less faffy.
My final experience of the journey was on the Grifn RS highway setup, with Ultegra di2 geared up. The highway take a look at loop lined round 30 miles with about 2,500ft of elevation with an extended climb of round 20 minutes in addition to just a few different barely shorter climbs. This climbing supplied some fast-flowing descents to check the bike and some miles of flat, quick run in again to city. It just about had all of it so far as take a look at loops go.
I labored the toughest on this experience following Erica from Ridley who rode the E-Grifn and it was a wonderful take a look at. I wish to get cracking on when using any take a look at bike to actually see what it is about and did so right here.
This last experience on the Grifn RS platform all however confirmed its versatility for me. Again, I felt comfy from the off on my measurement small bike and as somebody who would not require a large attain on most bikes, I felt at house just about right away with the cockpit setup, although I might have most popular a narrower bar, notably when within the drops.
In a roadgoing setup, the Grifn RS delivers stable dealing with and I might push it into sweeping corners with confidence. The bike responded effectively when sprinting exhausting uphill or on the flat however will not present the stiffness and outright aggressiveness a extra thoroughbred race bike will. This stands to purpose as that is an all-road bike, not a race bike. It’s maybe a testomony to the on-road efficiency that I point out this level as with a quick set of wheels and tyres the Grifn RS actually does appear to supply glorious highway bike efficiency too.
Early Verdict
I really feel I’ve been in a position to get a reasonably clear thought about what the Grifn RS platform is about after just a few quick hours of using it, and with the ability to experience it on each sorts of terrain has been beneficial.
I used to be impressed after my take a look at rides with how effectively the Grifn RS carried out on each gravel and highway. Ridley appears to have a wonderful geometry platform for the Grifn and what it’s designed for. The RS takes that and provides additional pace and pleasure. I’m all for seeing simply how a lot the Grifn RS can take each on and off-road and precisely the place its limitations lie.
If you need one thing that might present sturdy efficiency on highway and gravel and possibly even cope with winter coaching duties I really feel the Grifn RS is not going to disappoint. It’s a enjoyable, succesful bike that may do lots and do it effectively.