Ridley Release New Raft and Probe RS XC Bikes

Oct 7, 2022
by Henry Quinney  
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Ridley, much like their home country of Belgium, are perhaps a lot better known for their road and cyclocross exploits than their mountain bike range. However, they've released two new models to their range that, while far more suited to cross-country than more extreme forms of riding, are by far the most progressive off-road bikes Ridley have released.

The refreshed range is made up of two models: the Raft and the Prone RS. The former being a short travel 29” XC race bike, and the latter being a hardtail.

The Raft

The Raft, according to Ridley, “absolutely shreds on rough and rowdy trails.” Which, even with the new wave of certified downcountry-fied short travel bikes seems somewhat out-there. In fact, a lot of the language used to describe the Raft could have been pulled straight from a Brett Tippie interview.

The bike will be available in a 100 mm XC version and a 120 mm TR version. They run the same frame, and tweak the shock stroke length between 40 or 45 mm to give different amounts of travel. The TR version sports a 120 mm fork and a head angle of 66.6 degrees, whereas the XC model has a 100 mm fork and a head angle nearly a degree steeper.

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Changing the axle-to-crown length on any bike will tip the frame upwards and backwards, resulting in a slackening of the seat tube angle. The Raft is no different, and the 0.9-degree change in the head angle between the two models is repeated in the seat tube angle, with 75.1 and 76-degrees respectively.

The bike uses a flex-stay rear end, and makes use of seat stays without a bridge to give ample clearance.

The frame weighs a claimed 1750 grams for a medium, and the TR model in a size large with an XX1 build weighs a claimed 11.5 kg.

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The frame also has mounts, and rather a lot of them. In all sizes but small, there are five individual mounts on the downtube, two on the seat tube and then an additional set on the top tube.

The Raft comes with SRAM’s universal derailleur hanger and will be available in stock in Spring 2023, and available in Ridley’s online configuration tool from January.



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The Probe RS

The other new release is the Probe RS hardtail. The bike, Ridley says, uses their Advanced Position Geometry, which gives the bike the best weight bias for tackling steep and technical climbs.

Similar to the Raft, the Probe is compatible with both 100 and 120 mm forks. The weight for an unpainted size medium is a rather svelte 760 grams. The Probe RS is equipped with a total of 3 bottle cage positions: two inside the front triangle and one under the down tube, and uses a universal derailleur hanger and has flat mount brakes, a BB92 and an integrated headset.

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The Probe has the same lead times as the Raft for both stock and availability in Ridley’s configurator, and can be expected in early 2023. For more information please visit ridley-bikes.com

Author Info:
henryquinney avatar

Member since Jun 3, 2014
322 articles

61 Comments
  • 65 1
 Selling a hardtail called the probe gives away the intentions of the bike a bit too well. Does it come with a saddle?
  • 15 0
 Were you around in the '80s when Ford released the Probe 'sports car'? Things got a bit silly.
  • 20 2
 @thomasjkenney1024: I’ll preface with I have the mental maturity of 13 year old.
Say “anal” in from if most Ford vehicles for a giggle. IE: Anal Probe, Anal Ranger. . .
  • 17 1
 @sunringlerider: anal escort, anal focus, anal fiesta.......
  • 12 1
 @sunringlerider: anal explorer, anal mustang, anal territory
  • 14 1
 @sunringlerider: anal ranchero and anal expedition...
  • 7 1
 @sunringlerider : why limit yourself to ford... anal dart, anal gremlin, anal ram
  • 5 1
 @scallywagg: anal escape
  • 2 0
 Might as well make it look like session...for aliens.
  • 4 1
 @sunringlerider: This is commonplace in our household, but with camper trailer names, i.e. Anal Hideout, Anal Wolfpack, etc.
  • 11 1
 @BEERandSPOKES: an anal session?
  • 1 2
 Carbon post. Nothing like a 6” carbon splinter in you arse when it breaks.
  • 3 0
 lol - my wife & I do this with campers and RV's
  • 1 1
 @scallywagg: oh that’s good. Anal challenger. Anal charger.
  • 3 1
 Anal Headset Cable Routing.

I was liking the Raft until I saw that @$$#%^%^&!!!

By Odin's Spear I hope this trend dies soon.
  • 1 0
 @sunringlerider: You are an ahole. I already do it with RV trailers. Now I have a new giggle. Apparently I am 50 going on 12.
  • 3 0
 @sunringlerider: can’t believe nobody mentioned the anal Raptor.
  • 2 0
 Make sure your Probe is well lubed before you ride in the mud.
  • 4 0
 @sunringlerider: Y'all forgot the baddest of them all and the fave of many suburban soccer moms - The anal excursion.
  • 1 0
 @sunringlerider: best one yet,....Anal Kouga
  • 19 0
 Did Ridley consult @mikelevy when wondering how many bottle mounts to offer? That Raft has more than the original Grim Donut drawing
  • 20 0
 It takes a special breed of psychos to come up with partial headset routing.
  • 8 0
 At least they didn't route the rear brake through it. This way, you at least have the option of going with a wireless shifter and dropper to get rid of the headset routing. It's definitely not a good design, but they could have done worse. This is actually how I've been expecting manufacturers to use the headset routing.
  • 4 0
 This totally disqualifies it from consideration from me. Next!
  • 2 0
 @DaneL: “if they go wireless, no headset routing at all” is only one step away from “let’s not bother with headset routing at all” so maybe there’s hope now
  • 2 0
 @aireeek: surely partial routing allows for partial consideration.......just a partial thought
  • 17 0
 I love it when Road bike brands make Mountain bikes and through around all the buzzwords when they market them.

“Absolutely shreds on rough and rowdy trails.”

More like "How do you do, fellow mountain bikers?"
  • 35 0
 My name's Ridley bikes and I'm here today To teach all you kids about the Mountain Bike Way I'm the raddest newcomer on the scene Since Scott dropped the Spark in 2016 Progressive geometry is way overrated Better stick with design cues that are allegedly outdated Absolutely shreds on trails that are rough and rowdy Even if my angles are looking kinda dowdy Listen up y'all to this hot lesson I'm about to teach There's way more to life than having super long reach Don't believe the hype about short seat tubes With a saddle in your ass your can still pwn all the noobs The most important choice you don't wanna regret Make sure your route your cables through your sealed headset Top it all off with some carbon copy flex stays And that's how you do the Mountain Bike Way
  • 1 0
 They definitely through those words around.
  • 1 0
 @caltife: FARKING gold
  • 8 0
 Canyon called, they want the neuron molds back.
  • 4 0
 You're right, that's quite a bit. Maybe the next feature for the industry is a swat water bottle (swater?) system. Possibly route the drinking tube internally through frame, and out through the headset.
  • 6 0
 Plenty of "cool" jargon in there, why not call them the "yeeeeeew" and "yeah boi" and be done with it.
  • 1 0
 better still why not the Jo' Hans and Jo'Hannes
  • 2 0
 Ridley Designer "hey the cool XC bikes have 3 bottle cage bolts on the top of the down tube and 2 on the bottom, we want to be cool and have 5 bottle cage bolts as well"
Ridley Design intern "Got it boss, 5 bottle cage bolts it is!"
  • 2 0
 Can't we just be happy and consider this bike a compensation for when a bike without bottle mounts is being released? I suggest Pinkbike does a long tern review making full use of the mounts. And then start moaning about a lack of internal frame storage. And of course reveal what the probe has discovered. And test how well the raft floats.
  • 3 0
 So if the frame is a flat mount brake, and the fork is a post mount brake…..are brake manufacturers going to get on the mullet bandwagon???
  • 2 0
 Dunno about riding a probe.... But the Raft looks good. Cervelo, take notes.
  • 2 0
 Riding a probe is rarely a personal choice. Perhaps Ridley are planning on just turning up and forcing people to take it.
  • 3 0
 My interview language is out there? Thank you?
  • 1 0
 yowsers 9 bottle cage bolts, thats a lot of weight saving opportunity

Cop: " why do yo have an M-16 mounted on the top tube sir..?"

Me: " Because I can...."
drops the Mike
  • 2 0
 How many water bottle bolts do you need?.....Yes.
  • 2 0
 All bikes without internal storage should come with tip tube mounts!
  • 1 0
 a Probe should always have a tip tube.....#justsaying
  • 1 1
 68.5 head angle on the Probe, yea OK, c'mon and get with the newer geometry. This is what happens when a road bike company makes a road bike for dirt.
  • 1 0
 the cervelo is worse
  • 1 0
 If Riddley comes with a strong price point this could be a contender.
  • 2 0
 That hardtail starts a 4,000 euro (fair spec) and tops out at 8,000 euros top spec. So about market standard pricing. I'm assuming 12,000 euro for top spec full sus. I wonder why all these road bike companies want to branch out to mountain bikes!?!
  • 1 0
 Probably prepping to cash in on the Ebb market bro@HardtailHerold:
  • 1 0
 How many water bottle mounts? Answer: ALL of the water bottle mounts!
  • 2 0
 Epic evo knock off??
  • 1 0
 If it's cheaper and/or better, I'm all for it!
  • 1 0
 @ryan77777: I doubt Ridley has made a bike better than the Epic Evo, this looks like a weak knock off
  • 1 0
 @ryan77777: spoiler: it’s not.
  • 1 0
 Why 5 bolts on the down tube?
  • 9 0
 exactly, why stop at 5 Smile
  • 1 0
 In frame storage for ants.
  • 1 1
 Looks like A Scalpel .... legitimately
  • 2 2
 I once saw Cartman from SouthPark get a probe.







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