Ribble Ultra SL R

UK brand unveils ‘world’s most aerodynamically advanced road bike’ after extensive research and says testing without a rider is ‘lying’

Claiming to have produced the ‘world’s most aerodynamically advanced road bike’ is pretty ballsy for a brand that only opened its own moulds in 2018. But that’s the benchmark Ribble says it’s achieved, and both the Ultra SL R and its Ultra handlebar are supported by reams of ‘rider on’ CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and wind tunnel testing data obtained at Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub.

The ‘rider on’ element was crucial in development and testing to provide truly relevant real-world data.

“Bikes don’t ride themselves,” notes Ribble CEO Andy Smallwood, “so we’d effectively be lying to the customer if we reported bike-only gains.”

Tests were run at 22mph, “a more relatable speed for amateur performance riders, like myself,” says Smallwood, as well as 29mph, since this will be the bike of both Drops-Le Col and Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling. All tests were completed across a yaw sweep from 0-20°, with optimisation focused between 5-10°.

Ribble claims that this bike and handlebar could offer a 75.1-second saving over 40km/25 miles (at 22mph), versus its own already optimised Endurance SLR aero bike, decreasing to 61.4 seconds for riders going faster (29mph) at an average of 5-10° of yaw.

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