Kanzo Fast
vsNoah Fast
Same surname, completely different jobs.
The Kanzo Fast is the Noah's gravel cousin — same aero DNA, wider tires, slacker numbers. The Noah Fast 3.0 is a UCI-rule-bending pure road weapon.
Kanzo Fast
- Genuine aero gains for gravel — Ridley's 17-watt claim over a non-aero gravel bike is backed by reviewer consensus on hardpack speed.
- Massive build flexibility — seven build paths, a 42-color configurator, and Classified-hub compatibility for a 2x range without a front derailleur.
- Surprisingly versatile — mudguard mounts, road-wheel-friendly geometry, and a 1x setup that doubles as a winter trainer or fast commuter.
- 42 mm tire clearance caps how technical you can ride before the bike runs out of room.
- Stiff frame transmits bigger hits; comfort holds on hardpack but degrades on chunky trails.
Noah Fast
- Genuinely felt aero — Cycling News called it the first bike that 'actually felt aero,' and it handles brilliantly at speed.
- Forward geometry without the handling penalty — Ridley shifted the bottom bracket back to keep weight balance honest behind the steeper seat tube.
- Strong value at the top end — roughly €3,000 below a Colnago Y1Rs while delivering close-to-Dogma-F handling.
- Hyper-aggressive position and 36 cm hood width rule the bike out for many riders.
- Single build option in the catalog right now — no entry-level path in.
Editor’s analysis
Ridley reused the Noah Fast's wind-cheating shapes and built a gravel race bike around them — but a decade of rule changes means the road sibling has since gone somewhere the gravel one can't follow.
Ridley says it openly: the Kanzo Fast is the Noah Fast's tube shapes adapted to dirt. Same NACA-profiled tubes, same F-Wings, same fully integrated cockpit, same D-shaped seatpost. What changes is everything around them — wheelbase stretches, the head tube relaxes, and tire clearance opens up to 42 mm. It's the rare case where two bikes from one brand share genuine engineering, not just marketing language.
The Kanzo Fast is the more honest of the two. Reviewers from Granfondo to Cyclist Magazine consistently call it stiff, planted, and ruthless on hardpack — Ridley's claim of 17 watts saved over an ordinary gravel bike isn't far off the mark in the conditions it's built for. But the same testers agree on the limits: the lowered seatstays and seatpost soak high-frequency buzz, but the frame transmits bigger hits, and 42 mm caps how rough you can go before another bike makes more sense.
The Ridley Noah Fast 3.0 is something else entirely. Built around the latest UCI tube-profile rules, it has a head tube so deep Cycling News called it the most radical aero bike of the modern generation. The seat tube angle is roughly a degree steeper than the previous Noah Fast, the bottom bracket effectively shifted back, and consumer cockpits ship at a fixed 36 cm at the hoods. Two reviewers in two countries used the same word: bonkers. It's faster than it has any right to be, but it's also a bike that demands a specific body and a specific use case.
Put simply: the Kanzo Fast is a gravel race bike you can also commute and rip road loops on. The Ridley Noah Fast 3.0 is a road race bike you'd be foolish to ride for anything but going as fast as humanly possible on tarmac. They share a parent — they're not in the same conversation.
Where the builds differ.
Comparing our editor's-pick builds side-by-side. Winners highlighted row-by-row — lower price and weight, and the better-spec component, each mark a point.
Build variants & pricing
The Kanzo Fast lineup spans seven builds across SRAM, Shimano GRX, and Classified-hub options. The Noah Fast 3.0 currently ships in a single SRAM Force AXS 2x configuration.
MSRPs were not available in our catalog at the time of writing. Historic Granfondo and Cyclist Magazine tests put Kanzo Fast builds in the €3,300–€8,200 range; Cycling News tested a €8,799 Ultegra Di2 Noah Fast 3.0. Confirm current US pricing with Ridley before buying.
How they fit, how they steer.
Two sizes apart in label, but the same fit-picked size for the same rider — the Noah Fast 3.0's geometry runs longer than the Kanzo Fast at every nominal size. The Noah's 504 mm stack and 399 mm reach put the rider 59 mm lower and 19 mm further forward than the Kanzo's 563 / 380, with a steep 76° seat tube angle versus 73.5° on the Kanzo.
Which size should I buy?
Sizing differs sharply: the Noah Fast labels small as XS, the Kanzo as S — both are mid-range frames despite the different convention.
→These are starting points. Flexibility, riding style, and preferred position all shift the answer — if you’re between sizes, a professional fit beats a chart.
What the magazines said.
Published reviews from trusted cycling outlets. Click through for the full write-up.
Which one should you buy?
If your fast is on dirt, get the Kanzo Fast. If your fast is on smooth tarmac with a number on your back, get the Noah Fast 3.0.
Kanzo Fast
If you want one bike that can win a gravel race, double as a winter road trainer with a wheel swap, and wear mudguards in January, the Kanzo Fast does all three. The aero DNA pays off above 20 mph on hardpack — which is exactly where most modern gravel races live.
Noah Fast
If you spend your weekends in a peloton, race crits, or chase Strava KOMs on flat open roads — and you can hold an aggressive position for hours — the Noah Fast 3.0 is one of the most credible Dogma F alternatives money can buy. Anyone else will find the cockpit too narrow and the position too brutal.
Questions buyers actually ask.
Short answers to the things we get emailed about most often.
01Are the Kanzo Fast and Noah Fast actually related?
Yes — directly. Ridley designed the original Kanzo Fast around the Noah Fast's aerodynamic tube shapes, F-Wings, and integrated cockpit philosophy, then re-engineered the geometry and tire clearance for gravel. The current Noah Fast 3.0 is a clean-sheet redesign built around the latest UCI rules, so it has moved further from the Kanzo Fast than earlier generations — but the family lineage is still visible in the seamless head tube transition and integrated bar/stem.
02How fast is the Noah Fast 3.0 actually?
Reviewer language is unusually consistent: Cycling News called it the first bike they'd ridden that 'actually felt aero,' and CADE Media described holding speed without pedaling as 'bonkers.' Ridley leaned hard into the new UCI rules that allow larger tube profiles — the head tube alone is one of the most extreme in the category.
What that translates to in numbers depends on the rider, but in the comparison set Cycling News drew, it was placed alongside the Pinarello Dogma F and Colnago Y1Rs.
03Can I use the Kanzo Fast as a road bike?
Yes — and that's part of the pitch. Multiple reviewers note that swapping the stock 38–40c gravel tires for road tires (and ideally road wheels) turns it into a fast endurance road bike. The 1x drivetrain is the only real catch — you give up the close-ratio shifting of a 2x road groupset.
Mudguard mounts make it a credible high-speed commuter or winter training bike, which is rare for a dedicated aero gravel frame.
04What's the maximum tire clearance on each bike?
Kanzo Fast: 42 mm officially. Granfondo specifically called this 'limited for a gravel bike' — the seat tube sits close to the rear tire, capping the volume.
Noah Fast 3.0: 34 mm officially. Stock builds ship with 28c front / 30c rear Continental GP 5000 S TR, but the frame has room for 32c–34c if you want more comfort on rougher tarmac — the DT Swiss ARC 1400 wheels' 20 mm internal width is on the narrow side for 34c.
05Who is the Noah Fast 3.0 NOT for?
Anyone who isn't ready to commit to its position. Both reviewers we drew from — Cycling News and CADE Media — flagged the same issue: the geometry runs astronomically long and low, the integrated cockpit is fixed at 36 cm at the hoods (40 cm at the drops), and the steeper seat tube demands flexibility most amateur riders don't have.
If you want a road bike for fast group rides, gran fondos, or general fitness, look at the Cervélo S5, Canyon Aeroad, or even Ridley's own Astr RS instead.
06How does the Classified hub work on the Kanzo Fast?
The Classified Powershift hub is a 2-speed internal-gear rear hub that effectively replaces a front derailleur — you get the gear range of a 2x setup with the chain-line and aerodynamics of a 1x. Ridley offers it on multiple Kanzo Fast builds (Force AXS, Rival AXS), and reviewers including BikeRadar called it a game-changer for gravel.
It's a significant upcharge, but it's one of the few legitimate ways to get 2x range without giving up the aero and chain-retention benefits of 1x.
07What about durability with so much integration?
The frames themselves test as robust — reviewers across multiple Kanzo Fast generations and the new Noah Fast 3.0 reported no structural concerns. The catch is the integrated cable routing on both bikes: hose bleeds and stem swaps require partial disassembly, which means more shop time. CADE Media specifically flagged a 'crunching' noise from the Noah Fast 3.0's headset hose routing, which Ridley said is for the dealer to dial in at PDI.
The Kanzo Fast also collects mud in the fork-to-down-tube gap — keep it clean if you want to preserve the paint.
08What are sensible alternatives if neither is right?
On the gravel side, the Cervélo Aspero is the most direct race-oriented alternative to the Kanzo Fast — less overtly aero, more conventional in geometry. The Canyon Grail is another fast aero gravel option at a typically lower price.
On the road side, if the Noah Fast 3.0 is too extreme, the Ridley Astr RS is the brand's more balanced aero-endurance option — still fast, much friendlier fit.
Similar bikes
If your priorities don’t map cleanly onto either of these, one of these adjacent bikes probably fits better.
Aspero
Cervélo's race-gravel platform — less overtly aero than the Kanzo Fast but with a sharper, more conventional race geometry. The pick if you want a Cervélo-built gravel race bike without the 1x-only aero commitment.
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Grail
Canyon's aero-gravel answer — integrated cockpit, fast tube shapes, direct-to-consumer pricing that typically lands well below the Kanzo Fast. The catch is no local dealer and no demos.
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Astr RS
If the Noah Fast 3.0's geometry feels like too much, the Astr RS is Ridley's more balanced aero road bike — still fast, far friendlier fit, and a much shorter list of caveats for non-pro riders.
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