Ridley Bikes Is Sold Out of the Carbon Fiber Ignite SLX, but Google Can Still Find You One

Folks, the machine before you is known as the Ignite SLX. It’s a carbon hardtail MTB from a cycling team with a sizeable presence in the cycling industry, Ridley Bikes. This crew initially saw its beginning in 1997, and while they entered an industry already dominated by names like Specialized, Trek, and Bianchi, they still managed to rise to the top to be seen alongside other greats.

One way we can see how they achieved such a feat is to take a look at one of their machines, and I chose the Ignite because people seem to be drooling over it; time to see what the fuss is all about and how you too could possibly get your hands on a unit.

First of all, a few things make the Ignite SLX what it is, and one of those features is its all-carbon frame. To shape the frame, Ridley is using their proprietary “Essential Series” Toray carbon fiber. Anything more than this, the manufacturer’s website does not specify. But, if you’re curious about how much the frame weighs, the medium size comes in at 990 grams (2.18 pounds). All cables are also routed internally, leading to a spotless bike.

Ridley also mentions that this bike is tuned with an MTB geometry. To get a feel for what to expect, let me point out that the medium bike features a 70-degree head tube angle, a 73.5-degree seat tube angle, a reach of 418 mm (16.46 in), and chainstays of 430 mm (16.9 in). The wheelbase is 1,100 mm (43 in) long. It looks like a bit of Ridley’s road bike heritage seeped its way into this bike, too; everything looks nice and tight.

Now, standard, the SLX is shown as featuring a Shimano Deore drivetrain tuned to a 1x12-speed drivetrain. It also includes a Deore M6100 cassette with Hyperglide+ and 10-51T. Vittoria Barzo tires bring some vibration attenuation. However, upon finding a spec sheet, I was also able to extract info like the maximum fork travel of 100 mm (3.9 in), brake rotor limit of 180 mm (7.1 in), and that it can also accommodate 29 in tires, but that depends solely on your fork. All that sounds very XC-like, and it is. Oh, the geometry is starting to make sense.

Even though this machine is sold out on the manufacturer’s website and quite a few other retailers, I still found some bikes being sold in local family-owned shops. The lowest price I’ve seen so far is 2,300 USD (2,078 EUR at current exchange rates).

However, if you choose to go through the configurator on Ridley’s website, you’ll still be able to get a price for your dream machine. Currently, you’ll see a rate of 2,450 EUR (2,711 USD) for the cheapest version available to U.S. customers. If you want to deck yours out with top-shelf components, like I did, you could be faced with a machine priced at 6,350 EUR (7,027 USD). How much your dream Ignite will cost you depends only on you.

If you are thinking about getting your hands on a carbon fiber machine this year, Ridley’s Ignite SLX seems to be a valid option to consider. But again, how much you’ll be spending is entirely in your hands. So, how much money would you spend on a carbon fiber MTB?