Cyclingnews is on the ground at the Tour de France and we've managed to snap some shots of Caleb Ewan's all-new Ridley race bike ahead of the Grand Depart in Bilbao.
It appears to be the same Ridley prototype we first spotted at the Critérium du Dauphiné, but now we've managed to get up close and personal with the bike in order to try and find out more information about this new, still-to-be-launched model from the Belgian brand.
Its name remains unconfirmed, and somewhat unhelpfully, the frame is marked with a UCI 'Prototype' sticker. It is evidently different in its frame design from the Noah Fast that Ewan typically races, but we're still in the dark as to exactly what this model will be called, or indeed when it will be made official.
Aside from the different-looking frame, the equipment and setup look similar to what Ewan has been using for the 2023 season so far, as we'll get into below. We've also rounded up a host of Ewan's bikes from his career to date, stretching back to the rim-brake-equipped Scott Foil from 2014.
Caleb Ewan's bike for the 2023 Tour de France
The Prototype bike is finished in a matte black finish with satin silver logos. It features slightly less aggressive frame tube profiles than the Noah, shown below. It's clearly more of an all-rounder, and will undoubtedly be lighter. (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
The headtube and fork crown area are different to Ewan's Noah Fast aero bike. The bike is still fitted with a Deda badged integrated bar and stem, which we think looks like the Ridley Kanzo handlebar. Ewan is running a few spacers under his handlebars here. (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
A name sticker and seat post mounted number holder for Ewan. You can also spot the UCI prototype sticker on the bikes seat tube. Interestingly, this is the only version of the new bike that Ewan has available to him. That suggests to us that he'll probably continue to use the hyper-aggressive aero bike for sprints, and this on the more undulating terrain. (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
We don't know for sure, but the higher stack at the front could be further evidence that this bike is his 'climbing' machine. Given that he only has one of these available, if it breaks, he'll be back on the Noah for all stages. (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
Fitted to the down tube is the new UCI RFID (radio frequency identification) tag which is a requirement for teams to fit as part of the new UCI equipment registration procedure. (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
Unfortunately the matte-black colourway and 'Prototype' sticker gives no clues as to the bike's name (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
Ewan's aggressive front end, complete with Di2 sprint shifters on the handlebar drops. There's plenty of fork clearance too we assume this is to aid aerodynamics as much as anything (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
Here's a closer look at those sprint shifters, which have been neatly wrapped beneath the bar tape (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Tyre clearance at the back appears pretty ample, too. These 26mm tyres had around 6mm of space either side (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
We spend a lot of time trying to work out riders stem lengths and bar widths on the CN tech team, this sticker is a useful insight into Ewan's cockpit dimensions (Image credit: Future / Josh Croxton)
The Aussie's DT Swiss wheels are shod with Vittoria's new Corsa Pro tyres in size 26c (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The wheels in question are the 60mm ARC 1100 (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
They come with the lightweight DT180 hubs and bladed aero spokes (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
We can see the frame comes with split spacers, making it slightly easier to add or remove stack from beneath the stem. There are also interesting groove on either side. It's unclear what the purpose of this is. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Here's a closer look at how the rear brake hose exits the non-driveside chain stay (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Another interesting feature of the new bike is the cutaway on the front fork to make room for the brake caliper (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The team is running the new 12-speed Dura-Ace groupset (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Carbon fibre Tacx bottle cages are also used, alongside anodised orange bolts that we can only assume help save a few grams (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
What size is Caleb Ewan's bike?
At 5ft 5in tall, Caleb Ewan is one of the peloton's shorter riders, and as such his bike is among the smallest of the bunch.
At face value, his 2023 Noah Fast, shown below from the Tour Down Under, looks exactly like the size XS he rode in 2022, 2021 and 2020, but given we're total nerds here at Cyclingnews, we've spotted a few minute differences that suggest he's recently changed size.
Top: Ewan's bike at the Tour Down Under. Bottom: Ewan's 2020 bike. Let's play spot the difference (Image credit: Courtesy)
Given the tighter angle at the head tube, the shorter seat tube, extra seatpost showing and lower seat stays, we believe Ewan has actually gone for a smaller frame in 2023 than he did before.
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In 2020 he was riding a size XS, so we believe he's now aboard the smallest model in the Ridley lineup, an XXS.
We first thought it might be a new model with small iterative updates over the last, but this 'RID-021-RD' is the same frame code as registered in 2018 (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
With that said, a typical rider of Ewan's height would be recommended a size S by Ridley, but as is common among professionals, he has sized down.
Ewan is famed for his low, aggressive aerodynamic sprinting position, and the smaller frame – paired with a long stem, which in 2023 looks even more aggressive than before – helps him achieve this. The added benefit of being lighter in weight won't see him complaining either.
How much does Caleb Ewan's bike weigh?
The Noah Fast is a disc brake equipped aero bike first launched in 2018, and as a result, it's not going to be a featherweight, but the size XXS frame will certainly help. We didn't have scales to hand when weighing his 2023 bike, but we did when we caught up with his bike in 2020 (gallery further below). That bike weighed in at 7.6kg with pedals and bottle cages.
Given the frame is (mostly) the same, and the weight of wheels and the spec is largely of a similar level, we think it's safe to assume the weight is similar today.
Given the unreleased nature of the 2023 model, we were forbidden from weighing it, but our fairly-well-attuned guesswork having picked it up and carried it around a car park for the photographs you see above, we'd put it very close to the 6.8kg mark.
Caleb Ewan's Ridley Noah Fast: Specifications
Here are the specifications from the Noah Fast shown above from the Tour Down Under. Most of the specs remain the same as he transitions onto the new model. Given that, and the fact that we don't know the model name of the new bike, we've kept the specs table below the same as before. We will, of course, update this with new details when the new bike becomes official.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Frame
Ridley Noah Fast Disc - XXS
Groupset
Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9250 12-speed
Brakes
Shimano Dura-Ace 9270 hydraulic disc
Wheelset
DT Swiss Arc 1100 DiCut
Tyres
Vittoria Corsa TLR Graphene 2.0 tubeless
Handlebar
Ridley Kanzo integrated cockpit
Stem
Ridley Kanzo integrated cockpit
Chainset
Shimano Dura ace FC-9200 - 54/40T - 170MM
Power meter
Team has a deal with 4iiii but we've seen him using the Shimano Dura ace FC-9200P on multiple occasions
Pedals
Shimano Dura-Ace R9200
Saddle
Selle Italia Flite
Bottle cages
Tacx Ciro
Bar tape
Lizard Skins
Computer
Garmin
A history of Caleb Ewan's bikes
Here we’ll take a deeper dive into the Aussie sprinter’s bikes from this year and seasons past pulled from the Cyclingnews archives.
In Ewan’s case, we have galleries of his bikes going all the way back to January 2014, when he was just a 19-year-old ”new name”.
Caleb Ewan's 2023 Ridley Noah Fast Disc bike: Gallery
Cyclingnews is on the ground at the Tour Down Under ahead of the 2023 WorldTour season opener, and we got up close with the Aussie sprinter's 2023 bike before the racing began.
His bike is fitted with a bling gold chain... because why not? (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Interestingly, the 'M' like shaping of the seat stays has changed since 2020 too, becoming more angular and perhaps offering a little more tyre clearance (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
This cockpit is marked up as Deda Elementi, but it looks suspiciously like the Ridley Kanzo Fast cockpit that comes stock on many of its bikes (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
For the training days ahead of Tour Down Under, where the going is presumably flat, Ewan was using DT Swiss's deepest road wheels, the Arc 1100 80mm (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
The gold chain in question is from KMC, rather than a groupset-matching Shimano (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Cema, the company whose logo sits on the chainstay there, is a maker of ceramic bearings, so it's safe to assume that's what you'd find if you took apart that bottom bracket (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
As per these logos, Vittoria provides the tyres and DT Swiss the wheels (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Interestingly despite this logo, 4iiii doesn't supply the power meter. That comes courtesy of Shimano's Dura-Ace R9200-P chainset (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Proof, should you not trust me... and the cranks are 170mm in length (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Also courtesy of Shimano's top-tier groupset are the Dura-Ace hydraulic brakes (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
This isn't in case the Aussie forgets his name, it's so he - and mechanics - quickly know whose bike it is. (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Probably the only part of this bike most of us can afford to replicate: the Tacx Ciro bottle cages (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
As denoted by the number 2, this is technically Caleb Ewan's spare bike, but having seen them both, we can say they're both exactly the same for 2023 (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
You can see here on the inside of Ewan's handlebars, he's got Shimano 'Satellite' sprint shifters for easier gear shift while sprinting (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Despite what looks like an extremely short head tube courtesy of the super-small frame, Ewan is running around 15mm of spacers beneath his stem (Image credit: The Peloton Brief: Laura Fletcher)
Caleb Ewan's 2020 Ridley Noah Fast Disc bike: Gallery
Like in 2023, we were on the ground in Adelaide for the Tour Down Under in 2020 too, and again, we spent some time with Caleb Ewan's bike for the season. That year he went on to win the Schwalbe Classic Criterium on the night before the race, as well as two stages.
As we've already aluded to, his bike for that season was same-same-but-very-different. It was the same Ridley Noah Fast Disc, but in what looks like a bigger size, with Campagnolo, SRM and tubular tyres. This was the team's first season committed to disc brakes (although they did break that rule on a few hillier stages during that year's Tour de France).
Caleb Ewan's bike in 2020 was also a Ridley Noah Fast Disc (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Most of the team used red bikes for the season, but Ridley allowed Ewan, John Degenkolb, Philippe Gilbert, and Tim Wellens to design their own colours for the season. Only Ewan and Degenkolb - see his Ridley here - managed to take advantage before the calendar was shut down due to Covid.
Ewan kept things boring understated with this black-and-white colour scheme.
Now this is a Deda Elementi cockpit; the Superzero bar and 140mm stem, which routes the cables entirely internally. Out front is an SRM PC8 computer. (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Campagnolo was on shift in 2020. Ceramic bearings were being used but from C-Bear instead of Cema (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Paired with the Campag groupset and SRM PC8 computer was an SRM power meter (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Also courtesy of Campagnolo were his Bora One wheels, with Vittoria Corsa tubular tyres (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Caleb Ewan's 2019 Ridley Noah Fast: Gallery
Head back in time another 12 months and you get... more Ridley Noah Fasts.
But! Remember rim brakes?
That's right. Caleb Ewan's bike for the 2019 season was a rim brake equipped Noah Fast. Like the 2020 bike, it was equipped with Campagnolo. In these photos shot here in December 2018 show the groupset in its older 11-speed Super Record EPS guise, but if memory serves, by the time racing began he was using the then-unreleased 12-speed version.
The long and low position remains a theme throughout this feature... you'll have to get used to it (Image credit: Facepeeters Photography)
And from here onwards, expect to see nothing but tubular tyres. Here in 2020, you're looking at Vittoria tubs glued to Campagnolo wheels (Image credit: Facepeeters Photography)
We're so used to seeing (or not seeing) cables routed through the headset nowadays that this approach almost looks odd. I can't say I don't like it though... I bet it's easier to work on (Image credit: Facepeeters Photography)
Caleb Ewan's 2018 Scott Foil: Gallery
You need to go back another year to get to the last time Ewan raced on something that wasn't a Ridley. Enter the Scott Foil, the aero bike with one-piece integrated cockpit but external cables, a Shimano R9150 groupset, a Shimano-SRM power meter, Shimano wheels and Continental tubs.
This marks Ewan's final season with the Australian outfit known at the time as Mitchelton-Scott.
This was the best-looking Shimano chainset, I'll take no arguments (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
For that season, the Syncros RR1.0 SL handlebar/stem combination was given a special finish complete with Ewan's name. However, given Di2 junction boxes were still being fitted to the underside of the stem at this point, half of his name has been hidden by the strap for the mounting bracket (Image credit: Colin Levitch/Immediate Media)
Rim brakes underneath the bottom bracket: aero, pretty cool, but a pain to set up (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Mitchelton-Scott ran Continental Competition Pro LTD ALX tubular tyres that year - not unlike half the rest of the peloton (Image credit: Colin Levitch/Immediate Media)
Caleb Ewan's 2017 Scott Foil: Gallery
Go back another year and even though the team name was different, you get much the same bike. The team was known as Orica-Scott, and the bike is the same Scott Foil in the same colour scheme, but with slightly older Shimano wheels; the C50, tubs of course.
Shimano had already launched the R9100-series Dura-Ace, but due delivery timings and the logistical difficulty of getting 30-plus bikes to Adelaide, Ewan and his Tour Down Under teammates were forced to use the older R9000 series - the last of Dura-Ace's silver era.
The SRM-Shimano chainset was there, and the Syncros one-piece bar-stem that should have been fitted was delivered in the wrong size, so they were forced to adapt.
Ewan was aboard a 51cm (XXS) frame in 2017 (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Due to a miscommunication, the Syncros integrated bar/stem combos were delivered in the wrong size. So for the time being, the team ran Syncros Alloy bars and stems (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
At the time, the new Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets - which were launched six months prior, had only just arrived at their European Service Course. As a result, given the bikes for Tour Down Under had to be prepared and shipped well in advance of the race, the team was riding the old groupset (Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Caleb Ewan's 2014 Scott Foil: Gallery
Going back even further, this time to 2014, and although he's aboard a Scott Foil, there's not a lot to compare between this and 2017. Ok, so the tiny frame and low position is still a feature, and it's still a Shimano groupset with Shimano tubular wheels, but everything is from a previous model series, including Dura-Ace 7900.
Caleb Ewan's bike in 2014, when he was just 19 years old. (Image credit: David Rome)
This very gallery, written by Dave Rome for Cyclingnews (and BikeRadar, since the two were at this point connected entities), opened with the following sentence: "Caleb Ewan may be a new name to many, but he won't be for long."
You weren't wrong, Dave. At just 19 years of age, Ewan had just ridden to victory at both the U23 Aussie road and crit champs, before finishing 3rd behind only Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel at the People's Choice Criterium - the race that opens the Tour Down Under week of racing.
The bike, nominally an aero bike, was well equipped for its time, albeit used the shallower 35mm wheels which had already been superseded with faster and deeper options.
It uses a Pro bar and stem and Prologo tape (Image credit: David Rome)
This was from the era when the Shimano Di2 battery lived outside the frame (Image credit: David Rome)
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As the Tech Editor here at Cyclingnews, Josh leads on content relating to all-things tech, including bikes, kit and components in order to cover product launches and curate our world-class buying guides, reviews and deals. Alongside this, his love for WorldTour racing and eagle eyes mean he's often breaking tech stories from the pro peloton too.
On the bike, 32-year-old Josh has been riding and racing since his early teens. He started out racing cross country when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s and has never looked back. He's always training for the next big event and is keen to get his hands on the newest tech to help. He enjoys a good long ride on road or gravel, but he's most alive when he's elbow-to-elbow in a local criterium.
