Brighton-based titanium bike specialist Riley has hit Ally Pally again, showing off a prototype of a cool new race-focused gravel bike called the Reflex at the Cycle Show. Although it’s designed for speed, Reilly says, it’s very practical and fast on gravel rather than minimal American-style aero gravel. The Reflex can run a dropper post and dynamo lights with fully integrated cables and has a whopping 55mm tire clearance.
> The Best Titanium Road Bikes
This time last year, Riley first unveiled its Fusion Titanium aero road bike; And that definitely impressed us, with a bronze medal to come. This year it’s still all about going fast, but on the hardest stuff, with Reaction saying Riley is “taking fast gravel riding to a new level”.
Cables are fully integrated, Riley says, which “protects hoses and cables” and allows maximum room for the bike bag. The above clutter-free arrangement with Garmin’s kit and light shows just how clean the cockpit setup of this fuzzy new gravel mill is.
The bike supports fully integrated cables for brake hoses, Di2 cables, lightweight dynamo cables (front and rear) and dropper posts via a T47 bottom bracket shell.
Up front, Reflex’s 6AL-4V Ti steerer tube is compatible with FSA ACR and Deda DCR bar/stem options, and for even more off-road use, you can also mount a gravel suspension fork to short run.
The Reflex combines some of the aero shapes you get in the Fusion, Reilly says, and mixes them with the exact same progressive geometry of the current Gradient gravel and adventure bike. It should add something between an adventure bike and a lightweight trail bike, with 55mm tire clearance and “thoroughbred racing agility” making it ideal for tackling technical trails and competing in the pointed end of ultra-distance mixed-terrain events.
“With the Reflex, we wanted to combine the responsive handling and comfort of the Gradient with the speed and agility of the Fusion to create a new winner in titanium gravel racing,” says Reilly co-founder Neil Fitzgerald. .
“This weekend, we are presenting our prototype, but we are delighted with the result. »
Fully loaded with dynamo lights and a dropper post, Reilly told us the Reflex weighs just under 10kg, but the minimum “race build” should weigh 8.5kg. The bike shown at the Cycle Show is actually the first prototype, and Reilly told us that they will be making minor changes to the seatpost before the Reflex goes into full production. Prices will start at £7,200 for the full build, with shipments of the bikes due to start in September 2023.
We will try to get our hands on the Reflex when the final bike is ready of course. what do you think ? Let us know in the comments as always…
