Ridgeback Bikes

1990 saw the arrival of the Ridgeback Roxy, an early forerunner of today's Rapide series - the benchmark by which all other commuter bikes are measured.

Ridgeback's Urban series became another trend setter. In 1998 these slick tyred, street mountain bikes were not only lots of fun to ride but provided a serious alternative to the more traditional commuting bike.

In 2001 we created the flat bar road bike. Originally named Genesis, this new breed of fast commuter sports bike is seen as one of the last significant developments in cycle genres.

Ridgeback's award winning design continues in the latest Flight and Ultraflight Series and in 2008, to mark our 25^th anniversary, the R25 was launched. This was a limited edition of one hundred very special flat bar road bikes. Based on a prototype bike I was riding at the time, the R25 was Ridgebacks most advanced flat bar bike to date.

Four years on and it's now clear that the R25 was a precursor of the future of braking on performance flat bar bikes, as it was equipped with Shimano Deore XT hydraulic discs, capable of awesome stopping power. Today, all the Flight series bikes is equipped with disc brakes.

Other milestones include, Dual Track, a robust all rounder with 29" wheels aimed at riders looking for a more comfortable off road experience. Originally designed as a mountain bike, today's Dual track is more off-road hybrid than mtb. Using 700c road rims instead of traditional 26 inch wheels, the Dual Track's larger tyres give the bike a longer contact patch for improved traction whilst rolling over lumps and bumps more smoothly.

Bringing the story up to date, 2012 sees the launch of the Cerium, Ridgeback's first drop handlebar bike equipped with disc brakes. A highly practical road bike for all types of riding from commuting to training.