Ridley Cordis 1 (2017): ChooseMyBicycle.com Expert Review

The Ridley Cordis 1 (2017) is built around a 6061 Aluminium alloy frame. The frame is perfectly crafted for a hybrid bicycle, lightweight and strong. The tubes of the frame are neither circular nor fully triangular; this saves from usage of excess material and thus reduces the frame weight. The welds on the edges are smooth and also the frame does take in some amount of vibration of the surface.

Even though a hybrid bicycle meant for urban roads, the Cordis 1 comes with a front suspension fork to tackle the rough surfaces that one might encounter in the city. The suspension fork does add quite a bit of weight to the bicycle but it isn’t a negative when compared to the ride comfort, which the suspension brings in.

The travel on these suspension forks is up to 70mm comfortably and worked well during the test ride. The SR Suntour M3010 suspension fork has a 50mm travel which is the least you can find but is just about enough for the potholes and speed breakers.

This Ridley bicycles is made for Indian customers by making sure the legacy of Ridley isn’t lost in that process. Justice has been made on the design front. The simple frame geometry with neat cabling makes the bicycle look classy. The bicycle I test rode came in a full sky blue with a bit of white in a few places. The classic Ridley seat tube paint and text design has been done on this bicycle as well. The gloss paint job doesn’t look the best mainly because of the single colour shade. Maybe some more thought could have gone into colour shades since the Cordis 1 comes only in 1 colour.

The Ridley Cordis 1 is equipped with Shimano Tourney at the front and Shimano Altus at the rear. Yes, these are the 2 most basic gearing components in the Shimano MTB range and as per market practice MTB gearing components are used in most Hybrid bicycles like the Cordis 1. The 24-speed gearing comes with a Shimano Altus ST-EF51 trigger shifter, which is placed in perfect hand position for usage and was easy to use. The derailleurs however weren’t the best when it comes to quick shifting, especially in the rear where I experienced delay in the gearshift to take effect quite a few times during the test ride.

The ProMax V-brakes take care of the braking on the Ridley Cordis 1. These are good quality V-brakes with a long arm and thick pads which cover the side of the rims perfectly. During the test ride the brakes worked well on dry conditions even when jamming the brakes. The Shimano EF51 brake levers were comfortable in engaging and required only 2 to 3 fingers to use.

The Zoom Alloy handlebar on the Cordis 1 is lengthy and makes for an open chested riding position. The slight curve from the middle helps the rider sit in an almost straight back posture while pedaling. The grips felt rough and required little more cushioning. But this can be a cheap fix buy buying an extra pair of grips.

The Cordis 1 has a pair of Alex DC19 double walled alloy rims with 700C x 35C Kenda tires which rolled fast and had enough traction while turning at fast speeds during the test ride. The wheel set on the whole was light in weight and was swift in zipping through traffic on urban roads.

The high density foam Vader saddle on the Cordis 1 is easily the most impressive component on this bicycle. The ergonomically designed saddle resembles the shape and design which can be seen on high end road bicycles. Long-term comfort is taken care of in this saddle. If you are a beginner and feel the need for more cushioning on the saddle, there are always padded apparel available to make it even more comfortable. The over-all ride quality on this bicycle was fast and smooth on harsh urban roads.