Review: Ridley Helium

The name Helium brings to mind lightness and balloons floating into the sky. Although the Ridley Helium doesn’t quite manage to float, it’s an excellent companion when the ride is long, and big elevation gains take you upward.

Canadian outdoor retailer MEC became the country’s main Ridley bike distributor this year. My test of the Ridley Helium started at an MEC store with a fitting, which is unusual for the test bikes that I receive. Normally, I would look up the geometry chart, order the correct size and adjust the bike to my fit co-ordinates upon arrival. But MEC wanted me to have the same experience as any other customer, so I received their premium fit, which adds a $60 surcharge with purchase of any bike more than $990.

This service is not unique to MEC; most good independent bike shops will offer fittings for a small fee or even free with purchase. But do remember the next time you go bike shopping to ask about this service. Interestingly, going through the process, I arrived at a fit that is within millimetres of my personal setup. Although, I did end up with a frame one size smaller than I normally ride. For most brands, I’m a small, but with Ridley, I went to an extra small. The company’s geometry chart shows the measurements of the XS match most other brands’ size small or 51/52. This trend seems consistent across the company’s size range: Ridley’s fit seems to be on the large side.

Riding at home along the roads of southern Ontario, I found the Helium capable and competent. It handled everything I threw at it easily, from group rides to solo predawn hill sets. But it also felt a little anonymous, seemed to lack the personality or excitement I’ve felt on other rides. The Helium is plenty stiff where it counts, but doesn’t quite have the snap of others, bikes such as the Scott Addict or Giant TCR Advanced SL, when accelerating. On the other hand, the Helium exhibited a more refined ride compared to those bikes, befitting the pavé heritage of Ridley, a brand originating in Belgium.

The Helium in size XS features a 72-degree head-tube angle, which is on the slack side. The norm is 73 degrees, give or take half a degree, which is the case for the Helium’s larger sizes. The head-tube angle affected the bike’s handling, which is not quite as sharp as some others. It seemed to take a hair more coaxing to turn in. Once set on a line, however, the bike stuck to it. I had no problems hitting the apex on corners aboard the Helium, as long as I set up for it. The Helium was more resistant to mid-corner changes.

Toward the end of my test period, I went on trip to the mountainous back roads of North Carolina. I took the Helium along. There my impression of the bike changed. Putting in long days on the Helium, I grew to appreciate its mellow personality. The road manner that previously felt boring morphed into a competent, undemanding ride, just the thing for long, tiring days on unfamiliar roads, where a more reactive bike would have felt like a handful.

Grinding up switchbacks, I was grateful for the compact gearing, which was forgiving of my under-cooked fitness and masked my lack of winter miles. Bombing down the descents, the slightly slower handling of the Helium became stability at high speed. Bouncing along sections of gravel and chip-seal roads, the refined ride quality of the Ridley let me hold straight lines with minimal input.

The Ridley Helium may not be the first bike I reach for to do a crit, or a shorter, fast-pace group ride full of cut and thrust, although it is more than capable of handling either. Where it really shines are long, hard days in the saddle, as amply demonstrated by the pro riders of Lotto-Belisol, for whom the Helium is often the bike they reach for on big mountain days in Grand Tours. I plan to do the same for a gran fondo that the Canadian Cycling Magazine staff will be doing together as a team. The fact that the Helium’s handsome black finish, with red and white graphic highlights, matches the CCM team kit perfectly is purely coincidental.