acceleration in sprints, handling, smooth ride, quality of construction and finish. This is a great design at a great price

1200G is a bit heavy, but the bike rides much lighter than actual weight

Frame is actually a 2009 - not a choice in the set up field. Damocles is stiff and very responsive. Seems to "jump" from under you when you sprint or put the power down on a climb. handling is phenomenal and the ride is very smooth for such a stiff frame. No road "buzz" what so ever, even on bad or rough roads

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Litespeed Titanium

light enough 15.6 # with my kit.
super strong, replaceable drop out and hanger
just looks mean

none

Built this bike up for LOTOJA 09. Great bike, can't say enough good things. In the last year I have brought a few bikes to try to find the one. A new madone 5.2, time edge racer(still have great bike)and a steel seven custom. Well this bike kills them all. I am a big guy 6'1" 220 and man is this ride nice. Stiff in all the right places but comfy enough for long rides. Amazing for the price, flat out kills the madone in a lot of ways, handles better on the decent, also in the tight stuff. This bike just feels right on all surfaces, it wants to be abused. Great finish. The frames run large though, I ride a medium with a 110 stem.

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06 madone 5.2, 08 madone 5.2, time edge racer

Stiff but still smooth enough, stable, great fit (for me), looks super, unique.

Not the lightest carbon frame available.

I bought my Damocles, size small, on eBay a couple years ago basically with everything described in the Bike Setup section (Campy Record, some Easton) after getting the bug to have a carbon bike but 1) wanting something unique and 2) being unable to drop $5000 or more. I had been riding a very nice pre-Trek Klein Quantum Pro for years (compact aluminum with a carbon fork and rear carbon stays) equipped primarily with Dura Ace.

Compared to my Klein -- which also had carbon seatpost, stem and bars -- the Ridley offers a smoother ride, although it's not a night-and-day difference. Less road buzz. The Damocles felt very good, but I wasn't overwhelmed -- at first.

I'm a heavier rider (yeah, heavier than I ought to be by 15 pounds) at 5'8" and 175 pounds with a longer torso and shorter legs. The small fits me beautifully with a 120mm stem. A rider in this height range with normal upper-to-lower body proportions would do just fine with a shorter stem.

The more I rode it, the more it grew on me. I've done some 60+ mile rides on it and have never felt that it's too harsh. As other reviewers have noted, it's great when climbing. Especially when I'm out of the saddle, it feels as if the rear wheel just digs in with every pedal stroke. Ridden heads down into the wind, taken down fast descents -- the bike feels wonderful.

Similar Products Used:

> Klein Quantum Pro (aluminum w. carbon) w. Dura Ace
> Giant TCR 1 Carbon compact w. Dura Ace (small frame; felt too small and twitchy for me even after getting it setup for my build)

Stiffness, compiant ride, precise steering, sprinting, climbing, exceptional fit, paint and finish.

Bottom bracket and headset adjustment. Heavy stock wheels. Double Tap shifting takes some getting used to. No trim adjustment on front derailleur.

This review is actually for a 2008 model. I have about 2500 miles on this bike as I write this. I have done climbing, road racing, crit's, and a 24 hour event on this bike and feel like I have a pretty well rounded experience on it. Competitve Cyclist was great to deal with. Two day shipping to Texas by UPS ground. The packaging was awesome and arrived in great shape. Minimal assembly required; well within my limited mechanical abilities. Once it was all together, I found everything to be dialed in an functioning perfectly. I was so impressed with the paint and finish on this frame. Ridley has really put some time and quality control into the final finish of their product. I get alot of comments on the appearance of the bike. I have the red-white-black color scheme. It appears that most of the "badging" on the frame is actually painted reather than stickers. The through-the-headtube cable routing gets alot of notice as well and gives a clean look up front. As with many carbon bikes, the aggressive tube shaping looks pretty cool. This frame is very quiet on rough pavement as well, and I find myself not searching for the smoothest line on chip seal like I do on my aluminum and steal bikes. The in house branded saddle is the best I have ridden in a long time. No numbness, and the saddle sore I developed last year has disappeared since getting this bike. The saddle already looks like it has 10,000 miles on it with the silver sections wearing off, but it is still structurally sound. The Damocles steers very precisely. It has the larger lower headset bearing for added stiffness up front. I have to pay attention to my steering in a tight pack. It is not twitchy, it just immediately goes where you point it. This has resulted in me descending with alot more confidence. Absolutely no shimmy at high speeds, and I am carrying up to 2 mph more speed through curves. Bottom bracket stiffness lives up to what you'd expect from a high end carbon frame. I get up to speed from a stop, respond to accellerations in a race, and climb at 2 or 3 beats per minute less than on my other bikes, and this is with the heavy Fulcrum 7's that came on the bike. The effect is even more pronounced when I throw on my race wheels and shed 500 grams. The bike absolutely jumps beneath you when you put on the power on a climb, allowing you to open a quick gap on a climb that is hard for those on your wheel to respond to quickly. The fit of this bike is the best I have ever had. It is my first full compact design frame, though I have had sloping top tube frames. Ridley's tend to run large. I am 6' 3 1/2", and bought a size Large with a 120mm stem. The compact handle bars and long head tube allow me to spend alot more time in the drops with total comfort. That is a big benefit where I live since the wind is usually blowing 15-25 mph on any day. This is my first non-Shimano experience, and I find the SRAM hoods to be too small and narrow, resulting in hand numbness. A change of gloves and hood positioning has helped. Double Tap shifting took a little time to adapt to, but I now shift it just as naturally as the STI. I really like the upshifting. It is just click it and forget it. The down shifting is not as precise and requires you to move the lever further than on STI to complete the shift. This originally resulted in some missed shifts, but I have adjusted and have no real problem with it now. It's just not as seamless as on STI. The Rival brakes are great with no fade on descents and a very strong response. I have had an issue with both the bottom bracket/crank arms and the headset loosening. This is my first all carbon frame. Others I ride with that have been carbonized for along time say this is common for a carbon frame. It is easily enough fixed. Just slightly irritating. Competitive Cyclist is already running out of these, but if you can get the right size, I'd highly recommend the Damocles. This full bike deal is hard to beat for a pro level ride.

Similar Products Used:

Nishiki, Cannondale, Paterek, Jamis, Cervelo

Tight/stiff frame
Sprinter friendly
Amazing descender
Yet... quite compliant.

None. But small riders may find it a bit harsh feeling.

I've been riding my 2008 Damo since last December... and I love this bike more every time I ride it. Super stiff by the brackets... really does ride like rails, and is responsive on the sprints... but is also quite compliant for the long rides (especially when set up with the right components and wheels). The bike is completely confidence inspiring at high speed descents.

The funny shaped tubes and all, I thought were a bit gimmicky at first (and they still don't quite make sense) but they DO work here, in that it creates for tight frame with excellent road feel characteristics.

My understanding, based on forums and my experience, is that the frame may feel a bit stiff for lighter riders. Heavier riders (I'm at 180) like the feel.

Regarding the fork, which is a "straight down" kind, you would expect it to make things more harsh... it definitely does feel different but it isn't squirrelly, nor do I feel more tired in the shoulders.

Great paint/finish, and nice thoughtful touches every where.

Ridley frame sizes run large. So my Damo is a "Small" even though the effective top tube size is 54.5 (and I am a 5'10" rider) and most other manufacturers would label it a medium. I guess those Belgians are big people.

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Trek Madone 5.2
Scott Cr-1

Weight, stiffness, looks, price

No electrical outlet or air conditioner

Just got the 2009 Damocles and I absolutely love it. I moved the Ultegra off my old bike and threw on a Dura forgiving enough to ride 4+ hours a day and stiff enough for me to race on at 200lbs. It is my dream bike. I did tons of research before taking the plunge and this is a race bike that will last for many seasons to come.

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Fuji Roubaix RC, Scott CR1 Pro

Stiff and light enough. 17 lbs with petals for a XL (62cm) Good road feel and very minimal flex when out of the saddle.

Really none, but lighter riders riders (under 170 or so) may feel it is too stiff on a long ride.

Looked at several brands before going with the damocles. I am 6'4" and 210 lbs., so I wanted something stiff, but responsive. I e-mailed Ridley, asked a few questions about the Damo, then ordered one. I ride about 150 miles per week, some fast group rides and some hilly, and the Damo is always ready. It moves out fast, goes uphill without flexing, and can handle 50 mph downhill without any front end chatter. I like the ride and the look. No issues at all.

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Trek 5200

Wonderful ride and handling,fast acceleration and absolutely (at least in my opinion) beautiful looking

May be too stiff for light weight riders

I am a 73 rider and returned to biking after a 50 yr layoff.I average 300 miles a month.I love fast beautiful bikes.The Damocles is awesome I weigh 220 lbs and Realitybikes helped me choose the right bike and components tofitmy needs

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I also ride and enjoy a Fuji CCR 1 road bike and a Titus Racer X Mt bike

Extremely smooth & Responsive. Can't fault the ride quality & handling. Looks the business.

None really. A bit heavier than the the newer superlight carbon frames - so may be negative if your a weight weenie.

This is an excellent bike. I have been riding it for about 9 months now and it hasn't missed a beat. Tried a few other bikes - Cannondale SuperSix, Trek, etc, but this bike just did it for me. Is also a little bit different from the pack which is a plus in my book.

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Giant OCR

Stiff with neutral handling.

Stiff for non-racing use.

Excellent racing frame. You can do anything on it. Not so good for long rides though. Too stiff. Again, an excellent choice for racing. Sprints well. As long as you are going for it the ride is what you want.

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Lots. Klein, LeMond, Bianchi, K2, more and many.