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Felt Nexar vs Ridley Noah Fast 3.0
Pick up to 4 bikes. Rows line up component by component. Highlighted rows differ, and green marks the best value where lower or higher is clearly better.
Key differences
- Our verdict scores the Felt Nexar higher overall: 82/100 vs 76/100.
- Tire clearance: up to 32 mm on the Felt Nexar vs 34 mm on the Ridley Noah Fast 3.0.
- The Felt Nexar comes in 7 sizes, the Ridley Noah Fast 3.0 in 5.
Felt Nexar
Ridley Noah Fast 3.0
| FeltNexar | RidleyNoah Fast 3.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Brand | Felt | Ridley |
| Build | Nexar FRD Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 PWR | Noah Fast Force AXS |
| Build notes | FRD 12K Matte. USD from the US store and EUR from the German store, which list the same number. At launch in March 2026 the press quoted €11,399 / £9,899 (Cyclingnews, Velo, road.cc); Felt's own store doesn't list a GBP price. Felt's German store lists €12,599, the same number as the USD price, while launch press quoted different euro prices, so EUR is left out until Felt's euro MSRP is clear. | The entry build, with Forza Skiron 65 carbon wheels and a crank-spindle power meter. Ridley also lists a Force AXS build in its '7E8' designs with DT Swiss ARC 1400 Dicut wheels at €9,299 / £8,399 (the launch price of the Force build); the specs Ridley shows for that version differ between paint designs, so it isn't listed separately. Crank length by size (e.g. 165 mm on XS, 170 mm on M). Paint and parts can be changed in Ridley's configurator. |
| Price (MSRP) | $12,599$12,599$12,599 | €7,999€7,999£7,199 |
| Bike weight | 6.48 kg14.3 lb | — |
| Weight measured on size | M (54) | — |
| Model year | 2026 | 2026 |
| Generation | Nexar (2026), successor to the AR | Noah Fast 3.0 (third generation, 2025) |
| Launched | 2026-03 | 2025-01 |
| Discipline | Aero road | Aero road |
| UCI legal | Yes | Yes |
| Verdict (out of 100) | ||
| Overall score | 82 | 76 |
| Aero | 86 | 90 |
| Frame | 92 | 84 |
| Components | 86 | 82 |
| Fit | 78 | 72 |
| Practicality | 66 | 62 |
| Price | 67 | 67 |
| Weight | 100 | — |
| Frame & fork | ||
| Frame material | Carbon (FRD 12K Carbon Light) | Carbon (Ultra HM, Ridley Elite Series) |
| Fork material | Carbon (FRD 12K Carbon Light) | Carbon (Noah Fast 7E8 fork) |
| Frame weight | 800 g28.2 oz | — |
| Frameset weight | 1,300 g2.87 lb | — |
| Weight measured on | Frame weight as claimed by Felt (size not stated); 1.3 kg is Felt's 'framekit weight' for size M (54), without saying which parts are included | — |
| Max system weight | 120 kg264.6 lb | 110 kg242.5 lb |
| Frame sizes | 44 (XXS), 49 (XS), 52 (S), 54 (M), 56 (L), 58 (XL), 61 (XXL) | XXS, XS, S, M, L |
| Colours | FRD 12K Matte (FRD build and framekit), FRD 12K Glossy Burgundy (Pro build) | — |
| Also available as | Nexar with the standard UD carbon layup (same geometry) on the Expert Ultegra Di2 and Race 105 Di2 builds | — |
| UCI frame approval | On the UCI list of approved framesets since 2 Oct 2025, sizes XXS–XXL (7), code FELT-012 | Approved 19 Jul 2024 as 'NOAH 3 FAST' (frame and fork), listed as sizes XXS - L (6), code RIDLEY-031 (UCI list version 2026.10.02) |
| Compatibility & standards | ||
| Brake type | Hydraulic disc | Hydraulic disc, flat mount |
| Wheel size | 700c | 700c |
| Max tire width | 32 mm | 34 mm |
| Bottom bracket standard | — | BB86 press-fit |
| Front axle | — | 12x100 thru-axle |
| Rear axle | — | 12x142 thru-axle (12 mm, 1.0 mm thread) |
| Drivetrain compatibility | — | Electronic Shimano and SRAM groupsets only, 2x or 1x |
| Mechanical shifting possible | — | No |
| 1x compatible | — | Yes |
| Front derailleur mount | — | Removable clamp; a cover replaces it on 1x builds, and Ridley and Wolf Tooth made a matching chain guide and chain catcher |
| Cable routing | Fully internal, through the one-piece cockpit | Fully internal |
| Fit & adjustability | ||
| Cockpit | One-piece carbon bar and stem (Felt Road 1-Piece Integrated Cockpit), under 300 g in most sizes | One-piece aero bar and stem (4ZA Nimbus Aero) that sits down into the head tube |
| Seatpost type | Felt Nexar dedicated carbon seatpost, zero offset | Deda aero seatpost for Ridley (6 mm offset, 350 mm) with an integrated clamp |
| Fit notes | Felt designed the geometry with a slightly higher stack, shorter reach and steeper seat angle than its earlier aero bikes, and pairs each size with cranks from 165 to 170 mm. Stock cockpits come in three sizes by frame size; Felt lists aftermarket sizes with stems up to 120 mm (380x120 and 400x120 among them) that dealers can stock for fitting. | The Nimbus Aero cockpit comes in one width (360 mm c-c at the hoods, 400 mm in the drops) with three stem-stack heights (55, 75 and 100 mm; stock bikes use 75 mm) and several stem-reach lengths; up to 20 mm of spacers can go under it. Ridley defines stem reach as the horizontal distance the cockpit adds to frame reach. Because the seat angle is steep, Ridley advises choosing a size by the effective top tube rather than frame reach. |
| Aerodynamics | ||
| Manufacturer aero claims | 5% less drag than the previous Felt AR, and within 4 W of the fastest aero bike on the market at 40 km/h | 8.5 W less drag than the previous Noah Fast at 50 km/h (Ridley). Cyclingnews reports a further Ridley claim of 7 W less than the Falcn RS at 50 km/h. |
| Testing method | Felt says the shapes come from wind-tunnel data; it doesn't publish the test protocol or which bikes it compared against | Ridley says all simulations were run on the complete bike including wheels, bottles and computer, at several wind angles. |
| Tube profile | Slim teardrop-inspired tubes with hidden hardware and fully internal cables | Long, narrow profiles (UCI 8:1 ratio) in the fork and seat stays, compensation triangles, and a widened down tube that shields the bottles |
| Travel, maintenance & warranty | ||
| Headset bearings | — | IS42/28.6 top (1 1/8 in) and IS52/40 bottom (1 1/2 in), 45°/45° |
| Derailleur hanger | — | UDH (SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger; Ridley code HANUDHSRA001) |
| Maintenance | — | Thru-axles are 12 mm with a 1.0 mm thread (Ridley code QRET124ZA046). The seatpost clamp (SPCAER4ZA007) takes a maximum of 10 Nm. A rotation stopper in the headset cover limits how far the bar turns, to protect the frame in a crash. |
| Proprietary parts | — | Nimbus Aero one-piece cockpit, Deda aero seatpost and integrated clamp, removable front-derailleur clamp and cover, rotation-stopper headset cover |
| Frame warranty | — | Lifetime warranty after registration (Ridley) |
| Sold via | Through Felt dealers | Ridley dealers, and online orders picked up at a dealer; custom builds and paint in Ridley's configurator |
| Drivetrain | ||
| Groupset | Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 | SRAM Force AXS |
| Launched | 2021 · current generation | — |
| Speeds | 12-speed | 12-speed |
| Electronic | Yes | Yes |
| Drivetrain | 2x | 2x |
| Shifters | Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 ST-R9270 | — |
| Crankset | Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 | SRAM Force AXS Power Meter |
| Chainrings | 52/36 | 48/35 |
| Power meter | 4iiii Left-arm power meter | SRAM Force AXS Power Meter |
| Type | — | Crank spindle |
| Measurement | Left only (non-drive side) | — |
| Bottom bracket | Shimano BB-R60 | — |
| Front derailleur | Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9250 | SRAM Force AXS |
| Rear derailleur | Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9250 | SRAM Force AXS |
| Cassette | Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 | SRAM Force XG-1270 |
| Range | 11-30 | 10-33 |
| Speeds | 12-speed | 12-speed |
| Chain | Shimano CN-M9100 | — |
| Brakes | ||
| Brake calipers | Shimano Dura-Ace BR-R9270 | — |
| Type | Hydraulic disc, 2-piston | — |
| Rotors | Shimano RT-MT900 | — |
| Front rotor | 160 mm | — |
| Rear rotor | 140 mm | — |
| Mount | Center Lock | — |
| Wheels & tires | ||
| Wheelset | Vision Metron 45 RS | Forza Skiron 65 |
| Front rim depth | 45 mm | 65 mm |
| Rear rim depth | 45 mm | 65 mm |
| Internal rim width | — | 21 mm |
| Material | Carbon | Carbon |
| Tubeless ready | — | Yes |
| Hubs | — | DT Swiss 370 |
| Freehub options | — | SRAM XDR |
| Tires | Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR | Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR G2.0 |
| Tire width | 28 mm | 30 mm |
| Cockpit | ||
| Handlebar | Felt Road 1-Piece Integrated Cockpit | 4ZA Nimbus Aero |
| Type | One-piece bar and stem | One-piece aero bar and stem |
| Integrated stem | Yes | Yes |
| Bar width | — | 360 mm |
| Widths available | 360/400 mm with 90 mm stem (44, 49), 380/420 mm with 100 mm stem (52, 54, 56), 400/440 mm with 110 mm stem (58, 61); widths at the levers/drops | 360 mm c-c at the hoods, 400 mm c-c in the drops (one width only) |
| Bar drop | 120 mm | — |
| Flare | 8° | — |
| Tops | — | Aero tops with a slight backsweep |
| Cable routing | Fully internal | Fully internal |
| Material | Carbon | — |
| Notes | — | Stock bikes use the 75 mm stem-stack version; stem reach by size on the stock bikes: 85 mm (XXS), 100 mm (XS-S), 115 mm (M-L) |
| Saddle & seatpost | ||
| Saddle | Prologo Dimension NDR T4.0 | Selle Italia SLR Advan L3 |
| Rails | — | Manganese |
| Seatpost | Felt Nexar Dedicated SP | Deda Aero seatpost for Ridley |
| Offset / setback | Zero offset | 6 mm |
| Material | Carbon | — |
| Notes | 250 mm long on the three smallest sizes, 330 mm on the others | 350 mm long; integrated seatpost clamp |
| Geometry (smallest – largest size) | ||
| Sizes | 44, 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 61 | XXS, XS, S, M, L |
| Rider height min | 142–188 cm4′8″–6′2″ | — |
| Rider height max | 155–196 cm5′1″–6′5″ | — |
| Stack | 515–631 mm20.3–24.8″ | 497–565 mm19.6–22.2″ |
| Reach | 350–405 mm13.8–15.9″ | 386–428 mm15.2–16.9″ |
| Seat tube angle | 73.5–75.5° | 74.5–76.5° |
| Head tube angle | 70.5–74° | 71.5–73.5° |
| Head tube length | 90–215 mm3.5–8.5″ | 95–160 mm3.7–6.3″ |
| Effective top tube | 485–604 mm19.1–23.8″ | 505–585 mm19.9–23″ |
| Seat tube length | 425–570 mm16.7–22.4″ | 480–560 mm18.9–22″ |
| Chainstay | 408 mm16.1″ | 407 mm16″ |
| Wheelbase | 960–1,013 mm37.8–39.9″ | 981–1,023 mm38.6–40.3″ |
| BB drop | 70–75 mm2.8–3″ | 70–72 mm2.8–2.8″ |
| BB height | 265–270 mm10.4–10.6″ | — |
| Fork length | 380 mm15″ | — |
| Fork offset | 44–50 mm1.7–2″ | — |
| Trail | 52–67 mm2–2.6″ | — |
| Front centre | 559–616 mm22–24.3″ | — |
| Standover | 723–855 mm28.5–33.7″ | — |
| Wheel size | 700c | 700c |
| Stem length | 90–110 mm3.5–4.3″ | — |
| Handlebar width | 360–400 mm14.2–15.7″ | 360 mm14.2″ |
| Handlebar drop | 120 mm4.7″ | — |
Geometry overlay
Pick a size for each bike to see frames and arm-pad ranges on top of each other.
Drawn to scale (how to read it).