I have some experience with Ridley's warranty:
My Ridley Noah had a crack in the down tube about nine months ago - an obvious defect where the downtube and bottom bracket pieces are joined. They requested close-up pictures and replaced the frame without any problems. That being said, my LBS had to work through the importer rather than directly with Ridley since Ridley would not even reply to my emails requesting information. It all worked out fine, but it did take a few weeks.