opinions on Ribble winter frame

ddraver

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ProductDe ... &CatID=143

hey guys

i was reccomended this by a fellow rider and thought i'd ask a wider range of people, Given its basically a frame and carbon fork package for 116 squids, i think its a pretty good deal!!

I have an apollo "road bike" (well...bike in a road bike shape) which is just horrible to ride its heavy, the steel transmits ever single road shock straight up my a*se and arms and basically i get no pleasure from riding it at all!!!

Will this be a suitable replacement, I ll just swap all the (upgraded) gear over from the halfords bike (moslty a sora gear, I ll need a new chainset as well), I can build up the bike myself otherwise

Cheers

DaveK

redddraggon

I'm just building mine up.



I planned on doing the same thing as you, but decided on a full campag upgrade rather than transfer crappy Sora/2200 over from the Carrera.

It's actually pretty good quality and it's pretty light (relatively).

redddraggon

Oh and when you factor in the delivery and headset it's more like £140, but it's still an excellent bargain.

fast as fupp

ive got one -fully mudguarded they make a bombproof commuter/winter bike at £116 theyre giving them away!

ddraver

right well decision made then - yay - payday tomorrow....!!!

i ll upgrade the drive train as i go i think, the wheels are the main problem (although i would like to do the shifters ASAP, but then money is too tight i think....)

John.T

I have been riding one all winter. It rides very well, is quite light and not too harsh (compared to my Trek 5200 carbon). Just make sure you get the right size. My 52cm is actually 56cm centre to top with a 55.5cm top tube. Have a close look at the geometry tables on the Ribble site. Ten years ago I would have been happy to race on one. Come to think on it I would be now if I did not have anything better.

ddraver

to give me a quick idea - if i ride an 18" MTB, what will i be.....

Despite having a whole garage full of junk, I have nothing to measure my current bike with - really annoying!!

redddraggon

John.T wrote:

I have been riding one all winter. It rides very well, is quite light and not too harsh (compared to my Trek 5200 carbon). Just make sure you get the right size. My 52cm is actually 56cm centre to top with a 55.5cm top tube. Have a close look at the geometry tables on the Ribble site. Ten years ago I would have been happy to race on one. Come to think on it I would be now if I did not have anything better.

How tall (etc) are you?

I got the 50cm, with a 55cm (ctc) TT, seems really long for a frame of that size. Ribble even recommended 52cm from my inside leg, but I thought against it.

ddraver

i'm 171cms

cheers dragon - where are you in N wales btw....

redddraggon

ddraver wrote:

to give me a quick idea - if i ride an 18" MTB, what will i be.....

Despite having a whole garage full of junk, I have nothing to measure my current bike with - really annoying!!

John.T

I am 5' 10". Inside leg about 34". I bought mine by TT length as I wanted to match my other bikes. It was to replace an Olmo Giro steel frame and I just swapped all the bits over. The ride difference was very noticeable.

redddraggon

ddraver wrote:

i'm 171cms

cheers dragon - where are you in N wales btw....

Live near Chester at the moment, just over the border. How about you?

Smokin Joe

I've had mine for two years now, brilliant value for money.

mrushton

Cheap alu frame that's good value IF you get on with it. my partner has one and hates it for the way it rides so harshly plus the geometry is not right for her. She prefers to ride her Pompino (fixed),finding it a more comfortable bike. I'd be looking at the On-One range eg Kaffenback or Uncle John rather than ride the Ribble but that's my preference. I used to have an aluminium Pinarello Paris that when you pressed on the pedals just galloped but doing 100 miles on it on anything less than a glass smooth surface was a trial .

Lagavulin

I've considered one of these (though I quite faniced the now unavailable yellow :oops:) as a hack/wet weather bike.

I've ordered a new shiny carbon bike and had intended on using my current Allez for the winter but it really is a little bit too big for me (even with the saddle forward and a 90mm stem).

My thoughts were a either a full built winter trainer from Ribble, a frame only on which to sling the Tiagra/105 mix on my Allez or wait till autumn/winter and get a Langster (same geometry as the Allez - but this time in the correct size :oops:) in the sales.

giant_man

I personally bother going for one of these Ribbles for a winter bike but that's just me. Hope you enjoy it.

ddraver

eh?

magliaceleste

I'm on my second one. The first one I bought was far too big, although I rode it for a winter. The Ribble sizing guide seems to way out.

It's a bog standard alu frame. Nothing exciting, but it does what it says on the tin. The only issue I have is that the Alpina forks could do with a bit more clearance under the crown arch for mudguards. It's really tight.