What's the deal with RIBBLE???

Sparklehorse

Seems Ribble offer a 'no frills' but quality bike parts and bike building service.

Are they not seen as fashionable as the Colnago, Trek's etc... of this world? If not then why isn't everyone riding around on Ribble frames? You can get a full Carbon Nero corsa frame for £378!!

I'm sorely tempted to buy one to replace my Alu frame and swap over my components. It will be like having a brand new carbon bike for less than £400. Am I being simple?

redddraggon

Nero Corsas are a bit crap

Anonymous

Nope, you crack on and enjoy it!

Not a clue as to the quality but if it's carbon you're after then it's a cheap way of doing it.

Edit - Reddragon passed on his experiences of owning one!

Sparklehorse

Nero Corsas are a bit crap

care to expand on that at all?

Chip \'oyler

My brother has the Ribble Scuoro frame and loves it. Its very light and pretty stiff

volvine

Must say they look superb in the magazines especially the new sportive one and it got a great review in cm

Infamous

Sparklehorse wrote:

Are they not seen as fashionable as the Colnago, Trek's etc... of this world? If not then why isn't everyone riding around on Ribble frames?

Everyone in the world rides a ribble through winter.

Chip \'oyler

Infamous wrote:

Sparklehorse wrote:

Are they not seen as fashionable as the Colnago, Trek's etc... of this world? If not then why isn't everyone riding around on Ribble frames?

Everyone in the world rides a ribble through winter.

No they don't

juankerr

They do round here..

Anonymous

There is a high proportion here too, oh, just seen where infamous lives!

passout

Loads around my way have Ribble Winter trainers.

Some like me have Nero Corsas. RedDragon and I have disagreed about this before, but I really like my Nero Corsa. It handles very nicely, is comfortable and has presented no problems. Bike Radar reviewed it a while back: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... a-08-28023

Alot of other brands actually use the same frame just with a different badge on eg Kona.

Sparklehorse

passout - can you elaborate on Reddragon's issues? I'm seriously considering a Nero Corsa but would rather know about any weaknesses - however subjective the view is.

Cheers

passout

OK. From memory, he thought that the headtube was too long and he couldn't get the bars low enough. I find it fine, at the moment I've even got spacers to raise the bars. I don't think that its much different from many other bikes in that respect to be honest. Mine came with three spacers so you can play around quite alot with the position. I also 'think' that he peferred the feeling of aluminium, but he may have something to say on that one!

redddraggon

The Nero Corsa is

-ugly
-QC seems slightly out - a lot of seat tubes aren't coming out round - a problem when claming on the band for the front mech
-Geometry a bit wierd (my winter bike has a headtube 6.5cm shorter [11cm v 17.5cm] but both have 55cm TTs0
-doesn't actually seem all that stiff - feeling of the front end is a bit vague, BB is not all that stiff either
-It's not all that "comfortable" either
-bottle cage "braze on" on seattube far too high meaning getting a 750ml in and out during riding is impossible - unfortunately that seems quite common on other bikes too.

It's probably not bad for £~368, but personally I'd go for an alloy frame at that sort of budget.

mostly harmless

A discussion of ~£400 carbon frames would not be complete without mention of the Planet X SL Pro (and you get forks for that money too)

dnrdnr

Surely these carbon frames are all coming from a limited number of factories in China / Taiwan. There are different quality levels but I am certain that the same frames appear with different branding often at wildly different prices!

volvine

the winter bike of choice round here seems to be Surosa
http://www.surosa.co.uk/4352/products/S ... _Sora.aspx
must say if the bike you are looking at is the one passout posted i would be delighted to have one looks really good.

Mettan

Sparklehorse wrote:

Seems Ribble offer a 'no frills' but quality bike parts and bike building service.

Are they not seen as fashionable as the Colnago, Trek's etc... of this world? If not then why isn't everyone riding around on Ribble frames? You can get a full Carbon Nero corsa frame for £378!!

I'm sorely tempted to buy one to replace my Alu frame and swap over my components. It will be like having a brand new carbon bike for less than £400. Am I being simple?

For ~ 370 the Nero Corsa's good value - if you really want Carbon on a budget, it could be an option - check out the frame geometry though - make sure you're happy with all aspects before purchase. It does have a long headtube - it generally gets good reviews though - (I'm happy with my Ribble Winter, fwiw - good value for money and an adequate enough frame)

redddraggon

Mettan wrote:

I'm happy with my Ribble Winter, fwiw - good value for money and an adequate enough frame

It's better than the Nero Corsa at a fraction of the cost

passout

These guys make the Nero Corsa - whether you get one with Ribble, Condor etc written on the side makes no difference of course.

http://www.dedacciai.net/eng-frame-cycl ... -home.php#

Hope that helps!

alfablue

Sparklehorse wrote:

Seems Ribble offer a 'no frills' but quality bike parts and bike building service.

Ribble tend to take "no frills" to the extreme, sometimes it equals no service at all! (try emailing them!).

Sparklehorse

thanks all, useful advice.

I already have a Dedacciai (spelling?) 7005 alu frame as my one and only Road bike. My incentive to buy a new bike/frame revolve around a. having one 'special' (read: summer) bike for nice days, sportives etc....b. the opportunity to build a bike and learn mechanics along the way c. greed and lust

I'd want to make quite sure that any frame bought would be a significant upgrade. The alternative and at an extra £400 odd quid would be an alu Cervelo soloist frame which seems to be universally adored. I guess I'm at a major disadvantage at never having ridden a carbon frame so have nothing to compare with!

Mothyman

let us know what you decide and how you rate the purchase.

PS
I'm looking for previous postsa on the 'why do I need a winter bike' theme (apologies-I'm a beginner).
cheers

passout

Merlin cycles also sell these frames but they are still quite a bit more...
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/road-bike ... forks.html

juankerr

NapoleonD wrote:

There is a high proportion here too, oh, just seen where infamous lives!

Ah... Cheshire here too! Come the winter, Cheshire & Wirral roads are packed with blue Ribble Winter bikes. I wouldn't say they are fashionable, apart from the Sportive they aren't the best looking bikes, but they are cheap.

Big Banjo

Happy with my ribble winter bike, at the price it is a very good deal. Also never had any problems with service with them, although i do work 5 minutes down the road so i can collect.