Ribble bike buying guide - Sportive, Stealth, Gran Fondo etc

13

Comments

  • Berk Bonebonce
    Berk Bonebonce Posts: 1,245
    Out of interest, anyone know what Chinese company is making the Pedal Force/Ribble frames and what codes they are?
  • solarflash
    solarflash Posts: 102
    When you choose a groupset do the brakes and BB etc match i.e. Rival groupset so you'd get rival brakes? Can't seem to see anything on the website about brakes but I'm probably missing something.
  • explosifpete
    explosifpete Posts: 1,327
    very tempted by he stealth frame and forks.
    Has anyone brought one yet?
    http://www.iwaxstudio.co.uk/
  • phearnde
    phearnde Posts: 73
    Collected my Sportive Bianco Frame/Forks, on Saturday

    Didn't get very far building it up at the weekend - only managed to install the BB cups & crankset (FSA SLK Light)

    Changed, the chain rings for Rotor Q Rings

    Hoping to get building again at the weekend

    Groupset will be Ultegra, from my Bianchi C2c 928, which now has Dura Ace Di2
  • wombler
    wombler Posts: 85
    I saw a Stealth in the flesh on Saturday morning - very eye-catching and looked great. I've also seen this on ebay, which looks to be very similar(the geometry table is the same as on the Ribble site):
    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/full-Carbon-matt-black-Road-bike-Frame-Fork-545mm-/170567469536?pt=Vintage_Sports_Memorabilia&hash=item27b69d09e0
    Don't know anything else about it though (e.g. materials).
  • weenyd
    weenyd Posts: 21
    I bought the comic this week and they've got a review of 5 £2500 bikes, and the best one was the De Rosa R838 which looked very nice, and also a bit similar to the Ribble Stealth.

    I headed over to http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57662 to have a closer look, and it is identical! Just use the zoom function and compare the front forks and that swooping line that starts at the head tube. Get the Ribble up to the roughly the same spec, and it comes to about £1500.

    Which one would you buy?
  • Gavin Cook
    Gavin Cook Posts: 307
    Anyone know when the Deda Super Scuro will be out and price etc ?

    Thanks
    Gavin
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    weenyd wrote:
    I bought the comic this week and they've got a review of 5 £2500 bikes, and the best one was the De Rosa R838 which looked very nice, and also a bit similar to the Ribble Stealth.

    I headed over to http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57662 to have a closer look, and it is identical! Just use the zoom function and compare the front forks and that swooping line that starts at the head tube. Get the Ribble up to the roughly the same spec, and it comes to about £1500.

    Which one would you buy?

    Well spotted. These really do look like the exact same frames! Different branding/distribution setup adds £1000
  • cal_stewart
    cal_stewart Posts: 1,840
    good spot. like the bit on CRC that says bikes built to order LMAO.
    eating parmos since 1981

    Canyon Ultimate CF SLX Aero 09
    Cervelo P5 EPS
    www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13038799
  • cal_stewart
    cal_stewart Posts: 1,840
    Cal_Stewart wrote:
    good spot. like the bit on CRC that says bikes built to order LMAO.
    after a better look at spec the de rosa does not have a bb30
    eating parmos since 1981

    Canyon Ultimate CF SLX Aero 09
    Cervelo P5 EPS
    www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13038799
  • weenyd
    weenyd Posts: 21
    Just had a read of the comic again, and it says that only 1 of the 5 bikes on test does not have BB30, and that's the BMC. So that implies the De Rosa does have BB30, but magazines/websites have been known to make mistakes.
  • cal_stewart
    cal_stewart Posts: 1,840
    don't think you could put a campag crank on a bb30
    eating parmos since 1981

    Canyon Ultimate CF SLX Aero 09
    Cervelo P5 EPS
    www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13038799
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Cal_Stewart wrote:
    don't think you could put a campag crank on a bb30
    :?:

    I'm sure there are loads of BB30 frames with campag
  • dulldave
    dulldave Posts: 949
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    weenyd wrote:
    I bought the comic this week and they've got a review of 5 £2500 bikes, and the best one was the De Rosa R838 which looked very nice, and also a bit similar to the Ribble Stealth.

    I headed over to http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57662 to have a closer look, and it is identical! Just use the zoom function and compare the front forks and that swooping line that starts at the head tube. Get the Ribble up to the roughly the same spec, and it comes to about £1500.

    Which one would you buy?

    Well spotted. These really do look like the exact same frames! Different branding/distribution setup adds £1000

    Yeah they look very similar. The geometry is slightly different though. Looks like the R838 is slightly longer.
    Scottish and British...and a bit French
  • Tech Rider
    Tech Rider Posts: 7
    I have acquired some new information after a mate visited Ribble Cycles because he is very interested in the Stealth race bike.

    The Ribble Stealth, De Rosa R838 and the Pedalforce RS3 are all identical frames.

    He wanted to feel the weight of the Stealth (due to mixed weight listings) so a member of staff brought a boxed frame out and it was labled R838 on the frame box!

    He was also told that the frame producers make an R838-S (standing for short) and R838- L (standing for long). Ribble sell the shorter one.

    So Ribble Stealth, or for £1000 extra you can have one with De Rosa stickers.

    Also, take a look at the new De Rosa R848.
    http://www.derosanews.com/derosa/module ... ike&bid=44

    It's the same frame as the Ribble New Sportive.
    Ribble version is probably shed loads cheaper too.
  • ridley2010
    ridley2010 Posts: 115
    Can you not fit a Campag 68 x 42 press fit cups to a BB30 frame so you can use Campag cranks?? Defies the point of BB30 i know but are these not for this purpose?
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Tech Rider wrote:
    The Ribble Stealth, De Rosa R838 and the Pedalforce RS3 are all identical frames.
    So Ribble Stealth, or for £1000 extra you can have one with De Rosa stickers.

    Or you can have a Ribble Stealth with De Rosa stickers :lol:

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Rosa-Bike-Frame ... 2556bbb429
    Faster than a tent.......
  • james2001
    james2001 Posts: 1
    I had a 4 month old Decathlon Sport 3 stolen and the insurance company have given me a £1000 to replace it (well 850, I'm adding the 150 excess).

    A friend has recommened Ribble, I wasn't looking for a carbon bike and have reservations about buying a bottom of the range carbon bike rather than a top of the range alu bike. The Sportive Bianco with 105 group set and RS20 wheels (£1090) looks good. It will be for a London commute of 20 miles, a three day 300 mile ride to Paris, and some weekends in the Pennines.
    The Sport 3 was my first road bike and did everything I asked of it, got me up a couple of Alpine passes without too much trouple (not sure how I would of coped without a triple though).

    So how durable are modern carbon frames at this price? Will it last as long a aluminmum one?
    I'm going to be in the north soon, do Ribble allow test rides from thier warehouse/shop?
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    james2001 wrote:
    So how durable are modern carbon frames at this price? Will it last as long a aluminmum one??

    Theoretically longer.
    james2001 wrote:
    I'm going to be in the north soon, do Ribble allow test rides from thier warehouse/shop?

    No - they don't have test bikes. When I went to order a Gran Fondo, they did let me sit on a completed bike of the right size to give me a feel for it though. Not ideal but I'm certainly not disappointed with the bike.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • ridley2010
    ridley2010 Posts: 115
    As you may have seen from the previous posts don't be misled by the price of the bikes/frames. The Stealth is the same as a De Rosa which is a grand more and plenty of maufacturers buy frames from the same moulds. So you can in theory buy a frame for half the price depending on the name plastered across the bike.

    I have to agree with Rolf also as aluminium should not have the the same lifespan as a carbon frame which are both very stiff and durable.
  • James1823
    James1823 Posts: 68
    I'm hoping Ribble owners can help me here.

    Just bought a Ribble sloping top tube alloy road bike with carbon rear stay and fork. I got it second hand, and the prev owner described it as horizontal TT and 7005. It doesn't matter that the description was not 100% accurate. What I am wondering however is how I can tell what type of alloy the frame is? Is it 7005 or Deda? Just out of curiosity?
  • ct4oc
    ct4oc Posts: 98
    do ribble have an option to visit and view bikes at the factory or do they have a shop? I'm considering a gran fondo with campag but I want a hands on feel before I part with £1000 plus?
  • zippypablo
    zippypablo Posts: 398
    you can visit the warehouse and view the bikes. It's not very big and it's NOT a shop but they do have their bikes on display and you can try them out for size. They did have a shop in Preston but it closed for refurb and I don't think it ever re-opened?
    If suffer we must, let's suffer on the heights. (Victor Hugo).
  • ct4oc
    ct4oc Posts: 98
    cool, thank you.
  • Poulsy
    Poulsy Posts: 155
    I'm looking at buying the new Sportive frame and have been digging around.

    The Stealth and De Rosa R838 appear to be this (also labelled R838)

    http://www.xpa-cycling.com/products_dat ... html&key=2

    I think the new Sportive is the same as the De Rosa R848 (as mentioned earlier on this thread) but R848 is not a model in xpace's catalogue but I think they may also make that frame, as it seems similar in product naming to their other frames.

    I saw a forum thread that indicated De Rosa may have purchased the R848 mould. IF it is the same as the new Sportive, how can Ribble keep selling the frames?

    There is loads of info here if you can be bothered to trawl through it all

    http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showth ... 09&page=31
  • arlowood
    arlowood Posts: 2,561
    Just got my copy of Cycling Active through the post and noted that they had reviewed the new Ribble Sportive Bianco.

    http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tech/bik ... ptest.html

    This was compared to the Cinelli Experience, Fuji Team 1.0 and Condor Italia.

    Reviewers gave it a 10/10 score which I reckon is relatively rare in these group tests.

    Might help you to decide on a bike in the £1K price bracket
  • wombler
    wombler Posts: 85
    that looks like the 'old' Sportive frame though.
  • arlowood
    arlowood Posts: 2,561
    wombler wrote:
    that looks like the 'old' Sportive frame though.

    Might be the old frame - can't comment on that. However the review is for the newly released Sportive Bianco kitted out with "latest generation" Shimano 105 (5700) so presumably the accessories and paint job have been updated.
  • andyr1974
    andyr1974 Posts: 3
    Is anyone aware of a Stealth review? I've read the De Rosa review, but would like to see a Ribble one just to see what they are saying. It's looking like my next purchase!!
  • Poulsy
    Poulsy Posts: 155
    Stealth review in latest Cycling Plus in the bike of thje year supplement

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