Winter training bike options, considering a Ribble

zoid

Hi,

Considering buying a bike for winter training and general use, from looking around it seems that short of buying second hand (which I would if the right bike comes up) that Ribble offer allot of value for money.

Pricing a 7005 Audax winter trainer with Campag 2011 Veloce (the group set alone is £337.99) comes in at £651 which none of the big brand names can come close to.

Be very interested to get any owners feedback on this bike and also any recommendations for alternatives that offer similar spec and price.

Many thanks.

rc856

Hi mate,
When I returned to cycling after a few years off, I got a Ribble with Xenon for £500.
That turned into my winter/turbo trainer bike and it's still going strong.

davelakers

Ive got a Ribble Audax with Mirage and Khamsin wheels and its a great piece of kit for the money. I bought it in 2008 for £495 and its been a solid winter/crappy weather workhorse for my commute.

I dont think there is better value out there.

cyclingfury

Yes, I have a Ribble too. It's the winter trainer so came with fully fitted mudguards and a Mirage groupset. I've had it for two years. During the spring/summer/autumn I fit some cheap wheels on it and use it for errands/shopping etc., and in the winter (when my best bike is in dry dock) I put on a set of Khamsins which are permanently shod with winter tyres.

It performs beautifully and for £550 odd quid, it was fantastic value. Highly recommended.

magliaceleste

The Ribble is fine, nothing special but it does the job well. Mine's been going strong for years. Be careful with sizing though.

cycologist

magliaceleste wrote:

The Ribble is fine, nothing special but it does the job well. Mine's been going strong for years. Be careful with sizing though.

Please expand on the sizing issue.

Canny Jock

The 50 is actually 54cm c to t, with a 54 or 55cm top tube. So a 50 is probably closer to a medium than a small.

There is a size guide on the site.

zoid

magliaceleste wrote:

The Ribble is fine, nothing special but it does the job well. Mine's been going strong for years. Be careful with sizing though.

What's the issue with the sizing is that the they have relatively long top tube lengths?

I'm 5 foot 6 and a half and have an inside leg measurement of 78cm, using the Ribble sizing guide (inside leg x .69) I get a recommended frame size of 53.82.

I was originally thinking of either ordering the 50cm or 52cm frame, my current bike is a 50cm c-c with a 52cm c-c top tube length (although I feel a little cramped on it and could do with a longer stem), where as the Ribble is measured c-t, the 50cm has a top length of 53.5 and the 52cm has a 54 top tube length.

Would you recommend going for the 50 or 52, chatting to Ribble sales they are suggesting the 52?

zoid

Canny Jock wrote:

The 50 is actually 54cm c to t, with a 54 or 55cm top tube. So a 50 is probably closer to a medium than a small.

There is a size guide on the site.

Are you referring to the Ribble 7005 with the horizontal top tube?

Looking at the geometry the frames are measured c-t, the 50cm frame has a top tube length of 53.5, my current bike is a 50 c-c, surely then the ribble measured c-c would be smaller than 50, where do you the 54cm measurement from?

PeterBL

Until recently they measured their sizes c-c, but now they do c-t. So what was previously a 50cm frame is now a 54cm in their listing. Most people in this thread haven't noticed, and that's why you are confused, zoid.

The frames themselves haven't changed though, so they are still rather long in the top tube. So compare with your current bike (which is seems you are already doing).

Also note that some of the sizes are sold out until december.

Damo66

Recently bought a Ribble 7005 horizontal tt bike....

Fully expected at 5' 9" to be buying a 54cm frame but on visiting the showroom and trying a few sizes I ended up with a 48cm with a slightly shorter (9 cm) stem than the "Ribble default" of 10cm.

D