Ribble buying advice

FoldingJoe

Guys,

I'm looking at buying a road bike on our cycle to work scheme. Looking to spend about £600-700, so have been looking at the Specialized Allez, the Trek 1 series, and the Ribbles.

I really like the idea of the Ribble, but was wondering if it, or any road bike for that matter, is going to be able to hold up to my 16 stone bulk!!!? :oops:

Also, if you think there are no problems with using a road bike at this weight, which would you recommend out of the Ribble 7005, 7005 SL, and the Ultralite, and which components would you recommend?

Cheers,
FJ

UndercoverElephant

I reckon any bike should be able to carry 16 stone without any problem at all.

Edit: And personally, I would upgrade from Sora to Tiagra or SRAM Apex. Not that I've used Sora, but I hear it's a marked step-down from Tiagra, which I like a lot.

Marcus_C

Browsing evans the other day I found this: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec021919

If you're near a store it would be well worth a test ride, you won't find another new 105 equipped bike for that money. I haven't tried the ribbles so can't comment about them. 16 stone will be no problem.

dhope

Hah, that didn't take long to move on from the folder to a road bike. Will this be for the commute?
Wouldn't worry about 16 stone.

FoldingJoe

Hmm, not sure yet.

I've still yet to discover the wonders of the Airnimal, but that is mainly due to my lack of fitness, so for the time being I will continue to use it for the commute, and may switch to the road bike at some point in the future.

FoldingJoe

..also, does 52cm sound about right for frame sized.

I'm 5'10", but am a short arse, so my inside leg is only 30".

EKE_38BPM

That has got to be the quickest N+1 in Commuting Chat history!

From no bikes to looking for a weekend road bike in less than 3 weeks!!!!!!!

FoldingJoe

EKE_38BPM wrote:

That has got to be the quickest N+1 in Commuting Chat history!

From no bikes to looking for a weekend road bike in less than 3 weeks!!!!!!!

I've got a friend to blame for this. Down the pub on Sunday and I was telling him about my introduction to commuting and find out that he used to be a rather serious cyclist himself when he lived in London (shaved leg roadie type).

He did his knee in a couple of years ago, but is now contemplating getting back into road cycling, and he's looking at a new bike, and he has persuaded me that I should also invest and join him on some rides.

Now all I have to do is persuade the missus!!! :roll:

EKE_38BPM

Tell her that cycling is really good for stamina. When you get back from work, instead of being tired, you'll have loads of energy to do all the little jobs that women have for their menfolk.

That is the main benefit of increased stamina, right?

FoldingJoe

In terms of groupset I'm leaning towards the 105, anyone think that the SRAM equivalent (rival?) would be a better option?

sketchley

FoldingJoe wrote:

In terms of groupset I'm leaning towards the 105, anyone think that the SRAM equivalent (rival?) would be a better option?

Several people....

UndercoverElephant

I've never ridden SRAM, so I can't really comment. Is it possible to do multiple-gear upshifts with double-tap?

Craggers

I'm a fat b@stard and I've just ordered a 7005 horizontal on the C2W... don't worry about the weight!

Specced it with veloce groupset, purely because I've never had a bike with campy and want to give it a shot (this probably isn't very helpful!)

seataltea

FoldingJoe wrote:

..also, does 52cm sound about right for frame sized.

I'm 5'10", but am a short ars*, so my inside leg is only 30".

I'm an identical size and expected to be on a 54, I really think you've got to sit on the bike before buying, I ended up on a 58 which is perfectly comfortable but sizing theory suggests is too large.