Ribble Sportive Bike Builder v Cube GTC

malglass

Hi

I had all but decided to take the plunge and upgrade my old Trek bike for a shiny new Cube GTC Race, however I have had my head turned by the excellant reviews coming out for the new Ribble Sportive.

I have been through the Special Edition bike section and dont like the wheel choices, going by the reviews in mags the Fulcrum racing 5's seem the best bet from the selection avaliable for a descent price.

Now though I am in a real quandry as to how to spec it up, I have been riding for a number of year but am not fully up on all the jargon re cassette sizes etc. I ride mainly by myself most nights I do 10-20 miles around south ayrshire and at weekend I head out for longer rides including some pretty hilly bits.

Suppose what I am asking is how would you spec this bike up off the Bike Builder??

Would really appreciate some help and advice from the forum, I am sure with all the years of experiance out there someone will have there 2p worth to chuck in!!

Thanks

gingernash

I currently have a GTC Race on order. At one point considered the Ribble builder but was slightly put off by fact that I cannot easily test ride a Ribble bike (miles away from me) plus was not sure about how good the frames are etc but, of course, that might just be me.

benno68

I've got a GTC Race (2010 model). I'm not the fittest around and the compact (34 - 50) chainset with a 12 -27 at the back has got me up everything so far.

If you decide on a Ribble I'd suggest a compact with 12-27 or 11-28, whether to go for Shimano or Campag is another issue, I'd go for 105.

Ksyrium Elite wheels.

All that said, have a ride on the GTC Race if you can - I'm very happy with mine.

rolf_f

Benno68 wrote:

If you decide on a Ribble I'd suggest a compact with 12-27 or 11-28, whether to go for Shimano or Campag

11-28? That's a bit extreme! I have just got a 13-29 but that is for the Fred Whitton.

To OP; if it is just the wheels that bother you, do check overall price between bike builder and special edition. You might find that you save enough using special edition to fund another pair of wheels and keep the standard ones as winter wheels or spares. When I got my Ribble, I picked up a pair of Vento Reactions at the same time for £100.

malglass

Had a ride on the cube it was really nice, however I am stuck between 2 sizes the 56/58 and just can't seem to get to comfy on either hence the ribble thoughts. Thanks for the advice so far guys. Keep it coming really appreciated.