Which Ribble?

dwclay99

This will be my first venture into proper road biking. The Ribble's look like a bargins but i dont know which one would suit me the best.

I'm 19 and do loads of mountain biking. I have a few friends who ride in clubs and do the odd time trial. this is something which i am defintly interested in doing once i get used to what ever bike i end up with. I also intend on doing longer rides over 100 miles plus in events etc.

Ideally i want something which is mostly racy in feel with an element of comfort.

So. which carbon ribble do you recommend?

keasden

Based on your requirements I would say you can't go wrong with any one from either the Gran Fondo, New Sportive or Sportive Blanco.

All are aimed for fast long distances, just choose the one you like the look of the most. I picked the Gran Fondo and am very happy with it.

angelic upstart

Stay clear of Dribble, bag of shite. Planet x or Boardman for you young man.

dwclay99

angelic upstart wrote:

Stay clear of Dribble, bag of shite. Planet x or Boardman for you young man.

I have been told to stay clear of planet x by quite a few people!

CaffeineShot

I agree with Keasden, I bought the Gran Fondo, kitted with Campag Athena 11 Speed, Absolutely love it. Rode Ribble bikes years ago and having had a number of years off have come back in to cycling and love the new bike. I reckon one of the big advantages of buying from Ribble is the ability to build the bike up exactly the way you want ti. On the down side unless you live close to them, a test ride is difficult unless you know someone who already has one. I too looked at the Boardman, but preferred putting the preferred kit on the Ribble, Boardman for me needed too much upgrading. Hope you enjoy your new bike, whatever you decide to go for.

itboffin

I love my two ribbles, both my winter commuter and my carbon sportive are stiff and feel well planted more so that my other big brand bikes.

But as has already been said here it's a bit of a suck it and see purchase which wont suit everyone, if you know someone with a ribble get thee a test ride.

Remember the ribble, planet-x etc carbon frames are basically Chinese generic frames which you can pick up even cheaper directly, have a look at the road buying advice section of this forum.

solboy

dwclay99 wrote:

angelic upstart wrote:

Stay clear of Dribble, bag of shite. Planet x or Boardman for you young man.

I have been told to stay clear of planet x by quite a few people!

Me too and this was from the PX dealer in Croydon (who will remain nameless :roll:) . Also take a look a the Cayo 105 or Ultegra on Wiggle.

rokkala

Seen a couple of the Ribble Stealths in the flesh and they are very nice looking. Geometry should be fine for you too.

dwclay99

another option which I am considering is the cannondale synapse alloy 105. Full 105 groupset minus the crankset which is the FSA Gossamer. It gets very very good reviews and its quite cheap for a quaility alloy frame (£999).

Thoughts?

solboy

For me i would want carbon or Ti. I saw all the new Ribbles as the London Cycle Show last year and they all looked great bikes especially the Stealth and GF.

ShutUpLegs

Probably a better frame than those cheap carbons

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... s-11-44763

But in order id probably go for cube/focus/ribble/planet-x/boarman

saintdracula

What exactly is so bad about these Boardmans - I mean they won BOTY for crying out loud.

dwclay99

saintdracula wrote:

What exactly is so bad about these Boardmans - I mean they won BOTY for crying out loud.

he he :roll:

I think i'll give Ribble a ring tommrow to see if there is any chance of having a go on one of there bikes in the south east!

Gavin Cook

What about a Canyon ? You can get some good buys in the outlet section.

dwclay99

bit too expensive:(

dwclay99

So, sizing wise. what do you guys think for a sportive frame?

I am just over 6'1 with quite long arms.

My inside leg is approximatly 34 inches/86cm.

Avanti Roman

I'm a similar size (just under 6'2", 33.5" inseam & long arms) and I ride a Gran Fondo in XL (56cm) with a 110mm stem. Saddle height is 812mm

Sizing on the other frames will be slightly different.

incog24

dwclay99 wrote:

So, sizing wise. what do you guys think for a sportive frame?

I am just over 6'1 with quite long arms.

My inside leg is approximatly 34 inches/86cm.

Stuff a sportive frame...You're young enough to be flexible, get a racing geometry frame and let rip. If you're planning to do TTs (and possible RRs too?) then a slack seat tube isn't going to be ideal.

rolf_f

dwclay99 wrote:

saintdracula wrote:

What exactly is so bad about these Boardmans - I mean they won BOTY for crying out loud.

he he :roll:

I think i'll give Ribble a ring tommrow to see if there is any chance of having a go on one of there bikes in the south east!

You'll have to hope someone on here will let you have a go - even if you are in Preston you'll only get to sit on one.

Another satisfied Gran Fondo here - mine (with me on it!) just completed the Fred yesterday perfectly happily! Saw at least a couple more too (plus one old Sportive Racing and one new) though anyone who says they are common is presumably blind to the millions and millions of Treks and Specialized bikes on the Fred. At times, there seemed to be hardly anything else.

dwclay99

the response from phoning ribble was that i should be on large 55cm with a 110mm stem and 175 crank arm length.

BrianTrousers

Who told you to stay clear of Planet X and why? I've had mine for two years and it's faultless. Their customer service is superb as well.

As someone else noted above though, don't get hung up on the whole carbon thing, a CAAD 10 would be a brilliant choice.

peter101cycle

BrianTrousers wrote:

Who told you to stay clear of Planet X and why?

Must admit, I would like to know as well as I have not heard much bad said about them?

Pigeons in flight

I have nothing but good things to say about Planet X - brisk, but efficient customer service and the bikes are excellent for the money.

Having said that, I am tempted with the Gran Fondo - geometry wise, it seems better suited to my knackered back than my Planet X SL carbon. I'm 5' 10" with a relatively short 31" inside leg - according to Ribble's website I just tip over into a Large sizing. At 5' 10", large doesnt seem quite right - any guidance would be appreciated.

rolf_f

Pigeons in flight wrote:

I have nothing but good things to say about Planet X - brisk, but efficient customer service and the bikes are excellent for the money.

Having said that, I am tempted with the Gran Fondo - geometry wise, it seems better suited to my knackered back than my Planet X SL carbon. I'm 5' 10" with a relatively short 31" inside leg - according to Ribble's website I just tip over into a Large sizing. At 5' 10", large doesnt seem quite right - any guidance would be appreciated.

The Gran Fondo has a short top tube - so, at least on paper if you are of non standard proportion it will fit you best if you have long legs and short torso (which is why I bought one) - if your legs are relatively short, I'd suspect that the GF is not your ideal Ribble.

My Gran Fondo is large and I'm 6'1". Possibly your torso length is similar to mine hence the fit to large but I would assume you'd find the front end too high for your leg length. Difficult to be sure without having a proper fit.

The Sportives are a little lower in the head tube so might be worth a look.

Cornbeef

I have just bought a Gran Fondo with Athena drive train and having had a Bianchi previously it itswithout a doubt a fantastic looking bike amd it rides really well. It is comfortable and not too sporty for my aging back. I really love it.

As for Ribble I know that there is al ot of criticism about them with delays etc ,but I ordered mine on the 27/4 and picked it up on the 6/5. They definately impressed me with the service.

Pigeons in flight

Thanks Rolf - it's a tricky one...the temptation of cheap carbon juxtaposed with the leap of faith size wise. I'llgive it thought, but my Cyclescheme voucher will soon be burning a hole in my pocket![/quote]