Confused Newb

Ridgy666

After years of road running I'm finally buying my first road bike. I've not rode one for years and was amazed of how much choice there was and the money that could be spent.

After a bit of research I decided on a Felt F95 (at a bargain £400) only for it to fall through due to stock shortages.

I'm now toying between a Cannondale Synapse Alloy Tigra or a little more expensive....a Ribble Gran Fondo (SRAM). The Ribble works out about 400ish more but my thinking is I know I'll want to get the full Carbon (after looking at the boardmans) and I really like the look of the Ribble!

I'm going to take a trip to the MK Evans tomorrow so I might be talked out of the Ribble yet.

Any advice is happily received.

Pseudonym

don't get too carried away by the 'carbon' thing - it's far more important to have a bike that you are happy on. Fit and comfort are far more important than whatever the frame might be made of....

LongIslandTom

Keep in mind also that Shimano and SRAM shifters work differently. You need to try both and see which you prefer.

Shimano Tiagra uses the lever-and-paddle system. Push the brake lever sideways to shift gears in one direction, and push the small paddle behind the brake lever to shift gears in the other direction.

SRAM's Double-Tap system uses just one paddle. Pushing the paddle to the first click will shift the gears in one direction, and pushing the paddle deeper (to more clicks) will shift the gears in the other direction. Unlike Shimano the SRAM brake lever does no gear shifting.

Some people prefer Shimano STI, some prefers SRAM Double Tap. You need to get the bike that has the control system that you prefer.

jonny_trousers

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about shifting systems: the big 3 all work fine. More important is to consider what you will be using the bike for and choosing a frame accordingly. For what it's worth, though, I've never heard of anyone who's been unhappy with the Ribble.

rolf_f

Pseudonym wrote:

don't get too carried away by the 'carbon' thing - it's far more important to have a bike that you are happy on. Fit and comfort are far more important than whatever the frame might be made of....

But then Ribble at least have a number of different geometries in their range. And it is worth getting carried away by the 'carbon thing'. The weight and ride qualities make a convincing case and probably save you buying a second bike in the medium term when you realise that it was the carbon bike you wanted all along!

JimboM

If it's any help I've just bought my first bike and like you I was unsure what to get. In the end I decided that initially I'd rather have comfort over out and out speed and therefore went for the more relaxed geometry of a Synapse Alloy. I knew that if I got a bike that was too 'aggresive' I'd get fed up with it and it would just sit in the shed. Once I'm used to road biking I may look for a racier style bike but realistically I'm never going to be competing and to be honest the Synapse suits me perfectly and I don't regret opting for it at all.

Cheers

Jim

Pseudonym

Rolf F wrote:

Pseudonym wrote:

don't get too carried away by the 'carbon' thing - it's far more important to have a bike that you are happy on. Fit and comfort are far more important than whatever the frame might be made of....

But then Ribble at least have a number of different geometries in their range. And it is worth getting carried away by the 'carbon thing'. The weight and ride qualities make a convincing case and probably save you buying a second bike in the medium term when you realise that it was the carbon bike you wanted all along!

I'd rather have a good alu frame than a cheap carbon - and you will probably get a better value spec on the alu frame, too. Like I said, don't get too carried away by the carbon thing....

Ridgy666

The Ribble seems to be pretty well spec'd tbh with the 105's and upgraded wheels, all depends on if the frame is any good I suppose.

Does anybody think the Ribble is a bad carbon frame?