Ribble

Scotxr

So after ordering my RIbble bike a few weeks ago my order has incurred one hold up (cock up ) after another.

Customer service has been poor and i've been left in the position where i'm about to cancel my order (the main choice I was given by one of their representatives).

I think I will order a Planet X Pro Carbon bike ASAP and was wondering whether anyone could shed any light on the flew issue that seems to be mentioned in a lot in reviews. Is it really noticeable?? I'm about 12 and a half stone.

Thanks in advance guys

ba68

I bought one in the summer, I'm a similar weight to you at 12.5 stone and personally don't feel any flex. It's a great bike and the Planet X guys are good to deal with. I'm 6' tool, 34" inside leg and have a large with a 100mm stem and the fit is pretty much spot on.

ba68

I meant I'm 6' tall!

fbeechinor

I've been riding a Bianco sportive since the summer. I was 14st when I got it and now weigh 12.5 st and have nothing but good things to say about the bike and definately haven't experienced any flex. I had read about bad experiences with customer service but I have found them nothing but helpful, back then and since with other purchases

Scotxr

ba68 wrote:

I bought one in the summer, I'm a similar weight to you at 12.5 stone and personally don't feel any flex. It's a great bike and the Planet X guys are good to deal with. I'm 6' tool, 34" inside leg and have a large with a 100mm stem and the fit is pretty much spot on.

Ah, good to hear, the flex was the only thing holding me back. I'm 5' 9", so a medium??

Scotxr

fbeechinor wrote:

I've been riding a Bianco sportive since the summer. I was 14st when I got it and now weigh 12.5 st and have nothing but good things to say about the bike and definitely haven't experienced any flex. I had read about bad experiences with customer service but I have found them nothing but helpful, back then and since with other purchases

The flex I was talking about was to do with PX bikes.

I'm glad you had a good experience with Ribble, i've had nothing but problems, particularly with stock (or lack there of). I tried not to be difficult throughout the whole process but was massively underwhelmed with the customer service. They were at pains to tell me how they didnt make much on the Cycle to work scheme and therefore I had to take the bike as offered or have my voucher returned.

Lets just say that if anyone wants an opinion on RIbble i'll be more than happy to tell them about my experience.

jpenno

Have you considered the Focus from wiggle currently with 25% of list price :!:

Scotxr

jpenno wrote:

Have you considered the Focus from wiggle currently with 25% of list price :!:

Had a look but dont fancy it

ba68

I would guess a medium would be about right, give them a call, they are really helpful and will give you some advice. Where are you, there are a couple of places that hold stock of most of their bikes so you can check sizing?

Scotxr

ba68 wrote:

I would guess a medium would be about right, give them a call, they are really helpful and will give you some advice. Where are you, there are a couple of places that hold stock of most of their bikes so you can check sizing?

Really??! Good idea of theirs. I'm in Scotland, just outside Glasgow.

Now trying to decide whether it's worth paying the extra and getting the SRAM Red version of the Planet X bike. The sad thing is Ribble could have been getting my money if they weren't so unhelpful.

ba68

Sorry, didn't know you were in Glasgow, the only places I know are in London. Give PX a call they will help with sizing and also you can compare the geometry between your existing bike and the PX, bear in mind though that the design is compact. I like Shimano so went with Ultegra but was very tempted by the SRAM builds.

meanredspider

I'm a bit pi55ed off with Ribble. "Free Post to Mainland UK on all orders over £35". Add to basket, add my 10% discount (£16) then discover than Inverness has floated off-shore from the rest of the UK when I wasn't looking and get £8 slapped on postage making the saving vs others really very marginal (and I won't get that £8 back if fit isn't good whereas I would get full refund from others with free postage). If there website hadn't been so incredibly slow, causing me to invest quite a bit of time in placing the order, I'd have cancelled.

Grrr. Shan't be using Ribble

t5nel

Scotxr wrote:

ba68 wrote:

I would guess a medium would be about right, give them a call, they are really helpful and will give you some advice. Where are you, there are a couple of places that hold stock of most of their bikes so you can check sizing?

Really??! Good idea of theirs. I'm in Scotland, just outside Glasgow.

Now trying to decide whether it's worth paying the extra and getting the SRAM Red version of the Planet X bike. The sad thing is Ribble could have been getting my money if they weren't so unhelpful.

It is a shame that Ribble were not better in this instance. I bought a bike via C2W from Ribble and felt that the level of service was appropriate to a low cost internet retailer. I am thrilled with the bike itself and when you think that Ribble have *got* to make money somewhere you should consider this carefully before buying from them. I think the fact is they simply do not and will not bend over backwards to keep people happy regardless of the cost. I really wanted a Gran Fondo and was prepared to 'make it work' with regards to Ribble.

There was one issue where they could not get the cassette I asked for but they emailed about this and suggested an alternative and when I didnt reply (on hols) they called me and asked if I would accept the substitute to keep build on track. I guess a cassette is no bi deal but I might have felt different about other components. The only other thing that miffed me a bit (but I can understand) is that I could not swap 1 component once they had been picked but before the build. Timing wise, the bike took ~ 3.5 weeks from day they received my voucher.

No affiliation to Ribble etc just an owner who likes his bike and found the service levels perfectly acceptable given the type of retailer and the bad press they sometimes get.

unixnerd

then discover than Inverness has floated off-shore from the rest of the UK when I wasn't looking and get £8 slapped on postage

Wonder if that's a new thing? I got a set of wheels off them about 12 months ago and there was no extra charge for Aviemore. Will keep an eye open next time I order.

meanredspider

unixnerd wrote:

then discover than Inverness has floated off-shore from the rest of the UK when I wasn't looking and get £8 slapped on postage

Wonder if that's a new thing? I got a set of wheels off them about 12 months ago and there was no extra charge for Aviemore. Will keep an eye open next time I order.

This was their response when I queried it

Hi

Unfortunately parcel force dictate our carriage costs im afraid.

Many thanks



If they knock off carriage for orders over £35, you'd have thought they could manage it for £150 small parcel to the Highlands....Wiggle does!

unixnerd

Unfortunately parcel force dictate our carriage costs im afraid.

I didn't realise Parcel Force had a charging scheme that penalised the Highlands, I know Royal Mail doesn't. Perhaps they only apply it with corporate customers as it's a flat model from a post office counter.

Mr Dog

Had wheels delivered to Aberdeenshire. £4 postage via Parcel Force. Still worked out cheaper than the rest. Other stuff arrives via Royal Mail free with a £35 spend. Not as quick as CRC and Wiggle but leaves them red faced on price. I'm happy with Ribble. 8)

t.m.h.n.e.t

Postage for some stuff to NI costs more than the item itself Be thankful lol

ba68

It does vary but the build time for my PX SL Pro was about 10 days, their standard build bikes are just a few days I think. They gave me a build date when the order was confirmed and I called on the day to check it was done so I knew if I needed to take the next day off and the guy on the phone kept me on hold while he went to the workshop to check, he assured me it would be and it turned up the next day. All I had to do was turn out the bars and away I went. I had a query about how to center the brake calipers, dropped them an email and got a reply in minutes and told me to call if this wasn't clear. Overall I'm very happy with their service and the bike has been superb.

Scotxr

t5nel wrote:

Scotxr wrote:

ba68 wrote:

I would guess a medium would be about right, give them a call, they are really helpful and will give you some advice. Where are you, there are a couple of places that hold stock of most of their bikes so you can check sizing?

Really??! Good idea of theirs. I'm in Scotland, just outside Glasgow.

Now trying to decide whether it's worth paying the extra and getting the SRAM Red version of the Planet X bike. The sad thing is Ribble could have been getting my money if they weren't so unhelpful.

It is a shame that Ribble were not better in this instance. I bought a bike via C2W from Ribble and felt that the level of service was appropriate to a low cost internet retailer. I am thrilled with the bike itself and when you think that Ribble have *got* to make money somewhere you should consider this carefully before buying from them. I think the fact is they simply do not and will not bend over backwards to keep people happy regardless of the cost. I really wanted a Gran Fondo and was prepared to 'make it work' with regards to Ribble.

There was one issue where they could not get the cassette I asked for but they emailed about this and suggested an alternative and when I didnt reply (on hols) they called me and asked if I would accept the substitute to keep build on track. I guess a cassette is no bi deal but I might have felt different about other components. The only other thing that miffed me a bit (but I can understand) is that I could not swap 1 component once they had been picked but before the build. Timing wise, the bike took ~ 3.5 weeks from day they received my voucher.

No affiliation to Ribble etc just an owner who likes his bike and found the service levels perfectly acceptable given the type of retailer and the bad press they sometimes get.

Well i'm glad you're happy with them.

They had 2 stock issues with me, in one they wanted me to accept the wrong size cranks. They said they would upgrade the chainset only free of charge (I said i'd put money to it for the whole groupset to be upgraded), when he went and checked they didnt have the upgrade he offered me in stock either!! Afterwards he said there was nothing more he could do for me and I could accept the bike or have my voucher back. As I said, they were at great pains to tell me that they made very little out the CTW scheme - maybe they shouldn't do it if it and the scheme's customers mean that little to them.

Planet X here I come. Just dont know whether I should get the Red upgrade, worth it??

navrig

meanredspider wrote:

I'm a bit pi55ed off with Ribble. "Free Post to Mainland UK on all orders over £35". Add to basket, add my 10% discount (£16) then discover than Inverness has floated off-shore from the rest of the UK when I wasn't looking and get £8 slapped on postage making the saving vs others really very marginal (and I won't get that £8 back if fit isn't good whereas I would get full refund from others with free postage). If there website hadn't been so incredibly slow, causing me to invest quite a bit of time in placing the order, I'd have cancelled.

Grrr. Shan't be using Ribble

That is not good MRS. We lived in the Sneck for 12 years and the only online shop I found a similar problem with was DABS the computer stuff seller. It really riles me when they don't understand our geography. You have my sympathy.