Bike Spec

jae-so

Right following on from my thread here. I have chosen my bike, what do you think of my Spec?

Ribble Winter Trainer

Groupset: Shimano Sora 9 speed
Brakes: Shimano Tiagra
Wheels: Rodi Airline 4 Clinchers pair (do I need to change these? I'm a heavy boy; 16 stone)
Stem: Deda Zero 1 stem
Seatpillar: CSN Carbon SE Seatpillar
Tires: Vittoria Runino 3 Rigid
Inner Tube: (help here please)
Guards: Zefal Narrow Guards (The SKS ones worth the extra money?)
Pedals: (Help here, would like ones similar to the standard mountain/hybrid bike ones, might buy without then go to a bike store to get some)

Price: 604.90 (before pedals)

Thanks guys, hopefully buy the bike soon with your help

verloren

If you can possibly persuade yourself to do it I'd upgrade to the Tiagra 10sp group set; functionally it's better, gives you a handy extra gear, and will make future upgrades/replacements much easier. I know at some point you have to stop spending, but for me this upgrade is worth it.

I'm unsure about your choice of bike though - the Ribble is a great bike for the price, but it has very little clearance for larger tires. With the mudguards on you'll probably have room for 25s but nothing larger, which doesn't sound like what you had in mind from your earlier thread.

Inner tubes - just get the basic model, the other options are very marginal upgrades.

jae-so

Yeh I've accepted the fact that I'll have to use 23s on the bike so I'll just have to learn how to balance etc, people say 23s aren't too different from 28s anyway

With regards to the tiagra, how does it make it easier to find replacements? Reason I ask is because I'm new to cycling so want to keep costs low for this first commuting bike and can get a better racing bike in a year or so for longer rides etc

colonelkurtz

fwiw I moved from 28s to 23s when i bought a new bike with the intention of changing them but didn't really notice the difference so left them on - balance isn't affected as far as i can tell - stopping distance maybe but not much.

+1 on tiagra as well - more readily upgradeable and also sora has the irritating button gear shift which i didn't get on with (and you can't use on the drops)

verloren

The advantage for upgrade/replacement of Tiagra is that it is compatible with 105 and Ultegra, the next two levels up in the Shimano hierarchy. If your Sora rear mech fails you'll replace it with another Sora mech (which is fine), whereas if your Tiagra one fails you can choose to spend a few quid more on a 105/Ultegra one to get a better/lighter component.

As colonelkurtz points out, the controls on the Tiagra also suit most people much better.

jae-so

Lol now I'm torn between keeping prices low and getting the Tiagra

Let's come back to this one, what's do you guys think of the rest of the spec?

verloren

The rest of it sounds fine to me - at that price you're getting components that do the job without being fancy, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Another advantage of Tiagra if you're getting another bike is that the new one will almost certainly be 10sp, so your Ribble will be able to inherit upgrades from it, if only semi-consumables like chain and cassette.

jae-so

Ah that is a compelling argument lol, do Tiagra parts generally last longer than Sora ones, durability may sway me

verloren

I'd say they're about the same - neither is exactly hand-crafted by Japanese swordsmiths according to time-honoured techniques, so their basic construction isn't great for things like lightness, but is good for durability. I think the most recent Cycling Plus included a comment that Tiagra is probably the sweet spot for minimum maintenance - better equipment runs a little smoother, but has to be tuned more often, and I'm guessing lower stuff (e.g. Sora) lacks a little precision. But it's probably marginal.

jae-so

Of it is marginal, I'd probs just stick with the Sora lol, need to see if I'll actually stick with cycling so trying to get good parts a low cost

corshamjim

fwiw, I actually prefer the button gear shift on the Sora .. but I don't spend much time in the drops.

jae-so

Wheel wise do I need to upgrade them? I'm quite heavy so do I need to get something with more spokes? Also tire and inner tube wise, any that would help with punctures?

jae-so

For an extra £42 I can get these http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... TALWHFR130

They seem to have more spokes, will they be more suitable for heavy riders?

jae-so

Sorry for updating the post every 10 seconds.

I just realised the Special Edition bike has a Tiagra 9 speed and with the wheels above the price for the complete bike (an better stem) is £649.95, so I guess I'll be going Tiagra, the question is whether the wheels above are worth it

verloren

The ITM wheels seem to have fewer spokes than the Rodi ones (20/24 instead of 20/28), though better placed, so it's probably a wash.

The 9 speed Tiagra lacks one of the main benefits of the 10 speed version, namely the extra gear, but it's still not a bad idea.

jae-so

Yeh it would've been better as a 10 but at least I get better shifters, hmm so I guess I'll stick with the regular wheels and upgrade later if I have issues.

Right I think I'm nearly ready to purchase, the next question is with regards to gearing, the standard gearing is 12-23 but I was thinking 12-25 would be better (get a larger range) am I correct in my thinking?

jae-so

Excited, here's what I got, Toatal of £644.90:

Ribble Audax 7005 Horizontal Frame Blue 50cm (C-Top)
CSN BlackStorm Mguard eyes Winter Forks 1 1/8" ITS
Ribble Headset Branded Ribble 1 1/8" Hidden (ITS) 45 x 45
Shimano Tiagra 9 Spd Double Groupset
Shimano 4500 BB Cups (Tiagra 4500/4550 double/triple) Eng
Shimano Tiagra 4500 Brakes
Shimano 9 Spd HG50 (Sora/Tiagra) Cassette 12-25
Shimano 9 Spd HG53 Chain (Sora/Tiagra 9/Deore)
Shimano Tiagra Double 4550 9 Chainset Compact 170 34/50
Shimano Tiagra 4500 9 Double Front Gear Braze-on
Shimano Tiagra 4500 9 Spd Rear Gear Short
Shimano STI Levers Tiagra 4501 with Cables Double
Rodi Pr Whls Airline 4 Clinchers Black 8/9/10 Shim
ITM Alutech 6061 (31.8 ) Bars Black 40 c to c
ITM Alutech 6061 (31.8 ) Stem Black 80mm
Pro-Lite Lodi Saddle Black
CSN Carbon S.E. Seatpillar 27.2 300mm
Vittoria Rubino 3 Rigid Tyre Black/Black 700x23mm
Prorace Inner Tube 700x20/23 SV42mm
ITM Cork Embossed Handlebar Tape Black
Shimano Clipless Spd A530 Pedals Black

jae-so

Turns out the bike is actually a Tiagra 10 speed, check it out, what you think?