Bianchi vs Ribble advice

puddle-rider

Hi Guys,

It's time to upgrade my existing Bianchi via Nirone to soem carbon lovelyness.

Really fancy the Carbon Bianch in Celeste but this costs £1700 with Veloce Groupset
The Ribble Bianco with full Athena groupset comes in at around £1300 leaving enough money over to buy a Garmin 800
So are ribble bikes really that good?

Discuss

centimani

Hiya Puddle...you're just going through what ive just completed...Bianchi to Ribble for almost exactly the same reasons as you.
For me it was Via Nirone Xenon to New Sportive Racing with veloce.
I was seriously taken with the Impulso, but this of course was alloy (not that thats a problem in itself) but you compromised with the FSA chainset, nowhere near as good as the Veloce chainset and i was used to the bombproof WS32 wheelset, where the Impulso had their new wheelsets, i'd read someone thought they were not as good.
At £1200, i thought i could have carbon frame AND full veloce groupset, albeit with pretty standard Rodi wheels, which are probably on a par with the Impulso/Via nirone wheels anyway.
Anyway, bit the bullet and got a Ribble and i'm very impressed (with very minor negatives)
Full carbon wing bars (internal cable routing..they look REALLY nice), stem and seatpost, full Veloce groupset, Rodi wheelset, standard saddle, it all came in at £1250 ish.
The slight negatives...its in the detail. Downtube adjuster bosses are very slightly skewed which while it wont hurt in any way, just seems a shame ...and they're rivetted to the frame. This maybe normal, but i think to myself.'you'd better not smack them'. Same with the FD mount, rivetted.
Also the paint ends on the seat tube...a mm below where the saddle clamp locates, so you can see where it finishes. Only minor stuff, but i guess this is the price you pay for some of the best value carbon frames available.

It all works perfectly, i'm very very happy. Does the Ribble look as nice as the Bianchi...probably not...am i THAT bothered, probably not.
I immediately swapped the Rodi wheels (which actually look quite good) for my Fulcrum 5s off the previous bike so cant say how the Rodis perform.
Standard saddle ?,..ive been off the bike for a few months now so just getting back into it, but one hour in the saddle already feels mildy uncomfortable with the Superleggerra. That may be me...its not a terrible saddle..but.
If you go for the full carbon wing bars, the half tape method looks really kinda cool. Its only taped up to the wing section of course.

Ultimately, everyone says how smooth cabon frames are....they are !!! its really noticeable.
No regrets on my side, non at all.

CRAIGO5000

Name Vs No Name?

De Rosa R838 with Athena (£2500)

or Stealth with Athena/Sram Force or Ultegra for ~£1450? I had the Planet X wheels off my old bike but my Stealth came with cheap Rodi wheels which have now been donated to the commuter. I may spend the saved cash on some £400 carbon clinchers and 3 x Garmin Edge 800's.


I believe the generic Far East frame R848 is the Ribble Sportive Racing too.

Either way, I echo the sentiments above regarding carbon frames - they really are so much more super smooth on our roads compared with my aluminium bike.

bmxboy10

What did you go and do that for! Just as i had got over my annual spring time OCD about getting a carbon bike to compliment my Ti bike you go and show a picture of that Stealth. Just spent an hour on the ribble site building my own campy version in black and red. I wont sleep now! Cheers!

smidsy

The best place to spend money is on frame and forks, the other stuff is just bolt on bits that can be changed.

The question that needs answering (and I do not have it) is what is the Bianchi frame/fork like vs the Ribble frame/fork.

Is the extra because the Bianchi frame/fork is really that much better or is it because of the name/heritage?

wilty

I recently ordered a £1900 spec ribble gran fondo. Got 2 weeks into the process and then they decide to email me saying they no longer have the tyres,handlebars and FRAME SIZE I ordered. So in terms of customer service and general competance, ribble really let me down, hence why I asked for a refund.

smidsy is right though, I would spend as much money as you can on a frame/fork. You can add the rest over a period of time, but I certainly wouldn't spend that percentage of your budget on a garmin

Happy carbon hunting!

derbygrimpeur

I've recently ordered a Ribble Stealth with Athena Carbon groupset. Total build, with other bits and bobs came in at £1700. The alternative I was looking at was a Cinelli Saetta with Veloce groupset at the same price. Having already got Veloce on my winter bike I opted for the Ribble as it's going to be a while before I can afford to upgrade groupset (baby on the way). So Ribble offered the best all round deal, and from what I hear the frames are good. Can't wait to ride mine, reckon I should get it next week.

And in relation to Wilty's comment > I would DEFINITELY buy the Garmin. In fact, I have an Edge 800 and it's amazing. No faffing with trying to remember routes etc. The Garmin is well worth spending the money on.

CRAIGO5000

Agreed on the 800, I have one too and I wouldn't be without it.

wilty

derbygrimpeur wrote:

And in relation to Wilty's comment > I would DEFINITELY buy the Garmin. In fact, I have an Edge 800 and it's amazing. No faffing with trying to remember routes etc. The Garmin is well worth spending the money on.

I'm sure it's a great comp, but surely it's much better to invest in a decent frame?

styxd

I'm sure it's a great comp, but surely it's much better to invest in a decent frame?

Why?

What if you arent looking to "add the rest over a period of time"?

What if you just want a well specced bike now, along with a Garmin?

Can the amateur cyclist really tell much difference between a very expensive frame and a cheaper one?

The Ribble is a decent enough frame, the Bianchi is probably no better.

derbygrimpeur

I agree with styxd

On the budgets mentioned in this topic, are we really going to notice any difference between a Ribble and a similarly priced, but lower specc'd brand name? I don't think so. Alot of costs with the brand names surely come from marketing costs, a premium for the name, and perhaps some additional R&D. But you don't see Ribble paying for their bikes to be used by pros like many of the brand names, so therefore they don't have to whack a premium on the cost of the frame to pay for those costs. For entry level Carbon, I struggle to see how it's worth it, apartment from aesthetics.

wilty

I struggle to see why an amateur cyclist would need a £300 computer xD

derbygrimpeur

For the mapping/sat nav primarily. I do alot of riding in the Peak District and don't know it all. Trying to remember 100 miles worth of road on a Sunday morning isn't easy. I've had my 800 for over a year and thanks to the mapping I've been able to cover alot of roads I would otherwise not have been able to. It's more than paid for itself in my opinion.

If you live in an area that doesn't require as much exploration then it may well not be worth it.

styxd

I struggle to see why an amateur cyclist would need a £300 computer xD

I dont use one, but the function of it is pretty obvious if you ask me.

However, I can see why people would struggle to see the benefit of investing an extra £300 in a bike frame with a fancy sticker on it.

petemadoc

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

Name Vs No Name?

De Rosa R838 with Athena (£2500)

or Stealth with Athena/Sram Force or Ultegra for ~£1450? I had the Planet X wheels off my old bike but my Stealth came with cheap Rodi wheels which have now been donated to the commuter. I may spend the saved cash on some £400 carbon clinchers and 3 x Garmin Edge 800's.


I believe the generic Far East frame R848 is the Ribble Sportive Racing too.

Or a frame direct from the manufacturers for around £370 painted up and delivered.



All these lower end carbon frames come from the same handful of factories in the far east. I love the look of the Bianchi's and the whole heritage thing but IMO they are not worth the extra.

Incidentally the above bike now has dura ace groupset and ksyrium elite wheels. It's stiff, light, smooth, I can't fault it.