Commuting bike ribble winter/audax options

stevo599

I have decided that I am going to keep my fuji team pro for "best" bike and buy a bike for work, shop, pub and wet days. After a bit of research it looks like the Ribble winter will fit the bill nicely. My question is what wheels do I go for, there are so many options to choose from, which ones are the best value for money in your opinion. I am probably going to go for the standard build with a better set of wheels and maybe tiagra group (can't stand the thumb downshift on the sora)

Go on, have a play on the bike builder and let me know if there is anything on the standard spec you would avoid or a part you would say was a must have. And again what wheels you would choose.

reformedfatty

I have a ribble winter and the standard spec pro lite como wheels are on the 'never again' list. The seals on the hub bearings are just not up to all weather commuting. Brown rusty paste and a set of knackered bearings after ~1500 miles. Regreased and new bearings, regular regreasing but the hubs are pretty noisy now at the 4000 mile mark with the races being well pitted.

Rims were pretty tough though

stevo599

Thanks reformed. Wheel upgrade it is then, anybody had any experiences with any of the wheelsets offered?

Headhuunter

I've got the Ribble 7005 Race - the same as the winter bike but with a shorter wheelbase and no eyes for guards etc...

I agree with the above poster, the Como wheels are quite stiff with good power transfer and they seem pretty solid, however the seals are rubbish and I ended up needing a replacement cone for the cone and bearings hub, however Hotlines who supply Pro Lite stuff said that they couldn't supply a cone for any of their wheels... They told me Como wheels are considered "disposable". Can't believe that I am expected to throw away a perfectly good set of wheels for the lack of a small piece of metal... Eventually my dad managed to get another cone which isn't a perfect fit but seems to work....

Otherwise the bike is good for the price although its geometry is fairly old fashioned with the horizonatl top tube. It feels more sluggish and less responsive than bikes with sloping downtubes and shorter wheelbases, however if you're just commuting on it then it's fine....