Ribble Gran Fondo self build

jameses

This is my first attempt at a build, quite pleased with the results given I put this together for about £850. Apologies for non-OCP pictures.



Frame & Forks: Ribble Gran Fondo (2013)
Bars: 3T Biomorphe (42cm)
Stem: 3T Arx Team (120mm)
Headset: Token Omega 3
Bar Tape: Bike Ribbon Cork Gel

Shifters: Ultegra 6600
Brakes: Ultegra 6600
Front Derailleur: Ultegra 6600
Rear Derailleur: Dura-Ace 7800
Cables: Jagwire Pro Racer

Seat: Selle Italia SL XC Flow
Seat Post: 3T Dorico Team

Cranks: Shimano ST-R700
Chain: SRAM PG1050
Cassette: Tiagra 12-28
Pedals: Shimano 105 5700
Bottom Bracket: Ultegra 6700

Wheelset: Ultegra 6700
Tyres: Michelin Carbon Krylion

Unnecessary red bits: Token lock ring and downtube barrel adjusters, Amoeba front derailleur clamp, Krex skewers, cable end crimps, bottle cages and screws
Weight: 7.8kg (as manufacturers weigh things) / 8.2kg (ready to ride)

Had I not been on a bit of a budget, I might have gone for a black groupset and a higher end cassette (thought I was getting a 105 cassette, but that's another story :? ). Only been out for a couple of short rides so far, but the ride seems very smooth and surprisingly comfortable, despite a far more stretched out riding position than my previous bike.

jameses

Before assembly:

jameses

Built up:

manimal

Looks great especially on that budget mate

acidstrato

well done on building the bike yourself
It's a good sense of satisfaction when your get your hands dirty, especially the first time

not-another-hillǃ

Good effort James....looks like my bars and stem were made for it!!!

Enjoy the ride!

mr_joe0606

very nice mate looks awsome

roadiemk

Looks very nice,
Can't beat the satisfaction of building up a bike as opposed to buying one off the shelf.

philwint

Love the red accents, good stuff

jameses

Thanks for all the compliments. Yeah, there's definitely something satisfying about assembling it all yourself. I was surprised at how easily it all went together, although it was more than a bit nerve wracking (gently!) taking a towel-wrapped hammer to the cranks to get them through the bottom bracket!

Not-another-hill! wrote:

Good effort James....looks like my bars and stem were made for it!!!

Enjoy the ride!

You're not wrong - the curves and angles of those bars perfectly suit the frame, and are so comfortable when out riding! How are you getting on with the Plasmas?

not-another-hillǃ

Plasmas are lovely....heres my finished Wilier..

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12913797

Yours looks lovely...if Id stayed with the 3T theme, the Dorico seatpost was next on the list, but Ive gone all-FSA now, so am looking for some black calipers and an SL-K chainset!!

Enjoy the Ribble - great build, and cost, looks awesome

RideOnTime

Some great pics.
Enjoy.

imsimon

very nice!! im just finishing a similar speced bike myself and have really enjoyed putting it together! your bike looks really good you should be pleased with yourself! did you index the gears yourself? thats where im up to and struggling with it

enjoy!

jameses

Yeah, did all the indexing myself. I've replaced a couple of derailleurs before, though, so it didn't take too long. If you haven't checked it out, the Park Tools website is really useful for that sort of thing.

James Q

Thats a stunning looking bike, especially for that budget, if it was mine i'd be out on it at every possible chance

rolf_f

That's a bit of a bargain. Are the components new or second hand bargains? Interesting the frame has gone back to a carbon weave finish - I thought unidirectional was where it is at at the moment! Next somebody is going to say stealth is back in

For me, the red accents are a little too much. Mine has no more red on it than Ribble provided on the frame and that was probably more than enough for me! Frame weight must be noticeably down too - I think yours has a carbon steering post and the frame looks like the tubing has shrunk a bit.

sumosprintstar

Really nice bike, well done. Do the Ultegra shifters not cater for the cable to run under the bar tape like the 105s do?

Wish I had the skills to build my own.

jameses

Rolf F wrote:

That's a bit of a bargain. Are the components new or second hand bargains?

For me, the red accents are a little too much. Mine has no more red on it than Ribble provided on the frame and that was probably more than enough for me! Frame weight must be noticeably down too - I think yours has a carbon steering post and the frame looks like the tubing has shrunk a bit.

Pretty much everything (apart from saddle, cables and bottom bracket) was second hand, although the chain and cassette only had a few miles on them and the frame, forks and chainset were unused. Took me about 6 months to source everything in my price range, though!

I can totally understand your point on the red accents - I was a little unsure about them until I built it up, but I really like them. They're mostly fairly small and hidden away (apart from the cables, obviously!) in the flesh. Frame, forks, headset, spacers and derailleur/seatpost clamps weighed in at 1765g - I think the forks are down from 600g to 450g or so.

sumosprintstar wrote:

Do the Ultegra shifters not cater for the cable to run under the bar tape like the 105s do?

The newer ones (6700) do, but these are an older model.

sumosprintstar

Ahh, ok. I really like what you have done and impressive budget.