Ribble Gran Fondo and Specialized Allez

crescent

Been on here long enough, thought I should perhaps share a few photos of my bikes.

This is my Ribble Gran Fondo, had it just over a year now and absolutely love it. Built it myself after buying the various bits and pieces over a period of a few months. SRAM Rival Groupset, Fulcrum 7 wheels, Vittoria Rubino tyres and Cinelli Vai finishing kit.




Bought this about five years ago for the princely sum of £350 brand new. Specialized Allez (2007 model) with a mix of Sora and Tiagra components and Ritchey finishing kit. My first 'serious' bike and really got me into the wonderful world of road cycling. Still gets used regularly although has been relegated to winter/poor weather duty.



Both bikes are 54cm frames (medium) and I am about 5'9" - 5'10". In both cases I fell right between two sizes of frame but opted for the smaller frames as the larger one just felt a tad long for reach, no regrets, both very comfortable to ride. Aesthetically, I prefer a smaller frame anyway.

Cheers

notlongnow

nice set of bikes is there much difference in ride quality?

Nickoo

really like the ribble, well smart

elderone

very nice bikes,the ribble looks a stunner.

crescent

Thanks for the positive comments.I have to admit I'm still smitten with the GF myself, it is a lovely looking bike, more so in the flesh. Can't recommend it enough.
In terms of ride quality there's not much in it. I chose the GF in medium because the geometry was almost identical to the medium Allez give or take a slightly curved top tube. It is set up slightly more agressively than the Allez although I don't actually race on them. I've not actually weighed them but the Ribble is noticeably lighter than the Allez, I would guess by about 1kg or so.
The noticeable thing about the Allez is the level of spec compared to the equivalent model today. Although Sora and Tiagra are not exactly top end components the equivalent bike today is about twice the price to get similar levels of kit. I think for the same price you would be looking at 2300 components and own brand finishing kit rather than Ritchey. I've noticed this with a lot of bikes, not just Specialized, a sign of the times I think.

Cheers

diamonddog

What's the overall weight of the Ribble, looking to maybe build one.

crescent

diamonddog wrote:

What's the overall weight of the Ribble, looking to maybe build one.

I have tried to weigh it but to be honest I don't really have a suitably accurate method of doing so. The tried and tested method of standing on the bathroom scales with and without the bike returned a figure of somewhere between 8 and 9 kgs, so not particularly informative.
From memory, the frame is about 1kg and the forks are about 600g (apparently the forks are a bit heavier because they have an aluminium steerer). Although not as light as some bikes it can hardly be considered heavyweight and careful selection of components can make the end result significantly less than mine. Fulcrum 7s are good wheels but not the lightest, likewise the pedals and groupset.
On a personal note, I made a concerted effort to lose a few kgs last year so me and the bike combined now weigh about 3kg less than we did last year.
I would definitely recommend the Gran Fondo if you are considering building your own bike. In my experience, Ribble were excellent to deal with and there are endless possibilities for spec'ing the bike the way you want it.
Cheers