Ribble

petehurdman

Hi,

I'm looking at buying a ribble later in the year or early next year and i'm torn between the Gran Fondo (carbon) and the sportive 7046 curved (alloy). I'm not the lightest/smallest of chaps (6ft5 and 220lbs) and i've got concerns about my weight putting excessive force on a carbon frame, has anyone got any experience / advice they could pass on.

Cheers,

Pete.

dwanes

If I was your weight I would just stick to to Big Manufacturers, Giant , Trek, Specialised.

Due to better Testing they would carry out on their frames. (and the Big Americans they have to cater for!)

Slo Mo Jones

dwanes wrote:

If I was your weight I would just stick to to Big Manufacturers, Giant , Trek, Specialised.

Due to better Testing they would carry out on their frames.

Do you have any evidence of this better testing?

blinddrew

petehurdman wrote:

Hi,

I'm looking at buying a ribble later in the year or early next year and i'm torn between the Gran Fondo (carbon) and the sportive 7046 curved (alloy). I'm not the lightest/smallest of chaps (6ft5 and 220lbs) and i've got concerns about my weight putting excessive force on a carbon frame, has anyone got any experience / advice they could pass on.

Cheers,

Pete.

I wouldn't worry, they're probably tested to the same set of quality standards and I've seen more failed alloy frames than carbon ones. There's no reason why a carbon frame should be any weaker than an alloy one.

diamonddog

Have word with Ribble about the recommended max weight for the carbon and alu frames you fancy.

simonhead

Wouldn't worry about the frame too much, get a solid set of wheels and it will be fine. More importantly is to try the bike and makesure it fits right.

kajjal

I am over 6ft6 and slightly lighter. To give you an idea of size I ride a 62cm Trek 1.5 which fits me well once I flipped the stem to the upright position and the only upgrade I did were the brakes as the original ones did not work very well. Maybe down to my weight but the replacement 105's work really well. If you check the internet there was one website selling the 2013 model for £599 reduced from £865 if you are trying to keep the spending down but you are probably after a more expensive bike from you choice in the original post.

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/trek-1.5-t-2013.html

So far only one puncture when I accidently ran over a sharp rock and caused a pinch flat. Appart from that it has handled all roads smooth or otherwise fine. The wheels seem fine so far.

As above it is very important to do some test rides and get a bike that fits you especially for taller riders as there is less choice. Better to spend more on a bike that fits well and you like the way it rides than get a bargain bike you are not keen on.

Good Luck

dodgerdog

You would be best off to start with a bike fit not a super duper retul one but one that at least works out the rough size and geometry that will suit your body. Once you have this you should be armed with the necessary measurements taut have been taken pretty accurately to ensure you can engage with any sales person to get the right size bike bearing the different geometries there are.

I got a fit done in. Bristol by the guys at the Mud Dock which was ideal as it gave me a decent start point to sort out bikes. I eventually invested In a Ribble GF which has been fantastic. I was able to email a copy of my fit to ensure that we got the correct frame size, stem et al.

The GF is a great bike and the new model is lie,ly to be lighter than mine as it is a full carbon fork rather than mine with a rather heavy alloy steerer. It is a robust but very comfy bike, I have never had an issue with the frame flexing but am significantly lighter than you. I personally would not worry about a carbon frame failing you are far more likely to face problems with they strength of your wheels before your frame gives up the ghost.

rolf_f

Dodgerdog wrote:

The GF is a great bike and the new model is lie,ly to be lighter than mine as it is a full carbon fork rather than mine with a rather heavy alloy steerer. It is a robust but very comfy bike, I have never had an issue with the frame flexing but am significantly lighter than you.

It is a much slimmer tubed frame now though. I have the previous generation GF - it is pretty heavy for a carbon frame (though still light!) and not just because of the alloy steerer. The tubes are large and chunky. It's stiff and tough and just what I wanted for a bike that has to manage a daily commute along with weekend rides. It might be worth checking with Ribble how the new one compares in terms of stiffness. I can't imagine that it won't be stiff enough though.

The bike has now done many thousands of miles and still looks virtually new.

petehurdman

Thanks guys,

I'm being strangely drawn towards the Gran Fondo, looks sweet, with Campag groupset.
Hoping to pop up to the factory showroom in a few weeks, and take in the nearby Cuerden Valley parkrun (lower case p, all one word) while i'm up that way, to make sure the fit is right for me and get some advice from the staff who hopefully will be able to point me in the right direction, paying that much for a bike it's got to be right as i won't be allowed another one for many a year.

Pete.

keef66

If as you say it's going to be your last bike purchase for several years, are you planning to ride it all year round including in the wet? If so have you thought about mudguards? The Ribble 365 for example would take proper guards. Unless you like a freezing salt water enema, they make riding in the wet much more enjoyable.

When I was buying what I thought would be my only bike I went for a winter trainer with room / fittings for proper mudguards, and never regretted it for a moment. Last year they stayed on all year.

Now I have a carbon bike with no space for guards for the dry weather and the wet weather bike for the other 360 days of the year.

dwanes

Maybe Pete's are real man!

petehurdman

Hi,

I already have an older bike which i'll be letting my daughter "borrow" for a cycle event next year which already has mudgaurds fitted so i'm not too concerned about tyre clearance as my new bike will be purely a fine weather / Sunday best bike.

Pete.

keef66

Go for the one with the best paint job then!

racingcondor

I'm not sure I'd agree with the better testing mentioned above. Not because I don't think the big names don't do more research but becuase I think the results of that research is probably mostly on the very light frames (i.e. where can we remove excess material).

For a larger rider I'd suggest avoiding a really light frame. Much more important is to get something stiff enough without being uncomfortable all of which is a bit of an art (as it's a combination of wheels, frame, finishing kit, bar tape...). I'm sure Ribble will be able to advise though and if you can get to the store and try one out you'll be able to guage flex for yourself.

Don't worry about the material itself though. Frames of all types fail, it's more about how it was made than of what.