£150 Bargain Ribble Gran Fondo

buddy_club

Excuse the awful picture but....

£150 later and i have this.
105 groupset bar tiagra brakes.
Mavic Aksium wheels
9KG dead on.

How did i get it for £150 then? Well basically the frame has some damage at the chainstay, where a tire from an out of true wheel has rubbed at some point. It has been repaired with epoxy to smooth it over, so i will monitor it and see how it goes - if it does get any worse then i will probably end up swapping the frame - but for now the plan is to ride it and enjoy.

Would like to add that i have taken it out already and took it for a test ride before purchasing and all is well.

lesfirth

I was about to say that the worst case was to scrap the frame and use the other bits to build up a new frame but on second thought the worst case is that frame breaks on a 80kph decent ! Gives you something to think about.

buddy_club

Very much considering a new frame if it gets worse, but currently it is fine and I also rely on the fact that there is nowhere here that I could get anywhere near 80kph

buddy_club

Yes I might look into it, however the rest of the frame is clearly used, few scratches etc so A new frame would look much more neat and tidy. The pro carbon from Planet X is £250 for a frame and fork at the moment if anybody has any opinions?

PhilPub

buddy_club wrote:

Yes I might look into it, however the rest of the frame is clearly used, few scratches etc so A new frame would look much more neat and tidy. The pro carbon from Planet X is £250 for a frame and fork at the moment if anybody has any opinions?

I can't compare it to any other carbon road bikes but I got a few years of good service from a Pro Carbon SL, no complaints. Sounds like a good price.

arlowood

buddy_club wrote:

Yes I might look into it, however the rest of the frame is clearly used, few scratches etc so A new frame would look much more neat and tidy. The pro carbon from Planet X is £250 for a frame and fork at the moment if anybody has any opinions?

Built up a Pro Carbon frameset last year with 105 5800 and a set of handbuilts from Malcolm at Cycleclinic. (Archetype rims/Miche Primato hubs). Think I paid £260 for the frame in one of their many sales.



Comes with a standard BSA BB so that's a big plus in my view.

Just clocked up 1000 miles on it and can't really fault it. OK it's relatively old open mould technology but it rides well - smooth and comfortable. I've managed to fit Michelin Pro 4 Endurance 28mm tyres. Clearance is a little tight but I'm OK with that set against the added comfort of the wider rubber

buddy_club

About 100 miles in and no dramatic frame failure. Swapped to a black stem as the un-matching white one was annoying me significantly. Still undecided on the saddle and whether i find it comfy or not - but it could also be down to me not riding for a while so will give it some more time and see if i take to it. Really enjoying the bike, and getting out and about in the somewhat pleasant weather we have been having. After mostly mountain biking for the past year the road bike feels very quick.