Best first road bike for £1500? Ribble cycles?

[Adam BA]

Well I'm slowly upping my millage on the roads prepparing for my commute to work. Having done a few rides down the canal tow path and on the road it's clear to me I much prefer road riding. It's cleaner, faster and more direct. Anyway my plans are to get some road tyres for my Raleigh M-trax, use that as a winter hack and get some miles under my belt, and then save up for a shiney road bike for next spring / summer (although knowing me i'll probably get bored next week and blow a couple of grand on something that just catches my eye).

I'm trying to get my head around which bike I should be looking at. I will want something smart that I can take pride in owning, also something that performs well and is durable as it will be my everyday mode of transport for at least 18 months before I get my license back.

It's main use will be a 14 mile each way commute on mixed roads. Big climbs and steep descents on
B-roads and then smoother A-roads too, however I am really enjoying cycling so I can see me using it on my days off and travelling as far as possible.

After a bit of research it seems Ribble are one of the best in price. I'm near to the factory in Preston so had a quick nosey a couple of days ago. I'm a complete novice and certainly no expert but there bikes did look really nice and a lot of choice.

I just wondered if anyone has had any expirience with them? As a mail order company I hear aftersales service is hit and miss and although they will measure you and tailor a bike they do not allow test rides under any circumstances. Are there any alternatives I should consider and which bike will be best for my needs? I'd love to fly into work on a carbon framed TT aero but i'm guessing that would be a bit stupid? Looks immense though.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[Jimbo.]

... they do not allow test rides under any circumstances...

fk that then! Seriously, you wouldn't buy a car without test-driving it, so why not a bike? I cannot stress this enough: FIT IS EVERYTHING. First bike, fiftieth bike, steel, carbon...doesn't matter. It it doesn't fit you, you won't like riding it, so you won't ride it, so its money wasted. Ignore the numbers ("Well you're x-tall so a y-frame will fit..."), as it's at best a starting point, and with each of us humans being different in dimensions, flexibility and whatnot, only you will be able to tell what's right and what's not.

Find a bike shop that'll actually allow test rides, and work from there. Try everything within budget, not just the £1500 bikes (which is a lot for a first bike IMO: plenty of fun to be had for £1000 or less!). Remember to budget for shoes, pedals etc, and learn THE RULES until you can recall them purely by number...

[Adam BA]

Good rules! I do not want to shave my legs though :/

[okgo]

I agree with the fit thing to a point, I think people get a bit anal and go ott with it though ^^

But there is little that cannot be adjusted afterwards and unless the frame has very radical geo I can't see that by moving the seat, bars, stem, cleats around that you wouldn't be able to make it work (as long as the size was right, but that's easy)

I have a Ribble sportive racing, I think it's decent enough, the fork is a bit flexy and the bottom bracket started creaking about 3 months in, but it's a nice bike to ride and I've done thousands of miles on it without any issue. Good vfm.

[anonymous-user]

for <£1500 though, you should be able to find a cannondale super six 105 which was bike of the year in 2010 and runner up in 2011 and really should be top of your list...
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/...

http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road-bikes/complete-bik...
this is nice looking, quality carbon frame and good spec for the money, rival is on a par with 105 but better...

re sizing, its really hard to find dealers for brands like orbea, lapierre, cervelo etc who will have a variety of sizes in stock ready built up for you to test but they still sell well?!?!? going to an LBS to get fitted only works if you want a popular brand. as i said previously, most bikes that have a sloping top tube will share similar geomoetry because they are aimed at the sportive market. ribble have never offered test rides but have thousands of satisfied customers, sizing isnt rocket science. they do have a sizing jig so can sort you out with the right size stem, seat position etc. they use dedaccaiai frames so you will probably sit on a ribble whilst out looking in your local shops without realising.... i am quite happily considering a ribble without setting my arse on one...

loads around at the moment on sale, have a look at everywhere and everyone, dont get a brand fixation and get a bargain. GT, genesis, canyon, lapierre, ridley and dolan have some nice leftfield choices that are just as good as the usual LBS unit shifters...

[anonymous-user]

Ribble look very good, also consider Planet X, they have some top notch bikes in that price range.

[Dan67]

For that price point cube have the market covered. spec wise you will not get better for the money and they ride fantastically

[okgo]

I don't think the cubes are better/impoved spec for the money than Ribble. Planet x seem to offer the best value

[itsnotarace]

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=21...

[justayellowbadge]

The De Rosa R838 with Athena and Fulcrum 5's is around 2.5K.

You can spec the identical bike as the Ribble Stealth for 1500.

[Rouleur]

justayellowbadge said:

The De Rosa R838 with Athena and Fulcrum 5's is around 2.5K.

You can spec the identical bike as the Ribble Stealth for 1500.

If you're 100% it's the same frame rather than one which just looks to be the same then that takes the pish in a big way.

[okgo]

Rouleur said:

If you're 100% it's the same frame rather than one which just looks to be the same then that takes the pish in a big way.

It is the same frame, its been all over Bikeradar for months.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

okgo said:

I have a Ribble sportive racing, I think it's decent enough, the fork is a bit flexy and the bottom bracket started creaking about 3 months in, but it's a nice bike to ride and I've done thousands of miles on it without any issue. Good vfm.

And you're a fat knacker so that's probably the equivalent of a couple of times round the Earth for a normal person

If your BB is creaking stripping, greasing, and putting it all back together will probably sort the problem (assuming the bearings not shot). An hours work max.

[anonymous-user]

okgo said:

Rouleur said:

If you're 100% it's the same frame rather than one which just looks to be the same then that takes the pish in a big way.

It is the same frame, its been all over Bikeradar for months.

just goes to show what people will pay to have the "right name" on the side of their bike....

[okgo]

I'll get you back, whippet!

I know, I took it apart before and it started again after a few weeks, can't be arsed to do it again.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

okgo said:

;)

I'll get you back, whippet!

I know, I took it apart before and it started again after a few weeks, can't be arsed to do it again.

A bit OT now. I was amazed when I took my (non-servicable) Dura Ace 7900 BB apart recently. The bearings were tiny. Like, drop one and you've got no chance of ever seeing it again tiny. In fact I really should get round to replacing it. Again, not a difficult job really as long as you are careful.

[Fluffsri]

Been on my Ribble Bianco sportive for a few months now and love it. Excellent value for money, rides very well and very comfy straight out of the box.