Ribble Cycles - anyone actually got their orders on time?
Discussion
So, as I implied by the title, I've got an order with Ribble since mid-October for a Gravel/Adventure type bike and they have been constantly making excuses about their stock and delivery supply-chain. I think they launched some new bike lines and had no real planning on how to keep their workshop supplied to meet the potential demand if any of it was popular.
Yet their marketing guys are doing a great job of re-posting enthusiastic messages on FB about every type of bike they're promoting and then getting dissappointed when customers comment on these posts with criticism about their delivery to these promises.
What happened to Ribble? their website used to be easy to navigate, the bike-builder detail was second to none and you knew what the stock status was as soon as you selected anything.
Now they have created very small options to choose from, no indication of stock until you order, or if there is an indication, it doesn't work. (they told me the "in-stock" status screenshot I took was an IT error and it had to be reset daily)
Because I used a Halfords Cycle2Work voucher, I'm now locked in and can't cancel to take alternatives. And to be honest Halfords and their other C2W partners don't do an appropriate bike. Planet X on the other hand, keep emailing be latest best offers on their bikes and they DO have something I'd take at better value than Ribble, but they don't participate in any C2W scheme, let alone the Halfords one.
[/rant]
Hopefully the New Year with bear fruit!.
Yet their marketing guys are doing a great job of re-posting enthusiastic messages on FB about every type of bike they're promoting and then getting dissappointed when customers comment on these posts with criticism about their delivery to these promises.
What happened to Ribble? their website used to be easy to navigate, the bike-builder detail was second to none and you knew what the stock status was as soon as you selected anything.
Now they have created very small options to choose from, no indication of stock until you order, or if there is an indication, it doesn't work. (they told me the "in-stock" status screenshot I took was an IT error and it had to be reset daily)
Because I used a Halfords Cycle2Work voucher, I'm now locked in and can't cancel to take alternatives. And to be honest Halfords and their other C2W partners don't do an appropriate bike. Planet X on the other hand, keep emailing be latest best offers on their bikes and they DO have something I'd take at better value than Ribble, but they don't participate in any C2W scheme, let alone the Halfords one.
[/rant]
Hopefully the New Year with bear fruit!.
Ribble was sold on a year or two ago and they are trying to align the business to some new marketing/market/philosophy/ideology.
Or so I was told when I went to look at the new bikes at the factory shop in Preston.
There was 3/4 of the new bikes, just the road bikes no CGRs (is that what you've ordered?)
It seems a bit daft to launch so many new lines and only have 3 of each bike in the country.
I was told some waffle about their new frames not coming up to the right sizes so they have all been tweeked, so now different sizes have bespoke geometry. They also told me that the first batches had paint colour issues. All bikes ordered were looking at delivery before Christmas.
I would love a CGR if they get them in before my cycle to work comes around in April.
I may end up with a Cube if not, but I have just been told that they are having stock issues too. However, at least I have sat on a Cube and the shop is not far away, unlike the 200 mile round trip to ribble.
Or so I was told when I went to look at the new bikes at the factory shop in Preston.
There was 3/4 of the new bikes, just the road bikes no CGRs (is that what you've ordered?)
It seems a bit daft to launch so many new lines and only have 3 of each bike in the country.
I was told some waffle about their new frames not coming up to the right sizes so they have all been tweeked, so now different sizes have bespoke geometry. They also told me that the first batches had paint colour issues. All bikes ordered were looking at delivery before Christmas.
I would love a CGR if they get them in before my cycle to work comes around in April.
I may end up with a Cube if not, but I have just been told that they are having stock issues too. However, at least I have sat on a Cube and the shop is not far away, unlike the 200 mile round trip to ribble.
Strangely enough I was looking at getting a gravel type bike in the new year. The CGR AL, Canyon Grail 7.0, Boardman adv8. 9 and a few others are on my shortlist. The Canyon can be had with Tiagra for £300 cheaper. As I know nothing about the specs and components, the CGR was my favourite simply as I liked the colour. Sorry to hijack the thread but I will be interested to hear how you get on and if you obviously get a bike.
I'll be getting one of the CGR range for sure, I ordered a AL but wondering if I should have gone with the SL (carbon) that I agonised over in the first place!
I went for a 650b 1x build for one of two reasons.
The first was that I absolutely didn't want Shimano. Nothing in the range up to 105 interests me, I have ridden them loads in the past and my wife has a recent 105 roadie and I still don't like it. The rear mech is ok, but their front shifter on a double is just horrible, and apart from that, the whole brake lever pivoting under gear shifing means you can hit the lever with your finger-tips when you go to grab the brake and it moves away from you. Scary. Even if you grab it squarely, it tries to twist under your grip while braking. Especially if you ride on the hoods a lot.
On road bikes I've been riding Campy, which I love, but it's expensive and not widely available in bike shops. So if the SRAM rides well (alright it's only half being a 1x set-up) I might well shift my stable over in the next years. My MTB is SRAM X9 anyway, so I like it and trust it.
The other reason for the 650 build was that I have a MTB that isn't used so much any more, and a best Roadie and a winter roadie. This half-man half-horse will blur the uses that the winter bike can't handle, but the MTB is slow and ponderous for. At least in theory.
And I also have a set of 700c x 12mm thru axle wheels with 35mm CX style tyres on, so I get another variation on the bike all in one go.
I went for a 650b 1x build for one of two reasons.
The first was that I absolutely didn't want Shimano. Nothing in the range up to 105 interests me, I have ridden them loads in the past and my wife has a recent 105 roadie and I still don't like it. The rear mech is ok, but their front shifter on a double is just horrible, and apart from that, the whole brake lever pivoting under gear shifing means you can hit the lever with your finger-tips when you go to grab the brake and it moves away from you. Scary. Even if you grab it squarely, it tries to twist under your grip while braking. Especially if you ride on the hoods a lot.
On road bikes I've been riding Campy, which I love, but it's expensive and not widely available in bike shops. So if the SRAM rides well (alright it's only half being a 1x set-up) I might well shift my stable over in the next years. My MTB is SRAM X9 anyway, so I like it and trust it.
The other reason for the 650 build was that I have a MTB that isn't used so much any more, and a best Roadie and a winter roadie. This half-man half-horse will blur the uses that the winter bike can't handle, but the MTB is slow and ponderous for. At least in theory.
And I also have a set of 700c x 12mm thru axle wheels with 35mm CX style tyres on, so I get another variation on the bike all in one go.
Edited by WarrenG on Thursday 20th December 17:52
Edited by WarrenG on Thursday 20th December 20:25
I've been told stock on the 10th Dec, then 17th Dec, then week ENDING 17th and then ¯\_(''~)_/¯ not even a guess for the 2nd.
I think it's about a dozen plus emails to both Customer services and the Workshop. It's safe to assume that there will be no action until the 2nd now even if there was stock, since Xmas Eve.
I think it's about a dozen plus emails to both Customer services and the Workshop. It's safe to assume that there will be no action until the 2nd now even if there was stock, since Xmas Eve.
I'm going to take a look in the shops when I get back after New Year. I notice Edinburgh Cycle Coop has a sale. However, even in the sales nothing seems to come close to the specs of the likes of the Ribble CGR Al or Canyon Grail AL. The Specialized Diverge looks good but the components are stingy. A lot of folks recommend the Sonder Camino. I'm a fan of Alpkit's camping gear but no idea about bikes. Anyone got one?
After seeing it at the Cycle show back in september I was interested in Ribble’s new disc brake Tri/TT bike. When I enquired the following week they said it would be available to order the following week. Two weeks later I asked again and they didn’t bother to reply. Asked again a month ago. No reply and still no sign of it going on sale. Bought a Giant Trinity instead.
Apparently because I chose a pre-configured build with SRAM parts, they won't have stock of the shifters until Today (7th Jan.) [/satire]
I won't hold my breath, because like all the other dates I've been given, that is their expected delivery of the parts, not a real build date.
So it goes on. I am a hostage to the cycle2work scheme voucher system and and ribble knows this - it's only money in the Halfords partnership dealers and quite frankly I wouldn't have entered the scheme if it wasn't for the option to use external companies like Ribble.
It just turns out that RIbble aren't the company they used to be since the Finance company takeover a few years ago and their 3rd change of CEO/Directors since then.
I just hope the product is any good once it's delivered and isn't as disappointing as the service.
I won't hold my breath, because like all the other dates I've been given, that is their expected delivery of the parts, not a real build date.
So it goes on. I am a hostage to the cycle2work scheme voucher system and and ribble knows this - it's only money in the Halfords partnership dealers and quite frankly I wouldn't have entered the scheme if it wasn't for the option to use external companies like Ribble.
It just turns out that RIbble aren't the company they used to be since the Finance company takeover a few years ago and their 3rd change of CEO/Directors since then.
I just hope the product is any good once it's delivered and isn't as disappointing as the service.
I've got an Endurance SL disc on order, was told when I ordered (mid December) that it'd be the middle/end of January, called them today for something else and checked to see if they had any update. Apparently my frame has arrived but they're waiting on the integrated bars which are due in w/c 28th.
I've been contacted today by phone to confirm the build could start today and to sort out the delivery date, which will be the weekend now to ensure I'm here to receive it 1st hand, rather than get a couple of days earlier and have to rely on family to confirm a safe delivery.
It's a shame it couldn't have been actually in the holidays that we just passed through, but hopefully this is the end of the journey.
It's a shame it couldn't have been actually in the holidays that we just passed through, but hopefully this is the end of the journey.
I'm glad I found this thread & spent some time looking at the Google reviews of Ribble.
I had a CGR Al frameset on order (allegedly they are in stock), they had taken the money off my CCard but the order had been 'pending' for several days so I tried to contact them...therin lies part of their problem IMHO. They are marketing/selling stuff they simply can't deliver in a suitable time-frame, but mainly there CS is.....
.
On and off I spent a day trying to get through on the phone, their phone system for Customer service kept cutting me off, when I did get put through the queue I ended up having to leave a message on their answer service (in working hours) but got no call back by close of play so sent them an email..like you do
Over 1/2hour later I get the automated email reply telling me they will reply within 24hours..needless to say they didn't
Anyway today I managed to get a human on the phone who tried to give me the run around (saying they will have to ring me back + I think we are waiting on some bits/parts etc
) so I got fed up & told them to cancel the order for a full refund. Which supposedly has been processed today, but we will see.
I've used Ribble before years ago for stuff but never again......
I've ended up ordering a Kinesis Tripster AT frame from Sigmasports, which is what I was going to do in the 1st place but always liked my mates Ribble stuff from years ago.
I had a CGR Al frameset on order (allegedly they are in stock), they had taken the money off my CCard but the order had been 'pending' for several days so I tried to contact them...therin lies part of their problem IMHO. They are marketing/selling stuff they simply can't deliver in a suitable time-frame, but mainly there CS is.....
.On and off I spent a day trying to get through on the phone, their phone system for Customer service kept cutting me off, when I did get put through the queue I ended up having to leave a message on their answer service (in working hours) but got no call back by close of play so sent them an email..like you do
Over 1/2hour later I get the automated email reply telling me they will reply within 24hours..needless to say they didn't
Anyway today I managed to get a human on the phone who tried to give me the run around (saying they will have to ring me back + I think we are waiting on some bits/parts etc
) so I got fed up & told them to cancel the order for a full refund. Which supposedly has been processed today, but we will see.I've used Ribble before years ago for stuff but never again......
I've ended up ordering a Kinesis Tripster AT frame from Sigmasports, which is what I was going to do in the 1st place but always liked my mates Ribble stuff from years ago.
Ribble is an interesting one
It was partially and then fully bought out by True Capital Partner 1LP (via Bradley Bidco) and seems to have a plan to become a premium branded manufacturer more than 'just' a bike shop / wholesaler
A fair few bob has been spent in starting to make that happen
In the last full year accounts (to 31 Oct 17), it lost £3.5m on a turnover of £17m, that from a gross profit of £1.5m. That came on top of the £1m it lost the year before on a turnover of £15.2m
Maybe it can make it - some of its recent bikes are certainly highly rated.
It was partially and then fully bought out by True Capital Partner 1LP (via Bradley Bidco) and seems to have a plan to become a premium branded manufacturer more than 'just' a bike shop / wholesaler
A fair few bob has been spent in starting to make that happen
In the last full year accounts (to 31 Oct 17), it lost £3.5m on a turnover of £17m, that from a gross profit of £1.5m. That came on top of the £1m it lost the year before on a turnover of £15.2m
Maybe it can make it - some of its recent bikes are certainly highly rated.
Following my conversation with Ribble the other day I’ve had an email today advising me that the bars are now going to be delayed until Feb!
After reading things on here and social media I can’t help but think that come Feb it’ll end up being delayed until March and so on and so on! I do love the bike but have also been hanging my nose over the 2018 Cervelo S3 Ultegra which is available within 24hrs and is £400 cheaper.
After reading things on here and social media I can’t help but think that come Feb it’ll end up being delayed until March and so on and so on! I do love the bike but have also been hanging my nose over the 2018 Cervelo S3 Ultegra which is available within 24hrs and is £400 cheaper.
MattBrown78 said:
I've got an Endurance SL disc on order, was told when I ordered (mid December) that it'd be the middle/end of January, called them today for something else and checked to see if they had any update. Apparently my frame has arrived but they're waiting on the integrated bars which are due in w/c 28th.
After seeing all of the marketing, the Endurance SL disc looks like a very nice bike. The teal coloured R872 disc they advertise on social media also looks like an amazing bike and these are bikes I could really see myself riding. Like you though, the issue with supply and being fobbed off constantly has always stopped me from ordering a Ribble, and I only live down the road from them meaning I could pop in as and when needed. What's the point in doing so much advertising if they can't fulfil orders? It makes no sense to me.
Bike arrived today, I'm very pleased with it in and of itself, the rollercoaster ride to get it here not so much!
The design is nice, and it ticks all the boxes I wanted for a 'nine-bike' that won't be 100% perfect tarmac.
On the plus side, a love note plus a care package was included in the packaging, in the form of a 'sportive bundle' of accessories; a saddle bage and all the useful things you'd need to fill it.
I found a few things that I had to do myself, just to make sure the bike was 100%, which unless you've been maintaining your own bikes wouldn't have been obvious to a customer who expects to just fit the seatpost and saddle, connect the bars to the stem and ride.
Specifically, I had to wipe up a lot of loose hydraulic fluid that was obviously liberated by the rushed build and bleeding the system, which I was not so worried to be wiping up the frame adjacent to the calipers and making sure there was nothing near the pads on the caliper itself to ensure no contamination occurs, but I did think that the hoods of the levers being completely wet inside due to being replaced over freshly filled levers that they couldn't be bothered to wipe up was a bit poor.
I also had to grease one of the axles that was bone dry, whereas the other one was freshly smeared with lithium grease. Just attention to the last details I think, especially as they are now playing catch-up to all the orders they were short-stocking.
Hopefully when I get the shakedown ride done, I will settle into it and start enjoying the thing.
The design is nice, and it ticks all the boxes I wanted for a 'nine-bike' that won't be 100% perfect tarmac.
On the plus side, a love note plus a care package was included in the packaging, in the form of a 'sportive bundle' of accessories; a saddle bage and all the useful things you'd need to fill it.
I found a few things that I had to do myself, just to make sure the bike was 100%, which unless you've been maintaining your own bikes wouldn't have been obvious to a customer who expects to just fit the seatpost and saddle, connect the bars to the stem and ride.
Specifically, I had to wipe up a lot of loose hydraulic fluid that was obviously liberated by the rushed build and bleeding the system, which I was not so worried to be wiping up the frame adjacent to the calipers and making sure there was nothing near the pads on the caliper itself to ensure no contamination occurs, but I did think that the hoods of the levers being completely wet inside due to being replaced over freshly filled levers that they couldn't be bothered to wipe up was a bit poor.
I also had to grease one of the axles that was bone dry, whereas the other one was freshly smeared with lithium grease. Just attention to the last details I think, especially as they are now playing catch-up to all the orders they were short-stocking.
Hopefully when I get the shakedown ride done, I will settle into it and start enjoying the thing.
WarrenG said:
Bike arrived today, I'm very pleased with it in and of itself, the rollercoaster ride to get it here not so much!
Glad to hear they are arriving! I ordered a CGR 725 SRAM 1x build back in October, also on Halfords C2W scheme. When I placed my order the website said it was in stock, I received an email shortly after saying it was actually a pre-order and due in December.
Since then I have been given all the same tales as you, frames were delayed until 17th December, then my forks were delayed, then SRAM stock shortage...
Last week I called Ribble again and was told my bike was going to be built Monday just gone, and that I’ll hear about it being dispatched shortly after. Well no word yet, but if it takes 4 days to assemble I’m hoping I don’t find any issues!
Be sure to check under the brake hoods and mop up the residues from the brake bleeding, mine was a little messy. But the build was tidy and nothing wrong other than the brake /shifter assembly needed cleaning.
It rides well and I am relieved that it is good, I was worried that I’d have a quality argument next after all the delays.
It rides well and I am relieved that it is good, I was worried that I’d have a quality argument next after all the delays.
Jacksones said:
Glad to hear they are arriving! I ordered a CGR 725 SRAM 1x build back in October, also on Halfords C2W scheme.
When I placed my order the website said it was in stock, I received an email shortly after saying it was actually a pre-order and due in December.
Since then I have been given all the same tales as you, frames were delayed until 17th December, then my forks were delayed, then SRAM stock shortage...
Last week I called Ribble again and was told my bike was going to be built Monday just gone, and that I’ll hear about it being dispatched shortly after. Well no word yet, but if it takes 4 days to assemble I’m hoping I don’t find any issues!
When you get it, on top of their brake bleeding issues, I'd also recommend checking how they installed the cassette.When I placed my order the website said it was in stock, I received an email shortly after saying it was actually a pre-order and due in December.
Since then I have been given all the same tales as you, frames were delayed until 17th December, then my forks were delayed, then SRAM stock shortage...
Last week I called Ribble again and was told my bike was going to be built Monday just gone, and that I’ll hear about it being dispatched shortly after. Well no word yet, but if it takes 4 days to assemble I’m hoping I don’t find any issues!
As odd as it seems, for the SRAM 11speed 11-42 (traditional cassette freehub) is the only 11 speed cassette that SRAM make that requires a 1.85mm spacer to fit it to an 11 speed hub, just like fitting a 10speed cassette from almost any other groupset. (excepting of course Campag - no spacers 10 or 11 speed)
So - did Ribble fit one - not a chance. so the lockring was tightened onto the end of the freehub and coincidetally just about kept the cogs tight.
I have had to contact them to get a spacer posted to me.
If you've bought a 1x set-up from Ribble, beware! if it's a 10-42 with the SRAM XD system, no problem, but the 11-42 on a standard spline - look for the spacer (or lack of!)
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