Anyone got a Ribble eCGR?

[numtumfutunch]

Asking for a friend although I'll be asking for myself one day

OK long delivery notwithstanding if anyone has one, or one of their road ebikes, how are you getting on please?
Specifically what kind of range are you getting? I accept this depends how hard you ride but rough estimates welcome

Chap at work wants to join the current gravel love in. Hes a classic ebike candidate having once been in good shape but has now gone to seed and wishes to join his mates but not go through the six months of pain and work to lose lard and find fitness.

Our normal Sunday is 80km with some elevation
The few tests I found of the eCGR online seldom mention range although one claimed 100km from the battery

Id suggested the eCGR as its a half way house which he can actually pedal rather than a 25kg leviathon that effectively just works on battery power

Cheers, and thanks in advance

[ian996]

numtumfutunch said:

Asking for a friend although I'll be asking for myself one day

OK long delivery notwithstanding if anyone has one, or one of their road ebikes, how are you getting on please?
Specifically what kind of range are you getting? I accept this depends how hard you ride but rough estimates welcome

Chap at work wants to join the current gravel love in. Hes a classic ebike candidate having once been in good shape but has now gone to seed and wishes to join his mates but not go through the six months of pain and work to lose lard and find fitness.

Our normal Sunday is 80km with some elevation
The few tests I found of the eCGR online seldom mention range although one claimed 100km from the battery

Id suggested the eCGR as its a half way house which he can actually pedal rather than a 25kg leviathon that effectively just works on battery power

Cheers, and thanks in advance

I can't help with experience of an eCGR, but I do have an SLe and have been really impressed with it. I bought it because I had an instance of exercise-related AF while out on the bike a few years back, and made the dubious decision to ride home with my atria fibrillating (not a good idea...not going to do that again under my own steam). Without going into too many details about the consequences - I've spent a couple of years doing gentle exercise only, but even now my heart rate is a little less "lumpy", and I've had the all-clear to up the exercise a bit, I still felt very wary about going out on a normal bike in case I had another AF episode while miles away from home.

I'm surprised at how normal the SLe feels most of the time - there is a definite point when the road begins to climb when you suddenly realise you are pedalling a bit of a lump but, in my case, that corresponds quite well to when the assistance kicks in at 15 MPH, when it suddenly feels as if the years are falling away and your youthful climbing legs have suddenly come back. The transition into and out of power mode is really impressive with the Mahle system, there is the tiniest "kick" as it switches in, but it is very subtle. I think there may be a tiny bit of drag as you transition in/out, but I'm fairly sure it is pretty much absent when you are riding consistently at above the assistance limit speed.

I'm mainly riding routes of about 30 fairly hilly miles and using around 20% of battery capacity per ride. I'm about 66KG, but even for someone significantly heaver, I can't see 80KM being a problem with a fully charged battery. I'm averaging about 17MPH on the ebike (whereas, before my AF incident and the subsequent controlled reduction in fitness), I'd be hoping to get around between 17.5 & 18 MPH). My times up hills are also slightly slower than I used to achieve without power , but I am a hell of a lot less aerobically fit than I was. The main thing for me is that it feels like I am doing a proper ride, I'm getting a healthy but very controlled workout and the bike is very nice to ride and "normal" feeling.

I think the Ribbles (or another Mahle powered model) are probably the best bet for riding in groups , as they are quite a chunk lighter than the alternatives like the Fazua. On the flat, the benefit of being behind a wheel should go someway to mitigate the costs of being on an ebike at over 15 MPH. I've no doubt your mate would find it tough on slight drags , where the group is going faster than the assistance limit, but even if he got dropped, he'd be able to keep going at 15 MPH, so shouldn't get too terminally left behind

Worst aspect for me is when I come up behind riders on standard bikes on hills - it all feels a bit uncomfortable when you over take someone, but that is not really a problem if you are in a group of mates who know what you are riding and why you are riding it.

Overall I'd highly recommend the Ribbles for anyone who is no longer fit enough to take on interesting and enjoyable rides - they definitely win on the value stakes compared to the Colnago, Bianchi & Wilier equivilents (Although, as you say, the lead time is a little extended at the moment).

[numtumfutunch]

Very useful, thank you

I know it completely depends on use but would have expected some info especially from the Ribble website???

[TheBaj]

I had one for 18 months or so but sold it recently.

I primarily bought it for commuting, which it was brilliant at. A 20km each way ride with guards and a rack on was a breeze. But then Covid meant no commutes so I tried using it for other things.

Joining friends on a road ride - it was great on steep hills, both up and down. But keeping pace on the flat was hard work when you’re above the 25 km/h assistance limit.

Gravel rides - I’m a mountain biker at heart, taking a rigid bike off-road always felt like hard work. I’d rather be on my 29er hardtail. But that’s not the bike per se.

Range wise I could get between 80-100km in the lowest assistance mode. Again depending on terrain, elevation, etc.

It was a good bike - great even for commuting - but I don’t really miss it as such. Oh and I had mechanical discs that were garbage.

[ian996]

numtumfutunch said:

I know it completely depends on use but would have expected some info especially from the Ribble website???

I think the absence of information from the sellers / manufacturers is because its such a moving target - someone who is 100KG and lets the motor do all the work on a climb is going to get radically different range from someone who is 60KG and just uses the power to flatten the effort a bit.

Again, I know this review is on the SLe and not the eCGR, but this was probably the review that persuaded me that range was never going to be a problem for my usage. The range is not going to be hugely impacted by the CGR itself being a KG or so heaver than the SLe

https://road.cc/content/news/video-ribbles-enduran...

[RLE]

Can’t help at the moment regarding range but the delays seem to have been addressed.

Ordered the Ribble CGRe with 105 group set mid April. Was scheduled for 19th July 2021, but received my dispatch notice today confirming delivery on Monday.

I was advised there was an additional battery that could extend range beyond 120km but cost was prohibitive.