Giant contend SL1 disc vs Ribble endurance sl disc

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Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
Don’t get too hung up on carbon :becool:
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
I've had a Contend SL1 Disc for a few years - it is a fantastic bike that I'd highly recommend.
580746
 
OP
OP
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Tommohawk

Well-Known Member
That’s a great looking bike. I’m not too hung up on carbon as I know the weight saving isn’t as great as what some would have you believe. I currently have a Giant hybrid which I love apart from the fact that the free hub has malfunctioned within 6 months and about 800 miles of ownership.
 
Good morning,

Am I being a complete idiot or is the only difference between the Aluminium and Carbon versions of the Ribble £600 and the carbon frame&forks and aluminium frame and different forks?

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-al-shimano-105-disc/build/#Specification
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-sl-disc-red-shimano-105/build/#Specification

That changes the price balance between the Ribble and the Giant quite a lot, but if you want a bike for this summer Ribble's estimates of July aren't great.

My only other thought is do you want a carbon frame because you haven't had one before and want to try one? If that's the case then it seems to be a dominant argument.

I would certainly agree with anyone who says that is probably not going to make much difference but that's not really the point about bikes for fun.

After all do you need more that a Carrera Vanquish disc for £450? I do ask this tongue in cheek as it is sunny and I am getting ready to go out on my carbon Di2 bike or possibly my steel one with downtube shifters.

Nope, it will be the plastic one, I am slowly becoming a convert, not because the differences are worth the price, but because it is a better piece of equipment for the job.

Given that Ribble sell the aluminium frame separately for £599, it is either a very good frame or the margins are very high, the SL frame alone at £1,299 should mean that it is a stunning frame. However with the 725 frame being £799, frame only prices look like we have the frames so "we will stick um on the site at high prices and don't really care if they sell"

Bye

Ian
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Good morning,

Am I being a complete idiot or is the only difference between the Aluminium and Carbon versions of the Ribble £600 and the carbon frame&forks and aluminium frame and different forks?

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-al-shimano-105-disc/build/#Specification
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-sl-disc-red-shimano-105/build/#Specification

That changes the price balance between the Ribble and the Giant quite a lot, but if you want a bike for this summer Ribble's estimates of July aren't great.

My only other thought is do you want a carbon frame because you haven't had one before and want to try one? If that's the case then it seems to be a dominant argument.

I would certainly agree with anyone who says that is probably not going to make much difference but that's not really the point about bikes for fun.

After all do you need more that a Carrera Vanquish disc for £450? I do ask this tongue in cheek as it is sunny and I am getting ready to go out on my carbon Di2 bike or possibly my steel one with downtube shifters.

Nope, it will be the plastic one, I am slowly becoming a convert, not because the differences are worth the price, but because it is a better piece of equipment for the job.

Given that Ribble sell the aluminium frame separately for £599, it is either a very good frame or the margins are very high, the SL frame alone at £1,299 should mean that it is a stunning frame. However with the 725 frame being £799, frame only prices look like we have the frames so "we will stick um on the site at high prices and don't really care if they sell"

Bye

Ian
The poster is buying the whole bike not the frameset? Not sure I follow your post :scratch:
It’s pretty much always more cost effective to buy the whole bike if you can get the spec you want off the peg than a frameset and all the components
 
Good morning,
The poster is buying the whole bike not the frameset? Not sure I follow your post :scratch:
It’s pretty much always more cost effective to buy the whole bike if you can get the spec you want off the peg than a frameset and all the components
Giant contend SL1 disc vs Ribble endurance sl disc
Thoughts? Ribble about £200 more but carbon frame. Availability is an issue unfortunately.


The op then said that they aren't that sold on carbon.
That’s a great looking bike. I’m not too hung up on carbon as I know the weight saving isn’t as great as what some would have you believe

The Ribble Endurance SL is a carbon framed bike with exactly the same spec everywhere else as the Endurance Al.

If carbon fibre is not a requirement then as the Edurance Al is the "same bike" as the SL and as the SL matches all the requirements in every other way then the AL becomes the comparison bike for the Giant.

Unless the Ribble CF frame is so much better than then the Al that it overrides the indifference to carbon fibre.

By examining the frames separately we can see that the Ribble CF frame is a very expensive frame rather than a £499 bargain basement one with Ribble logos stuck on it. By examining the 725 frame, something which has known comparisons we could perhaps infer the likely markup on the carbon and aluminium frames.

All of which may or may not lead to the view that by giving up the Carbon fibre frame you save £200 at the expense of not having an outstanding Ribble CF frame.

If you are going to spend £1,650 on the Giant then the purchase price already contains a large element of pleasure so an extra £200 is almost of no consequence, so buy the carbon Ribble as at the potential downside is spending £200 more than on the Giant.

Whereas the potential downside of the Giant over the Ribble CF is regretting not trying the CF Ribble as there must be some advantage in the £1,300 Ribble CF frame over their £600 aluminium one.

When I bought my CF/Di2 bike I was expecting the frame to "knock the socks" of my 531 one, after all 531 is 1950s technology and Di2 to be a pointless gimmick. Yet I found the frame difference to be pretty much what the numbers imply and Di2 to be the real upgrade.

But it also took me a few thousand miles for Di2 to click, one day I realised that I hadn't thought about changing gear for probably 15 miles and I realised that I had acquired some automatic link between cadence and pressing a button.

If you haven't tried new tech it impossible to know if it is relevant to you, and the OP seemed to suggest that he hadn't tried a Carbon Fibre frame. So spend the extra on the Ribble CF and see if the difference matters rather than regret saving a relatively small amount of money and miss out on the experience.

Bye

Ian
 
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vickster

Legendary Member
I think availability will be the key decider here as the OP says. Which one is available in the right size before winter! And which is the better colour ;) looks like the105 AL Ribble is currently available in all sizes £1300
I don’t know why the OP is not looking at the AL Ribble, the Giant does come with a lifetime frame warranty unlike the Ribble bikes (unless they’ve changed that recently).

Is an Alu Giant with 105 really £1650 now :ohmy:
 
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Tommohawk

Well-Known Member
Maybe the Ribble AL 105 is worth a look then. I would worry about using a carbon bike year round. For reference I live in the west coast of Scotland.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Make sure whatever bike will take proper mudguards, the carbon may not. Protect the bike drivetrain and more so you from the dreaded shite stripe
 
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