Help with Ribble spec - pretty please :)

[lulubel]

I've almost decided my new bike will be a Ribble (unless I find an amazingly good deal locally), and after hours spent on their bike builder playing around with different specs, I've got a few questions that people here can probably answer.

Here's what I've got so far:

Frame - Sportive 7005 OR Sportive 7046.
If I choose the 7046, it will probably be the curved for the sake of an extra tenner.
I've googled 7005 v 7046 and have come up with 7046 is 16-80% stronger (quite a range there) and 12-16% lighter. Lightness aside, is the alloy that much stronger that it justifies the extra £120 ish?

Size - tiny cos I'm a short-arse.

Headset - (default) Ribble branded.

Groupset - Tiagra 10sp triple with 12-28 cassette and 170mm cranks.
I'm happy with the gearing for the kind of rides I do, but are those the best cranks for a 5ft2 cyclist? They're the shortest option.

Wheels - this is where I get confused.
The default selection is Rodi Airline 4. I don't know anything about them, but they look nice!
I could also justify getting Shimano R501 or RS10.
My old bike still has the original Alex rims, which have done about 6-7,000 miles on dodgy roads without falling apart, probably because I'm very small and light. I'd obviously like lighter wheels, but it's more important that they don't go out of true the first time I hit a pothole.
Help!

Bars - default is ITM Alutech 6061.
The bars on my old bike have quite a small curve on the drops, which I think is women specific, and I find them very comfortable. How do I find out if any of the options are similar?

Stem - (default) ITM Alutech 6061 - 80mm (stem on old bike is 75mm).

Saddle - Madison Prima Ladies.
It's cheap and I'll keep it on if I like it. Otherwise I'll swap it for my old saddle.

Seatpost - CSN carbon SE.
My old bike has a carbon seatpost, and it's an inexpensive upgrade.

Tyres and tubes - default.
I'll put my trusted Rubino Pros on it before I take it anywhere near a road, so it's a bit irrelevant.

Pedals - Shimano A530.
Single-sided SPDs, so I can also wear normal shoes, and I'll have to get some shoes to go with them because it will be my first clipless experience.

Any and all thoughts on this are very welcome.

 

[derrick]

I would give them a ring, they seemed very helpfull when i put my wifes one together, you could ask them not to supply tyres or anything else you are going to use from your old bike.

 

[lulubel]

Thanks, derrick, I've already been in touch with them by email about a few things, but I'm interested in getting opinions and thoughts from other cyclists here.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I bought a 7005 winter/audax bike a couple of years ago, and though I specced it with full 105 black, everything else was standard bike builder spec, ie: Ribble headset, ITM bars etc, and tbh everything was perfectly fine. The stock wheels were Pro-Lite Comos and I had no intention of using them anyway, I fitted my Halo Aeroage and sold the Pro-Lites straight away.
Not sure about crank length, did your old bike have 170mm cranks? If so and you were happy then you should be fine.
If you still have the bars and stem off your old bike you can always swap them around you find you don't like the new ones

 

[lulubel]

Not sure about crank length, did your old bike have 170mm cranks? If so and you were happy then you should be fine.

Not sure, but I can measure them. Where do you measure from/to? The middle of the nut/bolt/fixing at each end?

If you still have the bars and stem off your old bike you can always swap them around you find you don't like the new ones

They're damaged, unfortunately, or I probably would. The front of my bike took quite a battering in my crash last weekend. Even the saddle is a bit scuffed, but that's just cosmetic, and won't matter if I don't find another one as comfortable.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Re: cranks, yeah measure between the centres. It may even have it stamped on. I remember reading about your crash/accident but I wasn't sure what survived and what didn't. You did though and that's all that really matters isn't it?
I'm sure Ribble would swop the stem for a 75 if you ask them.

 

[lulubel]

I remember reading about your crash/accident but I wasn't sure what survived and what didn't. You did though and that's all that really matters isn't it?

Yes, I felt very down about the bike at the time, but I've since realised I won't be cycling for a while - apart from a very gentle 10 minute spin on the turbo this morning, which was nice because it got my legs moving without any weight on them - so I can enjoy shopping for a new bike while I recuperate.

There are a few bits I could salvage from the bike, but nothing (other than the saddle) that's worth bothering with.

 

[totallyfixed]

Ribble spec is absolutely fine, go out on any club run in this country and you will see plenty of them around and experienced club men/women usually know what they are about. Don't get too hung up about wheel strength because in real life riding this is the first thing you should upgrade on a bike. An example of how strong wheels are, a few years ago I piled head on into a car at about 16mph, it bent my titanium frame and fractured my forks but the front wheel remained perfectly true. As for cranks, again from experience I would say 165mm are really as long as you should go, unless you have disproportionately long legs!
Write everything down and ring them when you are sure about everything.

 

[lulubel]

Don't get too hung up about wheel strength because in real life riding this is the first thing you should upgrade on a bike. An example of how strong wheels are, a few years ago I piled head on into a car at about 16mph, it bent my titanium frame and fractured my forks but the front wheel remained perfectly true.

This is actually why I'm asking about it now. My crash sounds similar to yours, but at 18mph, and my front wheel is most definitely not perfectly true! Bent with spokes hanging out would be a better description. (Alloy frame bent, no obvious damage to forks, but they're carbon so I don't think you can necessarily see it?)

If it's possible to get wheels (for a reasonable price) that will survive that kind of impact, I'd like to do it straight away rather than pay for something that isn't as good and then pay again to upgrade it.

 

[lulubel]

I just realised that last post sounded really bad. I'm not planning to ride into any more cars in a hurry!

What I'm looking for is a bike that is as robust as it realistically can be while still being pretty and reasonably light. I'd like to be able to ride along a smooth road that suddenly drops (or rises) a couple of inches without warning and not be thinking, "Sh1t, what have I broken?" once I've gone over it.

 

[totallyfixed]

This is actually why I'm asking about it now. My crash sounds similar to yours, but at 18mph, and my front wheel is most definitely not perfectly true! Bent with spokes hanging out would be a better description. (Alloy frame bent, no obvious damage to forks, but they're carbon so I don't think you can necessarily see it?)

If it's possible to get wheels (for a reasonable price) that will survive that kind of impact, I'd like to do it straight away rather than pay for something that isn't as good and then pay again to upgrade it.

Ref the carbon forks - ditch them unless you can get them x-rayed which I was lucky enough to be able to do, you do not want to be descending with the worry of defective forks! Everything is a trade off with wheels, but don't get hung up on low spoke counts, one of the great cons foisted on the unsuspecting cyclist. Fewer spokes don't mean lighter wheels because they need more material in the rim. Double butted spokes are the best because they save weight but are also more elastic. What is your budget for wheels? Would you like recommendations? My better half has some X-Lites she has had on for years, I think they were under £200.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

You might want to see these for bars and saddle geometries, which as you know can have huge impact on comfort.

Imho, suppliers practically always skimp on wheels to build a bike to a price. At 2.1kg a pair the Airline 4 are as heavy as any lower end bike's wheels typically are... If your are close to your budget, by all means stick with them, if not, I think wheels should account for say at least 30% of a bike's price. Including decent tyres (I like Rubino Pros) and tubes they are easily the most important components for a lively, responsive feel, and good wheels are strong* too.

* however many factory wheels have custom hubs, spokes, nipples or rims that are harder to source, which you might want to be aware since you live in Spain

 

[Linford]

I'm not to sure if this is any help, but I am an ally extrustion tool designer by trade, so whilst I don't know precisely what the tensile properties are of the alloys stated, can say that if you are just buying a roadie, I'd personally be more concerned with the actual quality of the welds than the specific alloy type. The ally is cooled when it comes out of the extrusion press by either air blowers, or water curtain to define the specific temper propertied to fix the grain (T5 etc), then whilst still with a bit of heat in it is stretched to reduce elasticity in the profile, and then after that it is aged in ovens to stabilise it.
Some ally tubing is produced using something called a piercing die, some are thinned down to size by drawing (i'm not involved in this, so can't offer advice). Some (most of what I'm involved with) is produced with a die which will by design put 3 welds in the profile equally spaced around its diameter and along its entire length. If this type of die is made and is handled properly, the only issue will be marking when the finished product is polished and annodised.
Extruders all over the world and more and more over the last couple of years since the rise in commodity prices, are asking toolmakers like myself for wall thickness reduction of a percentage in all profiles to shave the weight, as this can claw back substantial savings on the amount of ally they need to use to produce the specific lengths of the stuff (Saudi's are worst for this by a county mile BTW) The downside is, the harder the alloy, the more flex in the tool as they have to push it harder to squeeze the metal out, and this increases the risk for wall thickness variation along the extruded length (won't bore you why). The likelihood is IMO that a new frame will be thinner and lighter, but may be less accurate in manufacture. They then swage the ends where they weld them for extra strength. Weld failures at these points in the frame assembly are separate issues, but I've not ever seen a frame fail mid profile on a cycle.

I guess that the harder the alloy, the less flexing in the frame, and that is what you are paying for as harder alloy tubing is harder on the tooling and with that wearing out faster, will bump the price of the profiles up.

Pays your money and takes your choice

 

[lulubel]

I guess that the harder the alloy, the less flexing in the frame, and that is what you are paying for as harder alloy tubing is harder on the tooling and with that wearing out faster, will bump the price of the profiles up.

Thanks. I didn't understand everything you said, but what I'm getting from it is that 7046 will give a stiffer frame, but not necessarily a stronger one. Since I don't particularly need a stiffer frame, it isn't worth spending the extra money on it. I can spend it on wheels instead!

 

[lulubel]

You might want to see these for bars and saddle geometries, which as you know can have huge impact on comfort.

That link for bars is brilliant, and I think I understand what I need now. Thanks.