First ride tonight....one word...fabulous

Where do you begin ?...
Fitted with my fulcrum 5s and some lights...couldnt wait to get out..
Its like a cross between my winter commuter and my Bianchi... the commuter's an old 531 raleigh, huge rake on the forks, thin seatstays, both contributing to a silky smooth ride, but slow to respond to you.. The bianchi, new of course, edgy, instantly responds to you but harsher.
The ribble gives you the best of both worlds. Super smooth over the tarmac, responding instantly to any input from the rider. Get out the saddle and accelerate...it goes.
I did worry i'd not thought of something when i specced it. To keep the saddle to bars distance the same, i opted for a 70mm stem. Then i realised that may make the steering very twitchy...but not so. Its quick to respond, but riding one handed at reasonable speed, it didnt feel any different from what i'm used to (working on the principle one handed would make you twitchy anyway)
It may still need a little fettling on the fit...if i get out the saddle to accelerate, my knees look a tad close to the bars. Perhaps it was always that way and i didnt notice, perhaps thats the negative result of a short stem.
Gears are well set up, very precise, just slip into gear.
The 2012 veloce levers with new design hoods are definately more comfortable, better feeling than my Xenons, but as i switched down a gear i found the finger lever did tend to flick towards the bars instead of sideways. No stiffness, perhaps too smooth, perhaps just take a while to get used to.
So a quick sub 15 miles this evening and now ive got a big cheesy grin all over my mush. Its a huge leap of faith buying before you see, let alone ride. I was lovestruck with the Bianchi Impulso, but i'm glad i got this. My test ride on the Bianchi was good, but it didnt leave me feeling

.
No regrets..i love it, i'm grinning as i write this

Good looking, precise, responsive, supremely smooth on the road...i'd better stop or i'll be here all night