Ribble: Too good to be true?

[Mapster1989]

Been looking at getting one of the Ribble R872 which is a full carbon bike and looking to get the Shimano 105 groupset + a few other little upgrades.

All of that comes to around £1,200 which is dirt cheap for a carbon bike.

Anyone out there ride Ribble and if so what are they like? It just seems a little too good to be true in all honesty?

Also, how can they provide bikes at such a knock-down cost?

 

[vickster]

A colleague of mine is on his 2nd gran fobdo after writing off the first - always a risk if you stack a carbon frame. There are a few carbon options around that budget, Dolan, Planet X, rose, canyon or 2011 or 2013 from the bigger high street brands like cannondale and giant

 

[Hacienda71]

I have a Ribble I use as a second bike. It does it's job very well. Some people moan about customer service, but I have never had a problem with them, they are certainly vgfm and there are a lot of them out there on the road.
If you are in Sheffield take a look at Planet X as well, another good value brand and a bit more local to you.

 

[Mapster1989]

A colleague of mine is on his 2nd gran fobdo after writing off the first - always a risk if you stack a carbon frame. There are a few carbon options around that budget, Dolan, Planet X, rose, canyon or 2011 or 2013 from the bigger high street brands like cannondale and giant

I have a Ribble I use as a second bike. It does it's job very well. Some people moan about customer service, but I have never had a problem with them, they are certainly vgfm and there are a lot of them out there on the road.
If you are in Sheffield take a look at Planet X as well, another good value brand and a bit more local to you.

Cheers for that. Just having a look now at Planet X and they look very pleasing on the eye. There's just something about matt black that does it for me!

 

[vickster]

Black, bleurgh, dull...we can't all like the same stuff though

 

[Dave7]

I ride a full carbon Ribble Sportive. Cannot fault the service or the product.
However.........as I only live 30 miles away I was able to sit on a few models/sizes........I certainly wouldn't buy a bike I hadn't tried out for size/style etc.
Can you get there to check them out?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'll let you know about the Planet-X pro carbon (black!) in a week's time - remotivational splurge

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I'll let you know about the Planet-X pro carbon (black!) in a week's time - remotivational splurge

Ooh that's lovely!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Ooh that's lovely!

I certainly hope so. Couldn't quite make the leap to titanium but it's still an addition to the small collection. Hell, one of these days it might get warm enough for a ride out to Suffolk! You're a tallish lad, I think, you might even fit on it!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I certainly hope so. Couldn't quite make the leap to titanium but it's still an addition to the small collection. Hell, one of these days it might get warm enough for a ride out to Suffolk! You're a tallish lad, I think, you might even fit on it!

Which size frame did you go for?

I still want to have a night time ride around London at some point.

 

[AndyRM]

I have an Evo-Pro Carbon which I love. No complaints about the bike or the service from Ribble, though the wait for the bike to arrive was agonising; around 3 weeks if I remember correctly.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Which size frame did you go for?

I still want to have a night time ride around London at some point.

Sorry to the others for going a little off-topic, but it's an extra large - I'm pretty long-bodied.

 

[Kestevan]

I briefly considered a Ribble as the bikes look good. Unfortunately I had the misfortune to experience their utter contempt for their customers during a previous warranty claim, and I therefore vowed never to give them any more of my money.

I splashed out on a Planet X RT-57 late last year. Cracking bike, and excellent customer service from the guys at Planet X.
Just wish the weather would get better so I could ride the damned thing

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Been looking at getting one of the Ribble R872 which is a full carbon bike and looking to get the Shimano 105 groupset + a few other little upgrades.

All of that comes to around £1,200 which is dirt cheap for a carbon bike.

Anyone out there ride Ribble and if so what are they like? It just seems a little too good to be true in all honesty?

Also, how can they provide bikes at such a knock-down cost?

The only downside i have heard RE Ribble is their customer service. I have recently dealt with them a lot and ALL emails were replied within several hours. They have obviously taken the criticism on board, or are not too busy.
The R872 now comes with internal cabling and is Di2 ready. There is no denying that Ribble get there frames from China but i would argue that so would the majority of bike manufacturers these days. It's not because it is dirt cheap, it is simply a combination of quality workmanship and value for money. Ribble take this on board and resell, branded, Ribble carbon. Win win if you don't mind riding a bike that says "Ribble" on the side.

I am all set to take delivery of the R872 frame + forks tomorrow or Friday. Building it up with Dura ace and Ultegra mix. This will be a needed (ahem) alternative to the De Rosa idol i have, which is more suited to distance and long climbs. The R872 is reported to be a pretty stiff frame which is just what i want in my 2nd road bike.

I too love the matt black carbon look. The logo is also very subtle which wasn't a consideration, more a bonus. With matt black carbon 50mm tubs, it will look "stealthy"!! Will post build pics etc over the weekend when i get down to business.

If you are considering waiting for a few days before buying a bike then i'll get in touch with a quick report for you if that helps. Again though i don't think the frames are meant to be anything but quality for the £££.

FYI, Planet X are also fantastic value for money and i very nearly bought the N2A frame and forks but decided the price difference (£300 over the R872) was not justified. You will not go wrong with either. In fact Planet X have many bikes on good deals at the moment.

 

[Mapster1989]

@Pedro: That would be brilliant if you could. Always good to hear from people that actually ride them.