Ribble updated some images and to me the bike looks worse.

[Ian H]

I occasionally look at new bikes on websites, and I find I like some more than others.

 

[PapaZita]

I remember, as a child, peering through the window of the bike shop at the displays of boxed Campagnolo groupsets. It was one of the highlights of a trip into town and was maybe even what got me into cycling as it probably started before I could even ride a bike. Anyway, the point is that those groupsets had *everything*. Hubs, headset, pedals, even a seat pin and a special little compartment in the box for the shiny seat bolt. I‘m always a little disappointed now when modern bikes don’t have a full matching set of parts.

 

[Threevok]

This is why I build my own. You get exactly what you want.

 

[Ian H]

I remember, as a child, peering through the window of the bike shop at the displays of boxed Campagnolo groupsets. It was one of the highlights of a trip into town and was maybe even what got me into cycling as it probably started before I could even ride a bike. Anyway, the point is that those groupsets had *everything*. Hubs, headset, pedals, even a seat pin and a special little compartment in the box for the shiny seat bolt. I‘m always a little disappointed now when modern bikes don’t have a full matching set of parts.

I have always taken some trouble to avoid having a complete groupset.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I have always taken some trouble to avoid having a complete groupset.

Why?

 

[Ian H]

Why?

Well, for instance...

 

[Deleted member 121159]

I admit I prefer the look of Tiagra but what mainly puts me off this bike is that about 30% of the downtube is not welded to the bottom bracket shell.

 

[wafter]

they all do it, about four years ago I bought a 105 BMC Team machine, however the crankset and brake calipers were Shimano non branded, so only the brifters, and front and rear mechs were actually 105, I upgraded it all to 105 in the end as it massively irritated me.

Indeed; my Boardman Team Carbon has "Tiagra" but in reality only the shifters, cassette and derailleurs. The brakes were godawful Tektro efforts, the crankset FSA and chain KMC.

No problem with the chain, the calipers were replaced with 5800 105 which made a world of difference, crankset does the job fine but looks incongruous and a bit cheap. I've toyed with the idea of replacing the crankset but barely use the bike and it'd be the next out the door if one needed to go, so I've held off..

 

[Jameshow]

The Tektro brakes will be better at stopping you.

Really tektro are no match for 105 calipers..

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

..... However, it's not just Ribble. How many manufacturers do fit a 100% complete groupset?

they all do it, about four years ago I bought a 105 BMC Team machine, however the crankset and brake calipers were Shimano non branded, so only the brifters, and front and rear mechs were actually 105, I upgraded it all to 105 in the end as it massively irritated me.

I occasionally look at new bikes on websites, and I find I like some more than others.

I certainly agree that say a 105 rear mech might see a bike labled 105 even though the rest is Microshift and this has been going on for years. But it is very, very, very rare to see a "brand" post multiple photographs of a bike with a major component that they are not supplying and go as far as to say so in the text.

This is why I build my own. You get exactly what you want.

My commute is a real case of this; 753 steel frame, 600 Tricolour brake levers, Campag Centaur brakes, 105 rear, Ultegra front, Sunrace shifters and a Claris chainset, running on Tiagra/Mavic wheels and even a Hawaiian shirt.

It's a great fun ride when you tell yourself that it is a bike from the past, but every time I changed back to the now broken carbon bike it was a really big reminder that there has been a lot of progress over the years.

With the above caveat I like this bike as it is, but as the daily commuter it is almost certainly going to get the Di2 of the carbon bike soon as the shifting is just so, shall we say different.

.....
The Omega is - at typical retain prices - more expensive than the Tiagra item, so while there's an argument for saying the bike may be cosmetically affected its not really fair to say they're moving the bike down market.

..... tbh a chainset is a chainset after all .......

Forty years ago I would have agreed, but nowadays chainsets and front mechs are often designed together, pickup points on the chainrings may be matched to a bulge in the front mech side plates and these pickup points choosen to help the big change between say a 34 and 50 tooth ring.

Sure mixing and matching parts works fine but having become used to Ultegra Di2 front shifting my current commute bike's Ultegra mech with a Claris chainset has a nice retro feel.

.....FWIW (2) £1100 is cheap for a pretty well equipped road bike so I'd expect some compromises somewhere ....

Interesting, I still see Tiagra as that odd groupset that sits between bottom of the range Sora and 105, not that much cheaper than 105 and not that much better than Sora. This is then attached to a frame/forks and a range of parts which with the exception of the wheels is of unknown origin.

With a Halfords Carrera at £500 I expect lots of compromises, at almost 2 1/2 times the price and from a web based business with no one local to take it back to I can't see it as anything other than overpriced to cover the costs of Ribble becoming a brand.

Now that Shimano have performed a marketing miracle by renaming the 2000 series as Claris, Sora and all the other ranges have shifted up one tier up without any product changes.

Sora is no longer entry level it is an upgrade from entry level, having bent 2 Claris rear mechs on the Norco before it was pinched and excluding the shifters which are outstanding Claris is in my mind a light use, non enthusiasts product, so Tiagra is still one step up from bottom of the range.

Bye

Ian

 

[Mike Ayling]

Good morning,

In the recent past I have been critical of Ribble selling bikes as Tiagra with photos that show Tiagra and then in the text saying that the chainset will be an FSA Omega. I don't have a problem with the spec only the photographs as I happen to have a matt black FSA chainset that I bought to put on the Raleigh and it looked so wrong that I never did.

Ribble have now updated at least some of the images, although the frames shown here are different, the drivetrain area is very similar and the matt black FSA gives a very different overall look to the shiny Tiagra.


View attachment 701635

View attachment 701634

Would anyone here feel differently about the bike seeing it with the FSA rather than the Tiagra chainset, considering that if you ignore the sale bikes Ribble are now charging premium brand prices? £1,100 for alu frame with CF forks/mostly Tiagra and Mavic Aksium wheels

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-al-shimano-tiagra-disc/build/
View attachment 701639

To me the look of the FSA chainset moves the bike a bit down market, although I have no idea if the change is due to cost or supply.

If you are an internet based brand then surely trust is a big issue and showing one thing and saying something else in the text would worry me that I had missed other changes. Especially as they are now specing their own brand Level1 wheels in some builds, a change from Mavic Aksiums as the entry level.

Bye

Ian

I don't really care about the pictures, I jst check the spec sheet.

 

[the_mikey]

Interesting, I still see Tiagra as that odd groupset that sits between bottom of the range Sora and 105, not that much cheaper than 105 and not that much better than Sora. This is then attached to a frame/forks and a range of parts which with the exception of the wheels is of unknown origin.

Tiagra in it's current iteration (4700) is a pretty good groupset, it's not as smooth as 105 but it's reliable and capable, it's not doing anything to hold you back, even the previous 4600 version was good, problems with shifting at this level are more likely to be caused by wear and tear and derailleur/hanger alignment rather than as a result of cost cutting. The main differences are in the crankset and the front derailleur where the cranks are solid aluminium instead of a hollow shell made from two pieces bonded together, and the front derailleur offers little refinement but works as intended. 105 derailleurs are a joy to set up, unlike Tiagra where you'll probably need a bit more effort and patience to align things, but that's about it.