Specialized roubaix vs. Ribble Sportive Carbon Road

[therams]

OK the Specialized comes in at £1600 and is the bike I really want.

However I can spec a Ribble to a similar standard for about £1100. So are the bikes comparable?

I want a comfortable light bike for my Sunday morning rides. At the moment 50-60 miles is my sweet spot, I really enjoy this distance. I have ridden 100 once and it was hard work, mainly due to comfort issues I think.

BTW I currently ride a Specialized Allez Sport.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Alun]

I have a Ribble Sportive and am very happy with it. I ride similar distances to you and find it comfortable. I think you will get Ultegra on the Ribble for £1100, compared with the Roubaix's 105 for £1600. If you don't go with Ribbles "Special Edition" spec you can have whatever components you want.

 

[jimboalee]

OK the Specialized comes in at £1600 and is the bike I really want.

However I can spec a Ribble to a similar standard for about £1100. So are the bikes comparable?

I want a comfortable light bike for my Sunday morning rides. At the moment 50-60 miles is my sweet spot, I really enjoy this distance. I have ridden 100 once and it was hard work, mainly due to comfort issues I think.

BTW I currently ride a Specialized Allez Sport.

Thanks in advance!

Ribble tell you the weights of each component, so you can build a spreadsheet to estimate the weight.

For less than £1100, you could get a pair of wheels, some other lighter bits and a more comfy saddle for your Spesh Allez Sport.

 

[therams]

Thanks for the advice.

I have considered upgrading the Allez, but the purchase is going to be funded via Cycle to Work. The program my company runs lets you put up to £1000 towards a new bike, but won’t let you buy new components or upgrades. So the new bike is going to be funded by CTW, the sale of the Allez and me!

I have already bought some 105 / Open Pro Wheels for the Allez, which I think are better spec than the ones that come on the Roubaix. So by getting the cheapest wheels on the Ribble I can save a few ££££.

Hopefully this purchase will last me a while, so I don’t mind spending the extra to get what I want. However I get the feeling the Roubaix is over priced and I will be paying just for the name.

So as a comfortable road bike, is the general option that they are comparable?

 

[andy_wrx]

I don't think the Spesh is overpriced - it's similar to what you'd pay for the equivalent bikes from other big names like Trek or Cannondale.

Rather, it's that the Ribble, like Planet-X, is a bargain from a small-volume company with Up North overheads.

 

[simon_adams_uk]

Thanks for the advice.

The program my company runs lets you put up to £1000 towards a new bike, but won’t let you buy new components or upgrades.

I would double-check this - I asked about this and was told there was no constraint as buying components/upgrades would in effect qualify as a 'custom' build.

The whole point of the scheme is to get people cycling more and so it would be a bit perverse to prevent existing bikes being upgraded!

S

 

[beancounter]

I would double-check this - I asked about this and was told there was no constraint as buying components/upgrades would in effect qualify as a 'custom' build.

The whole point of the scheme is to get people cycling more and so it would be a bit perverse to prevent existing bikes being upgraded!

S

You can't buy components on the cyclescheme, it's just about the only class of cycle product specifically excluded.

bc

 

[simon_adams_uk]

You can't buy components on the cyclescheme, it's just about the only class of cycle product specifically excluded.

bc

Out of interest, have you got a link (or similar) to their T&Cs that explicitly state this?

S

 

[ColinJ]

I have a Ribble Sportive and am very happy with it.

I rode with Alun yesterday and was very impressed with his bike. If I had the money and space for another bike, I'd certainly consider buying one.

 

[beancounter]

Out of interest, have you got a link (or similar) to their T&Cs that explicitly state this?

S

No sorry I don't, but our company's cyclescheme agreement says:-

"You may obtain almost any kind of safety equipment on the scheme that encourages you to use your bike to travel to work rather than a car. This means that you may get lights, locks, a helmet, waterproof clothing, portable minor repair equipment, cycling shoes and pedals and many other items. This also means that you can also purchase safety equipment only which will encourage you to continue using a bike you already own. There is little that is excluded; however, footwear and clothing which is not specifically for cycling are not permitted. Also excluded from the scheme is the purchase of cycle components".


bc

 

[amnesia]

Some info here...

http://www.cycle2work.info/employees/about_long.html

and here...

http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/employee,faqs.htm

 

[TVC]

I have the Ribble with Campag Centaur. It's a great looking bike, very sharp handling but a smooth ride. At £1350 with decent Mavic wheels and the full carbon groupset I feel like I ripped them off.

 

[therams]

Thanks again everybody - I can see that the Ribble seems to be a popular choice. And I must admit I understand why.

So one last question, has anybody bought the Ribble and regretted it? (or know of anybody who has)

 

[therams]

A reassuring thread!! I have just ordered the Ribble, with Veloce, for £999.99 on the C2W scheme.

Do you know what the lead time is? You will have to post a review!

 

[dhague]

This summer, I was looking at a Ribble vs a Spesh Roubaix too. For me, it ultimately boiled down to this: I could gamble £1000+ on a bike that I'd never ridden before from Ribble, or I could go to my local Evans and test-ride a Roubaix for just £1 deposit.

Now, I know the Ribble is a good bike, but I didn't know if it would fit me particularly well, or what frame size to go for. Given that this was my first road bike, it was much lower risk for me to go to a shop, talk to the guys there, and ride the bike around for a while. In this case, Evans in Woking were great - there was no time limit on the test-ride, and in fact they tweaked the stem & bars for me after my first ride so I could go out again and make sure it was completely comfortable. Also bear in mind that Evans have a very good price-match policy, so there's basically a ~10% discount to be had if you know where to look.

- Darren