Boardman SLR 8.9 vs Ribble Endurace al (105) - are hydraulic brakes worth an extra £220?

[Handlebar Moustache]

Hi all,

Pondering pushing the button on a Boardman SLR 8.9 carbon road bike with rim brakes and 105 kit - found a deal in store for £1080. Living in Scotland (and not having used disc brakes much) I'm wondering if an alternative - the Ribble AL Endurance with hydraulics (£1299) is worth the extra money (and the extra weight). Anyone got any experience with either?

I'm a former fairly keen roadie aiming to get back into longer rides after a fair while just doing shorter rides on my Brompton (and keen on not breaking the bank in terms of cost).

Thanks,

Mel

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Disc brakes tend to be a very divisive subject!

You're not comparing otherwise like for like bikes; it's Alumininium+disc or carbon+rim.

For me personally, unless you're doing lots of wet miles (ie commuting) and/or want mudguard clearance, rim brakes are a better choice regardless of price. On a road bike the only real advantage of discs is rim wear IMO.

The boardman looks (much) better value to me.

Other people will be asking soon to say that discs are essential; these things are personal preference.

 

[RoadRider400]

If you are going to be pelting down hills in the rain yes. If dawdling along on dry days no. Anywhere in between it's probably a judgement call.

I am a fair weather cyclist and have 105 rims. I cannot use all of the stopping power otherwise I would be over handlebars.

 

[Jameshow]

Look at vitus too if you want a bargain carbon bike.

https://vitusbikes.com/collections/road-and-gravel-bikes/products/vitus-zenium-cr-road-bike-105-2022

 

[Cycleops]

I'd say discs are definitely worth having. No rim wear and better sharper braking with good modulation. I suspect the Boardman has a good reduction because it's fitted with rims which will be eventually phased out on decent quality bikes. Also means when it comes to sale time you'll get more with disc equipped.

 

[13 rider]

I have 2 road bikes one hydraulic disc one rim brake , I prefer the braking of the disc brakes especially in the wet, is there a massive difference no . The disc brake bike allows me to run carbon wheels without any worry about rim wear . Strangely I run my rim brake bike when it's likely to be wet as it's got cheaper components of which I'm less worried about wearing out ,the disc brake bike is what you could term as best bike .Weight difference between the 2 systems isn't worth worrying about.
Are disc worth the extra money ? For me yes but only just .
There's no right or wrong answer ,it may come down to which bike you prefer the look of colour etc ,
If your used to maintaining rims brake stays on rims also make sense , hydraulics don't take much maintenance other than cleaning and changing pads not eventually brake bleeds will require specialized tools or work for the bike shop

 

[cyberknight]

in the wet go for discs if you intend to do it a lot , otherwise rims do the job very nicely

 

[vickster]

Look at vitus too if you want a bargain carbon bike.

https://vitusbikes.com/collections/road-and-gravel-bikes/products/vitus-zenium-cr-road-bike-105-2022

Only XL available though
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/vitus-zenium-cr-road-bike-105

There’s a mech disc Tiagra carbon from Ribble for £1100 unless you need a small size
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-r872-disc-teal-shimano-tiagra-2/?

 

[Kingfisher101]

If you can afford it I'd get the bike with the discs especially for Scotland and if you're doing a lot of commuting and general riding. If not and you go for the other one after the stock pads wear out get the best ones available as the quality of the pads actually makes a lot of difference I've found.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

I’d go for the Ribble. Shimano brakes, Mavic wheels with Continental tyres, and threaded BB, over the Boardman with Tektro brakes, ‘Boardman’ wheels, Vittoria tyres., and PF86 BB.

 

[Cycleops]

I’d go for the Ribble. Shimano brakes, Mavic wheels with Continental tyres, and threaded BB, over the Boardman with Tektro brakes, ‘Boardman’ wheels, Vittoria tyres., and PF86 BB.

That's one very good reason to avoid it like the plague.

 

[Maherees]

I've got the Boardman 8.9 SLR with discs, so some £500 more expensive and it's a very good bike. Only stuck a carbon seatpost on so far and the rest just works.

 

[fossyant]

Discs are fugly on a road bike !

 

[kingrollo]

I brought the Ribble cgr as a winter bike - and boy is it heavy !

Sure discs are nice - and I wouldn't go back to rim brakes myself. But if you are limited by budget I'd go for the Boardman - rim brakes served us well for years and have the advantage of being simple to maintain.

 

[DogmaStu]

Discs come into their own when using carbon rims on wet roads but also if you are cycling 'fast'. By 'fast' I mean above 18-20mph a lot.

If you intend to cruise about at only 15mph or so then the difference between discs and a good set of rim brakes is less noticeable.

Above 20mph, discs become exponentially better than rim brakes in my experience - the faster you go, modulating discs will be more effective than modulating rim brakes.

One of my bikes has rim brakes and I used to think it stopped me really well - as I did with all my previous bikes - but my disc-braked bikes inspire much greater confidence at speed, they do work noticeably better when hurtling down S-bends at high speed and I can begin to brake far later going into corners.