ttcycle
Cycling Excusiast
Well, in avoidance of doing the important stuff that needs doing on a weekend - thought I'd write a review - will post up pictures once I fix the dropout on the bike as bike looks a bit sorry for itself at the moment!
47cm frame with Campag centaur compact groupset- gearing and handlebar width obviously you can choose- I got 42cm and compact with 12-15 cassette. Bike came with Fulcrum 7s instead of Campag Khamsins.
This offering from Ribble is absolutely excellent. The monocoque carbon fibre frame has plenty of stiffness when sprinting which allows plenty of efficiency and power transfer from what you put into the bike...ie less wasted energy and it doesn't feel as if you're losing a lot of your energy in a 'dead' frame as it's very responsive.
On the flats the bike can build up quite a bit of speed - 25mph easily without requring too much energy and it feels as if you are cruising along at ease. Smooth ride on the bike and feels gloriously effortless. Up hills the light frame really comes into it's own and the close gear ratio that I chose enabled the ride to be easier - have to play around with the gear ratios a bit more on the hill as very different to my other bike until I get fully familiar with it.
The Campagnolo shifters and braking system are smooth in changing up and down the gears but by their mechanism I find that shifting down the gears is done more easily on the hoods rather than on the drops - I do find the campag shifter slightly larger to hold but I'm female and have quite small hands - nothing major though and quickly got used to it. The braking system is excellent and very quick whether riding on the drops or on the hoods - nearly emergency braked on the first test ride out on the bike!
The standard Selle Italia trans am saddle would need replacing as for a standard saddle it's not that great. Bike doesn't come with pedals - equipped the bike with Look Keo sprint pedals.
My only major complaint with the bike is one of preference - the wheelset is very noisy and the hub ticks along when freewheeling - this I find a bit irritating but apart from this the bike is absolutely great and is brilliant value for money. Would recommend it wholeheartedly!
Will review the Dolan once I get a chance to get out on that bike!
47cm frame with Campag centaur compact groupset- gearing and handlebar width obviously you can choose- I got 42cm and compact with 12-15 cassette. Bike came with Fulcrum 7s instead of Campag Khamsins.
This offering from Ribble is absolutely excellent. The monocoque carbon fibre frame has plenty of stiffness when sprinting which allows plenty of efficiency and power transfer from what you put into the bike...ie less wasted energy and it doesn't feel as if you're losing a lot of your energy in a 'dead' frame as it's very responsive.
On the flats the bike can build up quite a bit of speed - 25mph easily without requring too much energy and it feels as if you are cruising along at ease. Smooth ride on the bike and feels gloriously effortless. Up hills the light frame really comes into it's own and the close gear ratio that I chose enabled the ride to be easier - have to play around with the gear ratios a bit more on the hill as very different to my other bike until I get fully familiar with it.
The Campagnolo shifters and braking system are smooth in changing up and down the gears but by their mechanism I find that shifting down the gears is done more easily on the hoods rather than on the drops - I do find the campag shifter slightly larger to hold but I'm female and have quite small hands - nothing major though and quickly got used to it. The braking system is excellent and very quick whether riding on the drops or on the hoods - nearly emergency braked on the first test ride out on the bike!
The standard Selle Italia trans am saddle would need replacing as for a standard saddle it's not that great. Bike doesn't come with pedals - equipped the bike with Look Keo sprint pedals.
My only major complaint with the bike is one of preference - the wheelset is very noisy and the hub ticks along when freewheeling - this I find a bit irritating but apart from this the bike is absolutely great and is brilliant value for money. Would recommend it wholeheartedly!
Will review the Dolan once I get a chance to get out on that bike!
