Ribble New Sportive Racing

[G10WLD]

Kestevan - I would say you made a sensible decision.

 

[oforahill]

A late post addition, but reading these posts struck so many chords with me I joined cyclechat just to add my tuppence.
I've bought many items from ribble, including a "new sportive" with sram rival. I too have now vowed never to use ribble again. I had the usual problem of not being able to get a phone call answered. The online tracker said my bike was ready for collection (I lived 30 miles from the depot at the time). I had no luck with phone calls so turned up to be told it wasn't ready. This happened twice, on the third occasion I managed to get through on on the phone and was told it would be ready in 3 weeks!. After going ballistic the time was reduced to one week. The set-up was terrible, it's only now after a couple of years of bike maintenance experience I realise how poor it was.
The comment previous comment about valve length made me laugh. I placed an order for some inner tubes but specified the wrong valve length. I managed to contact them the next day (can't remember if it was by phone or email) but I was told the order had already been sent for dispatch...almost 3 weeks later it arrived. It would have been more honest for them to say "sorry but we can't be ars*d to make any changes".
Top tip buy your bike from canyon or rose during their end of year sales, you'll get a better bike and far better service.

 

[Garz]

<insert experience above>

Commendable that you posted just to add your experience oforahill. I base a lot of my decisions online via comments and feedback, some of which might not be enjoyable to read but helps get a real picture.

 

[Dave Crampton]

Good thread. I was set to order a Sportive 365 but have now closed the browser...

 

[gbb]

9 months later, still riding, still enjoying everything about mine

 

[goody]

Had mine about 9 months and done 1200 miles on it, didn't use it from Oct. to Apr. (don't ride much that time of year apart from commuting). Spec. is Campag Veloce and Zonda wheels with Deda finishing kit and Charge Knife Saddle.
Use it for the odd sportive and rides around Surrey normally 60 -100 miles.
I weighed it when I first got it without pedals or any accessories it's around 7kg.
I love mine, it feels very light and responsive. The Campag gear works well the gear changes are positive with a very light lever action (a friend has the same gears on his Cinelli and his levers require much more effort).
Mine wasn't set up particularly well but I can't fault anything on the bike and can't think of anything I could do to improve it.
The only thing that's gone wrong is one broken spoke in the rear wheel which for a Campag wheel is very unusual. But after 1000 miles can't complain (unless it becomes a regular occurrence).

 

[Grant Fondo]

my LBS put me off buying from Ribble, as someone had brought one in to them because the rear wheel was rubbing against the seat tube!? The prices always look tempting, but too many stories about lack of 'quality control' which is a shame.

 

[goody]

Ribble do seem to get a lot of bad press. I think the staff must be under a bit of pressure to get the bikes built and out of the doors. I had a couple of issues with mine but were easily sorted, but then I have a workshop and a whole heap of tools. Someone else might have had to take the bike to a shop to sort. At the moment I love it, had a decent ride on it today 90.9km 881m elevation avg. 29.2kmh max 72kmh.

 

[gbb]

my LBS put me off buying from Ribble, as someone had brought one in to them because the rear wheel was rubbing against the seat tube!? The prices always look tempting, but too many stories about lack of 'quality control' which is a shame.

Good grief, it's not just possible your LBS had a vested interest in putting you off is it ?...like ...so they could sell you a bike.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

I've had a Ribble New Sportive for 2 years now, bought with full SRAM RIval set-up and Ksyrium Elites. I now use it for racing and whilst the geometry is more laid back than other bikes, I can't say the difference is that noticeable...especially when you have the steerer cut down .

I love it to be honest and vow to keep hold of her for as long as possible. I've done over 12,000 miles, probably more, rode the Etape last year on her and I find it immensely comfortable as the OP suggests.

I also have to say that my experience with Ribble wasn't that bad either and yet I'm not denying the vast amount of experiences I've read to the contrary.

 

[fuzzylogic]

Ribble do seem to get a lot of bad press. I think the staff must be under a bit of pressure to get the bikes built and out of the doors. I had a couple of issues with mine but were easily sorted, but then I have a workshop and a whole heap of tools. Someone else might have had to take the bike to a shop to sort. At the moment I love it, had a decent ride on it today 90.9km 881m elevation avg. 29.2kmh max 72kmh.

agree with above, having built most of my own machines from frame up I would say they all needed a bit of riding in; cables stretched, brake blocks bedding in etc. I find incomprehensible the someone can invest a four figure sum in a machine and not have the experience to realizes this You purchase a new machine, never ridden, on spec, and expect it to be perfect out of the box - never gonna happen.

 

[gbb]

agree with above, having built most of my own machines from frame up I would say they all needed a bit of riding in; cables stretched, brake blocks bedding in etc. I find incomprehensible the someone can invest a four figure sum in a machine and not have the experience to realizes this You purchase a new machine, never ridden, on spec, and expect it to be perfect out of the box - never gonna happen.

If I could multiple ''like' this post, I would. Never a truer word spoken.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

my ribble r872 was fine out of the box; i've done several hundred miles on it and the only issue of note is that it once threw the chain off onto the bottom bracket, but i suspect a bit of ham-fisted fumbling for a gear on my part was as much to blame as anything else.

i did a club run on it the day i got it, and everyone, me included, was expecting to have to get a multitool out for it at some point.

i've also had a £250 road bike from halfords that came perfectly set up (although the guy that did it soon left to work at a proper bike shop), so maybe i'm just lucky.

expecting all to be perfect right out of the box, and then blaming the retailer/builder, is a bit unfair imho. it's the same with many things, such as guitars; you just need to be prepared to do a bit of fine tuning to get it completely ship-shape.

i expect there are a number of people who have just bought ribble bikes on price alone, who would have been better going to their lbs and getting advice. i went for a ribble as i wanted an exact set up, but knowing that delivery would not be instant, and that i'd expect to do a bit of fine tuning etc post-purchase.

perhaps it's best to avoid online bike purchases if you don't have the skills/tools to do a 6 week service yourself, or at least have a local shop that will happily do the work for you (and budget for that).

 

[Camcycle1974]

Had my 872 for a couple of months now. Must say my Ribble experience was pretty good. I expected a long delay when I ordered as my frame size was out of stock. The bike came in under a month and was assembled perfectly and has run just fine ever since. Very happy with my purchase and no regrets over selling my Giant which I did have issues with. Not just the bike in box companies where things can go wrong.

 

[Leodis]

Got a Ribble R872 best bike I have used long term, specc'd it correctly and had no problems.

Top tip buy your bike from canyon or rose during their end of year sales, you'll get a better bike and far better service.

I doubt that with the number of Canyon complains online, also sending a bike to Germany costs a ton.