I’m looking for a new road bike. I’m doing between 130 and 240 miles per week and I’m starting to do a few sportives. Most of my riding is around Lancashire and Cumbria. I won’t be using the bike for commuting and I’m keeping my current road bike for winter use.

The Ribble bikes seem to be good value and their shop is only half an hour away so I can go and look at them, check the fit etc. At the moment I’m thinking that the R872 is the best choice with a 105 groupset.

Having read negative comments about other similar companies I’m keen to find out what these bikes are like and what the company is like to deal with. So, what are the experiences of other forum users?

I bought a Gran Fondo from Ribble. No one else could come close for the price; the Di2 groupset was virtually the cost of the entire bike elsewhere.

It’s a generic frame but it’s comfortable and was carefully assembled with grease in the right places. Never had an issue getting hold of them on the phone to discuss things and if it was nicked I’d buy another from them.

Although prices do seem to fluctuate – the bike I built for £1400 is now £1900 on the bike builder.

My brother’s been riding a Ribble Nero Corsa for a few years. Done thousands of miles with no bother. 😀

Thanks for the info.

I had a Carbon Sportive Racing on C2W. It was well packaged and put together when it arrived. It was spot on for the time I had it. I only sold it as I was moving and didn’t have space for that and the CX, I kept the CS as I was only really commuting and the Ribble wasn’t as versatile.

I’d happily get another.

I had a Gran Fondo for two years. Great riding frame for the money and as above I’d happily buy another bike from them.

I have a Sportive 365, it’s alright for what it is. Does the job very well.

The r872 looks a cut or two above in terms of carbon quality – T800 hi-mod innit?

Ribble are good. The bikes snobs won’t like them I guess.

I had a R872 (De Rosa :)…..)

Had a few bikes and frames over the years. Great value and no bad experiences. Someone will be on shortly to tell you that they ordered something at short notice at the busiest time of the year and it arrived late, but if you deal with thousands of customers, mistakes will sometimes happen.

have a look at dolan and merlin all within traveling distance of each other and all offering similar builds.

I bought a whole load of parts, including a frame, and I’ve always had very good service and always great prices. I’d recommend Ribble to anyone 😀

Don’t buy their self specced steel/welded frames. If they even still sell them.

I know of around half a dozen (probably more) who’ve had everything from annoying creaks traced to cracks to frames actually coming apart on them.

The carbon ones are fine, same as everyone else selss at a similar price point, open mould stuff with Ribbles choice of paint and stickers.
The build needs checking over though, i’ve had a few through my hands (12-15 odd years ago admittedly) but i think the grease pot must have been kept a long way from the workshop.

Saying that, most pre built bikes need a good going over.

Edit: just had a 15 second flick through their website, they seem to have completely moved away from the 853/653/531 world now. Everything they sell seems to be straight out of an far eastern OE catalogue, with paint.

Got a R872 a year ago and it’s great. I built mine up with a mish mash of Tiagra and Ultegra, and upgraded the wheels to some Campag Zondas. I think it’s a lovely looking bike.

It’s light and comfy and climbs well.

Worth popping in and checking the size though. The stack is lower than the sportive specific models so is a racier fit.

Have bought parts from Ribble too and never had any problems.

You’ll certainly hear a few stories of bad customer service from the past (I have a few) but by most accounts they’ve improved on that front.

Dolan, Merlin and Planet X will all have bikes that are similarly good value if you want to shop around a bit.

I’ve a R872, and it’s a great bike for the price, mine’s full ultegra and mavic kysrium and was a shade under £1600 if I remember correctly. Nothing came close for VFM. Comfy, fast, light looks good, hasn’t let me down

I’d have another in a shot

I ordered a R872 this afternoon. Thanks for the info and recommendations.

I ordered a Campag equipped Aero TT about 7 years ago on C2W. The bike has been excellent, even though it hasn’t been getting much use over the last year.

Ribble were good to deal with. Plenty of email contact and they called me up a couple of times to clarify things.