Ribble R872 good value, good performance build

Hi all

Ever since my Trek Madone was cruelly stolen from me last year I have been bouncing between borrowed and ill-fitting bikes loaned by kind friends.

With a couple of big rides planned this year, I need to have my own bike sorted in the next 10 days.

After a lot of research and thinking I had narrowed it down to a Cannondale SuperSix Evo Red (heavily reduced 2013 model) or a Specialized Tarmac comp (2014) model. These were both coming in at around £2300 and already above my original budget of £2000. The other problem was that they both had noticeably average wheels compared to the rest of the componentry. Having upgraded the wheels on my Madone from Bonty Race Lite to Dura Ace 7800 C24s, I firmly believe that wheels are key to a sweet ride.

That's when I chanced upon a forum post about how the Ribble R872 frame is actually very similar, if not identical to a particular De Rosa model I had originally looked at. Now, having ridden the De Rosa before and loved the frame (if not the wheels) I explored this option further.

Using Ribble's bike builder I was able to build an Ultegra 6700 10 speed bike up with Mavic Kysrium Elite S wheels and a host of lovely finishing kit for about £1850.

Some more in-depth searching and speccing showed that I could build a much cheaper bike up by speccing the parts separately and building it myself. This option is actually preferable as I have heard mixed reports about the care Ribble mechanics take (cost-saving has to come from somewhere!)

So for £1624 I can build up a Ribble R872 with Ultegra 6800 11 speed, Kysrium Elite S wheels and Deda Alu/Carbon finishing kit. Hopefully I am not alone in thinking that this is pretty astounding!

It is worth noting that I already have my own saddle and pedals and that this price makes use of a 10% discount Ribble are currently offering on groupsets and wheels.

The link below will take you to a cost/weight breakdown of the build. I am not particularly interested in the weight, but was pleasantly surprised to see that this may come in under 7kg!

I have just ordered the bike. Pics to follow...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiyOhpxn0hD5dEMtaFo1ZWoxVkJXQnNES1JhTktKOXc#gid=0

Good choice. I've got an open-mould version of the Ribble Stealth (the R872's predecessor) and it's a nice frameset.

The ribble does use the same mould as the de rosa but is a totally different bike, carbon layup if different its about 300g heavier in the small models I have put on the scales, I say models as our customers frame failed 3 times always with the front mech mount. So I do hope they have improved things.

Interesting to know.

Does that mean frame weight is closer to 1.3kg rather than the 980g quoted?

yep

But as i said lets hope they have improved.

Cheaper frames have more resin in than more costly ones, hence the tarmac at £1300 even though its an SL4 frame is heavier than the Tarmac sl4 at £3000 frame. They are made by having a bag inside that when the frame is formed he bag is removed, to do this there is a sacrificial layer on the inside that gets shagged when bag is removed so individual frames can have slight weight discrepancy. The McLaren tarmac uses a very special frame production that does not need the sacrificial layer so lighter and more consistent weight. The De Rosa costs more as it has less resin and a more complex carbon lay up. But you have a budget and wheels are an important element of any bike, I personally would have gone for the tarmac used the wheels that are on it as unimpressive as they are then chose some nice ones to save for.

I'd guess that it'll be considerably over 7kg. More like 7.5 if you're lucky. Look forward to seeing it.

So, here it is, all built up. Only a phone photo at the moment, I'll try and take some detailed shots when it stops raining (could be some time...) I'll also get it on the scales later.

I haven't actually ridden it yet, hence the semi-uncut steerer and Bonty stem.

Specs are: Ultegra 6800, Shimano RS81 wheels, Deda finishing kit, Lizard Skins DSP tape and Selle Italia carbon saddle (kindly donated by a friend).

I will get a sweet pair of wheels next year, but the RS81s sound like they will be an excellent stop gap until then.

Can't wait to ride it! I think I will now put risers on my Burls fixed to make it a bit more of a fun bike for shorter rides.

Looks decent. I'd prefer a black saddle.

How does it come in for weight?

Cheers.

I'd also prefer a black saddle, but I was given this for free. Sitting on the turbo, it seems a lot more comfortable than my Fizik Antares VS, so if it works out long term, I will look at getting a black one.

Need to weigh it later on - I'll let you know!

Bike comes in at 7.3kg without pedals.

Should be about another 100g to be lost once I have cut the steerer, lost the spacers and got a lighter stem on there.

Quite happy with that.

How does this ride Arantrek?

This is the machine i'm now looking at. Of course there will be better bikes, but this has had good reviews and the price is good.

Arantrek....Any news on how it rides ?

So it's been 3 years since I've had this and, like my presence on this forum, it's been somewhat neglected recently as I had lent it to a friend whilst I rode my other bike.

I got it back a few weeks ago and have started a bit of an overhaul. Starting with new wheels and tyres (Superstar Arc 22s with 28c Conti GP4000s), new brake pads, chain and a good clean, it's back riding better than ever. I was surprised the 28s fitted in the frame, but glad that they do!

In the post are a saddle, some 52/36 chainrings and a new cassette. Last little touch for now will be some bar tape and an ass saver and it's good to go for the spring/summer.

It's not a fancy bike, but it really does ride as smooth as butter.

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