Sabal

Hello!

Maybe someone more experienced than I am will help me decide...

I know that the price range between these two is huge (having in mind they are both under 1500 EUR) but I am still considering Canyon.

Is almost 400 EUR difference worth it going for the Canyon, is it much better? How much of those 400 EUR is the actual quality of the parts and how much of it is the brand name?

ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-al-blue-shimano-tiagra
canyon.com/en-lt/grail-al-6.0/50006143.html#all-components-section-tab

Edit: sorry, I cannot insert links :/

Thank you!

chas58

First, check availability. That may answer your question.

Yeah, Canyon is very impressive. Someone (road.cc) has compared Canyon and Ribble in the past - so you could try a search (probably not those exact models, but worth viewing).

Edit - here is a video comparing Rose and Canyon road bikes. I thought it might have been Ribble:

Sabal

Ribble would arrive in a month, Canyon (depending on the color) mid-October or early December, so I assume Canyon doesn't really have anything in stock at the moment. It's not like I am in a very big rush and can definitely wait (if the Canyon is worth it). Of course, it would be slightly sad that it would come when the season is over but I am fine with that. Thanks for the video.

chas58

Yeah, I have heard of delivery issues (bikes not in stock) with Canyon. It may not be an issue in your region. I don't know a whole lot about the Ribble, but I would definitely have that Canyon at the top of my shopping list in that price range. I have a carbon Inflite, and it is amazing. I think that AL Grail is a bit better all around bike than mine (which is a bit racy). That AL Grail is a great bike regardless of price, and at that price its even more impressive.

Sabal

It's not only Canyon it seems. Before narrowing down my choices to these two, I was looking into a couple of other bikes - many of them are out of stock, even went to a local bike shop, said that all gravel type bikes they have access to are currently sold out.

Due to corona situation the bike industry is in a pretty good spot - lots of people are stuck in their countries/cities and bike is a perfect way to explore and exercise. I can definitely see that from my social media accounts as well...

Ah, so you own a Canyon, that's cool. Thanks for your input! The more I am researching this, the more I want to get the bike NOW...

mstateglfr 

These are 2 really different bikes. Based on the two options you give, I would work hard to ignore the fuggo welds on the Canyon and buy one(if its ever in stock again) because its a significantly better bike.

Canyon- GRX drivetrain with wider range gearing, hydraulic brakes, and quality wheels
Ribble- Tiagra drivetrain with mechanical brakes.


I would suggest you compare the Canyon to the Ribble CGR 105 option with a couple changes.
Canyon- 1500 euro or $1695 usd.
CGR AL 105- $1455usd. Upgrade the cassette to 11-34 for $20. Upgrade to Mavic Allroad wheels for $55. Buy a GRX 600 46/30 crankset from Bikeinn for $90. Buy a GRX FD from Bikeinn for $44.

The CGR AL 105 with those swapped parts will now cost $1665usd. Comparing that to the Canyon, you will have an 11 speed instead of 10 speed drivetrain and equal quality wheels, tires, and brakes.
This is before you then quickly sell the unused 105 crank and FD(if you want) for $125usd or so.
Net cost is $1540 for the 11 speed 105 hydraulic CGR with identical gear range to the Canyon.

Sabal

Yeah, I now realize that Ribble's CGR 105 is a better comparison to Canyon's AL. Thanks a lot for the suggestion, I will definitely consider that.

chas58

Yep, all reasonably priced bikes are in short supply this year - and this specific bike has always been in short supply as it is so popular and gets such good reviews. I love seeing all the new people come out and bike.

Canyon had great customer service, and was always very helpful to me. As I wasn't 100% sure on which size I wanted, I bought two bikes, kept the one that fit, and sent the other one back. No cost for the one i returned.

Sabal

Even though I was really considering Canyon and was fine with waiting an additional couple of months, seems that people's experience with their support varies A LOT, which is a pretty bad sign and is really off-putting. They turned off live chat on the website, they haven't replied to Facebook message for a day now and their Twitter feed is full of complaints about poor customer service, delayed deliveries, and similar issues...whereas Ribble...I contacted them twice, both times they replied in 5 minutes (they have this one-way live video support, which is pretty cool, never seen it before) and I don't think I saw a single bad comment about their support. Your experience with Canyon sounds nice though.