TakingMyTime

The Endurance SL Disc - Pro has caught my eye. Getting an Ultegra Di2 bike with custom paint for approximately $4500USD got my attention. In the course of doing my due diligence on this bike the only thing that seems to come up is that the frame is not all that special. Not bad, just nothing custom or exotic. It seems to be the main reason they're able to keep the price where it is. Is there something else I'm missing?

Other than the fact that it's going to require shipping to the US and the model I want won't be available until Oct 2022 I'm having a hard time seeing why this shouldn't be my next bike. One of the bigger things that draws me towards this bike is the custom paint option. The online build options are very nice too. I would be using the bike mostly for flat paved rides in the 30 to 75 mile range.

Is anyone riding this bike or something similar? Any experience dealing with Ribble?

Link to model..
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribbl...ro/build/#Bike

Iride01 

For me buying a new bike, the issue would be how close is the seller to me. I want to be able to get face to face if I ever have issues for what ever reason during the first several years of ownership.

Buying from someone so far away will seem just like I was buying a used bike from the get-go.

TakingMyTime

I totally agree. Even though I've gone over all the geometries and a Large seems to be a very good fit, I still hesitate buying a bike that I cannot at least test ride before purchasing. This is still one of the hurdles I have to convince myself is smaller than I'm making it out to be but I still hesitate and it may be the deal killer when it comes to plopping down my money.

blkwrxwag

I've been looking at them as well. I'm also going to England in June and can visit the local Ribble store for a fitting before ordering. However, I'm more nervous about buying a bike where the nearest bike specific support is on a different continent. There's something to be said from buying a bike from your local LBS and having their support and parts when things go wrong (stripped bolts, parts etc etc). Things like Level 5 bars that cannot be bought anywhere else make me nervous on the Ribble.

Good looking bike though at a great price.

TakingMyTime

Other than maybe a proprietary derailleur hanger or frame plug the bike is basically full of Shimano components and replacing or fixing them shouldn't be to hard for me or my nearest LBS.

Sy Reene

It may not fit (56 or 58 sizes are all that's left) what you're looking for, but noticed that Excel has Cervelo Caledonias in stock with Di2 at $5k. Very tempting for myself. After posting this though, they probably won't last long.
https://www.excelsports.com/cervelo-...2-bicycle-2022

bruce19

sced

So long as you get the framesize right you shouldn't have any real problems unless some aspect of the bike is defective when received (unlikely). I have assembled several bikes for myself and family members from parts scrounged all over the internet, and just a few times have needed help from a local shop if I don't have a particular specialty tool.

str8jakett

Now I've been building Ribble bikes all morning....

I wouldn't be too concerned at all with ordering a bike from the UK. It sounds like you have the experience needed to do your basic maintenance and take care of any smaller problems that may arise. It just comes down to whether or not it's a chance you'll take and if you like the prospect of the bike enough. I did the same thing two years ago when I bought my Cube Cross Race from a UK dealer. No support in the US meant weeks searching the internet for fit reviews and advice, plugging numbers into online calculators, and evaluating all the components on the bike. I do most all of my own maintenance, and can build from the ground up, so I was confident I could take care of anything short of a wrong frame size.

mstateglfr 

I have seen a couple of Ribble CGR bikes in gravel races, they look great and thats about everything I have for direct experience.
When I was looking at a new gravel frame a couple years ago, I considered a Ribble CGR but nixed it off the list because sizing didnt fit me. Everything else though?- the frame was on point and for a great price. If they had one in my stack/reach, I would have probably pulled the trigger. In the end, I bought a frame from a different British brand.

I have purchased a lot from components from Ribble over the years- its a large and established retailer and service was quick.


Personally, I would not hesitate to buy a bike from Ribble. If you know your ideal geometry and the Ribble frame works, then yeah go for it. I have never purchased a bike frame in person- always bought them online and also built one. Knowing the stack, reach, bb drop, trail, and chainstay length will give you basically everything you need to determine if a bike will fit and feel the way you want.
Ribble's house brand bikes are very well established. This isnt something new for them- they have their own designs and from what I have read they also have contracted with manufacturers to tweak established molds. Ribble created what they claim is the fastest aero road bike in the world- the Ultra SL R Aero. I mention this to show they apparently put some actual effort into design.

Ride215

Well I've had my Ribble Endurance SL Disc since March of '21. I've put about 2500 miles on it so far and I'll highlight my experience below.

I ordered my SL with 105, carbon aero bars and custom paint. I've since swapped out 105 for a mix of SRAM eTap AXS components but that has nothing to do with the bike other than it's sort of a pain to run lines through the aerobar if you haven't had to route internal cables before. It's not impossible, just not as easy as a traditional bar/stem setup.

Anyway, the shipping experience is the only part you need to be concerned about. My bike came beat up pretty badly. This was not the fault of Ribble as it was thoroughly wrapped but clearly the shipper didn't observe the word FRAGILE on the box. The net result were a few pretty nasty scratches to the paint. The reason this became a problem is because Ribble could not provide me with the correct touch up paint due to the custom color option. They sent me 3 separate shipments of paint and none were even close matching the actual finish on the bike.

Beside that, the bike rides beautifully. Do note that I have not ridden the bike on the standard heavy Aksium wheels that it shipped with so I'm sure handling/ride quality may be a bit worse with those hoops. With modern wide carbon rims and 28c tubeless tires, it certainly is more comfy than a Tarmac SL7 or Emonda. I don't race but I could imagine those who do might prefer something a bit stiffer but it's perfect for me. I ride in A paced club rides and never wanted for more in terms of stiffness or agility.

Honestly, for the price, I'd say it's pretty hard to beat. You have plenty of options as far as saddle, finishing kit, groupset, wheels, etc. If you know your dimensions, you can make a pretty educated guess to the perfect spec for you. I'm 6' and went a sized L frame with a 110mm x 42 cm wide bars and frame fits me just fine. I wrench on my own bikes so shop support is not important to me.

Hope that helped.

PeteHski

I have no personal experience of Ribble, but being a Brit I've seen a fair few of their bikes at local events and they appear to have a solid reputation. I briefly considered buying a Ribble myself, but the long lead times put me off and I went with a Canyon in the end.