Deal alert...carbon ultegra road bike for $1200

[CAMPYBOB]

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-r872-shimano-ultegra-black-friday-special/#pid=36138

Around $100 shipping to the U.S.A. and 5.5% import tariff on the amount above $800 + the usual $50 DHL or whatever shipping company handles the customs passage. Still, a solid road package for under $1500 IMO.

YMMV.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

The Pound Sterling is looking really good against the U.S. Dollar. I'm snagging stuff while it's priced low. I loves me a good Brexit!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Well, the sub-$1200 carbon fiber Ribble R872 arrived yesterday and I finished the rough assembly work this morning.

As far as a 'no name' bike...it's actually manufactured by XDS Carbon Tech in Shenzhen, China. They make a **** ton of carbon for several 'name' re-sellers and brands. 6-year warranty so I'll give it a go and see if I can trash it. Here's their website: http://www.xds-carbon.com/index.asp

First off, the protective packaging was THE absolute best I've ever seen of all the bikes I've ordered. Ribble used about an acre of bubble wrap over foam tube protectors that were Zip Tie'd in place with almost 40 Zip Ties! Packaging Tape secure everything over that.

The wheels sat in two custom 3D 'triangles' that added crush support to the outer box as well as positively locating the wheels. The fork was blocked at the dropouts with the typical spreader bar. A complete second bike box lined the outermost bike box. The $114 shipping cost was well worth it IMO.

The full 100% Ultegra group included the crankset and I added Ultegra pedals. 39-53 crankset and 11-28 cassette. 25 MM Continental tires mounted on shimaNO's RS33 rims with 33 MM profile...duh. Ritchey cockpit inclues bars, stem and seatpost. Twin screw seat clamp provided. The OEM saddle is a Selle Italia XCross. The full-carbon fork with 1-1/8" to 1-1/2" steerer is secured with an ITM internal expander.

I had to reverse the brakes as it came setup with the left/rear, right/front English traditional rigging. No biggee. Re-taped the bars with the OEM Ribble cork tape and all was well.

I completed the build using Elite Custom Race Plus cages and Elite Jossanova bottles. Ribble included a black generic Taiwan-made aluminum cage.

Checked every fastener on the bike and the assembly job was as good as the awesome packaging. No issues what so ever. Anything I touched got the oil / grease/carbon paste / anti-seize treatment as required.

I've got everything set up with the tape measure and the geometry looks promising. Let's hope it feels like home and handles and punches it like a Ferrari.

I'll dial it in as weather permits and give a ride report after I put some miles on it. Initial impressions are that it is light. I haven't had time to weigh it yet, but it's noticeably lighter than my Emonda and is probably going to come in about the same weight as my Wilier Izoard XP Chorus bikes. Could be the bargain of a lifetime and it could be trash. Nothing ventured...nothing gained. We'll see.

 

[Motosonic]

Sounds like a great deal. Attach some pics so we can all see it!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

 

[CAMPYBOB]

 

[CAMPYBOB]

 

[CAMPYBOB]

 

[CAMPYBOB]

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Wire ports for Di2 / EPS:

 

[CAMPYBOB]

At least it's plenty flat, but the padding is too soft to suit me. Maybe try an SLR or an Arionne or my old standby Flite?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Setting up a shitmaNO front derailleur is voodoo. They are just a little slower than a Campy when climbing onto the 53 and noticeably slower when dropping to the 39.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

For the price of a Lynskey I could have bought two of these and a Stages power meter. I think it's going make a good Winter beater and maybe a decent throw away race bike. The shitmaNO RS33 wheels are going to be interesting. I'm not expecting much aero from them and they're probably going to take two weeks to spin up to speed. The interesting thing will be in how they ride. Semi-tall profile and 16 spokes front, 21 spokes rear. I've got plenty of spare training and racing wheel sets, but NONE with shitmaNO freehubs!

Maybe the best thing about this frame is that it's set up like a racing bike. The front end is a CM lower than the Emonda and the same as the Wilier's. Stack is the same as the Wilier and reach is 3 MM longer IIRC. The frame is also noticeably lighter that the Emonda. Total build weight is lighter than the Emonda and about the same as the Wilier's.

 

[Motosonic]

It's a nice looking bike. Although, I prefer something with a little more flair, so, I'd have to toss some decals on there to add a little color, haha.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Moto, I went for the stealt paint / decal version. The latest version of the matte / stealth does have more red decals and they now offer a silver model: http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/road-bikes/

I took the Ribble R872S out for its maiden ride of 17 miles. It was 34 degrees and the wind was running 8 to 13 MPH, but at least the sun was shining!

I stopped once to raise the saddle 1/8" and once to rotate the bars a little. 17 miles in cold weather is hardly anything to judge a new bike on, but this one feels pretty good. The OEM saddle is decent enough with shorts and tights that it will stay for now at least. Shifting was good at the rear, but I think I have a tiny bit too much cable tension on the front derailleur. I have to trim it where as I have no need to trim the same gear combinations on the Emonda. Front shifting was crisp and accurate, if typically somewhat slower than Campagnolo changes.

No way am I going to judge the handling on one short ride or get involved in rating the comfort, but it did ride smoothly over the already deteriorating roads. I had the 25 MM tires at my usual 23 MM pressure and I really could not tell any difference in ride quality I would attribute to the wider tires.

The shimaNO RS33 wheels actually accelerated faster than I thought they would. I can't wait to ditch these heave Continental training class tires and slap some Michelin race rubber on. That should improve responsiveness.

The Weird thing of the ride was that the Ultegra brakes kind of sucked. They didn't haul it down as fast or with as little grip pressure as the 105's on the Emonda.

 

[Motosonic]

I never thought I'd say this, but, I kinda like the silver bike.
This is one of their Endurance Geometry Bikes, right?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

I consider the R872S's geometry to be full on racing. I specifically selected it because of the low front end, long'ish top tube and tight rear triangle. YMMV.

Ribble does sell a 'Sportive' or 'Gran Fondo' carbon frame and line of bikes that has a taller head tube and more of what I think of when I hear the term ''Endurance Bike'. If anything, the Sportive Racing has a decided tilt towards the racing side of the race/endurance spectrum.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-sportive-racing/

As you can see by the link Ribble describes it as "Sportive Racing". Without having so much as seen one, let alone spending a few hundred miles on one, it looks plenty stiff enough with the T700-T800 mix of carbon prepregs and the more relaxed (read: upright) geometry to be fast, quick handling and fun.

Just a guess, but since they come from the same Chinese factory the Sportive Racing model will soon be offered in the same silver paint job as the R872S.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Between the R872S and Sportive Racing of the same size:

The R872S has a head tube that is 1 CM shorter, a Fork with 2 MM less rake, Seatstays that are 4 MM shorter and a Stack of 2 CM less.

As you can see, the racing model is noticeably 'tighter' and lower in the front end. This yields a more aero rider position within the tunable range of fit and 'probably' (no way of telling without weeks of riding both bikes back to back) quicker handling, stiffer / more efficient riding from the racing machine.

Even with all the numbers, it still comes down to what best fits an individual's riding style, his preferred position on the bike and, of course, the attraction to stealth color schemes or bright paint work. Myself, I've always been partial to Ferrari Red!

And Just an aside...After having 'toe clip overlap' on the last couple of bikes I've owned Wilier's and the Emonda), I didn't hit the toe of my shoes once on that short test ride! Wheelbase is 996 MM on my R872S, so about 1 CM longer than my Wilier's. The Emonda has a 983 MM wheelbase

 

[Bristolspitfire]

Newbie here: but doesnt carbon fiber essentially disintegrate if it cracks? I mean, wouldnt people rather lose 10 lbs then have to spend 2k more for 10lbs less of a bike with a weaker frame?? Please advise im trying to understand here

 

[CAMPYBOB]

The strongest of the common frame materials is carbon fiber. It has a greater fatigue resistance the steel, aluminum and titanium. If it cracks it is as repairable as steel and more so than aluminum.

All frame materials are repairable depending on the location an type and extent of the damaged area. I've totaled out steel frames on multiple occasions. One was repairable from an economic standpoint and a couple were beyond savaging at all. I've had one carbon frame crack. It was easily repaired, but the manufacture just replaced it under warranty. Six of one...twenty-seven fifty-fourths of the other. Aluminum and Ti are the two most difficult materials to repair if the frame is damaged. Most alloy frames are tossed. Very few are repaired due to low production / replacement costs and the difficulty of cutting out, welding in, stress relieving and aligning the repair. Ti can be repaired...to an extent. Again, what the frame builder has to go through may or may not be cost effective to rebuild and the area damaged may rule out any repair attempt.

Most racers and riders performing at a high level have little or no body mass to lose. And when the arms race for speed is what it is everyone reaches for the same weapons: Light weight and aero everything. Ceramic bearings, skin tight clothing, semi-aero helmets, etc. They are the tools of the go fast crowd.

And as far as spending more??? Well, show me what $1200-$1300 gets a fellow these days. I thought this was a damned good price for a carbon racing bike at the Ultegra level and with decent entry level racing / fast training wheels.

One of the other guys posted a $2k Ultegra Di2 carbon bike deal that was awesome IMO.