Thinking of buying a bike from Ribble

Aquos76

I am thinking of buying a bike from Ribble, but I cant believe what they are charging for delivery over to Ireland £126.50. Has anbody managed to buy from them in the past and maybe organise getting a courier to pick it up and deliver it over for cheaper.
Wiggle only charge £20 to ship a bike over and PBK also only charge £8.50, Why do ribble charge so much.

Greyspoke

I've had a few bikes sent over from the UK over the years and never paid more than £50 (usually less) so that Ribble quote sounds way over the top. I've had a bike from Ribble but happened to be over there so collected it from the shop. If you haven't done so already, I'd give them a call and discuss it with them - point out that they'll lose a lot of sales to this part of the world if that's what they're going to charge. Sorry I can't really be of any more help than that.

Alternatively if you know someone up the North or across de water, perhaps check how much it'd be to get it delivered to them and for you to pick it up, or for it to be delivered.

FrankGrimes

Greyspoke wrote: »

If you haven't done so already, I'd give them a call and discuss it with them - point out that they'll lose a lot of sales to this part of the world if that's what they're going to charge.

+1 - no harm at all in giving them a call and letting them know 'the Internet in Ireland is watching!'

Aquos76

FrankGrimes wrote: »

+1 - no harm at all in giving them a call and letting them know 'the Internet in Ireland is watching!'

I did, and I also mentioned what other UK retailers are charging to ship to ROI, his response was "that what Parcelforce charge u, however we do offer a collection service with other on line retailers dont". Thats not much good to me.:rolleyes:

I have been in touch with DHL and thay are going to get back to me with some prices tomorrow.

Kinetic^

That's pretty lame tbh. Did you link him to the forum? There's a solid community here that they're going to miss out on.

Aquos76

Here is the bike I am hoping to buy from them, but with £126.50 added on it sort of takes the good out of it



A carbon monocoque frameset equally suitable for sportives or amateur road racing.

It has been designed to the same basic race geometry as the other carbon road frames in our range. The addition of a slightly taller head tube and improved tube shaping provides improved handling, additional comfort and increased torsional stiffness.

- Sloping top tube geometry
- Carbon 12K monocoque frame and forks
- Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers
- Campagnolo Khamsin Black wheelset
- Ribble headset 1 1/8" Hidden (ITS) 45x45
- CSN Carbon SE seat pillar
- Selle Italia XO Transam saddle
- Deda Big Piega Oversize Bars and Quattro Stem
- Vittoria Rubino Rigid Tyres
£999.99

blorg

Aquos76 wrote: »

- Sloping top tube geometry
- Carbon 12K monocoque frame and forks
- Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers
- Campagnolo Khamsin Black wheelset
- Ribble headset 1 1/8" Hidden (ITS) 45x45

- Sloping top tube geometry
- Carbon 12K monocoque frame and forks
- Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers
- Campagnolo Khamsin Black wheelset
- Ribble headset 1 1/8" Hidden (ITS) 45x45
- CSN Carbon SE seat pillar
- Selle Italia XO Transam saddle
- Deda Big Piega Oversize Bars and Quattro Stem
- Vittoria Rubino Rigid Tyres
£999.99

That sounds like a good deal to me, could even be worth it with the £126 added on. You could also consider the Planet X Ultegra at I think £1,200 (although they charge something like £50-60 for shipping I think.) Maybe the Boardman Team Carbon with Rival either, seems a good deal at £999 but not sure what it is over here.

Murph100

Thats a really good price, considering the 2009 Camp Carbon Cantaur is 0N0 £550 & Khamsin's are £100, which means you're getting the rest for only £349 !! Beats the hell out of that noname carbon frame anyday.

Like Dónal said, see how much to collect it from a Parcelforce depot in Newry.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Problem is they probably just don't have the volume or infrastructure in place to get the big discounts with an Irish courier like, say, Chain Reaction have.

Lumen

Sean_K wrote: »

Problem is they probably just don't have the volume or infrastructure in place to get the big discounts with an Irish courier like, say, Chain Reaction have.

To a degree, but also laziness in using ParcelFarce. I bought a bike from a B&M shop in the north of england, and it cos much less than than to deliver to Ireland than Ribble are charging (£60 as I recall).

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

To a degree, but also laziness in using ParcelFarce. I bought a bike from a B&M shop in the north of england, and it cos much less than than to deliver to Ireland than Ribble are charging (£60 as I recall).

Similarly I've had two bikes shipped from Pearsons, £25 and £30 IIRC (I think they took a bit of a hit on the first one.)

FrankGrimes

As they offer collection, it may be worthwhile checking out this thread which helps you find a quote to arrange a courier privately. Have been meaning to test it out but haven't needed to, but looks like you would have a good chance of getting the delivery sorted out yourself for under £126 - and if you do, Ribble would do well to use whatever company you find will do it cheaper in future.

That is one smashing looking bike though! How does the ' Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers' stack up against Shimano, I'm guessing at that price it's along the lines of 105? Any hassle getting parts or maintenance for them here?

scottreynolds

FrankGrimes wrote: »

How does the ' Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers' stack up against Shimano, I'm guessing at that price it's along the lines of 105? Any hassle getting parts or maintenance for them here?

Its more a match for Ultegra. All I can tell you is that Centaur 2009 is lovely. I have it on my hack bike for commuting and it hasn't missed a beat. Really easy to tune as well.

Who ever is buying this bike though just make sure its Centaur CARBON which is black and not Centaur Alloy which is all silver. There is about 100 pounds difference in price.

Aquos76

Anyone know roughly what a bike and the box its comes it would weight?

mloc123

No more than 10kg I presume..

blorg

FrankGrimes wrote: »

That is one smashing looking bike though! How does the ' Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers' stack up against Shimano, I'm guessing at that price it's along the lines of 105? Any hassle getting parts or maintenance for them here?

It's a bit of a religious question but above 105, below Ultegra is often quoted.

scottreynolds

blorg wrote: »

It's a bit of a religious question but above 105, below Ultegra is often quoted.

Thats just people trying to fit Campag, Shimano, SRam into the same scale. They aren't much different really. As we said Saturday everything above a certain level is completely acceptable.

Shimano anything 105 and up works well and last well. Campagnolo Centuar and up works lovely. Sram -- not sure I guess they all work well.

Its easiest to match on price really.

Ultegra / SL == Centaur Alloy / Carbon == Sram Rival == £450 / £500
105 / Veloce == £350

Aquos76

mloc123 wrote: »

No more than 10kg I presume..

Reply from ribble

1 Piece 15Kgs 177 x 102 x 25cm.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards

Sales @ Ribble

sy

Lovely bike Aquos76, let us know how you get on with the bike when it arrives. Centaur is more in line with Ultegra as scottyreynolds has already pointed out. ( Didnt know the price difference between the carbon and alloy versions)

Murph100

Centaur Carbon Groupset 2009 = £549

http://www.slanecycles.com/productdetail.aspx?id=3817&subid=279&catid=67

As Epic Cycles put it, Centaur is usually 18 month old Chorus. They put it in between Ultegra and Dura Ace, so probably Ultegra SL is closest. I went for the exact same Centaur Carbon 2009 groupset over the Ultegra in the end, and its puuuurfect, no regrets at all !

Its also meant to be the most reliable of the Campags, unless you got your own bike mechanic.

kenmc

Aquos76 wrote: »

I did, and I also mentioned what other UK retailers are charging to ship to ROI, his response was "that what Parcelforce charge u, however we do offer a collection service with other on line retailers dont".

I call bull****.
had a MTB delivered from Merlin cycles for £60 with parcelforce
and there's no way it's 15kg. my mtb was 15 including packing.

tomc

I am on the verge of ordering same through bike to work scheme http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055497833&highlight=ribble

When you get it let us know what you think?

TomC

Aquos76

Got on to transglobal and they have come back to me with the following prices


I still reckon I can get it over here for cheaper.

FrankGrimes

Wow, with the groupset being at least comparable to Shimano 105 or better and with it having full carbon frame and forks, this seems to my novice eyes to be a really excellent bike for the money?

Have a friend looking to buy a bike and it had kinda seemed that the really great deals available in late December/early Jan with exchange rate and end of line 2008 models were a thing of the past, but this seems to come close?

Spins

I got charged £95 by Ribble April 08 for delivery of my bike, which was not carbon so was probably slightly heavier.
I have 2008 Centaur and no problems to report.

Aquos76

Looks like I might be getting it shipped to Northern Ireland for £20 and then from there Fastway will ship it down to me for €20 through a friend of mine that has a business account with them. That may well be my best and cheapest option.

Aquos76

scottreynolds wrote: »

Who ever is buying this bike though just make sure its Centaur CARBON which is black and not Centaur Alloy which is all silver. There is about 100 pounds difference in price.

At the price of £1000, I can only assume that its the alloy version otherwise it would say carbon in the description

Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers

I have however emailed them to find out the exact spec. I am also awaiting a reply to see if I can order the bike and have it sent to a different address from the CC up in the North. I have a friend who can then ship it down to me for £10:p with a courier company that he uses all the time.

scottreynolds

Aquos76 wrote: »

At the price of £1000, I can only assume that its the alloy version otherwise it would say carbon in the description



I have however emailed them to find out the exact spec. I am also awaiting a reply to see if I can order the bike and have it sent to a different address from the CC up in the North. I have a friend who can then ship it down to me for £10:p with a courier company that he uses all the time.

If it not carbon save up and get carbon.... it would be wring to have a all silver alloy group set on a carbon bike. Hell -- I'll even send you £10

Aquos76

scottreynolds wrote: »

If it not carbon save up and get carbon.... it would be wring to have a all silver alloy group set on a carbon bike. Hell -- I'll even send you £10

The problem with special edition bikes on the ribble website is you cant actually change anything on them. If you want to chance anything you have to go into the bike builder and it works out at over £1200 when you make up the same spec as the special edition including the carbon and with the alloy group set its £1100.

henboy

Aquos76 wrote: »

Here is the bike I am hoping to buy from them, but with £126.50 added on it sort of takes the good out of it



A carbon monocoque frameset equally suitable for sportives or amateur road racing.

It has been designed to the same basic race geometry as the other carbon road frames in our range. The addition of a slightly taller head tube and improved tube shaping provides improved handling, additional comfort and increased torsional stiffness.

- Sloping top tube geometry
- Carbon 12K monocoque frame and forks
- Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers
- Campagnolo Khamsin Black wheelset
- Ribble headset 1 1/8" Hidden (ITS) 45x45
- CSN Carbon SE seat pillar
- Selle Italia XO Transam saddle
- Deda Big Piega Oversize Bars and Quattro Stem
- Vittoria Rubino Rigid Tyres
£999.99

What have I started --Ger will be next. Some machine:)

Aquos76

The Specialised Tarmac has been brought to my attention. Its on offer for €1350 from worldwide cycles, I know it comes with 105 groupset, but I have a full Ultegra SL on my allez, so I guess I could get them swapped around.

http://www.worldwidecycles.com/pc-209-2-specialized-tarmac-elite.aspx

I know it has gotten good reviews but I really cant make up my mind. Part for Part, which of the two bikes offer the better parts.

Tarmac Elite

Bicycle Type Road race & triathlon
Sugg Retail $2,200.00
Weight Unspecified
Sizes 49cm, 52cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, 61cm
Colors Gloss Carbon/Blue, Team Carbon/Red

Frame & Fork
Frame Construction Monocoque
Frame Tubing Material Specialized FACT 6R monocoque carbon
Fork Brand & Model Specialized FACT
Fork Material Carbon fiber/aluminum steerer, aero crown
Rear Shock Not applicable

Components
Component Group Shimano 105
Brakeset Ultralight dual pivot brakes, Shimano 105 STI levers
Shift Levers Shimano 105 STI
Front Derailleur Shimano 105, braze-on
Rear Derailleur Shimano 105
Crankset Shimano, 34/50 teeth
Pedals Alloy w/ toe clips and strap
Bottom Bracket Shimano FC-4500
BB Shell Width 68mm
Rear Cogs 10-speed, 12 - 27 teeth
Chain Shimano 105
Seatpost Specialized Pavé II, 27.2mm diameter
Saddle Specialized BG Toupé
Handlebar Specialized Comp
Handlebar Extensions Not included
Handlebar Stem Specialized Comp-Set
Headset 1 1/8" Specialized Campy-style

Wheels
Hubs Specialized forged alloy
Rims Mavic CXP22, 28-hole/32-hole
Tires 700 x 23c Specialized Mondo Pro
Spoke Brand DT Swiss Champion stainless steel, 14ga. (2.0mm)
Spoke Nipples Brass nipples

Ribble Bike

- Sloping top tube geometry
- Carbon 12K monocoque frame and forks
- Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers
- Campagnolo Khamsin Black wheelset
- Ribble headset 1 1/8" Hidden (ITS) 45x45
- CSN Carbon SE seat pillar
- Selle Italia XO Transam saddle
- Deda Big Piega Oversize Bars and Quattro Stem
- Vittoria Rubino Rigid Tyres

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Raam

Tough choice. I think the Ribble edges it with the better groupset and favourable price.

FrankGrimes

So whaddya reckon, is that Ribble bike looking like an early contender to be the Focus Cayo of 2009 - i.e. best bang for buck in or around £1000?

Think the Cayo last year was a better deal again but it looks like prices in general have gone up on the UK sites, understandable giving the increased cost of importing for them.

If you walked into an average LBS with a problem with that Centaur groupset, would they generally have parts in stock like they do for Shimano?

DirkVoodoo

Googling reported a few (possibly minor) complaints from Ribble owners after about 12 months of ownership - creaking noises. Not much substantiated, but enough to make a few people less than keen on the brand.

With the specialized you are paying a bit more alright, but its from one of the best bike shops in the country, which I would choose over a mail order service anyday.

Plus how many people here can honestly say they would notice THAT much difference between 105 and Ultegra? My sister picked up a Trek 1.2 today and while the Sora shifters were a bit clunkier than my ultegra, the actual derailleur shifting was flawless.

Aquos76

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Googling reported a few (possibly minor) complaints from Ribble owners after about 12 months of ownership - creaking noises. Not much substantiated, but enough to make a few people less than keen on the brand.

I have come across similar problems with the focus cayo 08 model. A friend of mine has one about 9 months old and there seems to be problems with the bottom bracket on it. So I guess thats just down to bad luck.

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

With the specialized you are paying a bit more alright, but its from one of the best bike shops in the country, which I would choose over a mail order service anyday.

I already own a Specialized allez double already and I do like the bike, thats whats making my decision all the more harder. I agree with you about buying from a good local store over an on line store, but when there are massive differences in prices(However not in this case) its hard not to buy from the UK online stores.

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Plus how many people here can honestly say they would notice THAT much difference between 105 and Ultegra? My sister picked up a Trek 1.2 today and while the Sora shifters were a bit clunkier than my ultegra, the actual derailleur shifting was flawless.

Well I dont think I am experienced enough to answer that, I did use the sora for 2 months, they came with the allez double, but I have since upgraded to full ultegra SL and I did notice a big difference between those two, but the sora was also a triple compared to the double on the Ultegra.

Quigs Snr

Ultegra and 105 are functionally the same thing. Their price points are very similar and so is their performance, all parts are interchangeable too, the only difference is a very, very small weight penalty.

I personally would not notice a difference between 105, Ultegra and Dura Ace.

Aquos76

Right, I was all ready to order this bike from ribble last night after sorting out all the details about getting it shipped to N Ireland and then down to the republic, and what happens, the size I am after is sold out and wont be back in stock until mid June:mad:

So now I am on the lookout for something as good value as the sportive. I have come across this one from ribble as well, same spec but not as easy on the eye as the sportive. However I seemed to have found far more reviews about the frame that were available on the first one. It seems to be an italian made frame and is used on a few other bikes on the market.



Spec
This is not just another carbon frame. Its a 12K full carbon monocoque frame with matching 12K carbon forks, designed and developed by Dedacciai of Italy.
Dedacciai have long been established as the masters of carbon technology and for this reason we chose them to develop a Ribble range of carbon frames.

- Sloping top tube geometry
- Carbon 12K monocoque frame and forks
- Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed Ultra Torque Double groupset with 2009 Ultra Shift ergopowers
- Campagnolo Khamsin Black wheelset
- Ribble headset 1 1/8" Hidden (ITS) 45x45
- CSN Carbon SE seat pillar
- Selle Italia XO Transam saddle
- Deda Big Piega Oversize bars
- Deda Quattro 4 bolt oversize stem
- Vittoria Rubino Rigid tyres

Price excludes Pedals
£999.99

Please note seat tube measurements are centre to top.

What do you guys think of this one.

Quigs Snr

Not my favourite frame Aquos. There was an unbadged dedacci one for sale on the Comeragh site before xmas looks the same, same finish etc... (not in your size though), . They were fine, but pretty clunky. I held one in my hand and I felt it was very heavy for Carbon..

DirkVoodoo

Aquos, have you checked out the Planet X bikes? I dunno what their prices are like now with the shimano price hike.

TinyExplosions

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Aquos, have you checked out the Planet X bikes? I dunno what their prices are like now with the shimano price hike.

Buy the frame and fork from them for £600, and then put SRAM on it!