I visited the ribble shop in preston yesterday to buy a couple of things as a result of seeing their ads in cycling weekly etc.
They had quite a number of bikes built up and I have to say that their frames look quite good, especially considering the price when compared to similar level frames from better/ wider known brands.
I would consider buying my next frame from them but would like to know if anyone has any direct experience of their frames and could comment on the quality/ ride etc. The only disadvantage I can see right now is that they don't carry the same prestige as owning an italian made frame from one of the well known (but much more expensive) manufacturers?
: I would consider buying my next frame from them but would like to know : if anyone has any direct experience of their frames and could comment : on the quality/ ride etc.
There's nothing wrong with the frames. Very good value for money.
Do ensure that you specify exactly what you want and when it will be ready though. Ribble have had customer service issues in the past. "It'll be in in a week" type stuff.
Arthur
-- Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect" - Paulina Borsook
"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
darrenf <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I would consider buying my next frame from them but would like to know : if anyone has any direct experience of their frames and could comment : on the quality/ ride etc.
There's nothing wrong with the frames. Very good value for money.
Do ensure that you specify exactly what you want and when it will be ready though. Ribble have had customer service issues in the past. "It'll be in in a week" type stuff.
ditto that. It took a while to come and I ordered the wrong size (theirs are centre-centre measurement) but they replaced it no problem. They are Italian built frames anyway, very pleased with mine. You will be hard pushed to build a bike around a frame cheaper than they can, unless you already have most of the bits that is.
There's nothing wrong with the frames. Very good value for money.
Do ensure that you specify exactly what you want and when it will be ready though. Ribble have had customer service issues in the past. "It'll be in in a week" type stuff.
Agree totally. Vernon has ordered stuff in the past and the stuff normally arrives okay, but we've had the odd bit where they haven't read the order properly and *assumed* they had. So I suggest that any *essential* requirements you have are noted in bold, in triplicate, in blood and acknowledged.
Cheers, helen s
--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove fame & fortune h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$
--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off--
"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
darrenf <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I would consider buying my next frame from them but would like to know : if anyone has any direct experience of their frames and could comment : on the quality/ ride etc.
There's nothing wrong with the frames. Very good value for money.
Do ensure that you specify exactly what you want and when it will be ready though. Ribble have had customer service issues in the past. "It'll be in in a week" type stuff.
ditto that. It took a while to come and I ordered the wrong size (theirs are centre-centre measurement) but they replaced it no problem. They are Italian built frames anyway, very pleased with mine. You will be hard pushed to build a bike around a frame cheaper than they can, unless you already have most of the bits that is.
My experience is slightly different but from a long time ago.
I bought a 653 frame from them for 199 GBP in 1990 +- one year.
It is fine apart from: 1. The braze on hanger for the front gear mech isn't quite aligned correctly. Not quite enough to render it unusable. 2. The bottom bracket shell is not quite square so there is a small gap of about 0.5 mm between the fixed cup and the BB shell on one side of the thread.
Other than that it is great. The paint finish was not of the best and I will be getting it resprayed this winter (and the BB squared off). I'd imagine the the quality will have improved over the last 14 years (our new start in the lab is riding an old Ribble 531 but it looks newer than mine).
The older geometry was very short (on a 19.5" frame). The new frames seem to be a bit longer.
My main concern is that I would end up with a decent frame and your replies seem to confirm that there are very few quality issues in recent years.
As for paint jobs, the bikes in the shop look fine. They are not fancy paint jobs but as long as you are happy with a single colour (which you can choose from a limited range) the actual quality of the finish is good from the examples I have seen. Not up to the quality of some of the finishes on the expensive italian brands but hey, it's at least half the cost!!
I've already posed a couple of questions re frame sizing to ribble and they have responded satisfactorily.
I think I would just order a frame/ forks from them (possibly just spec b/b and headset), and do the rest of the build myself. I've always wanted to do this and could take some of the parts from my existing bike which I have been upgrading gradually for the last few months or so.
Certainly worth considering I think, and thanks for your comments.
