Have Ribble changed their philosophy?
Discussion
I bought a new Ribble about 8 years ago - a ‘Gran Fondo’. I enjoyed using their configurator on the website and specced it up to Ultegra, Mavic tubeless wheels etc. etc. I ended up with quite a high spec, good-looking road bike for about half the price of something equivalent from Italy and still greatly enjoy riding it.
I still get plenty of e mails from Ribble, and on a whim just followed a link to their current website. I was quite shocked to be honest.
For one thing all the carbon road bikes looked a bit weird - strange frame tube shapes and angles etc. I’m not sure that they will be to everyone’s taste. But it was even more noticeable that the choose your own specification possibilities seem to have disappeared.
I think that they’ll lose a lot of customers…
I still get plenty of e mails from Ribble, and on a whim just followed a link to their current website. I was quite shocked to be honest.
For one thing all the carbon road bikes looked a bit weird - strange frame tube shapes and angles etc. I’m not sure that they will be to everyone’s taste. But it was even more noticeable that the choose your own specification possibilities seem to have disappeared.
I think that they’ll lose a lot of customers…
Were you looking at their super fancy aero race bikes or their endurance range?
Modern bikes have lots of features to improve aerodynamics which gives them a certain look. I love how they look personally, but it's not for everyone.
I've noticed lots of manufacturers have gone a bit tame with their colour schemes / personalisation options lately. Very much playing it safe with black, white, grey and maybe a blue. I wish they'd be a bit braver too.
Modern bikes have lots of features to improve aerodynamics which gives them a certain look. I love how they look personally, but it's not for everyone.
I've noticed lots of manufacturers have gone a bit tame with their colour schemes / personalisation options lately. Very much playing it safe with black, white, grey and maybe a blue. I wish they'd be a bit braver too.
Modern bikes are trending towards an aero look with dropped seat stays and teardrop profile tubes. This makes the tube junctions very ungainly. Not surprising the all look the same when they are all made in the same factories in the Far East with only the paint and decals being the difference between brands. I got a Focus Paralane. Good bike but man, it's ugly.
You can get a modern relatively traditional looking bikes from Look and Time - these are amongst the very best mass produced frames available but not cheap. Specialized seemed to get that some customers want a trad looking bike hence the Aethos - again not cheap.
Traditional frame builders will give you exaclty what you want - at a price.
Nosing at the Ribble site, the most traditional looking bikes are the Ti frames. Not surprising as the tubes only come in limited specs and it's a difficult material to work. A build with 105 Di2 £2679 seems reasonable VFM to me. You see a lot of Ribble bikes up here in W. Yorks Pennines. They must be doing something right.
You can get a modern relatively traditional looking bikes from Look and Time - these are amongst the very best mass produced frames available but not cheap. Specialized seemed to get that some customers want a trad looking bike hence the Aethos - again not cheap.
Traditional frame builders will give you exaclty what you want - at a price.
Nosing at the Ribble site, the most traditional looking bikes are the Ti frames. Not surprising as the tubes only come in limited specs and it's a difficult material to work. A build with 105 Di2 £2679 seems reasonable VFM to me. You see a lot of Ribble bikes up here in W. Yorks Pennines. They must be doing something right.
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