Deciding which bike
Discussion
Sorry I know these threads seem to get repeated but it's my first road bike and I would like some help deciding between these two;
Felt F85 Tiagra Wiggle Exclusive
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f85-tiagra-wiggle-exc...
Ribble 7005 Sportive Shimano
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/...
Which of the two would you go for, only thing putting me off about the ribble is lack of reviews.
Thanks
Felt F85 Tiagra Wiggle Exclusive
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f85-tiagra-wiggle-exc...
Ribble 7005 Sportive Shimano
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/...
Which of the two would you go for, only thing putting me off about the ribble is lack of reviews.
Thanks
I can't comment on the Ribble, but I have a Felt F75 which I think is one up from the F85 - I use this as my all year round training bike (would quite happily race on it). It's got a mixture of 105 and Ultegra - I've upgraded a few bits on it from stock. It's covered over 8,000km with many trips to France for training. Can't recommend it highly enough. Solid bikes.
mcelliott said:
I can't comment on the Ribble, but I have a Felt F75 which I think is one up from the F85 - I use this as my all year round training bike (would quite happily race on it). It's got a mixture of 105 and Ultegra - I've upgraded a few bits on it from stock. It's covered over 8,000km with many trips to France for training. Can't recommend it highly enough. Solid bikes.
Thank you for that really useful to know.Does anyone have any thoughts on the Ribble?
Hi bud
Ive had a few ribble bikes and have never had an issue with them, quality always seems good and value is spot on .I ride a felt ar4 in the summer for faster rides, and my winter bike is a cube agree slt which I would also consider if I were you.shop around online there are some good deals to have .
Ive had a few ribble bikes and have never had an issue with them, quality always seems good and value is spot on .I ride a felt ar4 in the summer for faster rides, and my winter bike is a cube agree slt which I would also consider if I were you.shop around online there are some good deals to have .
hello dawsonz,
I just bought the Felt F85 Wiggle exclusive last Monday and it arrived by Wednesday. Like you I am new to biking, but my friend who has been road riding for quite a while told me to go for the Felt as it is a "steal at that price".
The bike is quite light, very well made and is beautiful. I haven't ridden it yet (due to other commitments), but I get excited when I even just look at it!
To be honest both look like good bikes, so go with with the one your heart prefers.
As a newbie, I dont know much about bikes, but the groupset should be a Shimano Tiagra at the minimum.
Good luck!
I just bought the Felt F85 Wiggle exclusive last Monday and it arrived by Wednesday. Like you I am new to biking, but my friend who has been road riding for quite a while told me to go for the Felt as it is a "steal at that price".
The bike is quite light, very well made and is beautiful. I haven't ridden it yet (due to other commitments), but I get excited when I even just look at it!
To be honest both look like good bikes, so go with with the one your heart prefers.
As a newbie, I dont know much about bikes, but the groupset should be a Shimano Tiagra at the minimum.
Good luck!
JimClark49 said:
hello dawsonz,
I just bought the Felt F85 Wiggle exclusive last Monday and it arrived by Wednesday. Like you I am new to biking, but my friend who has been road riding for quite a while told me to go for the Felt as it is a "steal at that price".
The bike is quite light, very well made and is beautiful. I haven't ridden it yet (due to other commitments), but I get excited when I even just look at it!
To be honest both look like good bikes, so go with with the one your heart prefers.
As a newbie, I dont know much about bikes, but the groupset should be a Shimano Tiagra at the minimum.
Good luck!
Thanks for that Jim much appreciated. I nearly went and bought the Felt yesterday but still wasn't 100%, i'm sure choosing a road bike has been more difficult than choosing a car.I just bought the Felt F85 Wiggle exclusive last Monday and it arrived by Wednesday. Like you I am new to biking, but my friend who has been road riding for quite a while told me to go for the Felt as it is a "steal at that price".
The bike is quite light, very well made and is beautiful. I haven't ridden it yet (due to other commitments), but I get excited when I even just look at it!
To be honest both look like good bikes, so go with with the one your heart prefers.
As a newbie, I dont know much about bikes, but the groupset should be a Shimano Tiagra at the minimum.
Good luck!
Glad to hear you're getting on with yours.
dawsonz said:
...i'm sure choosing a road bike has been more difficult than choosing a car...
It took me nearly seven months to choose my new road bike for my 40th birthday.Budget was bigger than yours as it was supposed to be a 'keeper', so I went out with a maximum £1000 as the limit.
I went to a LBS, and was trying to decide between two bikes near my budget limit, but the shop owner said "give me a minute, I'll call the importer".
Then he came back and offered me a bike two steps up the 'ladder' from the same manufacturer, for barely any more money. Although to be fair it was October (start of discount season) and it was a size 'Small' frame (easier to get a discount on the extremes of the size range at season's end).
In the end I parted with a little over £1200 and walked out with a bike, pedals, shoes, some clothing and the usual bottle/cage combo.
That said, I was in the position of already owning an older 'racer' so I wasn't waiting on the new bike to get out and about riding.
Not sure I can help with advice when it comes down to a choice between those two bikes. My heart says the Felt, yet my head says they're both mail order bikes, so the Ribble wins because there's the ability to 'tweek' the build spec if you want to. Out of interest I had a go with their 'bike builder' and maxxed everything out as much as compatibility issues would allow, and got the build price up to £1137.79 including pedals, which seems pretty good value for a full Ultegra bike.
Ultimately, I think my next bike (the 'keeper' was involved in a collision) will still be from a physical shop. I'd find it tough to buy a bike unseen over the internet, as I would ideally like to get 'hands on' with my chosen manufacturer in a shop before committing to the deal.
yellowjack said:
Ultimately, I think my next bike (the 'keeper' was involved in a collision) will still be from a physical shop. I'd find it tough to buy a bike unseen over the internet, as I would ideally like to get 'hands on' with my chosen manufacturer in a shop before committing to the deal.
It's not as bad as you'd think, distance selling regulations give you 7 days to inspect the bike after it arrives and a lot of the bigger sellers will let you return it even if it's been ridden. For example if he bought the Felt from Wiggle he could ride it for a month before deciding he didn't like it and send it back for a full refund. That's more than you'd get in any shop I know of!(footnote - beware the bikebuilder, this turns it in to "personalised goods" and means that DSR no longer apply)
Personally I prefer local shops, try a couple, they can offer decent deals, some have loads more models left in their warehouse which they need to shift and haven't got space to display. Mine did me a cracking deal, I only knew they had it through talking to the manager.
I also couldn't live without the aftersales, just little adjusts here and there as I was riding past , I do the easy stuff but in the first month the front mech and BB needed adjusting and the shop did it properly in two minutes, yeah you could do it yourself but its so much easier for a shop to do it. Im a heavy handed buffoon, so anything delicate I avoid!
When I have had bits fail they have replaced them under warranty straightaway as well, plus they know the bikes inside out for any replacement parts
Then again the above only applies to decent shops, there are some poor ones out there.
I also couldn't live without the aftersales, just little adjusts here and there as I was riding past , I do the easy stuff but in the first month the front mech and BB needed adjusting and the shop did it properly in two minutes, yeah you could do it yourself but its so much easier for a shop to do it. Im a heavy handed buffoon, so anything delicate I avoid!
When I have had bits fail they have replaced them under warranty straightaway as well, plus they know the bikes inside out for any replacement parts
Then again the above only applies to decent shops, there are some poor ones out there.
Mr Will said:
For example if he bought the Felt from Wiggle he could ride it for a month before deciding he didn't like it and send it back for a full refund. That's more than you'd get in any shop I know of!
Be careful with that- Wiggle's 30 day return is only for bikes where the discount is no greater than 15%, so with the Felt F85 linked being discounted by 31% it won't be included in that offerafrochicken said:
Mr Will said:
For example if he bought the Felt from Wiggle he could ride it for a month before deciding he didn't like it and send it back for a full refund. That's more than you'd get in any shop I know of!
Be careful with that- Wiggle's 30 day return is only for bikes where the discount is no greater than 15%, so with the Felt F85 linked being discounted by 31% it won't be included in that offer
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