Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

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Skins
Posts: 5
Joined: 13 Mar 2021, 11:51am

Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by Skins »

For you more knowledgeable experienced ones is the Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105 a good all round bike for riding to and from work all year round (35 mile round trip) and general use at weekends? At £1299 this is a big step up for me from a Carrera Virtuoso 2019 spec. I been impressed with their website and choices available and they seem a professional outfit. Also I plan to visit them when possible at their shop in Birmingham for a bike fit.

Appreciate any advice given.
PT1029
Posts: 1744
Joined: 16 Apr 2012, 9:20pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by PT1029 »

The bike is no doubt a good road bike, but that does not necessarly mean it is good for commuting. How well did your Carrera survive winter commuting in terms of wear, tear and corrosion.
If you are guarranteed good road surfaces, and dry roads, the answer would be yes.
However, those are not guaranteed, so I'd say no is the answer
1. Year round commuting, in rain/on wet roads, you want proper full length mud guards on a commuting bike - very practical even if it ruins "the look" of a bike in the eyes of some. The Ribble does have mud guard eyes at the drop outs, not sure what the fitment possibilities are at the fork crown/rear stays.
2. You can get clip on mud guards of various designs, better than no mud guards certainly, but not as good as "proper" mud guards. Proper mud guards will do a much better job of keeping tyre flung crud off your chain/bottom bracket (see below). Ribble have verbal chat facility on their website, so you could ask/check these things.
3. The max tyre clearance is 32mm - looking at Ribble's website pictures, you won't get 32c tyres with mud guards. Commuting in the dark or in traffic you cannot alway avoid holes in the road, so you want 28/32mm tyres in my book. Plenty do commute on thinner tyres, some manage fine, some are prone to get punctures.
4. It is 11 speed, year round commuting chews through transmissions components (rain and winter salt), esp 10/11/12 speed. Look for annual expensive transmission replacement.
5. External hollowtech 2 crank bearings. These have a reputation for poor seals against water ingress, so expect these to last 1 - 2 years max.
6. If you rarely use the front gear, the mech will end up siezed from corrosion/crud from the rear tyre. I see siezed front gears all the time at work, sometimes they unsieze, usually they don't.

So, it is a perfectly good bike in itself, if you use if for year round commuting expect hefty maintenance bills. I see people who commute on this type of bike, it usually seems a shame to see the sad state of the bike after 1 winter commuting in the salt and wet. In the 1990's I worked in a shop, Dawes Galaxy commuters often had a £200 - £350 bill after 2 years commuting in all weathers. Obviously cheap for the owner if the alternative is train tickets or driving of course.
If you WANT a nice road bike, get one, but think about a commuter too (or keep the Carrera), so the road bike doesn't get trashed by winter salt/rain.

If your commute is reasonably flat, a single speed or hub gear (underrated in the eyes of many) would make for simpler/cheaper to replace transmission. Add mud guards and a light weight rack for your stuff and you are sorted. A frame that can take wider with mud guards is more the way to go, tyres can always go thinner (with in reason), but some frames won't have clearance to go fatter.
Brakes. Wheel rims don't last as long as they used to (pads wear the side out), suggest go for disc brakes.
gregoryoftours
Posts: 2234
Joined: 22 May 2011, 7:14pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by gregoryoftours »

Unless the fittings and clearance make it practical to fit decent width tyre with full mudguards on an all year commuter bike that would be a deal breaker for me. It's a bit hard from the photos on their website to see what's going on with mudguard/rack mounts. The fork has no crown mounting point, unless on the underside. If you want to run a pannier rack there are rear dropout points but no seatstay mounts. This can be got around by fitting a seat clamp with integrated rack mounts.

It's a nice bike for sure but for me a bit too nice for an all year round commuter, unless you really don't want to use 2 bikes. Replacement of 11 speed drivetrain stuff will be expensive. Threaded bottom bracket is a plus.

I'd be fairly regular about cleaning/lubing dustcap seals etc to prevent the cartridge bearings corroding into place, and would spend some time before using making sure everything is assembled with plenty and the right sort of grease where appropriate. This doesn't necessarily always get done fully at the shop on PDI, and is especially important for a bike that's going to see heavy commuter use.
Marcus Aurelius
Posts: 1903
Joined: 1 Feb 2018, 10:20am

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by Marcus Aurelius »

That bike would work just fine for commutes and ‘weekend warrioring’ it’s a very capable bike, with a decent spec for the money. My main issue with using it as a commuter, would be excessive wear and tear in grotty conditions, it getting stolen, and / or damaged in a communal bike rack. If the route isn’t too hilly, I’d personally go for a single speed for the commute, however the SS probably wouldn’t be so suited to the weekend stuff. I’d steer clear of hub gears for a commuter, as sorting punctures can be a little bit trickier if you’re not used to it. On balance, given what you say about it’s use, I’d say the Ribble would be fine.
Skins
Posts: 5
Joined: 13 Mar 2021, 11:51am

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by Skins »

I plan on keeping the cheaper Halfords bike to use in the crappy winter weather so will mainly will be using the Ribble bike for dry weather only, unless I get caught out by the rain.
Jupestar
Posts: 920
Joined: 29 Feb 2020, 3:03pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by Jupestar »

Skins wrote:I plan on keeping the cheaper Halfords bike to use in the crappy winter weather so will mainly will be using the Ribble bike for dry weather only, unless I get caught out by the rain.


Its annoying isn't it, buy a nice bike but use the old one, when you do use the Carrera, and you'll always be tempted to use the Ribble... especially when the Carrera is playing up... or chains start skipping... "I'll just use the Ribble, till I fix it"

There is no answer really, maintaining two bikes is more expensive and more time consuming than 1 bike... You can minimise wear on the Ribble buy not using it in the winter, but cleaning and lubing is the most important thing. The Carrera will not be immune from the road crud and will need TLC just as much as the Ribble, it just cheaper to replace a 8 speed chain and cassette then an 11 speed. But if you then don't clean it up as regularly (cause its a cheap bike) you'll just be changing it more often.... or using the Ribble.

The cost of 11 speed over 8 speed is important, but if you paying labour etc its not that much as a marginal cost. Obviously if you are doing it yourself the marginal saving is more, and you get the benefit.

I don't have the answer, I'd love to ride my road bike to work everyday, but I don't cause I can't face the cleaning of the transmission. I muddle on with a single speed, (I need 2/3 gears for my commute). The ride quality overall is much better (more often), as cleaning is easier, so i do it more regularly than i would on a bike that would need it more.

Some guys in the office ride road bikes and just ride the transmission into the ground, some meticulously clean it themselves, and some get it cleaned by a man in a van every few weeks, (but should be more often). I'm not sure what is most cost effective once you start pricing in your time.
gregoryoftours
Posts: 2234
Joined: 22 May 2011, 7:14pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by gregoryoftours »

35 miles a day of urban commute is going to give it quite a hammering, whatever the weather. I'd still want mudguards as you can't always predict the weather and it's often wet even if not raining. Just be prepared to factor in high replacement parts costs with a mid high spec bike.
mig
Posts: 2702
Joined: 19 Oct 2011, 9:39pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by mig »

where do you leave your bike when at work?

i'd think that brand new bikes tend to attract 'interest' from passers by is not somewhere 100% secure.

my own work bike is a simple, but well maintained affair biased towards reliability and ease of fixing. i like riding fixed and my route allows it gear wise so that's my choice.

other than that i'm sure that the bike you mention is a capable machine.
MrCJF
Posts: 102
Joined: 5 Aug 2020, 1:42pm
Location: Fleet, Hampshire

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by MrCJF »

If looking for a commuter, I'd have thought the Ribble CGR would be better. It's a gravel bike, so will fit bigger tyres with mudguards.
I'd echo what other's say about 105 being expensive to replace. I have Sora, but I'm considering a Tiagra or 10 speed GRX (or mix) as things need replacing mainly because it's getting harder to source Sora parts.

I'd want a decent bike for a commute. Year round commuting does take it out of the bike, but on the other hand having a bike that's nice to ride is important when you use it so frequently. Climbing on to a cheap, heavy, unreliable bike after tough at day at work is not an attractive prospect.
VinceLedge
Posts: 566
Joined: 12 Dec 2020, 9:51am

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by VinceLedge »

Yes!
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by Jamesh »

Another way to look at it is if you pay for insurance, mot, fuel, tax on a car these add up to much more than a decent bike.

So if I were commuting 35miles in all weathers I'd treat myself to a decent bike even if it did need 11 speed gears. However I'd probably plumb for tiagra as the happy medium.

My mate had a nice Dawes audax with his favourite brooks saddle and commuted on it for a few days until it wasn't there at the end of school so be careful where park it.

Cheers James
Beagler
Posts: 40
Joined: 12 Feb 2021, 9:19pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by Beagler »

Be aware that there is a problem with delivery at Ribble. Waited nearly 5 months for mine and cancelled it three times only to agree new delivery dates. Look on Trustpilot quite a few with same problem. Not sure I trust all the 5 Star reviews. You pay up front and then hope.
Everything goes to Entropy in this age
philvantwo
Posts: 1730
Joined: 8 Dec 2012, 6:08pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by philvantwo »

They used to give you a 6yr warranty on the frame, now its only 2yrs. I had an Em2 frame, lovely ride and that lasted 7yrs.
LikeSpicyTofu
Posts: 1
Joined: 7 Apr 2021, 10:07pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by LikeSpicyTofu »

I just pulled the trigger for a ribbon endurance AL 105, will be more of a weekend fun ride bike! I just hope the estimated dispatch time of mid July is somewhat accurate..... that’s over two months to wait


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels
markjohnobrien
Posts: 1037
Joined: 4 Oct 2007, 8:15pm

Re: Yes or No to a Ribble Endurance AL Disc Shimano 105

Post by markjohnobrien »

LikeSpicyTofu wrote: 7 Apr 2021, 10:08pm I just pulled the trigger for a ribbon endurance AL 105, will be more of a weekend fun ride bike! I just hope the estimated dispatch time of mid July is somewhat accurate..... that’s over two months to wait


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels
Good luck with that delivery date.
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
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