Looking for first (steel) road bike - what should I do?

warthog1 · Postby **warthog1** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 11:17 pm

singlespeedscott wrote:
They'd be nice if it wasn't for the sloping top tubes and the carbon forks

I like the carbon forks on my Ribble steelie

Nobody · Postby **Nobody** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 11:29 pm

And as I said the last time you posted that questionable demonstration, the steel fork doesn't even pass a modern safety standard so couldn't be sold in many European countries. I don't know where they got it from, but it looks pretty small compared with the fork leg diameters of the carbon fork. The least they could have done was got a steel fork that's legal to be sold around the world.

I'm sure the steel Dimension CX disc fork on my CC would do a lot better.

warthog1 · Postby **warthog1** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 11:44 pm

Looks to me to be a spindly fork similar to those posted on bikes earlier in the thread

Whilst I have no doubt your fork would perform better than the steel one tested, I doubt the old school purists are going to be any more pleased with the mountain bike aesthetics of it, than a smaller cross section carbon fork on their classic look steelie.

warthog1 · Postby **warthog1** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 3:35 pm

Here's my mighty Ribble 525

Weighs 11.2 kg with $40 wheelset and heavy rear tyre as pictured. Swap out the heavy wheels/tyre and lose the mudguards and it will be sub 10kg I reckon.
The frame and fork only cost just over $300 delivered for reynolds tubing, I still cant get over the value. It rides beautifully and so far is as tough as nails.
No snob value with the Ribble logo adorning the downtube which I kind of like TBH

.
I've got an ultegra 6600 groupset on which has ~ 50 k on it I reckon so the bike owes me bugger all, and IMO the carbon fork suits the style of the bike

You could do alot worse if you dont want to spend alot of moula

Ribble 525 builder from $950

Postby **Mulger bill** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 6:41 pm

warthog1 wrote:Here's my mighty Ribble 525

If you don't mind an aesthetic critique...

Looks sweet as a commuter with two exceptions.
1/ The line of the mudguards should very closely follow the tyre, the rear could be tighter from 9 o'clock to 12. There is also the functional advantage of less spray through the gap.

2/ [broken record]That cadence magnet![/broken record]

warthog1 · Postby **warthog1** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 6:53 pm

Thanks Shaun. The tyres are 25c and there is only a poofteenth clearance at the seatstay bridge and the fork crown, a little more clearance would be good. I wouldn't get 28c tyres in there.
Having said that I did just slap them on there in the first place and they do look a bit ordinary in that photo. I should have a crack at getting them a bit more uniform. Put my ugly dial on the bike though and they are a relative work of art

I've got that cadence magnet set up on my other bike thanks to this forum

I should do the same on the mighty Ribble too thanks.

Postby **Mulger bill** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:08 pm

Cheers mate.
You want as little as possible drawing the eyes from the lines of that verra sleek frame.
Gotta admit I'm seriously contemplating stripping down the cf 'Dale roadie and flogging the F/F to fund a nice steelie

singlespeedscott · Postby **singlespeedscott** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:42 pm

warthog1 wrote:Here's my mighty Ribble 525

They certainly are a nice looking ride. How are the guards with the short reach calipers? Do they flex in when you squeeze the brakes?

Nobody · Postby **Nobody** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:41 pm

Mulger bill wrote:2/ [broken record]That cadence magnet![/broken record]

Yeah, that's what I did with mine (before the cadence wire failed at the computer mounting point

) was just put one of them on the inside of the pedal. Now I don't need one, my bike's slightly more aero and lighter (if that matters).

warthog1 · Postby **warthog1** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:54 pm

singlespeedscott wrote:
They certainly are a nice looking ride. How are the guards with the short reach calipers? Do they flex in when you squeeze the brakes?

There's plenty of clearance around the calipers. The top of the tyre is close to the guard though. In the front brake photo I'm squeezing the brake lever, the rear is off.

Just looking at those photos I might have to get the dremel out on the mount bracket to elongate the slot a bit so as to squeeze the guards up a touch higher.
The brake cables a bit short on the rear brake as I reused the cable from the Azzurri when it broke and all the bits came over to the Ribble.

Sorry for the thread hijack Kallvatten

kallvatten · Postby **kallvatten** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 10:40 pm

warthog1 wrote:Sorry for the thread hijack Kallvatten

Hahah, not a problem! I actually stopped receiving email notifications for some reason so I hadn't even noticed until I checked just then.. It's great just seeing some random discussion here as well though, so if you guys have more to say, go for it. Don't feel bad! Helps me learn a little and gives me more to think about

Anthony

munga · Postby **munga** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:21 pm

bigfriendlyvegan wrote:

Here's my 1992 Greg LeMond Ventoux in full Team Z colourway with 10spd 105 on it, Mavic Open Pro rims laced to 105 hubs, and hot pink bar tape. Goes and looks better with the Swiss Side Franc wheels I've been riding on recently. I race on this. It's lovely to ride.

still got this, BFV?

bigfriendlyvegan · Postby **bigfriendlyvegan** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:36 pm

munga wrote:
bigfriendlyvegan wrote:

Here's my 1992 Greg LeMond Ventoux in full Team Z colourway with 10spd 105 on it, Mavic Open Pro rims laced to 105 hubs, and hot pink bar tape. Goes and looks better with the Swiss Side Franc wheels I've been riding on recently. I race on this. It's lovely to ride.
still got this, BFV?

Yep, still race on it too. I love this bike, though I do have a very sexy Paconi frame sitting on the wall giving me a guilt trip. "Why are you riding that foreign piece of garbage? Am I too Aussie for you?" It's a hard choice, but I really love the Italian built frame with a Japanese group set, French rims, and German tyres, named after an American with a French sounding name.

Nobody · Postby **Nobody** » Sun Nov 23, 2014 12:42 pm

kallvatten wrote:...so if you guys have more to say, go for it. Don't feel bad! Helps me learn a little and gives me more to think about

OK then, for my annual update:

The CX fork is still going, but the Surly CC frame in the pic above died of a top tube crack. For more see here. The photo is click-able. Since it was only 4 years old (3 year warranty

) I decided not to give Surly any more money and got a cheaper Planet X Kaffenback 2 to replace it instead. It's a taller frame, so there is more room between the top tube and down tube. So in theory, less stress on the top tube during heavy braking. It should last at least 4 years (warranty 2 years IIRC). It hasn't scared me off steel, just not trusting enough to spend big money on any frame(set), regardless of the material or warranty.

(clickable)