We've reviewed many Ribble bikes over the years on Sportive.com and have always been impressed. But it's one thing taking delivery of a press sample: what's the experience like as a regular customer?
Our reporter Bob ordered himself a Ribble CGR AL recently, and found a few teething issues to overcome before the bike could be enjoyed to its potential. Over to you Bob...
Ribble CGR AL Sport - The ideal winter bike for road and gravel rides?
Moving to the south coast and joining a new cycling club, Brighton Excelsior CC, has certainly opened new vistas and experiences for my cycling.
Tackling hills was a new challenge but I seem to be coping ok; the climbs are maybe not on a scale of some of the climbs in Yorkshire and alike but after the Fens, where anything steeper than a speed bump is considered a climb, I'm happy to call them hills.
It came as a bit of a surprise when one of the club rides included a few miles on a cinder/gravel type track and as it was my first departure onto such a surface, I was a little concerned about whether my road bike and I would get through it without coming off or getting punctures.
Of course, we did cope, it wasn't any great hassle and we've ridden parts of the path on subsequent rides, no problem; but with the weather set to get worse maybe a better option would be preferred.
With that in mind I got my old BTwin fettled, fitted some wintery tyres and mudguards, and thought I was set fair for winter rides.
A few weeks later after a few rain sodden days I took the opportunity to try out my winter bike for real. Unfortunately, after a few climbs the chain threw a link and the only link I had in my bag was for a ten speed and the Btwin is an eight speed, leaving me potentially stranded. Fortunately, a couple of the riders took my chain to a nearby shop, got me a link and so we were soon back on track. The eight speed choices became a bit of a chore with the gears unable to make their mind up which gear I'd selected, but we got round.
Once back home I had a bit of a whinge about the situation and my wonderful wife, Christine, asked why don't I sell the BTwin and get something a bit more suitable? Suffice to say I didn't argue.
Having seen a recent newsletter from Ribble I was aware that they had a sale on so headed straight to their sale site and started perusing.
I was immediately drawn to the CGR AL range with the road and gravel appearance giving me on and off-road capabilities in one hit, although my primary thoughts were it would make a great winter bike.
The Shimano Tiagra 'Sport' build is currently on sale at a £300 discount which also appealed.
Before taking the plunge, I took to reading a few magazine reviews and was encouraged by the fact that none of the reviewers could find anything bad to say about it.
YouTube reviews were next, and they were even more encouraging. One young lady used her CGR as a triathlon and winter bike, just changing the tyres as and when required, and probably more by luck than judgment, had never had a puncture in the five years she had owned her Ribble CGR.
Another YouTuber, a regular cycling commenter also loves his CGR but recommended a few changes that he'd made, while stressing that these were by personal choice and not necessarily a negative about the bike.
One thing he did mention was the choice of mudguards. He found that the Ribble mudguards rattled a bit too much for his liking, so he changed them for an equivalent SKS set, possibly worth remembering.
Prior to ordering I called the Ribble helpline just to clear up a few questions that I had.
The young lad I spoke to was quite friendly and helpful and when I told him I was looking at ordering the CGR Tiagra model he commented that it was a good choice, obviously. When I mentioned the Ribble versus SKS mudguards he said that they were both comparable, but the Ribble ones were easier to fit (I like easier to fit), and cheaper than the SKS ones.
So, the scene was set, time to splash the cash!
That evening my order was placed, Blue CGR AL with Tiagra drivetrain plus two nylon fibre bottle cages and the 46mm mudguards, happy days.
Ribble quickly confirmed receipt of my order and suggested that it would be about eight weeks before delivery.
Less than a month later I was informed that my bike had been built; two days later it had been despatched from Lancashire and two days after that it was sat in my back garden contained in a very sturdy bike box.
Thankfully the weather was dry and sunny, so I wasted no time in unboxing my new bike. It was a long time since I had a new bike and the first time by mail order.
To say the bike box was sturdy might be a little bit of an understatement, it was like a cardboard fortress.
Inside the wheels were securely held in place by triangular cardboard stays. The bike itself was covered and surrounded by layers of bubble wrap and the headtube was surrounded by a foam tube, the kind plumber uses to insulate water pipes, to make sure that the handlebars, which were packed detached from the frame, did not cause any damage to either surface.
Also inside the box were the Ribble mudguards and two smaller boxes. One of the boxes contained the seat tube, saddle and bottle cage whilst the other, a black box, contained a rather natty little toolbox.
Inside the toolbox was a 'Happy New Bike Day' greeting and a set of basic, but necessary, tools. A pedal spanner, an Allen key with a detachable head to make it a three sized tool, to be used on the through axle and a very simple torque wrench and a selection of different drive heads.
The torque wrench resembled an Allen key with an attached paddle marked with different torque settings and I assume that when the tool was being used the flag would indicate what torque setting had been achieved. To be honest I'd already got a torque tool that I was conversant with so used that where required.
On checking the contents of the seat tube box, I realised that the wrong bottle cage had been sent and there was only one, despite what the delivery note claimed.
I'm sure it was an honest mistake and would be easily solved with a quick email to customer services, and I was right. Within an hour of sending a message to Ribble I'd got a reply apologising for the error and told that the bottle cages that were originally ordered were in the post. Nice one.
With that sorted it was back to my bike build which was very straightforward and simple, even for a non-mechanic like me, before locking the bike away ready for doing some actual sizing and fitting the mudguards the following day.
Once the rain had stopped, a couple of days later, I was able to get the bike in the stand and get the mudguards fitted, but that is where the problems started.
In the FAQs on the Ribble website someone had asked, 'Can the CGR AL take mudguards?' the reply to which was, 'the frame includes discreet mudguard mounts, enabling full length mudguards to be fitted.'
The mudguard mounts were certainly discreet, but the mounts for the mudguards I'd purchased didn't match any of the mounting points.
I started with the rear set and after some serious head scratching, I was beginning to think that I was stupid because I could not work out how the supplied mudguard bridge was going to connect to the corresponding bridge on the frame.
I thought I must have been doing something wrong so immediately visited the google bike mechanics' shop but that proved fruitless, so I went straight onto the Ribble site and started a chat with their online help desk.
After a few sentences between myself and the contact person I was passed on to another member of staff who replied with the following text:
"Upon reviewing your order I can see that you have our CGR AL Tiagra - sadly this is not compatible with traditional full-length mudguards due to interference between the front derailleur and rear mudguard.
"The swing direction and the amount of swing means that with a full rear mudguard attached, the front derailleur fouls on the mudguard. This means that the mudguard prevents the full range of motion of the front derailleur and therefore prevents a full downshift. It can also cause the mudguard to be pushed into the path of the tyre causing the tyre to rub on the mudguard.
"Due to this, it has been decided to remove the ability to attach mudguards to Tiagra specced CGR ALs to prevent this incompatibility. There may be aftermarket mudguards that fit and don't have this issue but this would be an experimentation at your own cost."
At this point I was absolutely gobsmacked and replied that perhaps this decision should have been highlighted on the actual site because had I known that I would have investigated my choices further, but I did not get a reply and was passed on to one of the in-house mechanics who sent me a description of how I can fit mudguards.
I was annoyed, angry and disappointed, bearing in mind that I had a telephone conversation with one of their sales team about my mudguard choices and this situation was not mentioned (perhaps he didn't get the memo?).
I was gutted but decided to go ahead with fitting the front mudguard and sort out the rear one later, but that wasn't plain sailing either.
The only fixing point for the front mudguard was under the front fork but, once again, the fixing bracket supplied bore no resemblance to such a fixing point however, the drilled holes in the mudguard could be utilised.
Once the right-hand stay had been connected to the fork, I moved around to the left had side to quickly notice the next issue.
It is impossible to fix the mudguard stay to the left-hand side of the fork because the stay would conflict with the moving parts of the front disc brake and prevent it from actuating correctly.
I'm sure you can guess at some of the expletives that were forthcoming but by this point I'd decided that I didn't have much choice other than to work my way around the situations.
I should add that I guess I could have returned the bike, but a misunderstanding on my part of the order confirmation had me believing it would cost £80 to return the bike. In fact, the cost was for an order cancellation.
Fortunately, the mudguards that I'd fitted to the BTwin could be cannibalised to provide a mounting system for the left-hand side. It took some measuring and hacksawing to get there but it seems to work, even if it looks a bit Heath Robinson.
The rear set was a bit more problematic.
The only available fixing point was at the bottom of the mudguard and the hole and the fixing point matched, bonus. The fixing point under the rear bridge frame had to be marked on the mudguard and then drilled to accommodate that fixing, the stays fitted nicely and only needed a bit of adjustment but then came the main stumbling block.
As the short correspondence with Ribble stated the movement of the front derailleur would foul the mudguard and not allow full movement of the mech on changing from small to large chainring.
The simplest solution, although high up there on the Heath Robinson scale, was to mark up the area where the fouling is and cut it out to allow free movement. At the time it seemed sacrilege to be going through the process, but it worked: full movement of the front mech had been achieved and there was no longer any fouling.
What a relief! Maybe I should send photos to the GCN 'Hack or Bodge' gallery?
With the job done there was still a bit of time to have a quick shakedown ride to see what it's like riding a bike with disc brakes, never done it before, and check out the 'adjustments' I'd made and see how/if they perform.
I'm happy to say that the bike is great, really comfortable, no fouling of the derailleur and the brakes work, although I didn't really sense a great difference between my normal rim braked bike. Maybe I'll have to wait until the roads are a bit wetter to notice a difference or get out onto the shingle track that started this whole process off.
The following day was one of those mornings that cyclists would wish for so, without further ado, I got the Ribble out to get out and do a longer shakedown ride.
My chosen route was one that I've done a few times with the club as I thought it would give me more of an indication of the bike's performance and let me see if there is any significant difference between a road and gravel bike.
The first thing I noticed was a bit of 'chirping' from the front mudguard every time I went over any bump in the road but that's no great issue and will just require a bit more adjustment on the mudguard.
The next issue was more annoying and devastating really. Although the gear change is quite slick and positive the rear derailleur, at times, would slip up or down a gear. I could not believe it. It was bad enough that some of the slips were whilst riding along a flat road and chugging along at a steady cadence but when you're pushing hard and, occasionally, standing on the pedals in the small ring struggling up a climb it becomes disconcerting and even more b£**dy annoying.
I fully accept I bought a bike with one of the cheaper of the Shimano drivetrain options but surely that can't be right. Part of the reason I was looking at a new bike was because of the gears slipping on my BTwin, which I've had for 12 years but to have the same on a brand new groupset can't be right.
I guess there will be some sort of way of adjusting the gears, but I shouldn't have to at this stage of ownership and will have to rely on a Google tutorial or pop down to my local bike shop.
Despite all that the bike is very comfortable, I don't know if it's down to the difference in the bike's geometry, the different tyre pressure, just 65psi, or the way that the handlebars sweep slightly back towards the rider forming a sort of 'v' shape, but it is a comfortable ride.
On the road I suspected that I was a tad slower than normal, especially up the climbs, but I'm not too worried about that as I never go out with the fast group anyway.
Once back home I compared my times on Strava and to be honest there was not any sort of significant time difference over the whole route. So happy days, a comfortable ride and I won't be wandering too far off the back of the group on club rides.
The weekend club ride, a couple of days later bought home everything I needed to know about the bike and, by sheer coincidence, the route for the day was down part of the shingle track that I mentioned at the beginning of the review: and, as might be expected, the CGR handled it brilliantly.
The bike is sturdy, so comfortable, rides like a more expensive bike, is a totally enjoyable ride and has received many compliments from other club riders.
So, after several different rides, how do I feel about my Ribble experience?
I suppose the first question that is always asked is, 'Would you recommend Ribble to your friends?'
Despite all the above I guess my answer would be, absolutely, why not? The ordering process was straightforward, the communications between ordering and delivery were spot on and I've got a really nice bike. BUT, I would make sure that I would let anybody that was asking have a full explanation of my follow-on experience.
Given my experience, what would I say to Ribble?
I would try and tell them about how deflated I feel about the experience. Specifically, being advised after the event that 'it has been decided to remove the ability to attach mudguards to Tiagra specced CGR ALs to prevent this incompatibility.'
I would like to know when that decision was made, and if it was before my purchasing the bike why were the sales staff not aware of the situation so that they could avoid customers being put in the situation that I was?
Had I been made aware of that I may well have considered other Ribble options, especially as my other two bike choices were £2k and £3k, certainly price-wise it was in Ribble's interests to provide accurate information.
The Ribble range is vast covering most aspects of our sport, they have many satisfied customers loyal to their brand, so my issues will not be detrimental to their sales but, all I would say is if you are looking to buy Ribble make sure you've got plenty of questions lined up to quiz the sales team with.
Prior to submitting this to our editor I thought it was only right to let Ribble know of my concerns, especially as it's not a totally positive review.
Ribble were quick to respond and I will leave the last word to their Head of Customer Experience, Ciaran Barnard, happy in the fact that, in a small way, I have raised a customer issue that Ribble was not fully aware of and are now investigating to correct.
P.S. My Ribble CGR is a great bike, loving it!
"Thank you for your email and first I would like to apologise for the experience you have had purchasing your CGR AL from us it is definitely not the experience I would want any of our customers to receive. Your review has identified an issue that we have with certain models within our range, which we are now working with our product team to rectify. This issue seems to be isolated to Tiagra builds due to how the front mech attaches to the frame and this impeding the mudguard.
"The CGR AL with Tiagra has been in our range for many years, however with our previous Bike Builder on our website, mudguards could be added to your build and these would then be fitted to the bike in build, which would include adjustments made inhouse by our mechanics.
"In April we updated our website to our new build configurator to improve the buying process, this did mean that the ability to add certain accessories like mudguards to an order to be part of the bike build was lost, this is a process we are going to review.
"During this process of change, we have missed the updates required to the webpages of mudguards to highlight key incompatibilities, this is not good enough and something I am actively working to rectify.
"Now I have explained the why, I am keen to get a better resolution for you on the two issues you have raised. Where you have have noticed slipping in the gears this sounds like the gears may need indexing. This is done in the PDI process however sometimes the shipping process can impact gear indexing. I will be happy to reimburse any costs you incur in resolving this.
"As for the mudguards, I 'm currently working with the product team to see which guards will offer the best full coverage without modification, once I have this information I would like to provide you with these mudguards.
"Once again I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for your Ribble experience so far, I hope we can overcome this and you have a bike you can enjoy for many years."
Ribble CGR AL Sport Tiagra, £1,099 (reduced from £1,399) at ribblecycles.co.uk
Check out our other Ribble reviews:
> Ribble CGR AL Review: A sturdy mule with a surprising turn of pace >
> Ribble CGR AL e Review: Well-specced eBike that's not afraid to get dirty >
> Review: Ribble CGR SL Shimano 105 >
> Ribble CGR Ti Review: Titanium-framed go-anywhere adventure bike >
> Ribble Reborn: Sportive.com visits a cycling giant in Lancashire >
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