Ribble or Kinesis?

I built up a T2 a few months ago and am very pleased with it. The geometry is quite sporty with a lowish head tube and long top tube so you can go for a race position or stack a few spacers to lift the bars a bit. It feels pretty responsive and stiff but no less comfortable than my steel frame over rough roads, if anything it's better.

Paintjob is good and much improved in durability over the previous generation kinesises (?) I had to get the BB shell faced and chased but I gather that's not uncommon. Finish wise, no fancy smooth joints but the welds are tidy and I like the classic straight tubes, not a big fan of the over styled hydro formed look.

If you want to save a few bob, look for the Deda Black Rain fork instead of the Kinesis fork, it's about £50 cheaper and does the job. Spend the change on a nice seatpost or bars instead.

I used to have a Ribble 7005 and then stripped all the parts off it to build up a Kinesis RC2.

The Ribble was a nice riding bike - I've still got the frame and will probably build it up again at some point. I think the geometry was done by Terry Dolan and he knows his onions. It's quite racy with a short headtube by today's standards.

The Kinesis is brilliant for the money. Seems outdated now with it's carbon seat stays and alu everything else, but I reckon it would hold it's own against much costlier bikes. A new frame is the last thing on my shopping list.

I'm sure both would be more than strong enough for you.

Hope that helps.

Rob

i'd go for the Kinesis myself, had one a few years ago, very nice it was too. never had a ribble but they always seem to pick up good reviews nowadays.