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Mountain Biker seeks advice on first audax bike

by thewombles
Thu, Jul 09, 2009 22:29
8

Hi, im a mountain biker who has decided to do a bit of road riding, Im after an audax style bike since and was looking at the Ribble Winter Training Audax 7005 Veloce 10 Double or the Ribble Audax with the mirage groupset.
Ive got a few questions though,
-Are ribble bikes any good ?(for the price im paying!)
-What the main difference between the mirage and the veloce groupset (I dont know that much about your roadie group sets !)
-Have you get any other suggestions of possible bikes ? my price range is pretty limited between 650-800 (im a student and my mountain bike is in need of a complete rebuild after stacking it nicely into a tree )
-I was looking at the ribble bikes and was even considering their carbon fibre range, how good are they ?

Many thanks

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
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Roadie groupsets: you've got a choice of Campag, Shimano or SRAM and they all have their champions but at the end of the day they're comparable performance-wise.

there's a rundown on who makes what and where it stands at
http://road.cc/content/forum/986-campag-heirarchy-vs-shimano

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thewombles | 14 years ago
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Hi , thanks for all the advice, your right about the fit I recently rode a road bike and found everything was in the wrong place !(joke!).
I have a feeling im going with the Ribble for now , seeing as its going to be my first road bike , the only unknown are the groupsets, is there anything in particular that I need to look out for when looking at roadie groupsets ? ( im pretty limited i know with a bike
price range of 650-800) how well do they stand up to use ?

thanks

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cat1commuter | 14 years ago
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Sorry. All I meant was that since he asked for a recommendation of an audax style bike, then I guess he wants one which will take mudguards.

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anotherdeadhero | 14 years ago
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AUK have got fairly relaxed about the 'guards issue, and I've run SKS raceblades on my normal road bike for winter audax events, but they shift around so much if I was going to build a proper winter/audax bike, I'd def want something with clearances for full length mudguards.

I know plenty of people with Ribbles who are very happy with them. Road componentry tends to last a very long time compared to MTB kit too, provided you keep it clean and free from corrosion in the winter months. So I'd suggest go for the best frame and fork you can budget, then you can look at upgrading the groupset to something more bling as old stuff wears out or finances permit. Don't be put off by the lower end componentry, it works well enough.

If you've never had a road bike before, I suggest you get fitted correctly by someone who knows what they are doing. Fit is much more important on thwe road, particularly if you're going to be spending a long time in the saddle doing audax events. I come from an MTB background myself so I was very grateful to get fitted properly by by shop when I bought my first road bike, some of the assumtpions I'd made from what I knew of MTB bike fit were completely wrong.

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Tony Farrelly | 14 years ago
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It's not a requirement on all audaxes, Audax UK relaxed that rule a few years back. Now it's up to the organisers of individual events as to whether bikes have run with mudguards.

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cat1commuter | 14 years ago
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You can't fit mudguards on a Kona Dew Drop (which I assume is a requirement for an audax style bike).

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purplecup | 14 years ago
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How about a Kona Dew Drop?

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
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Ribble tend to score very well on value and quality. They had a bit of a problem with people's credit card details getting compromised after buying online, but the last I heard about that was in February so I don't think there are any problems now.

The Audax with Veloce looks like good value for money, you get Aksium wheels and some decent finishing kit thrown in for your £750. There's plenty of other bikes out there for that kind of money. Giant's Defy 2 is about £750 and will take full guards, in fact we've got one in right now with that spec. Ridgeback's Horizon is £700 with Sora and 'guards.

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