[Jacs9303]

Hi, this is my first post.

I am currently looking at getting a new bike having just sold my trek madone. I want something that has a more relaxed riding position as my back is getting worse as I get older!

I also have a Cannondale cyclocross on a 51cm frame and that is quite comfy for me at 5ft 9, but is now a few years old, so I want something new for good weather. I am torn between the Cannondale synapse 2015 or a Ribble Gran Fondo.

The Cannondale has a mixed groupset of ultegra, fsa and standard brakes with Mavic Aksium wheels and it gets really good reviews. It is currently going for 2k, but may go down in price when the new 2016 models come out in the next month or two.

For the same money though, I can get the Ribble with full ultegra DI2 groupset, deda kit and either Mavic ksyrium elite s wheels (25mm) or Fulcrum Racing 3 wheels.

On paper the Ribble is fantastic value for money but I can’t see any recent reviews of the gran fondo so I’m not sure about it, but for the money, I can’t find anything else to match it, and it looks really good too!

I won’t be doing massive miles and comfort is my main priority. The problem with the Ribble is they won’t let you ride any of their bikes as they say they are all built to spec. I find this a bit unreasonable as I only want to test the ride position which won’t be overly affected by spec.

Any views would be appreciated.

Topic

[Jacs9303]

Thanks for all the comments
Thanks for all the comments guys. I have ordered the Ribble, so hopefully I have made the right decision.

[Del73]

Have you looked at Cannondale
Have you looked at Cannondale Synapse for 2k you can get a hi mod ultegra 2014 model if you look in the right places.

[wellcoordinated]

..”my back is getting worse
..”my back is getting worse as I get older!” Sounds like you should pay attention to what you’re back is saying and get some advise. Go for some Pilates lessons, it could just make your cycling much more enjoyable

[Jacs9303]

My trek madone was red,white
My trek madone was red,white and black and I loved it, I think that’s one of the reasons I like the Ribble…

I have been into the showroom and the guys in there are really helpful. They wil let you sit on one if it is in your size, but they have no pedals on them, so it isn’t much use really. For the size of the warehouse, and the fact they have quite a bit of land there, I think it is a bit poor they don’t have some stock frames built up that you could have a ride around on.

That is there decision though I suppose, and it can’t be affecting their business by not allowing test rides otherwise they would!

[Daveyraveygravey]

Jacs9303 wrote:I like the

Jacs9303 wrote:

I like the trek’s and they get great write ups. You are right about the spec though as the cost of the di2 version though is over 3k! I know it’s a bit sad, but I don’t like the colour scheme of this years bikes, and that put me off as well.

The Cannondale sounds great and it has got me thinking again. I have found one in my size and am going to go and test ride it next week!

When I was researching my new bike, I couldn’t seperate my shortlist on spec; there were 10 possibles and all were very similar within about £50 of each other. I put pics of them on my desktop at work, and they even all looked similar, and were all black or grey. I then started looking at Giant’s Propel, which looked a bit different, and the red and white paint scheme convinced me. So colour and looks can be important.

[ibr17xvii]

Although not spending
Although not spending anywhere near as much as you I know exactly where you’re coming from regarding Ribble, I’m nervous for the same reasons as you & I’m probably spending a quarter of what you are!

For what it’s worth they have the bikes out in the showroom so you can at least get a feel of what you’re getting. Appreciate that’s no good if you aren’t local to them but I reckon if you ask nicely they’d take a picture of the bike you’re thinking of & email it across to you. I know I would if you were thinking of spending that much in my shop! Again not perfect but better than nothing.

[Jacs9303]

I like the trek’s and they
I like the trek’s and they get great write ups. You are right about the spec though as the cost of the di2 version though is over 3k! I know it’s a bit sad, but I don’t like the colour scheme of this years bikes, and that put me off as well.

The Cannondale sounds great and it has got me thinking again. I have found one in my size and am going to go and test ride it next week!

[BikingBob]

I’ve got the Ultegra disc
I’ve got the Ultegra disc version of the synapse at Christmas and now have over 1000 miles on it including the 150 mile coast to coast in a day last Saturday. I love it, very fast(gold medal time for C2C), excellent handling (I’m really a mountain biker and its got me out of trouble going to fast on the decents a few times), comfortable (I’ve been running the tyres at max pressure and the frame, fork and thin seatpost really look after you), and the shimano discs are fantastic
I bought it mainly because it won bike of the year but its completely lived up to my expectations

[Daveyraveygravey]

What about a Trek Domane? A
What about a Trek Domane? A friend has one as his main bike, does all kinds of riding on it, including 600 km audax. The spec probably won’t match the Ribble, but you should be able to ride one.

[Jacs9303]

Thanks for the advice all. I
Thanks for the advice all. I like both bikes and there are pros and cons to each, but I think the look of the Ribble and the fantastic spec for the money will push me in that direction. Cheers.

[rjfrussell]

probably also worth looking
probably also worth looking at the Rose and Canyon sites and increasing the state of your doubt.

[allanj]

PS- plenty of places stock
PS- plenty of places stock Cannondales, worth shopping around and seeing who would do you a good wheel upgrade

[allanj]

I agree- get the one your
I agree- get the one your heart says to get!

They are both good bikes- one will allow you to look down as you ride and say “look at all the kit I got for my cash”. The other will let you say “look at that top notch frame”.

Only you know which way you look at things!

[Nixster]

Received wisdom is to
Received wisdom is to prioritise the frame on the grounds that it’s the most difficult thing to sort out later.

I see lots of Ribble bikes out there and plenty of ‘dales too. Neither are bad bikes.

But at the end of the day, get the one you like. If you don’t you’ll be second guessing yourself for ages afterwards. Only you are going to ride it.

[Jacs9303]

Thanks, that is my thought as
Thanks, that is my thought as well, but I do like Cannondale and I’m still a bit iffy about buying an expensive bike I can’t test and don’t know much about.

[Author]

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