Ribble CGR Tiagra 2020

The Ribble CGR 725 Tiagra is a versatile bike that delivers a classic steel ride feel, really helping to take the sting out of rough roads and trails. Aesthetically it marries the old with the new, and Ribble's Bikebuilder gives you a huge amount of customisation. The build we have on test is a bit on the weighty side, though.

Over on our sister site, off.road.cc, Jon recently reviewed the CGR 725 and was very impressed. His build was very much gravel focused with a 1x SRAM groupset, a flared handlebar and wide 47mm tyres on 650B wheels.

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Being a road website, our build reflects that with a 2x Shimano Tiagra groupset, 700C wheels, a standard drop bar and mudguards, the ideal commuting or touring machine, if you like.

That's the beauty of the CGR – it can be pretty much whatever bike you want it to be just by changing a few components.

Ride

Heading out into the back lanes, the first thing that stands out is the lovely ride quality coming from the Reynolds tubing and the carbon fibre fork.

Like all materials out there, steel has a distinctive feel to it. Quality, butted tubing does a great job of cancelling out high-frequency road buzz regardless of what tyres or pressures you are riding. It brings a sort of smoothness to the whole experience, taking out all of the noise while still leaving you with plenty of feedback.

The CGR 725 achieves that very well, even with the pretty lifeless hard compound of the Schwalbe Marathon tyres fitted. Some of the other components also threaten to detract from the 'steel feel' – like the thin cork bar tape – but it still manages to make it through.

Now, no doubt you clocked that 12.25kg (27lb) weight up at the top of the page, and I'm not going to try to convince you that it doesn't affect the performance. Sprinting just isn't worth attempting, and some steep climbs can become a bit of a slog.

A lot of the weight comes from the tyres, the Aksium wheels and the entry-level components specced on this model, so you could easily make it lighter by using Ribble's Bikebuilder before you buy. Jon's build knocked nearly 2kg off ours, and even by switching the wheels for a set of DT Swiss P1850s with 32mm Continental Grand Prix tyres for some of the testing I managed to drop the weight by a kilo.

Getting the Ribble down even just a kilo or so makes it feel more responsive; it's much more noticeable than you might expect.

This isn't a road race bike, so I wasn't expecting lightning shifts off the line or anything, but with the different wheels and tyres on it wasn't such a drag to have to stop at set after set of traffic lights when passing through town.

Being a bit on the heavy side does have its benefits, though: it gives the CGR 725 a very solid feeling ride.

If you're a commuter and riding in all conditions, that planted sort of feeling that the CGR gives you is very welcome. In the dark, wet and cold conditions of a winter's ride to the office, mixing with traffic, and far from ideal road conditions, it'll give you more confidence than the skittishness of a lightweight road machine when the weather turns ugly. The long 1,027mm wheelbase helps here too.

The fact that it'll take full mudguards (mounted in the traditional place too, so there is no need to start bending stays to get them to fit) and offers huge tyre clearances also makes it perfect for commuter use.

Even with the 35mm tyres fitted there is plenty of clearance for the mudguards, so you could mix up your journey to take in road, byway or canal path without changing a thing.

The handling on the road is very neutral. At cruising speeds of 16-19mph the CGR is very well behaved. It'll take on all types of corner whether they are long, flowing and fast, or short and sharp, with little input from you, the rider – just point and shoot, really. There are no surprises – you can just keep spinning the gears and focus on where you're heading. It's a surprisingly easy and fun bike to ride.

Dealing with the urban environment is no problem either. Despite its overall length it does a good job of being nimble enough to carve through tight gaps, and as long as you keep it rolling the Ribble responds well to the ebb and flow of urban traffic.

If you find yourself on a fast, technical descent there is no reason to panic. As I said earlier, you get plenty of feedback from this frame, so you know exactly what the tyres are up to.

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The large fork legs and tapered head tube come into their own in this kind of situation. Barrelling into bends highlights that the steering isn't razor sharp, but front end stiffness is tight, and even when pushing this bike right up to its grip limits there isn't the slightest whiff of understeer (where the bike doesn't turn in as sharply as intended) from flex in the fork legs.

This slightly subdued steering at speed on the road works well when you hit the gravel tracks or fire roads, with that neutrality in the handling giving plenty of confidence when the surface starts sliding around beneath you.

The neutral steering will help if you load up the CGR too – and as you get mounting points for a rear rack and a bento box on the top tube, there is nothing to stop you doing just that.

Frame and fork

The 725 gets its name from the grade of steel tubing it is made from – Reynold's 725, a heat-treated chromoly steel that is triple-butted (differing wall thicknesses), giving a balance of stiffness and comfort.

On the whole, I'm a big fan of the overall look and finish of the CGR.

The welding is neat and tidy, and the deep blue paintjob and copper detailing give it a plush look. If uniqueness is your thing, you can select Ribble's Custom Colour option and choose whichever paint and decal combinations you so desire.

You don't even need to limit the frame to just one paint colour – you can have fades and all sorts. It's brilliant and, trust me, you can lose hours on there playing around!

It does add to the cost though. A custom paint job will set you back £299 in gloss or metallic, and add another 50 quid for a matt finish. Want some glitter in your cycling life? That'll be another £200 please.

The custom treatment will also put your build back by over 40 days, but still, it'd be worth the wait in my eyes.

One of the hardest things to get right with a steel frame is how to blend the skinny looking traditional tubes of the majority of the frame with modern additions like a tapered head tube and chunky carbon fork. The hourglass shape that Ribble has chosen for the head tube works well, I reckon, softening the way it blends with the top tube and the down tube. The fork legs tie in nicely, and running the brake cable through the fork gives a clean look too.

Ribble has even managed to get a bit of internal cabling going on with the frame – impressive with such narrow tubes, even if it's only the rear mech cable which runs from one end of the down tube to the other.

Other touches are the 12mm thru-axles front and rear (not always seen on steel frames) and flat mounts for the brake callipers.

Keeping the traditional vibes going, you'll find a threaded bottom bracket sitting between the cranks and the frame.

Sizing and geometry

The CGR 725 is available in five sizes, ranging from XS to XL. A few people in the comments on Ribble's site say that they've needed to go a size smaller than many other brands, but I don't find the geometry much different to other bikes I've ridden in a medium size.

It has a 555mm top tube and a 160mm head tube, which give a stack of 573.8mm and reach of 385mm – nothing out of the ordinary there at all, really.

If steel isn't your thing then the CGR also comes in aluminium, carbon fibre and titanium versions.

Groupset

Ribble offers the CGR 725 in six complete builds, ranging from this Tiagra model at £1,299 up to an Ultegra model for £2,099.

Before heading to the checkout, though, once you have chosen your size you can customise pretty much any component, from cassette ratios through to wheelsets, so you can build a bike to your spec and budget.

The only upgrades to the base build we have here are the Ribble 46mm mudguards and Schwalbe Marathon tyres, which push the price up to £1,344.

Being the Tiagra model it's no surprise to see that our bike has a full Tiagra groupset. Yeah, you may go 'duh' but you'd be surprised how often the old non-series crankset is beginning to slip back into circulation on full bike builds.

You can choose your own chainset and cassette ratios, but Ribble has supplied us with the one I'd go for: a 50/34-tooth compact at the front and an 11-34 cassette at the rear.

It's a decent spread of ratios, if a bit gappy between the larger sprockets, which can affect cadence, but it does give lower gears to offset the weight of the bike.

If you're new to all of this, then I'll let you know that Tiagra is the only 10-speed groupset in Shimano's line-up (10 sprockets on the cassette). Below that you have Claris (8-speed) and Sora (9-speed), while 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace that all sit above are all 11-speed.

Tiagra is a good all-round groupset, sharing the aesthetics and ergonomics of the previous iterations of those 11-speed gear groups.

Gear changes from this setup are very good. Even under load the chain will shift up the cassette without much complaining, and it is really easy to keep running smoothly for anyone with a bit of basic knowledge.

This CGR comes with cable operated disc callipers, so you are getting the mechanical rather than the hydraulic brake lever/shifter units. You lose a little bit of stopping power over the oil-based system, but the shifting is crisper and the shape of the hoods a much more pleasurable place to rest your hands.

The Tektro CL brakes definitely aren't the worst mechanical discs I've ever used. You do have to give the lever a fair old squeeze, though, to counteract the flex in the system when you want to stop from high speeds, and there isn't a massive amount of modulation.

On the whole I never found them seriously lacking (some I've used have been downright dangerous) and once the pads had seen a bit of wet weather and grit, they soon bedded in.

Finishing kit

All the finishing kit is from Ribble's own-brand Level range. It's basic stuff here, with an aluminium handlebar, stem and seatpost, but it does the job, and the uniformity of the logo gives a finished look to the bike.

The standard bar tape is cork and just 1.5mm thick; I'd suggest you upgrade this before you click 'buy' because it isn't thick enough to offer any real comfort for long rides or when on the gravel.

Wheels and tyres

Our bike has Mavic's Aksium Discs, a solid wheelset that will take massive amounts of abuse. I've got a set that have been on the gravel bike for about three years and they've taken crashes and rock hits in their stride without even a ding or whimper. They aren't light, but for the type of riding the CGR is designed for, they are spot on.

If you want to go tubeless, Mavic Allroads add just £50 to the overall price.

When it comes to tyres, included in the standard price are Schwalbe's G-One Allround RaceGuard Folding tyre or Continental's Ultra Sport III with a wire bead. Our test bike's Schwalbe Marathon Rigid Tyres cost £20 extra. They're well-renowned for their puncture protection, and I'd say that that is the only reason to spec them – to save you standing at the side of a wet road changing a tube.

For me they really spoilt the ride that the CGR delivers, so after a couple of outings they had to go. The Ribble deserves a pair of tyres that are much more supple, grippier and faster rolling.

Value

This kind of bike has been growing in popularity over the years, and steel suits it very well, so the Ribble has a few rivals.

One such is The Light Blue Robinson. It's available in a Sora or 105 build, which sit either side of the Tiagra we have here on the Ribble, but they are both available as framesets. The CGR 725 frameset costs £799, while the Robinson is cheaper at £550. There are differences, though: the Robinson comes with a steel fork, post mount calliper mounts, and quick release axles. It is a very nice bike to ride, though.

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Another option is the Genesis Croix de Fer, which has been around for years. The 20 model, which comes with a Reynolds 725 frame and a Tiagra groupset, costs £1,399.99. Take off the upgrades we have and that is £100 more expensive, plus it comes with a steel fork.

Conclusion

Overall, the weight of this build takes some of the shine off what the CGR 725 can deliver, especially when it comes to performance. What it can't hide though is the ride quality and the predictability of the handling. It's just a really nice bike to get out and ride, and I think it's a looker too.

Verdict

Quality steel frame and carbon fork that work across many disciplines, but this is a heavy build