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Ribble R872 105SE vs Planet X ProCarbon SRAM Rival?

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  • July 24, 2017 at 9:19 pm #27396
    Punches Dragons

    I’ve just started getting into Sportives and am currently riding a 2016 Cube Attain. No problems with the bike but I am thinking of taking advantage of the bike to work scheme to make an upgrade, as it’s the only way my wife will let me spend a £1000 on a bike and spending any more money on significant upgrades is also out. Two options seem to make sense at the current prices:

    • The Ribble R872 105SE which seems to have a very well reviewed frame, albeit with a few complaints of a lack of compliance on longer rides, full 105 groupset and what appears to be a very basic set of Rodi Airline 5 Wheels. I’d guess that Ribble’s thought process is that these would be the first thing to be upgraded but as mentioned above, it’s pretty unlikely I’ll get to upgrade them. another downside is I’d have to pay an additional £100 Admin fee, so save money from the tax man but pay it to Ribble instead.
    • The Planet X ProCarbon is a bit lighter and has a better set of wheels, Vision 35’s, and a more compliant frame but there is just no up to date review available. It has a full SRAM Rival groupset(I am not bothered about if I have Shimano or SRAM). On the downside there are a few mentions on Forum posts that the bike suffers from high speed wobble at speeds over 40mph (I am not sure I’ve even gone that fast yet!) and that the front fork is a little springy when sprinting. 

    I am 40 years old, 5ft10 and currently weigh 14st (that is going down but I doubt I’ll ever weigh less than 13). I am looking to enter short and middle distance sportives next year, with maybe one longer distance one and will probably join a cycle club next year. And of course I’ll be riding it to work!!

    Any constructive advice welcome, particularly if you have experience of the bikes in question. If you do have alternatives to offer please remember I can only buy through the bike 2 works vouchers so please don’t suggest anything that cannot be purchased that way or costs more than a grand, regardless of how brilliant it is.

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  • August 9, 2017 at 10:01 am #897997
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    Dantenspeed

    The disc will also take wider

    The disc will also take wider tyres which may be of benefit. Again looks like a deal and the weight is surely not that huge. It’s a great bike!

    August 9, 2017 at 9:15 am #897995
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    Punches Dragons

    My LBS got back to me this

    My LBS got back to me this morning, They cannot get the CAAD12 105 in what I believe my size will be ( a 54) but they can get a 105 disc at the very attractive price of £1200. The disc version is 570g heavier and opens up a whole new topic of conversation. I can see that discs may be an advantage for leaving braking until later while descending and give far more predictable braking in the wet but it’s more expensive wheels to upgrade, more in servicing costs as I cannot service them myself, and probably marginally slower times for  the type of riding I am doing at the moment. They have a 56 and 54 frame in stock so I am going to pop down and take a look and have a chat.

    August 8, 2017 at 9:56 pm #897993
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    Punches Dragons

    I emailed my nearest

    I emailed my nearest Cannondale LBS today being completely straight up with them about it. They have been very helpful in the past and have serviced my Spesh MTB so we’ll see.  I may pop in tomorrow since I am off work for a few days. I completely get your point, peted76 about the LBS. There are certain things I just cannot do for myself or have the time/tools for currently.  Especially anything to do with truing wheels or hydraulic disc brakes. If they could match the £999 price on the bike2work scheme and I saw and liked the CAAD12 I’d much prefer to buy it from them, as long as they made some profit from it. I’d even pay a little more to be safe in the knowledge I had my LBS on side in case of any issues. In terms of faff, I can wait until Sep 9th when my company reopens the scheme (for some reason they only run it sporadically) to see what the price does on the Cannondale but I’d like to be decided and ready to go asap.

    I too got the email from Ribble for a Tiagra ProEvo at £699.  Ribble seem to do this sort of thing. They did a similar deal last year by the look of it and even cheaper. I guess the weaker pound is hurting them this year. I have looked at the ProEvo before and it gets really mixed bag reviews. It’s not for me but it’s certainly a competitive deal at that price point.

     

    August 8, 2017 at 1:15 pm #897991
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    kil0ran

    Another plus for an LBS is
    Another plus for an LBS is they may let you pay up front for a C2W bike whilst you wait for your voucher, which can take several weeks to arrive depending on how efficient your payroll dept is. I’ve done this twice, just time it so it goes on a credit card at the right time so the refund comes through before it’s due…

    August 8, 2017 at 11:50 am #897989
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    peted76

    The C2W scheme charges about

    The C2W scheme charges about 10% of the voucher value, so that why 1) you don’t often see discounted bikes available to buy on that scheme 2) you keep coming up against a £100 ‘admin’ charge – it’s not the retailer being awkward. 3) It reiterates that you should always expect at least 10% haggle room when buying bikes outside of the C2W.

    You can get full Ultegra with the Btwin, also they are very well regarded/reviewed.

    The Ribble I’ve heard nothing but good words about. Some of the old planetX’s haven’t been known to be the stiffest of frames. 

    My money would go to the CAADX every time, however you might faff about waiting for a deal where there isn’t one (see point above). 

     

    Maybe you don’t have the best LBS, but give it a reconsider, here’s why, becuase you’ll no doubt have another LBS within a stones throw. My LBS bends over backwards to help with all things. It sounds like you’ll not be forking out for a full tool set anytime soon so no matter how many video’s you watch, certain jobs on a bike need certain bike tools, without which you’re back to the bike shop. Also my LBS were far more open to negotiating than any internet dealings, they sold me a discounted bike on C2W, were open and honest and built value into the sale. They also price match shimano prices (which is handy). However taking the emotion out of it, the most value I get from my LBS is the ability to pop in and get the mechanic to ‘tweak my bike right’, free of charge and there and then. I must have been in ten times for front and rear deraillier tweaks for various reasons.  You can’t get this from online shops and you shouldn’t expect it from your LBS unless you are a customer. 

    August 8, 2017 at 11:27 am #897987
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    ibr17xvii

    I got my CAAD 12 105 last

    I got my CAAD 12 105 last year (September time) for £899 at Wheelbase.

    I was fortunate that they only had 1 size left which was mine so there may be further scope for a reduction in the future.

    August 8, 2017 at 10:47 am #897985
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    kil0ran

    Just got an offer through for
    Just got an offer through for the Ribble Evo Pro carbon at £699…

    August 8, 2017 at 9:56 am #897983
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    Dantenspeed

    Punches, I think you’re going

    Punches, I think you’re going to have a hard time getting the £100 admin fee off a Caad12. The 105 retails at £1400 and the frame alone is £750 or so. How about persuading your LBS that stocks it to give you a standard bike fit or service into the deal instead? 

    The Caad12 seems to be regarded as the best alloy around.

    August 8, 2017 at 9:49 am #897981
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    bobinski

    I have to say I find your

    I have to say I find your endurance, the amount of time and money spent contacting retailers and your time spent here on long posts, quite extraordinary. I don’t say that by way of criticism. I thought I deliberated long and hard over things but you have my admiration. 

     

    August 8, 2017 at 9:06 am #897979
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    Punches Dragons

    Wheelbase got back to me last
    Wheelbase got back to me last night. They also charge the £100 commission on a CAAD12 at £999. They did openly say that the £100 is the commission that bike 2 work charge them so it appears that none of the retailers are profiteering from the scheme just the the scheme operator. Still with 3 retailers offering the CAAD12 at the same price one of them may be open to granting a further discount or doing a deal if I decide to go with it.

    August 7, 2017 at 3:06 pm #897977
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    LastBoyScout

    I hired a Planet-X Pro Carbon

    I hired a Planet-X Pro Carbon bike for 2 days on holiday a couple of years ago.

    I found it quite flexible, especially out of the saddle, but may have been partly the wheels. I would have prefered something a bit sharper.

    I didn’t notice any speed wobble, though – even up to nearly 50mph down a couple of hills.

    I also found it a bit of a pain that I couldn’t get a 750ml bottle into the seat tube cage – not a problem on my usual bike. It was a medium frame.

    August 7, 2017 at 2:02 pm #897975
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    mrp0ny

    I used to be a big fan of

    I used to be a big fan of Planet X, having 2 x RT57, 1 x RTD90, a DirtyDisco and a Stelvio. But now I would strongly suggest you shop somewhere else.

    I needed a spare part – a cable stop insert for the downtube where the gear cable goes through the Carbon tube. No problem you would think, I can see they have 35 RT57 frames in stock (from the website), I’m sure they will help.

    NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY INTERESTED. 

    Despite several emails, there is simply no intent to help me.

     

    So for this reason alone I would strongly suggest you leave Planet X to discover how important customer service is.

    Personally, I will be shopping the other side of the Pennines and suggest the R872 is the better buy as you will be able to get spares for it with Ribble.

    All the best

     

    David

     

     

     

     

     

     

    August 7, 2017 at 1:47 pm #897973
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    Punches Dragons

    Johnny, it’s not that I
    Johnny, it’s not that I begrudge any retailer making a fair profit or paying the administration fee but I also want to make sure I get the best bang for my buck. The issue really is a lack of transparency and the description of the admin fee. At first I believed it to be simple profiteering from the retailers and my earlier posts reflect that but the reality is it’s a payment to cover the extra cost the retailer incurs due to commission paid to the cycle to work scheme. It took me a little time to fully understand that, in part due to the vagueness of some of the retailers in describing it. If that cost is as much as £100 is really only known to the retailers. If a retailer decides that they can either reduce or not charge this admin fee to make it more likely I purchase from them then fair enough but that £100 is a factor in considering value for money. After all, as a relatively new returning cyclist there is lots of other equipment and ongoing costs that could be covered with that money.

    Looking at the bike2work scheme, my purchasing price for the bike at the end of the scheme is 7% of the voucher price. I know there is quite some variance on each of the schemes and on some they barely work out different than an interest free loan so if you are reading this and thinking of using a cycle to work scheme then you’d best thoroughly check out the t&c’s. In my case however there are considerable savings over buying on interest free or cash.

    On the subject of retailers not making a profit let’s take the CAAD12 deal for example. There are a few reasons, hidden from us consumers as to why CAAD12’s are so heavily discounted but I’d suspect Cannondale have produced too many and are now offering good prices to retailers to clear out ready for 2018. That probably means retailers are buying these at a reduced cost in bulk and still making some profit selling them at £999.95. Since there is competition at this price one of them may forego the admin fee to secure a sale if they are still going to make a profit. If so why shouldn’t I snap one up at a bargain price? If not then so be it. I just have to take that admin fee into consideration.

    As far as not riding it to work goes, that is not an issue, or even a tax dodge anymore. I have double checked this with my employer and the scheme. The stated purpose of these schemes is to encourage healthier lifestyles and they don’t give a hoot if you ride to work or not, simply exercising more, and costing the NHS less, is the goal. Most of these schemes were created when it was a requirement to ride them to work and have subsequently kept the names. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense to encourage everyone to ride more and offer the scheme to everyone. My job involves a lot of driving so encouraging me to be less sedentary in my own time probably has similar benefits to those that commute on bike.

    August 6, 2017 at 11:11 pm #897971
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    kieren_lon

    Thanks for the feedback on
    Thanks for the feedback on the weight differences. Certainly good for thought.

    I can’t ride at the moment as I’m recovering from an injury which is a good thing as sales are starting around now.

    August 6, 2017 at 9:42 pm #897969
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    alansmurphy

    But it isn’t if you find the
    But it isn’t if you find the right bike at the right shop and are willing to spend a bit of time. I’m looking at a Cannondale Slate down from £1700 to under £1200. The lbs won’t do sale bikes on C2W, there’s a shop 50 miles away that do and then there’s Evans that price match and will get it in for me to ride. Think if I wait a couple of weeks they may even do the trade in any bike discount (usually comes late season) which would make it a steal. And it’s effectively free finance and something the missus pays little attention to as it’s not blazing out in black and white on a credit card statement…

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