Ribble Reynolds 525 Steel

barbarus: My budget?  Don't want to spend more than I have to.  Argos (I have a made to measure from them from back in 1995) are around £1800 for an 853, but if there is an off the peg for significantly less then I'll be attracted more to it.  What do you have in mind?

I love the look of the Holdsworth Competition as a £599 frameset, Italian built. If you want a cheap but high quality steel frame, there are  bargains galore on eBay! I have a 2nd hand Mercian Superlight and I love the unique feeling of riding a classic lugged steel "lightweight" (c.2Kg). 

If you just want to keep fit though: nothing promotes fitness better than a bike you really really want to get out and ride! That means fit and grin factor are paramount. Go to a bike shop and try loads of bikes. Go home and ask yourself, which one did I enjoy most?

PASHTAG: the 2.1 Kg weight is for a Spa Ti Audax frame and fork. Read the *note at the foot of the geometry chart! 

NWARDILL: The Ribble 525 looks odd to me because it has a very skinny downtube. A colleague at work has one as a commuter/hack. I wonder if the lack of stiffness in the downtube/headtube junction is responsible for your high speed wobbles?

Pashtag, what's your budget?

What happens if you sit further back and take weight off your hands on the Ribble?  Does the wobble reduce?

I have the ribble 525, I have had bike wobble 3 times going downhill on the same hill, doesn't happen on my other bike, could just be me though. Use 23mm, 

Excellent.  Thanks for starting this thread.  I too want a steel frame.  My needs are:

* 55cm top tube

* 74 deg seat tube

* Mudguard eyes

* Can take 28mm tyres (or bigger) with guards

* Caliper brakes

* Lightweight

I've looked at the following:

* Genesis Equilibrium - Favourable geometry but weighs (inc. fork) 2.72kg - https://www.evanscycles.com/genesis-equilibrium-725-frameset-2016-road-b...

* Ribble 525 - Favourable geometry but weighs 2.1kg (assumed just frame - see Q&A - can anyone confirm this?) and wont take more than 25mm with mudguards - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-525-reynolds-audax-winter-frameset/

* Holdsworth Brevet - More relaxed seat tube (73 deg) but over 3.1kg (inc. fork) - see Sizes and Specs -http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRHOBRV/holdsworth-brevet-audax-frameset 

* Spa Audax 725 - Further relaxed seat tube (73.5 deg) but SUPERLIGHT 2.1kg (inc. fork) and takes 28mm tyres with mudguards - http://www.spacycles.co.uk/smsimg/uploads/audaxgeometry.jpg

* Spa Audax 631 - The medium would be the ideal geometry for me, however no stock!!!.  No reference to weight but we have one of their Touring 631 frames and it is lighter than their 725 (which we also have) so I am guessing this one will be light - http://www.spacycles.co.uk/smsimg/631audaxgeometry.pdf

At the moment I am leaning towards a Spa Audax 725...

Anything I have missed?

My current winter/commuter bike is a 7 year old aluminium Bianchi Via Nirone which I've previously upgraded until I bought a fancier bike last summer and am now in the process of downgrading again. Having recently moved back to civilisation (Scotland...), I am beginning to full appreciate the value of having a solid set of mudguards. The Bianchi has no lugs and I'm therefore tempted to buy a new steel frame for the coming winter which can take proper guards. 

Despite never having heard of them until recently, I've been pointed in the direction of the Spa Cycles Steel Audax bike (http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s143p2828/SPA-CYCLES-Steel-Audax-Frame-an...). You can buy it as a full bike but I'm likely to buy the frame and just swap all of my old gubbins onto it. 

I have absolutely no experience of steel bikes but a lot of people seem to swear by them and I much prefer the skinny tubes they tend to be built with compared to the gargantuan monstrosities that so often plague some modern carbon bikes. 

Unless you are aiming to become 'king of the mountain' and you ride only the hills then weight is not an issue at this level. On the flat there is no advantage to a ultra light carbon bike vs a high quality steel bike - momentum is your friend. If you you want to be faster on the flats then aero is the main consideration (aero wheels on TT bikes are much heavier than standard wheels but they are faster). Go for it. Steel is real.

Likewise, I have an Equilibrium 10 which I rewarded with an upgrade to 105 and new wheels at 10,000k, great bike. 

I ride a Genesis Equilibrium 20 and love it to bits.  I managed to get one on eBay for a great price.  You sound about the same size as me and my frame is a large 58cm but because of the geometry it's more like a a 57cm.  The Ribble geometry looks similar.

As for the weight....I prefer the solidity, and the way it soaks up a lot of the gnarliness one encounters on yer average UK roads.  If I was riding anything lighter in a 40mph headwind I'd be worried I'd blow away!  I recommend watching "A Sunday In Hell" or "The Stars And The Water Carriers" and reminding yourself what those boys were capable of on their steel bikes, with fewer gears!

In short: go for it

Beware of Planet-X's size chart - they recommended a 56 for me that was more like a 57 and I couldn't get comfortable.

I agree with the above post, I love steel framed bikes. Before you pull the trigger, Google Planet X steel frames. They have a great selection, both rim and disc.

What are you judging the weight against, a carbon frame?

okay a 525 frame is very similar tubing thickness as 531 competition (double butted) and lighter than 531ST, so that should be about an extra 1kg over a middle of the road carbon frame*(see attachment for 531 weights), less difference over some of the 'gravel'/endurance style carbon frames that have disc mounts/more meat, with the carbon forks maybe 200-250g more compared to a lightweight full carbon fork.

So that's 1.25kg or thereabouts, equaivalent to a morning dump and a filled water bottle but you'll easily be able to fit mudguards and a pannier rack to the 525 frame and the eyeletted carbon forks they sell with it should you wish to use the bike for other duties or in wet weather.

You can still put on decent spec kit so it won't be too difficult or expensive to have something reasonably light that you can get fit on, have some fun with and it still be a useful tool should you want.

At the price you can get them for with the discount codes giving 10% off plus another 2% if you use topcashback they are absolute bargain tbh.