The bike quality is fantastic, but communication is disastrous.

I used the online bike builder facility and the help instructions on fit and sizing are excellent, but there's no stock control link between what you select and what's actually in the workshop when your bike is built. I was told about a couple of component substitutions, but not all. When the bike arrived and I discovered the substitutions, I checked on their website and the original parts were still showing as available options.

The projected delivery date was when I was going to be out of the country for a week, so I emailed to ask if they could delay that and received a confirmation three days later that it would arrive once I had returned. NO! - it's just as well that my daughter was at home to accept delivery as it arrived when I was still away. I also received another email from a different staff member to say that a second bike would be despatched after I'd returned.

Out of about 5 phone calls only one got answered by a human - and that was before I put in the order.

If you want an excellent bike at an excellent price then Ribble is highly recommended. If you hit lucky with the parts availability, you're on a roll. If you think that you'll freak out long distance if everything isn't exactly as you ordered, or you can't get through to someone who can help if you need it - don't bother.

To sum up - I have to say that I'm delighted with my bike, have bought small items online since, but would never order another full bike.