Ribble
 

Has anyone ordered anything from Ribble cycles in the UK? If so how did it go?

They were fine the last time I used them. Bought lots of Assos stuff last January. But check with the big boy forum. People there are more likely to have used them recently.

I've ordered from them three or four times a year for the past two or three years. Never a problem. They've become my default IBS (Internet Bike Shop).

Their currency conversion estimates are a bit more than my bank charges. It's nice that they err on the side of caution.

Bear in mind that their shipping to the US is flat-rate (about $23) via Royal Mail Global Priority, which converts to Express Mail Overnight when it hits JFK. There is no choice of carriers. I delay ordering until I have a few hundred dollars worth, then order a bunch of stuff at once. It spreads out the shipping fee.

As for delivery, I order over the weekend, it ships Monday or Tuesday, hits JFK on Wednesday or Thursday and my doorstep around 1pm on Thursday or Friday. You'll need to sign for it or pick it up at the post office on the following day. So choose your shipping address carefully.

Bought a Brooks B17 just before Thanksgiving. Took about 10 working days to recieve it. No problems with the order.

I haven't used Ribble, but I"ve been very happy with ProBikeKit. Whenever I've compared prices between the two, ProBikeKit is either similar or better. But with PBK, tHe shipping is free if the order is above $A50 (=US$50). It takes a couple of weeks for the shipments arrive (at least to Australia, they do), but given the low prices and the free shipping, it's a great deal. You can get faster shipping if you pay. I don't know how they manage the free shipping, actually - it would seem to be very uneconomic from their standpoint.

All good.

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.

Nothing bad to say at all. I have only ordered components from them and changed my mind on a cassette. I emailed the change and received the correct parts before I had email confirmation of the change. I suppose that supports AFE's comments on communication. Parts normally ship quickly. The only delays have been due to Royal Mail issues due to snow and volcanic ash.

They were good with me.

Thank you all for your comments. I will be giving Ribble a try!

Ribble have a good reputation over here for respectable bikes but I looked at their website a couple of years ago and wasn't impressed with their prices. PBK and although I have ordered a few parts from them- I find that they are out of stock of too many items I want so it has to be a good price for components for me to use them. Merlin Cycles and if it is Mountain bike then they are good. They moved into road parts a few years ago and stock a lot of wheels at good prices but never used them for road. Chain Reaction Cycles are my favourite and I use them. Communication has always been good and delivery spot on but that is in the UK.


http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Default.aspx

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?cat=Wheels

But I find that my LBS can always come very near to the Internet prices so I rarely have to go elsewhere.

I'm a big CRC fan, too -- they have quantities and varieties of parts that no one else can match! I do almost all my parts shopping at tax time, and CRC has gotten business from me every year since '07.

As often as not, they match or beat US web retailers' delivery times, too.

Ah, yes, But you live in Merry Olde. Here across the pond, in the land of "free trade" and all that hogwash, the importer tacks on their margin, then the distributor tacks on their margin, then it goes to the end seller, be they online or LBS.

Then everybody whines "Unfair! Gray market!" when buyers get smart and cut out the middlemen.

My reply is "free trade".

I may be left-leaning in my politics, but I'm hard-line to the right when it's my wallet.

Have to agree but My LBS is still in business because they realise that they have to match prices wherever they can. The bike shop in the town where I live closed down and I can remember the owner moaning about all the "Keen" cyclists in the area not using him..First of all he did not cater for them by stocking the parts they wanted--And he would never discount. When I got my OCR he moaned at me for not using him and my reply was that I can get a bike anywhere so went for a good price. I paid £400 for a £450 bike and got a few extras aswell. He still moaned at me for not using him even though he would not give me a discount on ANY bike. The next year I spent over £5,000 with my LBS--just because they always gave me a "little" discount

The trouble here is that in many cases, Ribble's prices are less than US dealer cost. The aforementioned importers and distributors see to it that the retailers cannot be competitive.

Over on another forum in a "Gray Market" thread, a LBS owner listed his cost for a Shimano 6750 crankset and compared it to Ribble. I just bought one from Ribble, and yes, indeed, it was less. That's the only reason I could afford to hang Ultegra on the Litespeed. If I'd had to buy from even US internet sources, I'd have only been able to afford Tiagra. And only Sora if I'd gone to an LBS.

I understand too that since Ribble OEM's their own bikes, they get OEM pricing. But still, for them to add on a profit margin and still be less than US dealer cost says something about how inefficient the market is in the US with those extra layers of middlemen. Any economist will tell you, an inefficient market is a failing one. LBSs seem to agree.

It's not those of us who buy "gray market" who are driving LBSs out of business, its the importers and distributors they must buy from.

You know, thinking as I'm writing, maybe we need to put the blame back with the manufactures. BikesDirect.com can sell whole bikes for less than the cost of the components. They can do that because, like Ribble, they get OEM pricing and buy direct form Shimano, et. al. Maybe Shimano and friends need to assess who their real friends are in the US market, and sell direct to LBSs, instead of selling direct only to the folks who are killing US retail.

IMHO.

I placed my order for Chorus 11 speed ergo shifters, Chorus Chain, and Shimano SPD A600 clipless pedals on 1/4/2012 and received the order today 1/12/2012 in Coeur d" Alene, Idaho not bad. They responded quickly to my email for tracking and I saved $90.00 for my effort.

I'm done with Ribble. I placed an order with them in March 2015 and it never arrived. They refused to do anything about it for 2 months, and when they finally did re-ship, they sent COMPLETELY different parts (to their credit they DID eventually re-ship, and they provided a tracking number the second time). I recently succumbed to the lure of their super-low pricing and placed another order a month ago.................and I'm still waiting for it.

I've been going to my LBS for the past 17 years. Way before internet shopping was popular. He's always been there for info, idea-bouncing, etc., and he shows his appreciation by always giving me discounts.
I will continue to buy from him for most things. It is tough though to pay $85Can for Continental tires when they can be bought at CRC for $45Can with free delivery. I just ordered those tires from CRC and will see how the ordering process goes.
That being said, I placed an order with him yesterday for Campagnolo Sciroccos instead of paying less online. That extra money pays for my peace of mind should there be a problem with the wheels and I don't have to worry about shipping back overseas.
I think if you have a good LBS that works with you, you are more willing to keep buying there even if it can cost a bit more than the web.

I got a delivery today.

Ordered 1/26/16

Eight days.

Between Ribble, Wiggle and CRC, they're all good.

I've been using Ribble since 2013, never any problems with their shipping to the states, and some things are hard to beat as far as their prices are concerned. Ordered a Shimano groupset, and a pair of Fulcrum wheels, on January 8, of this year, arrived at my front door on the next Thursday, in fine condition. They have some great deals on tires, in two packs, and on wheel and tire packages, also. Wiggle and Merlin also get high ratings from US customers, from what I have read on here.

Glad that your stuff arrived quickly, enjoy.

Bill

I use Ribble, Chain Reaction Cycles and Lordgun in Italy. All 3 have been good. My last order was a helmet from Chain Reaction and shipping via DHL was free.

I've ordered lots of components from Ribble, Chain Reaction and Wiggle with no issues whatsoever. Never had to pay any duty taxes or anything. Everything arrived nicely packaged in the original manufacturers packaging. Great.

I've used them a few times with good results. Shipping is free if one hits the minimum order, which is easy to do.

About once a month they have a 10% off sale (mostly whole site, or specific items) which can add to savings.

Here on the 50+ forum IBS is usually taken to mean something else, which would be pejorative when applied to a internet retailer.

Ribble has worked well for me, though a few times things got hung up at the US port of entry for a week or more.