Ribble Cycles Review WARNING

[Mockenrue]

I agree on all counts. I'm in the UK and Ribble used to be my first choice for new Campag stuff - especially with their frequent 10% discounts - but not any more for the reasons already mentioned, not least the fact they're no longer competitive.

[goodboyr]

So funny that several years ago pbk went through the same trajectory after being bought out. It went from great to bad. And now is great again.

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[raisinberry777]

So funny that several years ago pbk went through the same trajectory after being bought out. It went from great to bad. And now is great again.

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Funny that. I had heard of shocking experiences of PBK in the past, but use them a fair bit now, and they are brilliant most of the time on pricing and have been very quick on shipping. Wiggle not so great on pricing these days, but have excellent store brands in dhb and Lifeline, shipping is fast and customer service is outstanding.

[merser]

I've recent had both good and terrible experiences with them. Buying a bike by actually going into their shop/warehouse was brilliant. Though three people who came in behind me simply waited and waited to be seen. Eventually all three just walked out! So I got lucky.

I currently have a dead di2 RD with their returns department and I don't hold out very much hope at all for getting my bike back on the road anytime soon.

Shame as they do at times seem to offer good value. I can echo the positive sentiments of wiggle too.


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[Asteroid]

Just visited their site. Shocked by their high prices! I always shop the PBK, Wiggle, Ribble, Merlin, Radial bunch, interchangeably. Now I know the reason for not buying from Ribble for at least a year now. Come to think of it, my last purchase was a 6800 gruppo for the lowest price. Didn't come with retail boxes, which I found rather cheesy. Made me wonder if they yanked some pieces off a build. Their reason was that it saved shipping costs. Incidentally, it was poorly packaged. Almost like the box would lose its contents at any moment.

For kicks, looked at clincher and tubular selection and pricing. Simply outrageous, like 30-40% higher than PBK. Yikes.

[Shrike]

Ribble are till worth checking occasionally, price wise. Spotted these back in May just after they hit the stores.

Shimano Dura Ace 9100 Cassette - 11 Speed
Size
11-28
SHIMCASS933000011280 1 £113.97
Subtotal £113.97
Delivery £0.00
Discount (WEL5) -£5.00
Grand Total £108.97

[wingguy]

Come to think of it, my last purchase was a 6800 gruppo for the lowest price. Didn't come with retail boxes, which I found rather cheesy.

I was always under the impression tht was one of the reasons Ribble kept their own bike brand going - order way more OE groupsets than you actually need and sell the surplus. Sometimes there's a reason why the lowest price thing is the lowest price thing.

Seems a bit cheesy to scour the web for the best possible price then complain that the company is cost cutting

[Asteroid]

Come to think of it, my last purchase was a 6800 gruppo for the lowest price. Didn't come with retail boxes, which I found rather cheesy.

I was always under the impression tht was one of the reasons Ribble kept their own bike brand going - order way more OE groupsets than you actually need and sell the surplus. Sometimes there's a reason why the lowest price thing is the lowest price thing.

Seems a bit cheesy to scour the web for the best possible price then complain that the company is cost cutting

Very happy - at that particular time - to get the low price. I remember looking back at their ad and it stated that they did not include individual boxes. My main gripe was the poor packaging. Seriously, the contents came just short of spilling out. Made me check extra carefully for any small parts that could have made it thru the gaping holes in the box.

[boysa]

That's funny. My packages come wrapped in so much tape, they look like something packaged by the Unabomber. Mini tape bombs.

[AJS914]

I was always under the impression tht was one of the reasons Ribble kept their own bike brand going - order way more OE groupsets than you actually need and sell the surplus. Sometimes there's a reason why the lowest price thing is the lowest price thing.

Seems a bit cheesy to scour the web for the best possible price then complain that the company is cost cutting

Except that they didn't used to do that. At least with Campy stuff, I always got the full retail packaging. This last time, I got all the little manuals so it really does look like retail parts taken out of the boxes.

[Lelandjt]

It's good to see UK mail order houses can be a hassle. Otherwise us LBSs would have something to worry about. I'd have had those 2017 Shamals in your hands in 2-3 days (if you lived here).

[Mr.Gib]

Just to keep focus on the issue: the problems I experienced are not the result of cost cutting to deliver the lowest prices. It was simply that the people handling my service issue could not get their act together. You could argue that as part of their cost leader strategy Ribble has minimal staffing so service issues take more time. But I had no complaint about the timeliness of the resolution. Furthermore, Ribble was quite able to respond instantly when a negative review appeared on Trust Pilot. Simply put, there is nothing to stop the company from being a price leader and handling service issues with integrity and competence.

[lirek15]

I've been using Ribble for years mainly due to them having (although not so much anymore) the best prices and stock of campy parts.
I still find their shipping to Canada as the fastest and most reliable however over the past year I have encountered issues with wrong items being sent over.
In fairness they have been doing a good job in sorting me out quickly and with little hassle.
Some examples (all in the last 6 months):
-Ordered a set of regular superleggera deda bars only to receive the 35 diameter version. They sent a replacement right away, without me shipping back the wrong one first. When I did ship the wrong item back they refunded promptly.
-Ordered a campy V3 EPS dti unit that was faulty after a month of use and they replaced it right away with no issue.
-Ordered a campy super record group that had a super record EPS rear derailleur as opposed to mechanical.

The other strange thing I've noticed is how much their prices fluctuate week over week. Last week SIDI wires were 260 CAD in all colors so I ordered a pair because I couldn't resist that deal (plus they had a 10% off code going on). This week they're all $350 CAD. The V3 DTIs were 350$ at one point only to go down to half that after a month or so.
The buyout definitely had an affect on their selection and pricing but I do order from them quite often to this day.
Just my 2 cents.

[Enda Marron]

Totally agree - Ribble were once great and now are c**p
Go to your LBS or try Merlin (until they are bought over)

[havana]

Sent a broken part in July. Still haven't received a new part and/or a refund. They don't reply to emails.