RIBBLE ENDURANCE SL R
The Ribble reinvention continues
For over 100 years Ribble has been keeping riders in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, and beyond, pedalling. Some of Britain’s greatest ever cyclists have ridden Ribble. Chris Boardman, Sean Yates, Geraint Thomas and Sir Bradley Wiggins among them.
The brand changed from being one of the star chassis of the 70s and 80s British road scene to becoming synonymous with great value. Over the last couple of years, a new design and product team has been put in place at Ribble and it’s revamped the road bike range, which now consists of titanium, steel, alloy and carbon models that encompass race, sportive, time trial, gravel, cross and even an e-road bike. All of the models share the same design language (aerooptimised tubing, dropped seatstays, generous tyre clearance) and it shows that Ribble is a brand with ambition beyond its ‘big value’ reputation.
Yes, the SL R is the most expensive bike on test, but it’s certainly packing a lot for less than three grand. Up front there is Ribble’s new Level 1
one-piece carbon bar/stem (1). This slinky design is aero-optimised and the bladed bar flows seamlessly into a slender stem, which integrates the cables well and blends into interlocking aeroshaped headset spacers that flow into the headtube smoothly. Ribble claims that this set-up has 40 per cent less drag than a standard roundtubed cockpit.
It’s running on Ribble’s new SL50 carbon clinchers (2). These 50mm deep UD carbon rims have a nicely blunted aero shape; the 24mm wide external and 17mm internal rims are a good match for the wonderful Vittoria Corsa Control tyres. I’ve put thousands of miles into my own Corsas and they’ve proven tough, insanely grippy and fast rolling. The wheels tip the scales at 1650g a pair. Not bad for a 50mm deep aero wheel.
The frameset is constructed with T800 and T1000 Toray carbon fibres. The use of quality materials means a frame that tips the scales at an impressive 850g with the fork adding 400g. It’s not all about lightweight though. The design includes a Kammtail-like truncated airfoil down-tube and seat-tube and the fork is aero bladed too. Ribble has also added practicality with mudguard eyes front and rear making it a year-round racer.
The eagle-eyed among you would have noticed the SLR here is the rim-brake (3) model (Ribble also offers the SL R in a disc model). It’s easy to pass by rim-braked bikes right now, but Ribble has cleverly specced Shimano Ultegra directmount brakes, which offer the best of this kind of braking and also allow for more tyre clearance than standard rim brakes (30c tyres will fit here). I had some reservations as rim brakes just aren’t a match for discs when it comes to feel, and past experience has informed me that a carbon braking surface on an unknown wheel can pose a whole series of issues. Thankfully, the SL R impresses. The direct-mount brakes are powerful and have plenty of feel. They work well with the rims, offering a firm feel, but quite progressive with it. Only after some prolonged braking on a long descent did I start to get the familiar sound of a carbon squeak/ screech of hot pad on hot carbon.
The rest of the groupset is Shimano Ultegra in a racy 52/36, 11-28 combo. It’s a great companion to the light, flighty and fighty SL R. The Ribble on the road is the most exciting bike here. The combination of bigger gearing, low weight and deep aero wheels makes for a very fast bike. It accelerates with ease and holds speed over rolling terrain. When the road rises, the half a kilo less than its nearest rival on test here shows; on descents the bike’s aggressive geometry, the low 562mm stack, long 396mm reach, steep 73-degree head angle and short 999mm wheelbase make it the flightiest bike here; easy to flick in any direction at speed with a very positive responses to any steering input.
The ride is firm, but never harsh and the ride position is unreservedly aggressive. If you want your bike to have bulldog spirit with sprint like a Lancashire whippet, the SL R is the only choice.
The combination of bigger gearing, low weight and deep aero wheels makes for a very fast bike that accelerates with ease