Ribble Gran Fondo ridden and rated
Tested by: Rupert Radley | Miles ridden: 269 Size tested: L | Weight: 8.97kg
he Ribble Gran Fondo frame has received a pretty hefty overhaul since 2016. Gone are the rounded down tube and shouldered forks. In their place is a far sleeker squared-off down tube and straight forks giving it a more modern look. Disc brakes are introduced for 2017 with the aim of offering additional control, whatever the weather.
Frame
The Gran Fondo frame is designed for longdistance riding in comfort. A relaxed head angle and a tall head tube put the rider in a comfortable, more upright position and create a more stable frame.
Of course not all riders, regardless of the length of their ride, want to be in a sit-upand-beg position. For racier types, 30mm of spacers below the stem can be removed, but the tall 17.4cm head tube limits how low you can go at the front.
However, this bike is about comfort, not racing, as the rest of the bike proves. The rear end gets curvy S-shaped seatstays that help to take the worst out of the road surface, introducing a bit of extra flex through the back end. Meanwhile, a tapered head tube bolsters stiffness and helps counter some of the extra forces generated by the flat-mount disc brakes.
Specification
The Ribble’s specification is something of a mixed bag, but thanks to the Ribble Bikebuilder, or more specifically the advanced version, you can swap and change parts as you please.
Our test bike came set up with Shimano 105 with hydraulic brakes, Mavic Aksium Disc wheels, Deda finishing kit and Continental Ultra Sport tyres.
As expected, the Shimano 105’s performance posed no problems whatsoever, with the shifting spot-on every time. The hydraulic hoods and levers, however, were less comfortable: they’re simply too huge to be ergonomic.
The release of the superslimline Shimano Ultegra R8000 series, compared with the bulk of the current Shimano 105 series, has us very excited about potential future trickle-down updates.
Either way, the assured power, bite and feel of the brakes will always be
welcome, regardless of the shape of the hoods. Plenty of descending in poor autumnal weather had me thanking the linear feel of the brakes.
As a partner to the disc brakes, the Mavic Aksium wheels were also excellent. They may be aluminium, but they added a sense of urgency that an endurance bike can lack. If you’ve got the cash to splash then you can even upgrade these to a pair of Mavic Cosmics.
Unfortunately, the Continental Ultra Sport tyres took the edge of the wheels’ performance. Sluggish and slow rolling, we would definitely replace them at the first opportunity.
Up front, the Deda finishing kit far stiffer than we have experienced with other Ribble SL builds, with little flex when riding hard on the drops.
For a bike that’s designed to be ridden far, and a lot, we’d also swap out the Selle
Italia saddle.
Ride
The Grand Fondo does a good job of keeping riders comfortable in the saddle for long periods of time. Ample time on lumpy roads around London impressed us with how well the frame handles the buzz of the road. The bike certainly managed to erase the constant chatter of an uneven road surface, but it still jarred on the big hits. With clearance for tyres up to 30mm tyres, we’d recommend speccing the Ribble Gran Fondo Disc with 28mm rubber that’ll happily absorb the bigger shocks. The long 1,005mm wheelbase adds stability and comfort in a straight line, while paired with the disc brakes the bike is comfortable on the downs. The ups prove to be a bit more difficult: weighing in at 8.97kg, the bike has quite a heft to it. Of course, some well-placed cash in Ribble’s Bikebuilder could drop that figure a little.
Value
We opted for the recommended build on the Ribble Bikebuilder, and £1,361 isn’t a bad price to pay for a carbon frame, Shimano 105 groupset and the excellent-value Mavic Aksium wheels.