RIBBLE HT AL
£599 frame Do smaller wheels hold it back in the rough?
Ribble mix online ‘direct-sale’ value and customisation with a number of UK showrooms. Better known for their drop-bar bikes, their MTB range includes an alloy 29er and 650b hardtails in steel, titanium and aluminium, all sharing the same geometry. We have the alloy 650b bike here.
The frame
Heavily-sculpted, smooth-welded 6061-T6 alloy tubes give the HT AL a long, low-slung shape, with the top tube dropping down to give plenty of standover room. The 64-degree head angle and 473mm reach (large) are bang up to date, although the 74-degree seat tube angle is the slackest on test. Braces on the seat tube bolster stiffness, while the slim, arcing seatstays look like they’re designed to provide some comfortenhancing ‘compliance’ (engineered flex). The brake calliper is mounted on the chainstay instead, and there’s plenty of mud room out back. You get a single bottle cage mount. Internal cable routing adds to the bike’s clean lines. For £299 more you can customise the frame colour (handpainted in the UK) and finish.
The kit
Ribble offer three set builds along with a custom bike builder that lets you upgrade many of the components. Using the SRAM GX Eagle-equipped Pro bike as a base, we swapped the RockShox Revelation fork for a Pike Select+ with the new Charger 2.1 damper and updated DebonAir spring. We also upgraded the own-brand Level wheels to Hope Fortus 30s, and opted for a carbon bar and alloy stem from the same brand. However, we stuck with the stock 2.6in Maxxis Minion tyres, rather than opting for harder-compound Schwalbe Nobby Nics. Our bike had Guide RE brakes – these aren’t SRAM’s latest stoppers, but pair a Guide lever with the (old) Code calliper. They’re cheap but exceptionally powerful.
The ride
One-and-a-bit inches doesn’t sound like a big difference in wheel (plus tyre) diameter, but it makes a palpable difference to how a bike rides. The HT AL is the only 650b (aka 27.5in, although really closer to 28in) bike on test, and it feels the most riotous – you can slip and slap the back end around, it’s easy to loft off natural lips, and a hint of brake gets the rear wheel sliding into a cheeky Scandi flick, if you give it half a chance. Weaving between corners is easy, with the bike quick to change direction. This helps when navigating a tricky course between lumps and bumps – hardtails are
TH EH T AL FEELS THE MOST RIOTOUS YOU CAN SLAP THE BACK END AROUND, LOFT OFF LIPS AND GET THE REAR WHEEL SLIDING INTO A CHEEKY SC AND IF LL I CK
a lot less forgiving of poor line choice than full-sussers.
The Ribble rolls fast, accelerating through trail-centre berms and staying perky on smoother climbs. In the rough and loose stuff, though, we found we had to let some air out of the tyres to match the smoother rolling afforded by the bigger-wheeled bikes. During our BikePark Wales laps, this made us more puncture-prone, but did help to keep the smaller wheels rolling over chunder; finding the best pressures is a tricky balancing act. On the climbs, the HT AL loses out to the competition. Bigger wheels simply roll over steps and edges better, and its slacker seat tube angle doesn’t put you in the most efficient pedalling position.
Aside from that, we’ve few complaints with the geometry. The reach is on-par with what we’d expect from a capable hardtail and the 64-degree head angle is slack enough that when you get deep into the fork’s travel, the front end doesn’t become squirrelly or nervous. The Pike’s damper and spring do a good job of propping the fork up in its midstroke, so it doesn’t tend to dive into its travel and remains smooth.
The plush fork and wide rubber would suggest a comfortable ride for your hands. However, we’ve found over the years that Hope’s 35mm-diameter bar, paired with the broad clamping face of their stem, can feel relatively harsh. We’d probably stick with the stock Level kit and save a few pennies.