Ribble Sportive Racing review

Similarly to Dolan’s Ares SL, the Sportive Racing from Preston-based Ribble is intended for those of us who like our sportives to be rapid, or even for riders looking for a cost-effective – and future-proof – entry into the world of road racing. Also squarely up against Dolan as one of the UK’s best-known direct-sales bike companies, it will be very interesting to see how the Ribble compares. Ribble says it’s the ideal mix of ‘position, comfort and speed’. But can you have all three attributes in one bike? Let’s find out…

Frameset 

The most obvious feature of the Ribble’s frame is its sloping top tube, which reduces the size of the rear frame triangle. This gives the Sportive Racing a rear end that’s particularly responsive to input, and also means a lengthy expanse of seatpost is exposed, to give you the best chance of adding some flex to the ride. The Ribble’s 31.8mm alloy seatpost isn’t the most forgiving, though. Ribble says it has actually increased the size of its wishbone seatstays to make the frame stiffer. Tube profiles are largely square, which again contributes to rigidity, especially at the bottom bracket and head tube, the latter forming a chunk of carbon roughly the size and shape of eight Weetabix stacked on top of each other. The Sportive Racing is available in a Shimano Sora build from as little as £900, while Ultegra Di2 builds start from £1,780 – that’s cracking value in anyone’s book.

Groupset 

Shimano’s excellent Ultegra Di2 shifters, plus front and rear mechs, are matched by the dual-pivot Ultegra brakes. These are quick to bite, and easy to finesse when the need to scrub off the speed arises. A compact, 50/34 Ultegra chainset works in conjunction with an Ultegra 11-28 cassette offering a spread of gears that will suffice for any terrain. 

Finishing kit 

Alloy Deda handlebars are a comfortable reach, with a not too-deep drop. They transmit a good deal of vibration to the fingers but that’s largely down to the vibey carbon fork. Deda’s 110mm stem allowed us to get a good set-up, though, achieving a position commensurate with this bike’s aggressive nature. Three 10mm spacers on the steerer would allow you to get slightly more upright, for better front end comfort. We’re big fans of Fizik’s Arione saddle – it’s a firm perch that befits the bike’s racy nature.

Wheels 

Mavic’s Ksyrium Elite wheels are some of the best we’ve tested in recent memory – quick to spin up, free of flex even under hard efforts, and light enough to fly up most of our local ascents. Although the rims would accept 28c tyres, we doubt the frame clearance will allow it.

The ride

If you have fillings, it might be worth jamming a bit of chewing gum over them if you’re riding this bike for any distance. The one thing it communicates to us above all else, even within 15 minutes of setting off on our first ride, is that it’s hugely stiff, indecently responsive, eminently thrashable. But not all that comfortable. Position, comfort and speed? Two out of three ain’t bad.

The feeling of stiffness is compounded as our ride progresses. The nicely sized 400mm bars that are matched to our XS frame do their very best to dial out road buzz, but they’re hampered by the rigid carbon fork in this respect. The steeply sloping top tube necessitates a sizeable length of exposed seatpost, which does eliminate the worst of vibrations from the rear, and Fizik’s race-ready Arione saddle does its bit to aid rear-end comfort. Let’s take a moment here, though. Yes, the jackhammer effect of riding this bike close to flat-out is going to get fatiguing for most riders in quite short order, but this assumes that comfort is the most important factor to a particular rider. If you’re buying this bike to go racing, you’ve come to the right place. Although the compact chainset and 11-28 cassette aren’t providing the biggest gears, there’s plenty there for most circumstances. This is easily the most direct bike here – direct in the way it lays down its power, direct in the way it changes direction. Take the word ‘Sportive’ out of its name, and you’ve an honest assessment of its true nature. That said, if you just want to set the quickest time on your next sportive, this bike will give you a good chance.

While your vision might become slightly blurred from the vibrations on less than perfect tarmac, there’s no denying this bike offers a decidedly affordable shot of adrenaline. Although the head angle isn’t as steep as the Dolan’s, a steeper seat tube angle positions the rider over the front of the bike, forcing the head down and positively egging you on to a bigger gear and a harder effort, and downhill turns are dispatched with lightning-fast velocity. Mavic’s Ksyrium Elite wheels perform as admirably in this package as on the Canyon Ultimate CF SL. The fact that two bikes in this test are wearing identical wheels and rubber gives us a rare opportunity to compare like with like, and the while the 25c Mavic tyres flatter the Canyon, they are masking the Ribble’s intense nature. Comfort is improved by running the tyres at 85psi, compensating for the rigidity.

Geometry

Spec