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TECH NEWS

Ribble launches new Gran Fondo Disc

Four things you need to know about this endurance bike with hydraulic disc brakes

Ribble has added disc brakes to its Gran Fondo carbon-fibre long distance bike, and here are the four most important things you need to know about it.

1. Flat mount disc brakes

Like the vast majority of other brands that have added disc brakes to road bikes lately, Ribble has gone with flat mount disc brakes.

We won’t go into the pros and cons of disc brakes here; I’m sure you already have your views on that.

“The addition of the very latest flat mount disc brakes makes the Gran Fondo Disc future-proof and ideally suited to wet or extreme riding conditions such as those found in the hills and high mountains,” says Ribble. “This disc-equipped bike will give greater confidence and safety when descending or riding in big groups.”

Check out the Ribble Endurance that has just arrived at road.cc for testing.

 

2. Relaxed geometry

“The new Gran Fondo Disc benefits from a slightly longer head tube design for a less aggressive position on the bike,” says Ribble. “In addition, the head tube angle has been relaxed in conjunction with increasing the wheelbase of the bike to provide a more stable ride.

“Combined, these changes ideally suit riders looking for an all-round more relaxed ride experience for epic days in the saddle who don’t want to compromise on braking ability.”

There’s a lot of ‘epic’ riding around these days.

Grand-Fondo-Disc_1.jpg

If you want to put some figures on it, the large sized bike comes with a 554mm top tube, a 173.9mm head tube and a 71.4° head angle. The wheelbase is 1,005mm.

The stack (the vertical distance from the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube) is 572mm and the reach (the horizontal distance between those points) is 382mm. 

 

3. Reasonable tyre clearance

The Gran Fondo disc has enough clearance for 30mm tyres. The default tyre width for a road bike is 25mm these days with more and more people going up to 28mm for a little more comfort. 

Grand-Fondo-Disc_17.jpg

The ability to fit 30mm tyres will come in particularly useful if you fancy taking on rougher road, perhaps including gravel and/or cobbles… anything off smooth asphalt, essentially. 

Ribble reckons that the S-shaped seat stays and slim 27.2mm seat post add more comfort.

 

4. You can choose your own spec

As usual with Ribble, you can choose a build that suits your needs and budget.

Grand-Fondo-Disc_13.jpg

Ribble does offer a £1,503 recommended build with a Shimano 105 groupset and RS505 hydraulic disc brakes, and Mavic Aksium Disc wheels. You can change any or all of that and get a complete bike priced from £1,199 upwards.

 

For more info go to Ribble's website. 

 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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8 comments

Avatar
kitsunegari | 7 years ago
1 like

It's hard to pair Ribble saying its ideal for wet conditions with it having no mudguard eyelets.

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wilkij1975 | 7 years ago
0 likes

No frame only options from Ribble now which is a shame.

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Forzamark | 7 years ago
0 likes

If it had mudguard eyelets id be very tempted to buy this as a winter bike.

Avatar
themuffle | 7 years ago
1 like

Nice looking bike....

Avatar
bobinski | 7 years ago
1 like

No mudguard eyelets?  That's a shame.

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check12 | 7 years ago
0 likes

Only 4 things worth saying about this bike? Not good. 

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bendertherobot | 7 years ago
1 like

I like the way Ribble are going. They got overshadowed by Planet X for a few years but since the latter has become more stack it high, sell it cheap, Ribble have moved into the cheap(er) space once occupied by Canyon pre exchange rate shenannigans.

Good looking well specced bikes at a good price. £1600 for Ultegra disc is pretty good indeed.

 

Avatar
joules1975 | 7 years ago
4 likes

Do you really need the clickbait like sub heading.

'Four things you need to know about ... '. Er, no, I don't 'need' to know about them. I might be vaguely interested to know about them, but need, I think not.

Oh, and I didn't read the article before writing this  comment, I simply came straight to the comment section. And I won't be reading the article either, as a protest.

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