UKH

Hi all. Just wondered if anybody could share experience with ribble. I order a bike a couple of months ago on  work bike scheme. 2 weeks out from dispatch and they have pushed my build back a week. I've had a little look online and it seems that this is often the case and i'm bracing is it going to be months. Just wondered if anybody had any recent experience. Considering cancelling order if it gets pushed again as i actually need the bike to get to work rather than drive and now thinking I may as well just save the cash and buy second hand.

Matt

I bought a bottom of the range Canyon gravel last year and they put the delivery back about 4 weeks, turned up with 3 weeks to spare.

Could be just hedging their bets as it were?

It seems pretty common over the last couple of years. I haven't bought from Ribble myself but if it makes you feel any better, I had a similar experience buying from Sonder/Alpkit last summer. They got there in the end and were very polite/apologetic when I got through to them, but they totally missed their original promised build time and delivery.

I have a Ribble CGR and it arrived on time but it was pre-covid*. I believe it's taken a while for lost of outfits like Ribble to get back on it post covid with supply issues etc.

*Exact same bike is 50% more expensive now, wow!

Now's a great time to buy an Ebay bike with mechanical gears and rim brakes.

I ordered a Ribble gravel bike last year.  

Delivery was delayed, got inadequate and inconsistent response from their customer service so I cancelled the order.   Just completely lost faith in them. Seems like the only way to get a response from their customer service dept is to write a review on trustpilot.    

I get where you're coming from and I'm perfectly happy with my rim braked tidy bike but for a commuter bike I'd probably go for disc brakes as I've worn through a few rims.

Ribble seem to be in trouble with their order system and delivery times, a shame as their bikes are tidy.

As a kid I always wanted a Ribble with Reynolds tubing like my friends older brother.

Ribble 1-2 in the men's elite race at the Guildford town centre races last night...

That's what I've got, CGR 725, influenced by my father's obsession with Reynolds tubing......

1 week out from dispatch and pushed another week.. Seems bizarre that they have no handle on stock. 

My Ribble 872 was on time and has been brilliant. My only regret was not ordering an Endurance SL. There are still massive supply chain problems with bike components and suppliers such as Shimano are favouring bigger companies to the detriment of smaller brands like Ribble. I'd rather order a Ribble, wait and get the bike I want, than settle for an off the shelf brand. That said, Ribble do seem to have problems with their custom paint jobs so I'd steer clear of fancy paint.

There can be a lot of delay in getting the boat docked and unloaded and the contents customs cleared. I've worked in the cycle industry and there can be 2+ weeks added to an inbound date due to this. 

I see you're in Leeds. Have a drive over to Dolan's in Ormskirk and talk to them face to face.

Great bikes and personal service when you actually go to the unit. They're on the bike to work scheme too.

E

It's not just bike parts, our main suppliers of compressors and blowers are in Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy. Machines that would take a maximum of 3 to 5 days to arrive now typically take 5 to 8 days and occasionally will get delayed a week or so more in customs.  Add to that the manufacturing delays that havnt recovered from Covid and the current war things take forever and a day to arrive, I'm putting stock orders in now for stuff I won't see until Q1 2024 if I'm lucky. Fortunately I have been putting stock orders in since the factories re opened after covid so I'm getting a steady trickle through. 

In the case of Ribbel, they are a small outfit and staffing, particularly at this time of year can be a nightmare. Out of 6 service engineers we have one off sick due to a back problem who won't be back for at least another few weeks and then on light duties, 1 off on holiday for 2 weeks this coming Saturday, one off for a knee operation on Wednesday that will leave him in crutches for 4 weeks and no time frame to be fit for work again and I'm only working at about 75% speed due to long covid. Buisiness plan for these things but suddenly losing half your very skilled workforce is not something you can have a contingency plan for.