Ribble R872 Matt Silver review

Looking at it on paper alone, you would find it hard to believe that the Ribble R872 is the price it is (£2,626 as specified), as it has a fantastic list of parts that wouldn’t be out of place on a bike costing twice the price.

When purchasing from Ribble, every part can be changed and built to your own personal taste, giving you all the flexibility needed while still being incredible value for money, although they do also have a range of suggested builds on offer.

The Ribble R872 range starts from just over £1,000 (with 10-speed Tiagra), but we’ve pushed the boat out for our test bike, which features exactly the same frame but loaded with almost the highest possible specification from Ribble’s parts box.

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Stand-out components are the Mavic Cosmic Carbon Pro wheels, with their hybrid carbon/alu construction, which gives the benefits of a deep-section carbon wheelset but also maintains the superior braking of alloy rims.

The wheels are a real highlight and have a very direct, responsive feel that has a knock-on effect for the rest of the bike.

The finishing kit is mainly supplied by Deda. The bars have a good comfortable shape while the seatpost, despite being carbon, feels a bit basic.

The full Ultegra 6870 Di2 groupset delivers fantastic performance, although we felt it could have been better integrated into the frame, as there was the occasional rattle from the internal cable routing.

Still, this is a minor quibble and not something that really makes a major difference to the ride experience.

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Talking of which, the R872 provides what might be called a reasonably neutral and safe ride. This makes it very easy to handle, although more confident, experienced riders may prefer something a little more nimble.

It’s by no means slow, though, even going uphill, and those superbly responsive wheels help give a really fast feel on any sprints or climbs, with very little flex.

And while at 7.8kg (size 51cm) the R872 is hardly a lightweight, in the real world it made no major difference to climbing speeds out on our test ride.

Ratings

Frame 8/10; Components 9/10; Wheels 10/10; The ride 8/10

Verdict

For a bike equipped with a full Shimano Di2 groupset and fantastic Mavic wheels which turn it into a great all-rounder, this bike offers incredible value.

At the higher-priced build the frame may be near the limit of where it's competitive, but it's still a solid performer, ideal for sportives or long sociable rides.

Buy the Ribble R872 from Ribble Cycles here

Specification