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Yes, I know I wont get much on that budget. I'm looking for a strong warranty and a frame that will last forever! There's a Ridley frames on offer at CRC - anybody had any experience with the cheaper Ridley's?
Just had a Ribble one die in just under three years and had a similar issue with a Kinesis MTB one a few years ago.
Your suggestions please
Thanks in advance.
Dave
I'm very close to pushing the button on one of these - don't know if it will last forever, someone else may know more about longevity than I do...
Buy a 2nd hand Giant Defy (you should get a complete bike for that)strip it and put on your bits. Great bikes and tough as owt.
^ That Dolan gets my vote.
I have a Kinesis Maxlight frameset and I love it. Not sure why you had problems with one before as they are designed to last as a training bike. I have a T2 and it's quite versatile as it has rack and guard mounts and will take mudguards easily with 25mm tyres.
When you say your Ribble frame "died" what exactly happened? Quite difficult to break most modern frames in normal use I would have thought??
^ That Racelight looks nice too...
Indeed. How are you killing them? Are you a big lad?
Tifosi CK3. Looks a lot more than the cost price. Dolan are fine too, probably made in the same factory.
For Giant Defy, Fulford Cycles have an Ebay shop and sell disassembled Giant Frames with standard Giant warranty. Normally they sell carbon, but have an Aluxx SL Defy in a Large listed for £400. The SL is the best alloy frame money can buy and every bit as good as cheap carbon.
I bought a proffisio frame around a month ago as I snapped my commuter. Absolutely love it, nice and stiff, bit on the heavy side but that suits me fine for a commuter.
They just look like a normal alu Defy frames on ebay from Fulford cycles....despite being a decent frame no doubt, £400 seems a lot when you could get a full Defy bike for maybe a £100 more?
Thanks for the responses so far, you have helped to narrow down my search. I've been a bit put off by Ribble (see link above). I do really like the look of the Kinesis Race Light frames but have also been put off them after my MTB Maxlight XC120 frame broke in both chain stays (got a replacement via warranty that I'm still running). I'm not fat just tall, 14st!
Please keep the comments coming, many thanks
I have the Dolan mentioned above as my winter bike. Can't comment in longevity but its lasted a year so far. Has mounts for full guards etc if that's important to you.
Wonkey, post-post above, I have now ordered the frame. What guards do you run on yours, and with what tyres/brakes, please? I have seen some suggestions that it can be fiddly to get it all set up.
Curve ball...
[url= http://flyxii.com/products_1.asp?menuid=308&id=1235http://flyxii.com/products_1.asp?menuid=308&id=1235 ]Chinese carbon.[/url]
Got mine for just shy of £300 with import tax. That got me a frame, fork and headset. Cheap as chips and light as a feather. I have ridden it down a stair case, crashed it twice and even dabbled in some Roubaix style cobbles. Its solid and not burst into flames yet.
Well I have 3 Ridley's and one ex-frame that I gave to a friend. Ridleys seem pretty well build (haven't busted one yet and they have had plenty of abuse) since they are designed for Belgian Pave.
And here, in fact, is the Dolan:
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2926/13986381334_5a75d0b0af_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2926/13986381334_5a75d0b0af_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/niVRTL ]The Dolan Preffisio[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/29308693@N04/ ]theflatboy[/url], on Flickr
It looks superb in the flesh, much better finish than I expected, with nice embossed painted logos and top notch paint job. Very happy, can't wait to get it all built up now!
Nice looks good, prefer that colour too. How long did it take to arrive? Website says they're busy and could be up to 3 weeks...
I'm not sure if it mentioned a long wait when I ordered, but I ordered on Sunday, it was sent next day Parcel Force after the bank holiday and it arrived yesterday. Very happy so far!