In a major update to its range, Ribble Cycles has launched a new platform that it says was created “with the prime purpose of redefining what’s possible on a road bike.” Combining tube shapes and tech from the brand’s flagship Ultra Road aero race bike with a more relaxed geometry, without compromising on speed or comfort, Ribble says the new Allroad is a “premier platform which can be ridden all-day, on multi-surface terrain, offering maximum performance and enhanced ride experience.”
The Allroad platform comprises three models – the range-topping Allroad SL R, the Allroad SL and the Allroad SL R e. All three use the same endurance geometry and have increased tyre clearance (38mm for SL R and SL R e and 35mm for the SL). The SL R and SL R e models are constructed with a blend of T1000 and M46 fibres, while the Allroad SL is made from T800 and T700 fibres. Though Ribble says the focus is on road performance, the Allroad has “multi-surface versatility” thanks to its ability to run bigger tyres – light gravel is certainly within its remit. It features multiple mounting points including hidden mudguard mounts and has downtube storage. All are electronic and mechanical groupset compatible.
The Allroad bikes will replace Ribble’s Endurance SL and CGR SL models as well as the R872 bike, which has been in Ribble’s range for 10 years. The Endurance SL R has been raced by Ribble’s pro teams for the last five seasons while the CGR is Ribble’s original multi-surface ‘cross, gravel, road’ bike, launched in 2018.
Ribble says that although it’s not a race bike, the Allroad SL R is five watts faster than the Endurance SL R model. To underline its aero credentials it features a new version of Ribble’s Ultra integrated bar. The UB2 bar (meaning Ultra Bar second generation), available on the SL R and SL R e, according to Ribble, “takes all the advantages of the patented Ultra handlebar’s air-flow disrupting wake generators, aero-sculpted drops and direct mount brake levers and optimises them for an endurance road setup … bringing added adjustability to the fully integrated, cable-free ergonomic design for all-day riding on the hoods or drops.” The new UB2 is a handlebar rather than a full cockpit, with a standard 31.8mm clamp so that stem length can be more easily customised.
The Allroad SL R has a frame weight of 870g with the top-spec Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 build weighing 7.5kg in the size medium. It includes internal frame storage in the down tube for ride essentials and Ribble offers its own aero-optimised carbon composite bottle cages, designed to fill the gap in the tapered down tube and making the bike faster with bottles than without, according to Ribble. The ‘Hero’ top spec, with Dura-Ace and Zipp 353 NSW wheels is priced at £8,299 – pointedly undercutting the £9,000 Van Rysel RCR Pro, dubbed ‘the WorldTour’s most affordable bike’.
Meanwhile, the Allroad SL in a size medium weighs a claimed 8.8kg in the £2,999 ‘Pro’ spec, Shimano 105 Di2 with Mavic Cosmic S 42 wheels. This is the bike Ribble sees as the successor to the affordable carbon R872. That bike was made from predominantly T700 carbon whereas Ribble says the Allroad SL includes more T800, making the frame lighter and stiffer. It has the same down tube shape and fork profile as the SL R and SLR e, but it doesn’t have the fork crown-frame integration and is externally cable routed and therefore can’t be specced with the UB2 integrated bar.
The seatstays join the seat tube behind the seat tube rather than either side, giving the rear triangle a less aggressively aero aesthetic. However, Ribble points out that the Allroad SL’s low price is its forte, particularly in the Shimano 105 Di2 build with Mavic Cosmic S 42 wheels. £2,999. “A Di2 carbon bike at under £3K – there’s no one else who has one at that price point right now,” says Ribble’s head of product Jamie Burrow. “With Shimano Tiagra it starts at £1,699 and this is the full Shimano groupset with no down-speccing, with the original Shimano bottom bracket, cassette and chain. In the current market to find any carbon bike under £2K is pretty rare.” Burrow continues: “Having a competitive entry-level price point is really important to us because our customers really value that. The R872 has been so successful. Now we’ve got inflation across the market but we think it’s really important to give our customers a way to get onto a carbon bike without breaking the bank.”
Additionally, Burrow points out that the Allroad SL’s carbon frame is almost at the level of the old Endurance SL and SL R. “We have good relationships with our factories that we’ve been using for years, so we can negotiate better prices,” he explains.
The Allroad SL R e is based directly on the SL R but is paired with a Mahle X20 hub drive system. With the 350-watt battery it has a claimed range of 140 kilometres, weighs 11.8kg and has a tyre clearance of 38mm. It replaces Ribble’s SL e e-bike, which, when it launched, was the lightest production e-bike in the world at just under 11kg. Ribble chose the 350-watt battery over the lighter 250-watt version for the increased range. Burrow explains: “We wanted weight to remain a factor and the Allroad SL R e is still light, but we didn’t want to chase the ‘lightest bike’ again. Because competitors who have gone under that weight, also using the Mahle X20, are using a 250-watt battery and clearly chasing that weight story… but Mahle’s stated range is 140 kilometres and in our own testing around Clitheroe and the Ribble valley, really hilly, we’ll constantly get 125-130km with a lot of climbing. So it’s a massive step up from the 250-watt: 800g for an extra 50 or 60 kilometres in the tank is way worth it.”
As for continuing with a hub-driven motor rather than a mid-drive, Burrow says: “When we first started out on the SL R e, the original brief was that it had to ride like a road bike when it’s not assisting, and that’s one of the reasons why we decided to stick with the hub motor rather than a mid drive. Yes you can achieve better power outputs with mid drive, but with Mahle’s hub drive it feels and descends like a normal road bike. Some brands have taken away their dedicated e-road offer but we’re doing extremely well with ours,” he continues, “and we think that’s because we started in the right place. It doesn’t look like an e-bike and for our customers that’s really important. When we launched the original SL e a lot of the customers were older club members who had done the clubrun every Sunday for 50 years and they still want to do it – but they want their e-bike to look like a normal bike. And the changes we’ve made to the geometry – more relaxed – are making this bike the best in its category.”
All three bikes in the Allroad range are available in ‘recommended’ builds labelled Sport, Enthusiast, Pro and Hero, but Ribble’s Configurator tool allows customers to spec as they like, and CustomColour gives them the choice of personalised paint.
In the recommended builds, the Allroad SL Sport starts at £1,699 for the Tiagra build, going up to the Pro with 105 Di2 at £2,999. The Allroad SL R Sport begins at £2,999 through to the range-topping Hero spec at £8,299. The Allroad SL R e Sport starts at £3,999 with mechanical Shimano 105, through to the Dura-Ace Di2 Hero spec at £8,499.
More information at Ribble's website, and keep an eye out for our review of the Ribble SL R.
