Now, I have no excuses!!
Exciting news, I HAVE A BIKE!!!
Those lovely people at Ribble have helped me find a bike, and I have now received this marvellous machine.
However, I would love to say I know what it is compared to their other models and those in the cycling world, but I don’t. We chatted about my requirements, and they sent me this bike.
For the purists out there, don’t worry. I will give you a rundown of what it is and the specifications.
The box appeared at my door, like Christmas Day as a kid.
Carrying it inside, I was shocked by how light the box was, which bodes well for the bike.
I am useless at technical stuff. Despite this, I can put an Ikea wardrobe and chest of drawers together, but that is after years of expletives and head-in-my-hands moments. However, it is clear that these skills will not be of use here.
Fortunately, it comes almost ready to ride and needs only a few things to assemble. Now, to you cyclists, these are very obvious and probably easy. ‘Macca goes cycling’ is the name of the Blog, not ‘Macca fixes things’ or ‘Macca puts things together”. It’s not through a lack of effort; simply a lack of talent and knowledge in these areas. I have always been pampered in these areas; I guess I got lazy and never bothered to learn. Notwithstanding my Ikeas skills, of course.
We bought some Ikea stuff recently, and they wanted well over £100 to assemble a basic wardrobe. OMG, we are all in the wrong business. As you would expect, I declined.
How not to put a bike together
The worrying thing is I know this bike is worth several thousand pounds, and it is on ‘loan’ for my training and Tour 21, and as such, I do not want to break anything. Lots of good stuff is included, and the eagle-eyed will spot the SRAM, which is the gearing or whatever it’s called. Out of the box – Tick. Saddle – Nightmare. 
Now, in scenes that would befit a Laurel and Hardy movie, I did not know what I was doing.
Nevertheless, I attempted to put this little black thing, which I am sure has a fancy name (in the picture below), then added the saddle and tightened it. Easy, right? Hell no!!!
As if by magic, I drop the black thing inside the bike. Cannot get it out, and as the handlebars are not yet fixed, it is difficult to tip the bike upside down and shake it, hoping it will come out. Get my phone, shine a light into it, and see it is lodged. Come on, this cannot be that difficult, but it certainly is. Growing more frustrated by the minute I try long sticks, but all to no avail. I cannot believe what is happening. Tipping it upside down several more times for good measure.
Eventually, after forty minutes, yes forty, it pops out laughing at me as it languishes on the floor. Though tempted to kick it in frustration, I decided not to.
Right, let’s try again. Plonk, I only drop it in again. In my defence, it is very fiddly, and I have fat fingers. OMG, come on. It’s like comedy hour.
This time, I know it is stuck even more than last time. I am now an expert, and it only takes another thirty minutes to get it out this time.
Finally, I take extra special care and have a saddle now in place and tightened. Well, I hope.
Ultimately, after giving myself a good talking-to, I decided that I no longer felt comfortable putting. this expensive bike together and needed some expert help.
A quick look online for a local bike shop saw one less than 100 yards away. I knew they sold fold-up bikes but did not know they repair other bikes.
After texting them, which is their preferred way, I arrange to pop over. I half carry my bike over. In no time, my bike was in one piece, and everything was where it should be. However, in testing, they found a problem with a noise in the freehub. I tried to bluff my way around this but confessed I had no idea what he was talking about. I was shown the back wheel, and the bit in the middle made a hell of a noise when ‘free-wheeling’. They recommended letting Ribble know.
So, I thank you to Brilliant Bikes in Sunningdale, near Ascot. They did not charge me either and were very good.
Brilliant, one could say.
The Bike Specifications
Here is what real cyclists will want to know. This is to get me up mountains and through 21 stages and 2,200 miles, so all of that was taken into account:
- Endurance sl
- Level 5 integrated handlebars
- Level DB40 pro wheelset
- Groupset it the SRAM Rival Etape
- The cassette is a 10/36
- With the chainset being 48/35
- Saddle is the Model X superflow
- Tyres are Schwalbe – PRO ONE EVO- v guard – TLE 28mm
*Since the arrival of my bike, I have had to change the wheels due to the free hub issue. Ribble sent me the Mavic to replace the original wheels I had.
Now, I must learn how to ride it, which will be helpful.
You could say I’m on it of a learning curve.
