I continue to look at getting a gravel bike and have been comparing geometries to my current endurance bike (Fezzarri Empire medium). The Ribble Gravel SL has most of what I’m looking for but I seem to be in between sizes. The Gravel medium has the same stack as my Empire but is nearly 10 mm shorter in reach, whereas the Gravel large has the same reach but almost 30 mm higher stack.
On my Empire I use a 100 mm stem and 16 mm of spacers. I could easily makeup for the shorter reach of the Gravel medium by using a slightly longer stem, but on the Gravel large I’m not sure I could drop my bars enough to be in a similar position even if I slammed the stem.
The table at the link below may help. What would you do, and why?
Do you live in the UK? If not, I probably wouldn’t touch a Ribble. I mean, how much would it cost to return it for warranty? How will they deal with it if it arrives damaged?
I almost bought that bike - well the CGR SL Gravel - actually paid for it but my ship date kept being pushed back from November to December to February then to March. So I got my money back and bought something else. Bit bummed because it’s a great build for the money.
Go with the medium. My new bike, the stack is a bit higher than my allez sprint and it feels like I’m on a hybrid flat bar bike. If I’d had gone with a 52, the reach would have been way too snug for my liking. Slammed the stem and put a -10 on it and all is right.