Ribble Allroad Ti - Enthusiast

On paper the Ribble Allroad Ti - Enthusiast looks to tick all of the 'do a bit of everything' boxes, and at a great price. In reality, though, it misses the mark. The geometry doesn't provide you with a great handling bike either on or off road, and while the 3D printed sections may benefit aerodynamics and (for some) aesthetics, they diminish the ride quality.

With the launch of the Allroad Ti, Ribble brings a metal option to the range, with this Enthusiast model sitting about midway in the line-up.

The Allroad range now comprises four models including the top-end SL R and SL R e models, plus the lower-level SL. I've ridden all three of those carbon fibre models and, to be honest, I wasn't overly enamoured by any of them. But as a titanium fan I had high hopes for this one. After all, Ribble has delivered some great titanium bikes in the past like the CGR Ti and Endurance Ti Disc, both of which I have reviewed.

Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast: Ride

For me, the main reason I'd buy a titanium bike is for the ride quality. The smoothness offered from a quality titanium frame has almost become a cliché, but it is very true. As with all materials, the designer needs to create tube shapes and wall thicknesses that are going to work to create a stiff frame while allowing compliance where needed for comfort; get that right and the rider is going to benefit hugely.

The problem with the Allroad Ti is that it doesn't have that balance, and I'd say the biggest culprit is that massive 3D printed head tube junction. The front end is massively stiff, to the point where the road vibrations cancel out any benefits of using titanium at all. It also has a negative impact on feedback from the fork and front tyre, which means you feel less involved with the bike.

The reason it's there is for aerodynamics, and while it keeps the Allroad Ti looking much the same as the carbon bikes in the range, titanium has never really been the go-to material for creating aero-profiled frames. Well, apart from Litespeed making its Blade TT frame back in the early 2000s – it looked kind of cool, but it was incredibly stiff and quite heavy, not that the latter matters in triathlon or time-trialling so much.

The rest of the frame doesn't really differ much from the front, because you'll feel plenty of road noise through the saddle with nothing to damp it. I'm currently riding an R J.Ack Disc from J.Laverack and the difference in ride quality from the Allroad Ti is unbelievable.

The Ribble is quite weighty too, with this Shimano 105 Di2 build and Mavic Aksium wheels taking it up to 9.94kg overall. That's 1,100g heavier than that J.Laverack, which also includes full mudguards and a front dynamo system!

The R J.Ack also feels lighter than it is and very responsive, whereas the Allroad Ti feels sluggish, and not just on the climbs but also when changing pace. I didn't find the Allroad Ti exciting to ride at all really, even when I switched out the Aksiums for some lighter carbon wheels.

As its name suggests, the Allroad is designed to work on terrain other than just asphalt, so that means slightly different geometry than you'd find on a pure road bike.

I'll go into more detail in a minute, but what you have here is something that sits between an endurance road bike and a gravel bike. The Allroad has quite an upright position with a tallish stack height because of the 180mm head tube on this size large. I felt quite 'perched' on it, almost like I could do with stretching out a bit to get a better weight balance and lower centre of gravity on the bike. It's not a position that allowed me to get aero in any way, and I didn't feel very involved in what the bike was up to beneath me.

I love descending and this was another place where I found the Allroad a bit underwhelming. That lack of feedback and rider connection meant I just couldn't feel confident in letting the bike go, especially on sections where the surface wasn't that great – somewhere I was expecting the Allroad to perform well.

To allow you to ride on loose surfaces, the handling isn't as quick as a road bike, and although the front end is more aggressive than most gravel bikes, I still found the Allroad ponderous on the road in comparison. Nothing regarding bike/rider interaction seems to be there with the Ribble, everything about the way it behaves is muted and I just found it frustrating.

On hardpacked canal paths or bridleways the Allroad is easy to ride and gives no surprises, but if those routes are your mainstay then get a gravel bike and run some road tyres as you'll have a lot more fun.

Overall, in terms of the ride, the Allroad Ti does absolutely nothing for me, and just like the carbon SL R it feels like it's confused over what type of bike it wants to be.

Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast: Frame & fork

Like the majority of titanium frames on the market, the Allroad Ti is manufactured from 3Al/2.5V titanium alloy tubing, although as I mentioned earlier there are sections that have been created by 3D additive printing. Those sections are the head tube and seat tube junction.

If you haven't come across 3D printing before, it's a way of creating complex shapes that are either difficult or expensive using traditional manufacturing methods. A 3D computer aided design (CAD) model is created, which the 3D printing machine reads and builds the part out of by printing layer on layer of material until you have the finished component. In this case a titanium alloy powder (additive) would be melted by a fine beam of electrons.

Some brands use investment casting for these sections of a titanium frame, like Reilly with its Fusion, but 3D printing allows for even more complex shapes to be created.

As I said earlier, though, I don't necessarily think the chunky aero head tube section brings any positive effects to an all-road bike like this one. It's almost a case of 'just because you can, doesn't mean you should'.

The frame has a clean look with full internal cable and hose routing, and the seat clamp is also an integrated design.

In terms of mounting points, the Allroad is very 'roadie', with just a couple of bottle cage points for carrying stuff on the main triangle, and full mudguard fixings.

Tyre clearance is respectable for an all-road bike at 38mm, with that being reduced to 32mm if you have mudguards fitted, all of which makes the Allroad Ti very capable, especially as a winter trainer/commuter.

Ribble has gone with a T47 bottom bracket, which gives the oversized dimensions of a press-fit system but with the reliability and ease of a threaded system in terms of removal and installation. That's a plus here, especially if a lot of your riding is going to be in poor conditions.

The fork is full carbon and weighs 470g according to Ribble. It offers plenty of stiffness and coped fine with heavy braking and hard cornering.

The Allroad Ti is available in five sizes ranging from XS to XL, which equates to top tubes of 505mm to 585mm.

At 1.8m I'm right on the cusp of Ribble's sizes, being at the max for the medium and right at the bottom of the size large that I was riding here. I'd definitely recommend going for the upper size of the two if you are between sizes – if I'd gone for the medium with the 545mm top tube I'd definitely have felt cramped as the 565mm on the large size didn't let me stretch out either.

Other dimensions for the large frame are a 180mm head tube, 520mm seat tube and 1,005mm wheelbase. Stack and reach are 587.6mm and 391mm respectively.

The seat angle sits at 73.5 degrees, and the head angle is 73 degrees.

Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast: Groupset

The Allroad Ti is available in four off-the-shelf builds, with the Shimano 105 mechanical-equipped Sport model kicking things off. That one will cost you £3,499, with the upgrade to this 105 Di2 Enthusiast version costing you £4,099.

At £5,499 the Pro model starts to look on the bling side, with deep-section Mavic wheels and Ribble's aero carbon UB-2 handlebar, while the range-topping Hero is £7,999. If you are looking at these top two models I'd use Ribble's website to spec a more traditional shaped handlebar instead of that UB-2 option. I used it on the Allroad SL R and SL R e models, and it has no place on an all-road bike.

Shimano's 105 Di2 came out a couple of years ago and we're seeing it fitted to a lot of the review bikes that come through the doors of road.cc Towers. At full RRP it's not the greatest deal out there, but whether you get hold of it separately or as part of a build, you'll not be disappointed. I reviewed the groupset separately if you want the full in-depth details, and overall I was very impressed with its performance.

The ergonomics of the shifters are very comfortable, and as it benefits from all of the refinements of Ultegra and Dura-Ace over the years, its gear changes are light, precise and the buttons tactile.

The braking performance is also very good.

The Ribble is specced with a 50/34-tooth chainset and an 11-36 12-speed cassette. That's a decent spread of gears for the kind of riding the Allroad is intended for, and with 160mm rotors front and rear there is plenty of stopping power on offer.

Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast: Finishing kit

Up front, the Enthusiast uses Ribble's RS-2 stem which is designed to direct the brake hoses directly into the top of the head tube and into the frame for a clean look. It's not the prettiest of stems but it does the job in terms of stiffness.

The handlebar is from Level, which is Ribble's in-house component brand. It's a basic alloy bar which I found stiff enough for hard efforts. The sections where you put your hands, on the tops or on the drops, are narrow in diameter, so I'd recommend using thicker gravel bar tape or double wrapping the tape that is already fitted unless you have small hands. Increasing the diameter of the bar allows for a more relaxed grip, which is more comfortable on longer rides.

The carbon seatpost has a square profile to fit the frame and it does the job. It stayed put in the frame, and the saddle position was easy to adjust. My only issue this time of the year is that the majority of rear light brackets are designed for round seatposts, so if you are using the Allroad for commuting or you ride in the dark then you'll have to choose your lights wisely or come up with a bodge like I did.

The Model X Superflow saddle has a comfortable shape that suits me; I like its slim profile and minimal padding.

Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast: Wheels & tyres

Ribble tends to use a lot of Mavic's wheels in its builds, with this one getting a pair of Mavic Aksium 1 Discs. I've ridden these wheels many times and found them to be reliable, with a decent ride quality. They are hefty, though, which doesn't help the performance of the bike they are fitted to.

Ribble has chosen a set of Pirelli P7 Sport tyres to wrap them in and they are a good choice. They are designed for durability rather than performance, so they are ideal for these winter months. As you can see from our review, though, they do feel a bit sluggish.

Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast: Value

Titanium isn't an easy material to work with, both in terms of creating the tubing and the actual welding of the frame; it's a highly skilled job, especially because, with most frames remaining unpainted, the welder's finished product can't be hidden easily. This, as you'd expect, increases the overall price compared with bikes made from other materials.

That said, the Allroad Ti Enthusiast offers decent-ish value for money, although there is some tough competition.

The Van Nicholas Zephyr isn't considered an all-road bike but it does have 35mm tyre clearance and uses castings for the head tube, bottom bracket and rear dropouts. In a similar build to the Ribble, it costs £5,250.

The J.Guillem Major I reviewed back in 2023 was £5,052 with a 105 Di2 groupset, although that included a set of carbon Scope wheels. Currently, the same build but with DT Swiss A1800 Spline wheels – so a similar sort of build to the Allroad Enthusiast – will cost just £3,482. Tyre clearance on the Major is also 35mm, but it does come with rear rack fixings as well as mudguard mounts. The ride quality was very impressive too.

The Elan Ti MK2 is part of Spa Cycles' audax and sportive range, so it's ideal for long distance riding, and the fact that it can take 45mm tyres (40mm with mudguards) means it can easily be put into all-road use. The build we had was over 10kg, which included full mudguards and tough handbuilt wheels, but a claimed frame weight of 1.65kg is bang in line with the 1.7kg quoted for the Ribble.

Full builds are only offered with mechanical groupsets, with 105 mechanical 12-speed costing £3,175 at full RRP. That is well priced against the similarly specced Allroad Ti Sport model at £3,499.

Another bike I'm currently testing is the Gloria All Road, which has clearance for 45mm tyres and mounting points for full mudguards and a rear rack. It's a very capable machine and rides very well, whether you are using it as a road bike or a gravel bike. In a build similar to the Allroad Ti Enthusiast it costs £3,277.

Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast: Conclusion

The Allroad Ti isn't a bad bike, it just seems a bit mixed up, like it's trying to be too many things, covering all the current trends – aero, road, endurance, gravel, all-road, 3D printing, internal cable routing... And it's not really able to excel at any of them because there is just too much going on.

Verdict

Decent value for a versatile titanium bike, but lacks character and ride quality