# Ribble Stealth Carbon frame also sold as?



## StillKeen (Oct 4, 2005)

Road Bike parts and accessories at Ribble Cycles

They have some deda carbon frames and I know in the past that I've read the Pedal Force frame was the same as one from Ribble. Does anyone recognize this frame? I don't really have much of a problem with Ribble, as they are a fair bit cheaper than the big names, just that I'd like to know more about the frame and ideally some reviews of it when branded as a different brand too.

The Stealth is a high modulus T800 Toray carbon fibre race bike. The Stealth has been designed with stiffness as a priority. The main areas of flex, headtube, bottom bracket have been bulked up with extra layers of carbon to reduce flex and the chainstays are 40mm deep. This gives a very rigid and responsive ride perfect for road racing and fast riding. 

BB30 bottom bracket - a new standard that is stiffer, lighter and narrower than traditional bottom bracket systems. 

Asymmetric 1-1/8" top & 1-1/2" bottom head tube for extra front-end stiffness. A Ribble Stealth 1 1/8"-1 1/2" 45x45 hidden headset fits perfectly. 

Internal brake cable routing. 

Superior frame stiffness-to-weight ratio STW 105.

If you wish to fit a standard diameter 68mm English bottom bracket an FSA BB30 shell adaptor is available at a special price (see below). When the shell adaptor is ordered at the same time as the frame it will be fitted into the frameset by one of our mechanics. We strongly recommend that the sleeve is fitted by a skilled mechanic.

Please note if you wish to fit a standard Campagnolo chainset you can achieve this without the use of a sleeve by fitting Campagnolo BB30 UT Integrated Cups size BB30 68x42.
If you wish to fit a standard Shimano chainset you can achieve this without the use of a sleeve by fitting Sram BB30 Cups and Wheels Manufacturing BB30 Adaptor for 24mm spindle.


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## StillKeen (Oct 4, 2005)

They also have this one


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## cool tech (Jul 12, 2008)

i love ribble, but that first frame is fugly.


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## StillKeen (Oct 4, 2005)

I think the sharp line by the seat post as the top tube goes into the seat stay is ugly ... but the paint on their other frames is just nasty looking. Even if I was buying a $10k bike, I like subtle graphics ... which leads me back to the first frame.

It seems its a hard road finding the perfect frame when you're on a budget.

thanks


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## danny87 (Feb 26, 2011)

It's a DeRosa 838 but cheaper. (Ribble Stealth)


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## andyjc (May 18, 2011)

I have a 2008 rocky mountain solo 70 cr, which is a deda ribelle frame. I did some quick research and it looks like the gran fondo is the latest version of it.

As far as Deda frames are concerned, I love my bike and would buy another one in a second. It's comfy, stiff and tracks amazingly well.


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## dcurzon (May 26, 2011)

Ribble Stealth = chinese FRM838


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## StillKeen (Oct 4, 2005)

Does that mean







is also the same?

Wiggle | De Rosa R838 Athena 2011 Road Bikes


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

They are made by Xpace, which is a reputable and high quality carbon bike manufacturer with factories in mainland China and R&D in Taiwan. They have developed a number of manufacturing processes for carbon frames (have the patents on them) and make frames for a number of major brands. The Stealth (838 but modified not to be ISP) is T800 carbon and very well made.


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## danny87 (Feb 26, 2011)

stevesbike said:


> They are made by Xpace, which is a reputable and high quality carbon bike manufacturer with factories in mainland China and R&D in Taiwan. They have developed a number of manufacturing processes for carbon frames (have the patents on them) and make frames for a number of major brands. The Stealth (838 but modified not to be ISP) is T800 carbon and very well made.


Spot on :thumbsup:

I don't suppose anyone else read that freebie mag that came with an issue of cycling active or plus mag (i forget which mag exactly lol) but it was interesting what they said about the stealth.. The one featured was built up with a Sram Red groupset and was just over under 7kg fully built up from Rible at around £2k.


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## Kontact (Apr 1, 2011)

Unless either DeRosa or Xpace is saying that the R838 is a non-proprietary, off the shelf frame, I'd find it very unlikely that any Ribble or FMwhatever is "the same". It might be similar looking, it might be exactly the same materials and quality, but a company like DeRosa (or Pinarello, or Trek) isn't going to allow their subcontractor to sell exact copies of their product.

The degree of difference I couldn't say, but DeRosa is paying them to make DeRosa's, not giving away an open source design to the public. 

Those other frames might be very nice, but assuming they automatically ride like a DeRosa because they came from the same plant is flawed logic. I say that without being a DeRosa fan - it just doesn't make sense for companies to have absolutely no product differentiation (when they aren't just selling the cheapest bike they can).


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## vontress (Jul 19, 2009)

Kontact said:


> Unless either DeRosa or Xpace is saying that the R838 is a non-proprietary, off the shelf frame, I'd find it very unlikely that any Ribble or FMwhatever is "the same". It might be similar looking, it might be exactly the same materials and quality, but a company like DeRosa (or Pinarello, or Trek) isn't going to allow their subcontractor to sell exact copies of their product.
> 
> The degree of difference I couldn't say, but DeRosa is paying them to make DeRosa's, not giving away an open source design to the public.
> 
> Those other frames might be very nice, but assuming they automatically ride like a DeRosa because they came from the same plant is flawed logic. I say that without being a DeRosa fan - it just doesn't make sense for companies to have absolutely no product differentiation (when they aren't just selling the cheapest bike they can).


I couldn't agree more. A little research shows you all carbon is not equal. I can't think of any Chinese knock off's, from any industry, that are exactly like the original. This is especially true when it's high end products.


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## RiceKilla (Sep 16, 2009)

Kontact said:


> Unless either DeRosa or Xpace is saying that the R838 is a non-proprietary, off the shelf frame, I'd find it very unlikely that any Ribble or FMwhatever is "the same". It might be similar looking, it might be exactly the same materials and quality, but a company like DeRosa (or Pinarello, or Trek) isn't going to allow their subcontractor to sell exact copies of their product.
> 
> The degree of difference I couldn't say, but DeRosa is paying them to make DeRosa's, not giving away an open source design to the public.
> 
> Those other frames might be very nice, but assuming they automatically ride like a DeRosa because they came from the same plant is flawed logic. I say that without being a DeRosa fan - it just doesn't make sense for companies to have absolutely no product differentiation (when they aren't just selling the cheapest bike they can).


Some companies will use an already made open mold with their slight minor variance/spec to keep things more cost effective than designing and building a frame from scratch.

Another example of this is is the Ritte Bosberg and one of the Pedal Force frames. Same foundation(mold) but with their own variances/specs, and Ritte has openly spoken about this.


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## Kontact (Apr 1, 2011)

RiceKilla said:


> Some companies will use an already made open mold with their slight minor variance/spec to keep things more cost effective than designing and building a frame from scratch.
> 
> Another example of this is is the Ritte Bosberg and one of the Pedal Force frames. Same foundation(mold) but with their own variances/specs, and Ritte has openly spoken about this.


Sure, but while DeRosa is an established bicycle producer, Ritte Bosberg is a name with even less recognition than "Pedalforce" or "Scattante". They clearly have less to lose doing things like borrowing a frame design from some other mail order house, none of whom "design" anything but logos.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

In this case, I've been told the De Rosa 838 is the exact same frame (funny that the model number is even the same). It's their entry-level frame and is used to keep cost down. As I mentioned above, it's a higher quality frame than the ones in the Chinese frame threads here. The Ribble Scuro RS (which I'm riding) is another frame that is seen in different incarnations. It's made by dedacciai as the scuro RS and is also Guerciotti Team frame in this pic (Guerciotti are explicit that it's made by deda). Scarponi won a few stages of the Giro on it in 2010. It's also sold as a Casati. Since Xpace developed smart wall technology and Deda features this, it's likely their frames are made by Xpace.


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## StillKeen (Oct 4, 2005)

Thanks for the replies. When it comes to it, I know different brands bikes from different moulds would be quite different, but reassuring to know that maybe DeRosa quality people have said the factory is up to it. As much as they sully the brand by using a mould that others use, it's still nothing like the damage they could have it they released a high end bike that failed half the time.

Another option I've seen also has ''Smooth Wall Technology'', which is this one.










I'm kicking tyres at the moment, as I am in need of a new frame, but trying to way up many options. When you've got a hardly used ultegra 6500 group and a DA 7800 group bought in parts from eBay, it puts me into a tough position. Sell the 6500 and 7800 parts and buy a full bike, or buy a frame and fit the 7800 and sell the 6500 parts & frame they're on to fund it.

The Planet X frame is 999gram in medium, and with 7800 it'd probably come in lighter than the Ribble. Just ride and fit to worry about, although neither are available for demo rides. There is no way I can swing twice the price for something nicer though. Oh well, with autumn approaching I guess I'm not under too much pressure.


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## lampshade (Jul 18, 2002)

I would love to see and article or video of someone who really knows carbon bicycles, like Calfee or Parlee, deconstruct/reverse engineer some "name" brands and "generic" brands of what some people think is the same frame. 

It would also be cool to do a blind comparison of 50 or so experienced cyclists riding the "name brand" and "generic" frames with the same components/wheels/tire pressure/etc. for an extended period of time and see what they think.


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## draganM (Nov 27, 2001)

lampshade said:


> I would love to see and article or video of someone who really knows carbon bicycles, like Calfee or Parlee, deconstruct/reverse engineer some "name" brands and "generic" brands of what some people think is the same frame.
> .


 yes hthat would be cool but it's got lawsuit written all over it
I'm in same positionm as the OP, got an Aluminum bike that's nearing 10K miles under a 220 pound rider. Judeging by how "soft" it's become I'm guessing byu next spring it will pop. So I would like a good Carbon frame but not a $2K one. Sounds like those 2 things are no longer mutually exclusive.


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## StillKeen (Oct 4, 2005)

I think I have bought myself some more time, by fixing my current bike. It is only a matter of time until I get something like the planet-x ... but with the pressure off I can wait for more reviews and hopefully for the planet-x to get internal cable routing or Di2 frame fittings (hidden battery compartment would be great.


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## crewman (Jan 29, 2004)

*Carbonzone RB004*

A guy on ebay called Carbonzone has the same frame with the same geometry..

Pictures by carbonzone - Photobucket

Here is the site to his pictures.


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