Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26" Bad News Update

Please be fair and thoughtful in your opinions. No rants please.
bretonbikes
Posts: 682
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 12:35pm
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by bretonbikes »

willem jongman wrote:And if you want astronger wheel I would suggest avoiding XT. The alluminium axle is thicker than the old steel one, and therefore the bearings have to be smaller. This has already led to quite a few problems for long distance tourers. The smartest solution with a bike like this is to flog the machine built rear wheel and buy a handbuilt rear wheel with an LX hub from a good wheelbuilder. The original front wheel will survive.


Good grief I didn't know they'd done that - what madness. I've used Deore on our hire bikes and up until a couple of years ago never had a problem. Since that maybe 10% of rear hubs have failed in that the non-drive side cup seems to have simply worn away - I hope it was a batch failure as I've always relied on their reliability. In the past the old XT was the bombproof option - what a shame...
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8444
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by Sweep »

willem jongman wrote:And if you want astronger wheel I would suggest avoiding XT. The alluminium axle is thicker than the old steel one, and therefore the bearings have to be smaller. This has already led to quite a few problems for long distance tourers. .


Agree with you that it is madness. Yes, i have been aware of this for a while so i changed the spec on a Hewitt 700 tourer i was buying from xt to lx hubs. I still think Paul Hewitt should have talked me through this option before i made the original choice. What do you thnk of the sealing on LX hubs? I seem to remember that, on balance, Tom of Tom's Bike Trip, still prefers XT because it apparently has superior sealing.
Last edited by Sweep on 11 Dec 2015, 12:12pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sweep
User avatar
honesty
Posts: 2658
Joined: 16 Mar 2012, 3:33pm
Location: Somerset
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by honesty »

I think it was the XT 760 hubs where this changed wasnt it?
willem jongman
Posts: 2750
Joined: 7 Jan 2008, 4:16pm

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by willem jongman »

The change was made a few years ago already. My frame and wheel builder will not use xt anymore. I was there when a pretty new XT wheel from Long Haul Trucker came in for allegedly some adjustment of the bearing and the inevitable verdict was that it was completely gone. And yes it was madness but remember these are principally mtb parts and the trend is towards lighter and stiffer. Hence also cranks with less reliable outboard bearings. I have not heard of any problems with LX hubs. I think they are now the best touring hubs that you can get on a reasonable budget. For a hand built wheel I think there is no point in saving about 3 pounds by using a Deore rear hub. :D
bretonbikes
Posts: 682
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 12:35pm
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by bretonbikes »

willem jongman wrote:The change was made a few years ago already. My frame and wheel builder will not use xt anymore. I was there when a pretty new XT wheel from Long Haul Trucker came in for allegedly some adjustment of the bearing and the inevitable verdict was that it was completely gone. And yes it was madness but remember these are principally mtb parts and the trend is towards lighter and stiffer. Hence also cranks with less reliable outboard bearings. I have not heard of any problems with LX hubs. I think they are now the best touring hubs that you can get on a reasonable budget. For a hand built wheel I think there is no point in saving about 3 pounds by using a Deore rear hub. :D


I don't think a Deore XT is 3 lbs lighter;-)
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
bretonbikes
Posts: 682
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 12:35pm
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by bretonbikes »

bretonbikes wrote:
willem jongman wrote:The change was made a few years ago already. My frame and wheel builder will not use xt anymore. I was there when a pretty new XT wheel from Long Haul Trucker came in for allegedly some adjustment of the bearing and the inevitable verdict was that it was completely gone. And yes it was madness but remember these are principally mtb parts and the trend is towards lighter and stiffer. Hence also cranks with less reliable outboard bearings. I have not heard of any problems with LX hubs. I think they are now the best touring hubs that you can get on a reasonable budget. For a hand built wheel I think there is no point in saving about 3 pounds by using a Deore rear hub. :D


I don't think a Deore XT is 3 lbs lighter;-)


But I do see that now they are 11-speed to a 42 tooth rear sprocket!
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8444
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by Sweep »

Quick question breton.

The brakes.

I see them listed online as CX50.

Aren't these canti, rather than V?

Apologies if I am being thick.
Sweep
bretonbikes
Posts: 682
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 12:35pm
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by bretonbikes »

Sweep wrote:Quick question breton.

The brakes.

I see them listed online as CX50.

Aren't these canti, rather than V?

Apologies if I am being thick.


They are very much V-brakes - I suspect you've found the 2015 Expedition which was fitted with drops etc.
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8444
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by Sweep »

I was looking here breton which shows the flatbar version.


http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bike/expedition


You are right, they are V's - have checked elsewhere - must be a mistake by Ridgeback's publicity folk.
Sweep
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8444
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by Sweep »

With regard to the actual chance of seeing one of these in the flesh as opposed to in a company spec sheet/brochure/web page (which from above it appears Ridgeback may have mis-publicised in some stuff) I may have made progress.

I popped into Balfe's Bikes in East Dulwich* and spoke to Dan (or some other three letter name - my memory for names is terrible) and it appears that he may get a couple of sizes in soon. Well he did phone to tell me so it's more credible than the old shop line about how they have just sold out, some maybe due next month, keep popping back...

Circumstances my end to do with purpose of the bike and storage mean that though I would very much like to see one the purchase of the exped bike will be later in the year (I was honest about this) but it may well be worthwhile for any other interested parties to get in touch with Balfe's East Dulwich and make it well worth their whlle.

It's a good looking well specced bike and apart from its possible use for crossing countries/continents is far more for for purpose for travelling across London than many other fanciful contraptions on the capital's roads.

* East Dulwich, south of the river, just south of Peckham, easy to get to from pretty much in anywhere in London by bike of course - handy stations East Dulwich or Peckham.

If Balfe's get some in they deserve to flog them to all of London - disappointing that no one else seems willing to.

As an aside, I learned in my searches (well I was told this by a staff member) that Evans, although a Ridgeback dealer, doesn't actually display Ridgebacks in any of its stores. They have to be requested. Very odd for a brand with a good pedigree of value and solid build quality. I was told that Evans displays the bikes its customers want/the most popular. From some experiences of Evans I cannot but suspect that the accountancy wonks choose what goes on the shopfloor according to other factors like margin/foor space yield etc. Why else won't you find the Etrex 20/30 in their shops?

http://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/pages/balfes_se22.html
Sweep
bretonbikes
Posts: 682
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 12:35pm
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by bretonbikes »

Sweep wrote:With regard to the actual chance of seeing one of these in the flesh as opposed to in a company spec sheet/brochure/web page (which from above it appears Ridgeback may have mis-publicised in some stuff) I may have made progress.

I popped into Balfe's Bikes in East Dulwich* and spoke to Dan (or some other three letter name - my memory for names is terrible) and it appears that he may get a couple of sizes in soon. Well he did phone to tell me so it's more credible than the old shop line about how they have just sold out, some maybe due next month, keep popping back...

Circumstances my end to do with purpose of the bike and storage mean that though I would very much like to see one the purchase of the exped bike will be later in the year (I was honest about this) but it may well be worthwhile for any other interested parties to get in touch with Balfe's East Dulwich and make it well worth their whlle.

It's a good looking well specced bike and apart from its possible use for crossing countries/continents is far more for for purpose for travelling across London than many other fanciful contraptions on the capital's roads.

* East Dulwich, south of the river, just south of Peckham, easy to get to from pretty much in anywhere in London by bike of course - handy stations East Dulwich or Peckham.

If Balfe's get some in they deserve to flog them to all of London - disappointing that no one else seems willing to.

As an aside, I learned in my searches (well I was told this by a staff member) that Evans, although a Ridgeback dealer, doesn't actually display Ridgebacks in any of its stores. They have to be requested. Very odd for a brand with a good pedigree of value and solid build quality. I was told that Evans displays the bikes its customers want/the most popular. From some experiences of Evans I cannot but suspect that the accountancy wonks choose what goes on the shopfloor according to other factors like margin/foor space yield etc. Why else won't you find the Etrex 20/30 in their shops?

http://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/pages/balfes_se22.html


From your emails it appears you may have missed my original review here - http://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cyc ... 016-review - forgive me for reposting if you have.

From my conversations with Ridgeback it seems they (quite naturally) order a certain quantity of each model, but for the Expedition that number was vanishingly small. This is why I jumped and bought two to look at as I was told that only 35 examples were left for 2016! My hope is that if demand for it goes through the roof they may have rather more next year! Who knows, maybe some other manufacturers might follow suite...

All I can offer is that in the unlikely event of you (and I'll extend that to anyone on here) coming through central Brittany feel free to pop in and you can ride one of the two samples I bought - an 'S' and an 'XL'. Kate and I have been riding them around quite a lot and I still think they are brilliant;-)
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8444
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by Sweep »

Yes breton i have read your original wonderfully written glowing review. In fact if it wasn't for that i wouldn't have even known that the bike even existed. Not sure i understand your point.

All the best, pretty sure that after reading your stuff i will sooner or later end up with a ridgeback and a lodge 2.
Sweep
bretonbikes
Posts: 682
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 12:35pm
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by bretonbikes »

Sweep wrote:Yes breton i have read your original wonderfully written glowing review. In fact if it wasn't for that i wouldn't have even known that the bike even existed. Not sure i understand your point.

All the best, pretty sure that after reading your stuff i will sooner or later end up with a ridgeback and a lodge 2.


No it was just you'd mentioned seeing it only on the company website...Sorry didn't trawl throuhg all the posts - I just wanted to make sure.
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8444
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by Sweep »

I was referring to the company website saying that it had cantis breton.

You said it had Vs. I don't think for a tiny fraction of a second that yours don't have Vs or that you don't know the difference between Vs and cantis, but was just trying to clarify what the production run had. It isn't unkown for companies to tinker with specs in the early run of a product. Hell, Dahon, and damn them for it, often seemed to change the spec of a model with every day shift. Even on supposedly established models.

Here's hoping that the flatbar ridgeback expedition runs a few years - i agree with the gist of your review that this is maybe as close as you are going to get with an off the peg bike - the slight issues like wheels can be sorted.

All the best.
Sweep
bretonbikes
Posts: 682
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 12:35pm
Contact:

Re: Review of Ridgeback Expedition 26"

Post by bretonbikes »

Sweep wrote:I was referring to the company website saying that it had cantis breton.

You said it had Vs. I don't think for a tiny fraction of a second that yours don't have Vs or that you don't know the difference between Vs and cantis, but was just trying to clarify what the production run had. It isn't unkown for companies to tinker with specs in the early run of a product. Hell, Dahon, and damn them for it, often seemed to change the spec of a model with every day shift. Even on supposedly established models.

Here's hoping that the flatbar ridgeback expedition runs a few years - i agree with the gist of your review that this is maybe as close as you are going to get with an off the peg bike - the slight issues like wheels can be sorted.

All the best.


You're not wrong - the changing spec of bikes is a nightmare - often done on components not obvious to the casual buyer, like downgrading hubs on the quiet...

The wheels are pretty good for the price, but yes they are the weakest link if you really do go off on an expedition;-)
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
Post Reply