Take a first glance at Ribble’s Endurance 725 ‘Base’ model, and straight away something looks different. It soon becomes obvious why – this is a rim-brake bike, no discs. That’s not to say this isn’t a goodlooking machine, though – it certainly is.
It’s part of a four-bike Endurance 725 range, all made from Reynolds steel tubing and yes, all featuring rim brakes. With a 10-speed Tiagra groupset, the Base is the lowest-rung bike, with the top-specced machine, the Pro, featuring Ultegra Di2 and carbon wheels.
The ‘Base’ tag could be deemed slightly misleading though and certainly doesn’t do justice to the elegance of its classic old-school lines, or even its performance, as we’ll find out.
The frameset
The Reynolds 725 steel frame has
