Planet X at last!!!!

simmo3801

Or almost....

At long last my employer has joined the cycle2work scheme again. I was considerably more excited about it this year as even Halfords were advertising that they could get any bike available in the UK. I had looked at the Planet X pro carbon superlight before as a few people on here had recommended them, mainly spaspaddy thanks! So I've finally got my letter of collection through and emailed the build sheet from Planet Xs website to Halfords. Didn't hear anything back so called them today. Spoke to very cheery girl who confirmed they had my order and would proceed with it but that as they only did 2 cash releases a month it would prob be the middle of January that they would give Planet X the cash and they in turn obviously wouldn't release the bike before then. All in all she said it should be ready to collect by the end of Jan / start of Feb. At this point I glanced out of the window in the Scottish borders and everything was white as far as I could see. I told her the wait wasn't a problem. She then told me there were a couple of other bikes I might like to consider as there wouldn't be such a waiting period for them and that they could have them in store in 2 weeks. The first predictably was a carrera. A Viagra or something. She said halfords were right up there with the cutting edge when I asked here if it had a carbon frame. It had the same ultegra groupset (actually part ultegra) and was worth considering. The second bike that she suggested was a Dolan which caught my interest. I always thought of them as mainly track bikes but on a web site recently it showed Dave LLoyd riding his sportive on one. Looked a nice bike.

Anyway....

She went on to say that the Dolan was a lovely carbon frame but was down a groupset from ultegra to 105. I retorted that my Spec Allez sport was 105 equipped and that I wanted the ultegra. She replied............

The seat post and fork thingeys are carbon as well. And they come in such lovely colours!

Up until that point she almost knew what she was talking about! I'm not jumping on the knock halfords band wagon as my local store have the usual spotty youths, but they are very interested and knowledgeable in bikes. But it did make me laugh.

So Planet X followed by decent set of wheels and sportive tastic next year

willbevan

heheh im looking forward to my employer doingthesame... (not the halfords scheme though, andonly a few planetx LBS' thatareinthescheme my company is joining)

Do halfords letyou add money tothe voucher?

Just wonderedwhich build you got, ipresumethe 999 ultegra any idea how heavythebike is?

Thanks

Will

benvickery

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I emailed Halfords my build sheet for a planet-x superlight pro 2 weeks ago and have been eagerly waiting for it since. I can't believe it's going to take another month or more until I get it. I filled in the forms at work over 2 months ago now, this is crazy. I know it's a good deal, but....... :evil:

What with the bad weather and a brand new baby, I've not been out much this month, I was hoping that a new bike would be the incentive to get me started again.

giant_man

If I were you, when you get it, is to take it to LBS and get them to check it over, knowing Halfords as I do, something might not be as it should be.

simmo3801

I've read before people saying take them to the LBS to be checked over as halfords not worth tuppence when it comes to bike building but they don't actually have to do anything as the bike comes in a boxready built. All halfords have to do is turn handlebars and put wheels on. I will thoroughly check all bolts etc when I get it as I would normally.

I spoke to Planet X and you can't add money to the voucher as I originally quite fancied the new superlight with the ultegra ice groupset which is 1299. It's all to do with the consumer credit act. Your employer can apply for a licence for free to offer credit for your bike up to £1000. Over this amount they have to apply for a different licence which would cost £500 so they generally won't. Sneaky thing is that halfords are now charging £100 admin fee (my arse) on the £1000 voucher but still means with tax relief you're only paying back £747. Suprise was that when voucher arrived you also get £100 worth of accessories free which would cover cost of pedals shoes etc.
Not sure of weight. I gave them a call and am waiting on Andy calling me back with that.

giant_man

simmo3801 wrote:

I've read before people saying take them to the LBS to be checked over as halfords not worth tuppence when it comes to bike building but they don't actually have to do anything as the bike comes in a boxready built. All halfords have to do is turn handlebars and put wheels on. I will thoroughly check all bolts etc when I get it as I would normally.

I spoke to Planet X and you can't add money to the voucher as I originally quite fancied the new superlight with the ultegra ice groupset which is 1299. It's all to do with the consumer credit act. Your employer can apply for a licence for free to offer credit for your bike up to £1000. Over this amount they have to apply for a different licence which would cost £500 so they generally won't. Sneaky thing is that halfords are now charging £100 admin fee (my ars*) on the £1000 voucher but still means with tax relief you're only paying back £747. Suprise was that when voucher arrived you also get £100 worth of accessories free which would cover cost of pedals shoes etc.
Not sure of weight. I gave them a call and am waiting on Andy calling me back with that.

I wouldn't even trust them to do that properly quite honestly so a check would be beneficial IMO.

richardjallen

simmo3801 wrote:

I've read before people saying take them to the LBS to be checked over as halfords not worth tuppence when it comes to bike building but they don't actually have to do anything as the bike comes in a boxready built. All halfords have to do is turn handlebars and put wheels on. I will thoroughly check all bolts etc when I get it as I would normally.

I spoke to Planet X and you can't add money to the voucher as I originally quite fancied the new superlight with the ultegra ice groupset which is 1299. It's all to do with the consumer credit act. Your employer can apply for a licence for free to offer credit for your bike up to £1000. Over this amount they have to apply for a different licence which would cost £500 so they generally won't. Sneaky thing is that halfords are now charging £100 admin fee (my ars*) on the £1000 voucher but still means with tax relief you're only paying back £747. Suprise was that when voucher arrived you also get £100 worth of accessories free which would cover cost of pedals shoes etc.
Not sure of weight. I gave them a call and am waiting on Andy calling me back with that.

I spoke to Halfords about this earlier in the year. They told me that they were setting up a _free_ web service aimed at small companies so the company could do the admin easily.

If you buy a PlanetX don't PX put it together and just ship it to Halfords? This is what Halfords told me. I would still have it looked over though - mine needed it.

benvickery

This £100 admin charge is news to me, the agreement I signed says I'm paying just under £50 a month for a year. Also I didn't get anything about free accessories, perhaps different companies have different arrangements with Halfords?? I'm going to buy some pedals from Wiggle, but I'm not sure exactly which ones to buy to match the groupset, as there appears to be a few Ultegra pedals listed.

Richard - you say that your bike needed checking, did you also buy one from planet-x and if so what was wrong with it??

dsmiff

Out of interest, got this from Halfords on the Carrera Virago Carbon

Spec as follows,

Carbon fibre Monocoque frame.
Carbon Fibre monocoque fork with carbon steerer
20 spd Shimano Ultegra shifters and rear mech
Truvativ Elita GXP 2.2 chainset
Tektro R580 dual pivot brakes
Shimano WH-R580 wheelset with Conti Ultra Sport tyres
Truvativ Team finishing kit

Weight is approx 17.5lbs.

Not sure if the brakes are correct (might be shimano),I can't find the wheels anywhere and the front mech is 105.

geoff_ss

You youngsters have it easy. I cycled commuted for years before I retired - all at my own expense. I had to sleep in a cardboard box and my bikes/trike were kept in the house I used to fit shoe plate to my wellies in winter :P

Is this scheme for cheap loans to buy the bike? Sounds a brilliant wheeze, especially if you can put it towards a decent bike. Glad you're taking advantage of it

Geoff

spasypaddy

will - the medium bike weighs 8.4kg! Its really light

willbevan

spasypaddy wrote:

will - the medium bike weighs 8.4kg! Its really light

thats pretty light i presume that is the 999 one im up for that as soon as my work get it sorted

redddraggon

willbevan wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

will - the medium bike weighs 8.4kg! Its really light

thats pretty light i presume that is the 999 one im up for that as soon as my work get it sorted

8.4Kg, I'm afraid isn't super light but, it's about right for an Ultegra Equipped carbon bike at that sort of price.

I think the Planet X would probably still be a good buy up to £1500 (and possibly beyond). It's just a shame you can't get them in Campag.

spasypaddy

redddraggon wrote:

willbevan wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

will - the medium bike weighs 8.4kg! Its really light

thats pretty light i presume that is the 999 one im up for that as soon as my work get it sorted

8.4Kg, I'm afraid isn't super light but, it's about right for an Ultegra Equipped carbon bike at that sort of price.

I think the Planet X would probably still be a good buy up to £1500 (and possibly beyond). It's just a shame you can't get them in Campag.

for the price bracket it is super light, maybe not compared to a top of the range 4k bike but anyway...

i did ask them about campag and it just wouldnt happen due to the quantities that they buy in and stuff.

redddraggon

spasypaddy wrote:

for the price bracket it is super light, maybe not compared to a top of the range 4k bike but anyway...

Most Bikes in that sort of price range are a similar weight:

Focus Cayo 2008 (in 56, larger than your medium) is 8.05Kg, a good bit lighter than 8.4Kg.
Felt Z65 2008 8.5Kg (in 56)
Felt F55 2007 8.05Kg (in 56)


Therefore in it's price bracket, it's a good weight, but I can't say it's super light.

mattsv

I initially ordered my Planet X back in August, eventuially got it on 6th December - mainly my work's fault as they did not explain that they would not send out the Letters Of Collection until October, I eventually got my LOC in November, just as Planet X were out of stock of large frames!!!

Through my companies scheme, I actually only pay back around £14 per month over 3 years - total of just over £500 - what a result!

I weighed mine (with the XTR pedals I got from LBS for £40 8) ) and it came in at 8.1kg (with no bottle cages) - this is for a large frame.

Have only managed to get out on it a couple of times in the last month but it sure is sweet to ride:-

benvickery

It looks beautiful

The last I've heard from Halfords, I might get mine within 2 weeks. I can't wait!!

I assume those are the planet-x wheels they now come with?

mattsv

benvickery wrote:

It looks beautiful

The last I've heard from Halfords, I might get mine within 2 weeks. I can't wait!!

I assume those are the planet-x wheels they now come with?[/quote]

Well, that is what mine came with - hopefully yours will be the same

redddraggon

It's a bit black

simmo3801

Thanks Mattsv for the picture which will keep me going until I get mine! In the meantime I've ordered a pair of Campagnolo Eurus to bling it up and reduce the weight even more. Roll on the sportives.......