My Planet X Just Arrived
NWLondoner
Posts: 2,047
Yes, my Planet X Dura Ace C18 arrived at 8am this morning.
My god it is light.
Will test ride shortly with pics and full report later or tomorrow.
My god it is light.
Will test ride shortly with pics and full report later or tomorrow.
0
Posts
EDIT: you need to change your HAVE and ON ORDER things in your sig now
Out of the box i could not believe how light it was. It is also dead sexy (for a bike that is)
As you know i ordered the C18 Dura Ace build although as you know it is actually a bit of a mongrel with parts from different brands. The front mech was supposed to be Dura Ace however they fitted Ultegra, which is ok considering it is still a deal of a bike. Even better though they fitted a Ritchey Pro Carbon bar (the same as on the FSA Build) instead of the Planet X one listed
Now this is my first drop bar bike and to be honest the position will take me a while to get used to. I'm glad i went for the L and not as the XL as that would have been to far a reach for me.
The bike is very light to handle like it wants to get away from you, so i'll stick to the hoods for a while before i attempt the drops,also remembering which lever to press to go up a gear etc will take a couple of rides as well.
Gear changes are smooth but like others have said the 34T is almost useless on the flat so i will stick to the 50T for most conditions.
One thing when i hit the back brake the whole back of the bike seems to judder and this gets transferred through the bike. There is plenty of clearance so hopefully it is just the rubber getting to grips.
Sadly i cannot shake off the flu i has over xmas and after a couple of miles started to feel really faint etc so it won't be until next weekend or the one after that i can give it a real ride.
I am kitting it out soon so will post pic's later today.
I think the bars more than make up for the Ultegra front mech - very little difference to DA.
I don't get brake judder - is the calliper firmly fixed? Is the rear wheel straight in the dropouts? I did change my rear pads for Koolstops as it felt a bit inefficient, maybe the pads are too hard or something.
Or is it the join in the rim, is it once every revolution?
Re: juddering - it may be either the pads bedding in, or the toe-in is off on the pads - to stop juddering, the front part of the pad should touch the rim just before the back part if you see what I mean.
If you think its light - wait until you find a decent hill - it zings up. I climb half decent on it and I weigh 95 kgs!!
1)Planet X SL Pro carbon
2)Nelson Pista Singlespeed
3)Giant Cadex MTB
4)BeOne Karma MTB
Like NWLondoner I could not believe how light the bike is!
The ride is also very smooth.
Took a couple of goes to get the headset right - needed a shakedown ride first followed by a adjustment, but seems fine now.
Plan to put some pics and a mini review up soon.
really pleased - and the ritchey bar upgrade is pretty sweet too
has a can of blue paint exploded over yours??
Twitter
Flickr
just under, approx 7.71kilo/17lbs
Not the best photo being taken indoors, however in my area try taking a photo of this outside and you will get mugged for either the bike or the camera or BOTH!!!
Don't you love the pro race 3 tyres :twisted:
Sadly my fenix torch mount does not fit the oversize bars :shock:
Notice my M540 pedals instead of the much derided flats 8)
how many garmins do you need out of interest?
Look 695 (Geared) - FCN 1
Bowman Palace:R - FCN 1
Cannondale CAAD 9 - FCN 2
Premier (CX) - FCN 6
Premier (fixed/SS) - FCN3
'approximately' 7.71kg..? Do you not have an exact figure.. ?
Barnet eh?. I'm in the lovely posh area of Colindale LOL :?
My 605 to navigate a set route and upload to garmin Connect.
My 205 to track my route and upload to mapmyride. I can't upload with my 605 to mapmyride.
now do you fancy going out for a ride sometime, we can be team Planet X North London
Look 695 (Geared) - FCN 1
Bowman Palace:R - FCN 1
Cannondale CAAD 9 - FCN 2
Premier (CX) - FCN 6
Premier (fixed/SS) - FCN3
(and I am sorry cos you did say no pedal comments)
.....what the hell are those pedals doing on that bike?? - the look like they fell off your 12yr old brothers BMX
get some clipless on there - a nice set of keo carbons or time RXS ulteams would suit it best!
Wheel sat in dropouts correctly? Quick release tightened sufficiently? Is the brake caliper centered? I've experienced that if the brake has taken a knock.
Its easier when you're properly connected to the bike.
2008 Wilier Izoard
LOL you swine
To be honest the thought of riding this with flat pedals does make me weep.
I have now put my M540's on so fingers crossed
It's an HDR photo - which might explain the blue tinit. But the bike is actually black!
No more flat pedals 8)
Handling wise it was a first very twitchy and i sometimes found myself drifting and the lightness was emphisized when getting hit by a crosswind. As i have only just come over from a flat bar this is just me getting used to the feel of a drop bar and by the last 10 miles i was taking it in my stride 8)
The chain set and gears are SUPERB!!! Very smooth peddling and gear changes are effortless. They have a nice smooth changing action and NEVER missed a single change over. On my old triple i found myself using the middle ring as my main ring but would have to change up to get more speed and change down to get up some hills. Today i rode 95% on the 50t and only had to drop to the 34 to get up broomfield hill and some other sections when my legs had gone. I can't judge yet whether the 12-25 is suitable for me for large climbs as i cocked up the gear changes so many times getting up that hill i will have to see next time :oops: (Thanks Tim for being there as i would have thrown in the towel had i been be myself LOL )
Positioning wise i have had to take a hit and miss approach as i have no prior experience with drops but i think i have got it right first time. Time will tell if this is the case or not. I have not yet tried riding on the drops but hope to when i hit Watling Street in the not too distant future
I managed to get along fine with my clipless pedals with only 1 or 2 missed clip ins. Although i was more cautious at traffic lights, whereas i would dart in and out on my flat pedals i decided to play it safe and queue behind. I almost had a clipless moment when doing a U turn from a stationary start on the Fulham Palace Road. My left foot slipped on the pedal and hit the front wheel. Thankfully i saved it and didn't end up flat on my face in front on the oncoming white van :oops:
My only quibbles are that the brakes are a bit of a let down and don't do the bike justice. While they may only be bedding in i do not have full confidence in them. I may upgrade these as soon as money allows instead of the wheels. Also as others have said before the 50t does not give enough speed when you really want to go flat out.
Apart from those 2 i am really pleased with my purchase and if anyone is in the market for a new bike then quite frankly it is a real no brainer to go and get one of these.
I think all drop bar bikes will feel twitchy after flats.
I agree about the brakes, but I improved the performance by fitting Koolstop Salmon pads. They are fine now. The Tektro pads seem to be a bit hard.
I also changed my cassette to a 12-27 (I'm a wimp) but find I can manage everything I could do on the triple. The light bike and wheels compensate for the higher gearing.
I hope you enjoy it!
yeah - but you've put MTB pedals on now..
next to go is that massive sofa-sized saddle!
(Glad you like it really!)
Hmmm, that's not true.
50-12 @ 100rpm (a modest RPM by all accounts) gets you to nearly 33mph.
50-12 @ 120rpm (ie flat out) is over 39mph
..........and then 50-11 is even bigger.........
50-11 @100rpm is 35.5mph
50-11 @120rpm is 42.6mph
No are you telling me you are struggling to get over 40mph because of your gearing?
I used to think that bigger gears were better, but I learnt that pedalling faster is the key.
Hell, 50-11 is bigger than 53-12, and plenty of better riders than you or I seem to manage on 53-12
Twitter
Flickr
While my views might be biased with having censored legs - the outer chain ring on my 53/39 shod Allez Sport could well out live me - I'd of thought the vast majority of people buying off the peg bikes would find 53/11 or 53/12 a fairly redundant gear.
Running 50/34 and 12-25 on my Izoard and on the flat I've never felt under geared. In fact I've barely made it into top gear on anything other than a fairly steep downhill. :oops:
2008 Wilier Izoard
Yeah change that saddle, your crotch will thank you for it if you ride anything beyond 10ks.
Nice bike but.
The long grazed legged one
LOL no pleasing you is their
Don't knock my saddle. it's the most comfortable i've ever had. I will probably get a Spec Toupe at some stage.
Speedplay pedals may also be on my list. I just like the idea of the concealed cleats on the SPD's.
that saddle has got me to 50 miles with no crotch problems 8)
I like a hole in mine.