Planet X SL Pro Carbon

joshposh

Hi Guys,

Currently i have a 2009 specialized s-works sl2. It is indeed a very expensive bike and i am considering getting rid of it in order to fund a project. Basically i am interested in both the planet x tt frames and the road frames. I was just wondering whether people think i would lose serious perfomance by downgrading to a planet x. I would probably sell my frame and buy a planet x tt frame and a planet x carbon road frame. How good are the planet x bikes and do they compare in terms of stiffness to a specialized s-works?

cougie

If you check out the results of triathlons you'll see that Planet X figure very prominently.

I think the same tt frame was used in the tour a year or two back by FDJ ?

joshposh

What do you think of their road model though?

cougie

Its a nice bike. I doubt you'd notice any less performance from it ?

Once you get over a grand or so - its pretty much diminishing returns in terms of performance.

You will lose out on a big chunk selling your new bike though.

joshposh

Well i would only sell the frameset and i could probably get £1400 for that.

cougie

Evans have them for £1760 brand new ?

joshposh

What do you think would be a good price considering it is almost new and in excellent condition?

pianoman

Don't Planet-X have very good customer service IIRC?

Many disgruntled Ribble customers have gone to them. I even saw someone on Newton Fell during the Bill Bradley ride last Sunday, riding a Planet-X Carbon.

t0ph0id

I'm also currently looking into getting SL Pro Carbon to upgrade to from my Spesh Allez Elite.
Not found a bad word about them and also lots of positive comments about customer service.

Think I'm gonna get one ordered soonish and get my Allez on eBay.

redddraggon

For me the Tarmac SL2 has decent geometry. The PX geometry looks less thought out.

sjeffer

What size is your SL2 frame?

JC.152

cougie wrote:

If you check out the results of triathlons you'll see that Planet X figure very prominently.

I think the same tt frame was used in the tour a year or two back by FDJ ?

[imghttp://media.photobucket.com/image/cadel evans time trial 07/kirkfood/CadelTimeTrial.jpg[/img]

gkerr4

cougie wrote:

Evans have them for £1760 brand new ?

and Sigmasport have them at £1599

To be honest I don't think you will get much more back that it will cost to buy the PlanetX road frame let alone both frames (which is what I think you are trying to do).

NWLondoner

Stand out and get a Planet X. Everyone has Spesh these days.

joshposh

Do you have one? How do they rate in terms of performance compared with other bikes?

NWLondoner

This is my first proper road bike so can't compare it to others but £ for £ it doesn't really get any better. Yes spesh's are damn sexy bike but are overpriced for what you get. If you can afford to spend at least £1800 or more then get a spesh but for less money you can get a Planet X.

Ribble also get rave reviews although there service it very patchy.

Not heard a bad word about a Planet X bike.


Planet X frames have been going for yonks. They designed the frame IIRC but did not take out a patent so anyone can make the frame. That is why they can supply is so cheap. Plus you are cutting out the middle man so again you are getting a higher spec bike much cheaper than a high street top brand.

t0ph0id

I'm looking to order mine soon, just need to sell the spesh.

But what colour??? Think I'd like a white one, what do you have? Any pics?

Do you just buy the frame from them or a full build?

NWLondoner

I have the black one. I got the full build. Dura Ace Levers & Rear Mech. 105 Cassette. Ultegra Chain and Front Mech. FSA Compact 50/34 and FSA Brakes.

All works great apart from the brakes which i find pretty cr*p. I should upgrade to Dura Ace or TRP 950 but my cash always goes on other bike stuff

voxegam

Its all about the Dark Blue 1

Check the sig.

jonginge

NWLondoner wrote:

I have the black one. I got the full build. Dura Ace Levers & Rear Mech. 105 Cassette. Ultegra Chain and Front Mech. FSA Compact 50/34 and FSA Brakes.

All works great apart from the brakes which i find pretty cr*p. I should upgrade to Dura Ace or TRP 950 but my cash always goes on other bike stuff

Got mine at christmas, same build as above. The FSA brakes don't compare favourably with the DA I've got on my Scott. Everything else is great, though.

I went for the self-build option, which was pretty easy but for one gotcha: the tolerances for the crown race are pretty tight. I went to my LBS to get the fork steerer cut to size, cost me a fiver

NWLondoner

Carbon bike should ALWAYS be black The carbon weave is why we got them in the first place 8)

NWLondoner

JonGinge wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

I have the black one. I got the full build. Dura Ace Levers & Rear Mech. 105 Cassette. Ultegra Chain and Front Mech. FSA Compact 50/34 and FSA Brakes.

All works great apart from the brakes which i find pretty cr*p. I should upgrade to Dura Ace or TRP 950 but my cash always goes on other bike stuff

Got mine at christmas, same build as above. The FSA brakes don't compare favourably with the DA I've got on my Scott. Everything else is great, though.

I went for the self-build option, which was pretty easy but for one gotcha: the tolerances for the crown race are pretty tight. I went to my LBS to get the fork steerer cut to size, cost me a fiver

I have to keep adjusting my front brake (small Allen grub screw)as it keeps knocking my wheel out of true when i pull the brake.

voxegam

NWLondoner wrote:

Carbon bike should ALWAYS be black The carbon weave is why we got them in the first place 8)

Rubbish....too much carbon weave is just not right.

redddraggon

NWLondoner wrote:

Carbon bike should ALWAYS be black The carbon weave is why we got them in the first place 8)

Weave is largely a needlessly added extra weight.

dboden

voxegam wrote:

Its all about the Dark Blue 1

Check the sig.

I think that looks gorgeous in blue,
I too have been hanging my nose over these.
Could you tell me what spec you have with components etc, did px build it, and what wheels?
Cheers.mmmm niiiiice

voxegam

dboden wrote:

voxegam wrote:

Its all about the Dark Blue 1

Check the sig.

I think that looks gorgeous in blue,
I too have been hanging my nose over these.
Could you tell me what spec you have with components etc, did px build it, and what wheels?
Cheers.mmmm niiiiice

I sure can...

I actually got the original bike from a guy on these forums....he had barely ridden it so it was in as new condition.

(Unfortunately as you can see from the pic, the forks do not match....had a bad crash 2 months ago, forks snapped, had to get a replacement, which they unfortunately didnt have in blue =[ )

It came with full Ultegra 6600
I have added
FSA SLK Light 53/39 Carbon Cranks
FSA K-Wing Carbon Bars
FSA OS-99 CSI Stem
Thomson Elite Seatpost
Fizik Arione CX Saddle
Carbon Bottle Cages
...and then the wheels in the pic are Mavic Cosmic Carbone Premium SL wheels

donnie murdo

I am just about to hit the buy button on a Planet X Pro TI as soon as I figure out the diffrence between compact and standard (another topic)

I'd like to speak up for their customer service. I have been sending them inane and stupid questions all week and they have replied promptly and transparently to all my questions. Can't say fairer than that to be honest.

jojo90

I managed to build up an Ultegra Planet X SL Pro Carbon with some very nice wheels for < £750 ebay is your friend!

joshposh

How does it compare in terms of stiffness to a specialized tarmac sl2?

dboden

voxegam wrote:

dboden wrote:

voxegam wrote:

Its all about the Dark Blue 1

Check the sig.

I think that looks gorgeous in blue,
I too have been hanging my nose over these.
Could you tell me what spec you have with components etc, did px build it, and what wheels?
Cheers.mmmm niiiiice

I sure can...

I actually got the original bike from a guy on these forums....he had barely ridden it so it was in as new condition.

(Unfortunately as you can see from the pic, the forks do not match....had a bad crash 2 months ago, forks snapped, had to get a replacement, which they unfortunately didnt have in blue =[ )

It came with full Ultegra 6600
I have added
FSA SLK Light 53/39 Carbon Cranks
FSA K-Wing Carbon Bars
FSA OS-99 CSI Stem
Thomson Elite Seatpost
Fizik Arione CX Saddle
Carbon Bottle Cages
...and then the wheels in the pic are Mavic Cosmic Carbone Premium SL wheels

Thanks for that... well nice. Just thought I would say, I do think the black forks go really well... Its a real shame in my opinion that PX don't have more options on wheels, when you order, this is the only thing that puts me off..

voxegam

dboden wrote:

Thanks for that... well nice. Just thought I would say, I do think the black forks go really well... Its a real shame in my opinion that PX don't have more options on wheels, when you order, this is the only thing that puts me off..

No problem. You're right about Planet-x, the lack of wheel options could be a bit of an issue. However, the Model-B and even C's have good things said about them. The model-Bs came with my bike. I used them for about 2500 miles and they were good, bombproof, strong. What I will say about the wheels is

- My back wheel really did like to flex a bit when going up hills/putting power down

- The metal freehub on the rear wheel is seemingly an alloy of metal and butter. The cassette digs into it making little teeth marks that after a while make taking the cassette on and off v difficult. Searching the internet, this seems to be a common problem.

I recently replaced them with a set of Fulcrum Racing 5 Evos - a great set of training wheels for the price, I recommend them. The Px wheels (or rear wheel anyway) is now used on the trainer)

Hope this helped a bit.