planet x ? is this a good buy ?

jonnycon

Planet x carbon road bike with SRAM red £1599

or

Dura Ace £1599

or Ultegra at £1299

This seems a tremendous buy. Does anyone have any experience of planet x and is this as good as it seems ?

cyclistbruce

I got the Dura Ace fitted version for £1399 at the Bikeradar event in Donnington. I'm very pleased with it, build quality is superb, service was excellent, its a bike worth twice its price.

They even swapped the crankset for a FSA K Force compact to make the hills a little more pleasant! Its also a pretty sexy bike (I got the white version, which is a pig to keep clean!) I would have no hesitation in buying from them again.

weeve

top tip. use wet wipes. cleans white bikes in seconds.

alfablue

I got a £999 bike with DA shifters and mechs this time last year, the bike is superb as is the customer service. There has been some discussion on another thread about the merits of the £1299 Ultegra over the £999 "Race2Work" build and the consensus is that the cheaper one is beter value having an Ultegra and 105 mix.

fungus_the_muffin_man

jonnycon wrote:

Planet x carbon road bike with SRAM red £1599

or

Dura Ace £1599

or Ultegra at £1299

This seems a tremendous buy. Does anyone have any experience of planet x and is this as good as it seems ?

I've been umming and arrring over the sram version as well. Phone them up and have a chat. I did yesterday and I'm arranging to go over next week and look at the bikes. I'm only down the road from you (heywood) and it'll take an hour to get there. well worth the money in petrol for the price your paying on the bike to make sure you get the right one.

jonnycon

Thanks for this, these bikes do genuinely seem a good investment then, I found another thread relating to planet x and everyone seems very pleased, fungus i may do likewise and head over there, at this stage it looks like they'll be getting my cash.

HonestAl

better deal still came out today

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/aca ... ra_SL.html

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/aca ... ra_SL.html

I've had the Ti version for some months and it's great....only a few available though at this price, this weekend only

2alexcoo

Great bikes for the money but check the geometry suits you. They have a long top tube and quite a short head tube compared to some bikes out there.

A mate of mine bought the Ribble Sportive which is a similar price but has a slightly more upright riding position.

pabloweaver

ta ra !


thats a good bye !

on a serious note ....ahem

I love my plantet X and would heartily recommend one to you and your bank balance!

bikesr4riding

I'd certainly recommend the bike. I have the 105 version of the Planet X SL Pro Carbon and love it to pieces. I've written a short review and taken a load of pictures if it help. Have a look at Images and review: Planet X SL Pro Carbon

bikesr4riding

I've just received an email from Planet X with an alert offering the SL Pro Carbon with full 2010 Shimano Ultegra 6700 groupset for £999. Here's the link. Sounds like an awesome deal!

Percy Vera

That's yesterdays news!
They must have sent your email via Royal Mail.
Thanks anyway!

hopper1

I've just noted that the geometry is identical to my Cinelli Willin'! :shock: But, the frame doesn't look the same
The Cinelli ride is so comfortable that I would recommend the Planet X to anyone, especially at that price (for the RED)... Unbelievable price, shame their Ti frames aren't so competative

fearby

Planet X is always a good buy.

ACMadone

Planet X frame is always a cheap piece of rubbish with good components.

Escargot

I don't want to enter into the whole P-X frame debate but looking at the £999 deal it doesn't seem that fantastic to me.

When I looked at what I would actually want from a bike i.e. for it to be assembled for a start and have better than the bog standard saddle, wheels, tyres, handlebars, stem, tape etc. then this adds a fair bit to the price.

I'm sure if you bought a mass manufacturer bike with the cheapest components (other than the group) then they would also be much better value. Maybe not quite as cheap as a PX but for £999 I think I'd rather buy a Boardman or Focus.

donnie murdo

---

Planet X frame is always a cheap piece of rubbish with good components.
by ACMadone

Sounds like someone else bought into the Trek marketing campaign/hype..

Where is your back up evidence of this comment?

Planet X do make good frames and put together very good quality and most importantly good value bikes.

They don't run expensive international advertising/marketing campaigns employing the best brand image consultants or sponsor various high profile teams and riders. Planet X do not use diti and do not sell through channel sales like the big boys. The do not get high profile bike press coverage. Where do you think Trek etc get the money for this? It costs millions of pounds to have the level of international profile that these companies have and that comes from the sales of their overpriced/underspecced bikes that people buy, beleiving that they have bought the best due to the very good and expensive marketing.

ACMadone

I am fully aware of the Planet X ethos is and fair play to them, however the quality of a carbon frame that costs around £400 is obviously not the greatest. If that's all you can afford to spend on a frame then personally I would buy an aluminium one.

Tacx Boy

OK I'll try again.

I dislike the geometry of the PX frame. Very sloping top tube makes for a 'strange' ride quality. The bottom bracket flexes hugely (or it did on the one I rode intensively).

I think the £999 deal is a great buy if you can put up with what i believe is a very poor frame and have the ability to build the bike yourself. The finishing kit is also pretty poor IMHO.

Personally, if I was on a tight budget I'd take the £999 deal and sell the frame on eBay and then buy a good £500 carbon frame (there are a few really good ones out there). I'd also probably get rid of the finishing kit on eBay and upgrade that. Granted it would probably end up more than the £999 but IMHO you'd end up with an infintely better bike.

PX are making decent money on this deal. Do the maths for yourselves as to how much this frame is worth.

I'm building a bike at the moment with a Ridley Helium frameset and Campag Chorus groupset. Up to now this lot has cost me less than £1,300. I could put a cheao wheelset and finishing kit on it and have a bike for about £1,500 that would have an infintely better frame than PX (do we all agree?) a much, much better groupset (cue campag v Shimano debate) and have a very high resale value should I want to sell it.

My point all along is that you get what you pay for. The PX frame is worth about £200. is anyone seriously suggesting you can get a good carbon frame for £200? Do you think Pinarello makes £2,000+ profit on a Prince or a Dogma.

The vast majority of people who are delighted with their PX bikes don't know any better. That isn't their fault. PX do a great job in creating the illusion that they are offering a superb product at a really cheap price. What they are doing is building a bike to a price point.

They put together stuff to get around £1,000 because they know most of their potential customers will pay that. It's not rocket science to work out that savings have to be made somewhere along the line.

Then we get someone from Planet X coming on the forum telling us all how great they are. I'm shocked.

The problem with this forum is that it is populated by people with very little knowledge of the industry, technology or bikes and cycling in general. They could be helped to make educated choices if it wasn't for this whole PX hysteria.

I started this off by saying that in my opinion the PX frame is shite. I stand by that but fully accept that when 1,000 flies gather round a junk it will create the belief that 1,000 flies can't be wrong

donnie murdo

Cost and margin are two different things.

The cost of many manufacturers carbon frames are the same its the margin they add on that makes the difference to the end sell price (that we see) and some add on way more than others (see Trek,Specialized,Giant etc) because they have far higher operating costs and profit targets to acheive. It's the same for everything bikes are no different. Because something costs less to purchase does not mean that it is an inferior product. Look at Specialized who this year have increased prices across the board using the credit crunch and dollar rate as an excuse (along with everyone else) they are still selling the same kit as last year shoes,helmets with no changes at all but they are around 15-20% more expensive. Does this extra cost make them a better product than last year?

The phrase 'If something is to good to be true, then it probably is' is a great peice of marketing jargon coined to put the cat amongst the pigeons of buyers.

kafkathedog

OK I'll TRY AGAIN

I don't think anyone was saying that the PX frame is the best in the world but calling it 'shite' is just ridiculous. As I said I have had it for over a year and ridden a few sportives including the southern last weekend. Shame on everyone who finished after me and my 'shite' frame you must all be rubbish what with having such superior bikes

It has taken TACX BOY about 12 hours to come out with a half decent post (even if I don't agree with most of it - Ridley Helium infinitely better? Really??? No i don't agree sorry)

I doubt you will ever know how much a Pinarello Prince frame costs to make unless you are Pinarellos accountant.

Also I know I'm not Chris Hoy but I've not really noticed any BB flex.

The fact is the PX deal is a good one and a great starting point. I had a specialized allez for many years and the PX is overall a better bike, if last year had I decided to buy a new allez over the PX what would I have got for my money?

As I said before if money wasn't an issue you may well see my riding round on a top end bianchi as I think they look fantastic but I wouldn't expect my performance to be increased by much (if any), I may enjoy looking at it a bit more though.

Lets end this silly nonsense and get out on our bikes shall we

kafkathedog

kafkathedog wrote:

Lets end this silly nonsense and get out on our bikes shall we

Except TACX BOY you can't can you, you haven't finished building it yet

Sorry couldn't resist

redddraggon

Tacx Boy wrote:

OK I'll try again.

I dislike the geometry of the PX frame.

I'd agree that the geometry is poor.

2alexcoo

Ok, i'll bite. I have a Planet-X and like it but I am not a 'fanboy' by any means. I consider the wheels that came with the bike to be pretty rubbish, for example.

Tacx Boy wrote:

Personally, if I was on a tight budget I'd take the £999 deal and sell the frame on eBay and then buy a good £500 carbon frame (there are a few really good ones out there). I'd also probably get rid of the finishing kit on eBay and upgrade that. Granted it would probably end up more than the £999 but IMHO you'd end up with an infintely better bike.

Planet-X sell the frame & fork on its own for £400. There are loads of generic unbranded frames on Ebay for about the same price. I am under no illusions that the P-X is effectively one of these generic frames with stickers on, but I am very doubtful that for £500 I could buy a carbon frame that is 'infinitely better'. Do you have a link to these frames?

The finishing kit on £1000 bikes is all much of a muchness, again I'm not sure what your point is?

Tacx Boy wrote:

I'm building a bike at the moment with a Ridley Helium frameset and Campag Chorus groupset. Up to now this lot has cost me less than £1,300. I could put a cheao wheelset and finishing kit on it and have a bike for about £1,500 that would have an infintely better frame than PX (do we all agree?) a much, much better groupset (cue campag v Shimano debate) and have a very high resale value should I want to sell it.

Eh? A quick search puts the Ridley frameset at £2300 and the absolute cheapest Chorus group is £750 at Ribble. Either you've bought secondhand or somehow managed to secure the deal of the century. I agree that your bike will be far nicer than a P-X but unless it's a deal people on this forum can go out and buy I don't see the point of the comparison.

Tacx Boy wrote:

My point all along is that you get what you pay for. The PX frame is worth about £200. is anyone seriously suggesting you can get a good carbon frame for £200? Do you think Pinarello makes £2,000+ profit on a Prince or a Dogma.

If the interweb is to be believed Pinarello outsource manufacturing to China. So four people will want a cut - the factory, Pinarello for painting it, the UK importer, and the bike shop in the UK. I bet that between them there is £2000 profit in it.

Planet-X deal direct with the factory in Taiwan and sell the product direct to the punter. End result is a good bike at a cheap price. I'm under no illusions that I'm getting a £3k superbike for a grand but it's definitely not shite either.

pabloweaver

sigh..................

ok ...for what its worth ...Iike 2alexcoo Im under no illusions that paying a grand will not get me a top of the range , bike to end all bikes , all other manufactures give up now piece of kit ...


however, just to repeat what I put on a previously withrawn topic...

for a grand I have bought a bike that does what I want, when I want and is a better all round performer than other bikes I have had or used ( this is based on the fact that some where better climbers, some better for distance etc etc ..but lacked things elsewhere..)


for a GRAND I could not have bought a bike of the standard the PX has proven to be ( to me ) that hs also proven to be a competent ( lets stick with competent its less inflammatory ) all rounder.

every other bike I have owned has gone through upgrade after upgrade and they sit here with a variety of bits and bobs on them, All that I have changed on the PX is seat , seatpost ( only 'cos PX did a great deal on a carbon post..biketart mode ) and the wheels , which granted although people say the model B is a great wheel I have had better, so when i bust one I changed wheels )


so to recap .....for A GRAND .... the bike ticks all the boxes I need for my riding, I could buy better but lets face it thats the same with any purchase be it a TV, PC , car or a bleeding pair of shoes...


also for the record for some posters ....this is NOT my first bike , I am NOT a new rider and I'm of an age, experience and a number of miles in my legs to make feel that I know what works for me .....but then again Im not in the trade so what do I know or care....

It's about balance ...pay 1K enjoy the ride and know that the money is spent and away I go ....or saddle ( oh dear ) myself with debt for 5 years buying a superbike only to be wanting another bike half way through...which is the way of the cyclists world....

spend what you want folks ...its your cash ....but I can get enjoyment ( at the mo ) from the bikes I have and do a hell of lot with the money I saved from the bank loan !


all view re loans are authors own and do not represent any pressure excerted by his bike widow leaning over his shoulder with hacksaw in hand and evil look in eyes whilst she looks at his bikes

sturmey

Personally, if I was on a tight budget I'd take the £999 deal and sell the frame on eBay and then buy a good £500 carbon frame (there are a few really good ones out there).

Tacx Boy, you have offered a lot of food for thought in your post.
Out of interest, would you have any recommendations regarding the above as I am in the market for a frame at this pricepoint.

Aggieboy

pabloweaver wrote:

sigh..................


however, just to repeat what I put on a previously withrawn topic...

Out of interest why was that previous post re PX withdrawn and who by?

fungus_the_muffin_man

As a relatively new person to road biking. As much as I love my new Bianchi and wouldn't change it at all. You have to say £999 for that bike is a bloody great bargain. So what if the frame isn't the best comapred to others. If this gets more bums on saddles and gives cycling a higher profile let them carry on what they are doing. It's a fantastic starter set up.

pabloweaver

Aggieboy wrote:

pabloweaver wrote:

sigh..................


however, just to repeat what I put on a previously withrawn topic...

Out of interest why was that previous post re PX withdrawn and who by?

I think the mods withdrew it ( rightly ) as a pic of a cut up carbon frame and the " failings" within it was posted , infering that it was a certain brand of bike ( which it wasn't) ...it was all getting a bit messy ... ( hope thats kept me clear of the legal and mod issues ! )

still is if you read the follow on topic !

top_bhoy

£1000 for a bike and there are some choice negative adjectives being used to describe it. This has turned into an almost absurd thread.

I don't particularly like the look of the P-X nor big on Shimano (my personal preferences only) but if those who have bought it are happy with it then that is all that matters, they will have I am sure, a decent bike on their hands. If they spend another £300 to improve it, at what point do they stop - there will be a £1600 bike which will be better specced than the £1300 bike?

cal_stewart

I think its fair to say that given overheads,shareholders and advertising budgets the px frame is inline with a 800 to 1000 pound frame for the big boys. as i was recently quoted around 1300 for a trek m 4.7 2010 frame in germany, I would say the px is near but not to the standard. plus best spec for a grand end of!