Planet X SL Pro Carbon vs Specialized Allez - thoughts?

nickolasjenkins

Hi all,

I have a Specialized Allez double with 105 - its a great bike and serves me well for the trip to work and the blasts on the weekend.

Im not a racer or anything but enjoy the odd 50-60-70km ride on a sunday..

I have seen the cheap offer Planet X has for their SL Pro Carbon from £899 and have been thinking of upgrading my bike for a while. I was toying with the idea of a Tarmac as i do like Specialized as a brand.

My question is does anyone own one of these SL Carbons?

What are they like?

How much better is it than my Allez?

Does the carbon frame flex much?

Thoughts and comments and views welcome chaps..

N

Mark1962a

No brainer at that price IMHO - I own several tarmacs so am a big Spesh fan but always think the PX bikes look great as well - Same spec Tarmac is around the 2k plus mark with Ultegra.- PX bikes always get very good reviews and for W/E riding a true bargain £899

...

TimoH

PX Pro Carbon is lots of bike for the money. I have one (with ultegra 6700) and I like it. I think the following review describes the bike quite well:

http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/gear ... n-10-36958

The frame is OK, although there certainly are better ones available, albeit at much higher price. Some folks are concerned about the slightly flexy front end. That's not likely an issue unless you're a "brute force" rider. If it becomes an issue, changing the fork to a stiffer one, e.g. Easton EC70, may fix it. The rear end is solid, even under a heavy rider.

ynyswen24

+1 to all that, the review in Cycling Plus (last issue) is a good reflection of my experience with thew bike.

newcrossroadie

I recently swapped from an Allez (with Tiagra) to a Planet X SL Pro with Sram Rival. The difference in weight terms is huge and I find it a more comfortable ride. I haven't experienced any flex, although I am light. In summary, it's a bargain - prob not as good as Tarmac, but so much cheaper. I'd go for it rather than the Specialized and save the spare money for a rainy day.

bazbadger

I went from a spesh Allez 18 to a PX pro SL and the difference was quite marked.

Less road buzz, VERY light - goes up hills really well.

Very responsive, so took quite a while to get used to. Short wheel base on PX compared to Allez.

PX on the whole good to deal with. Would give it thumbs up!

Squillinossett

For the money, PX, full 6700 for that price ( and if imcorrect that includes wheels!!) cant really compare. even if you dont get on with the frame, you could ebay it for £200/£250 and buy a much better on for £500ish.

pmannion9

Sorry guys - not wanting to hijack original thread but how does the sizing compare between the Specialized and Planet-x ?

I have 52cm Allez - so would PX Small size be fine ?

Cheers.

2alexcoo

pmannion9 wrote:

Sorry guys - not wanting to hijack original thread but how does the sizing compare between the Specialized and Planet-x ?

I have 52cm Allez - so would PX Small size be fine ?

Cheers.

It looks like your Allez is in betwen the Planet X small and medium.

The small is a bit smaller all round. The medium has the same sized seat tube, but an extra 10mm in the top tube and a 15mm taller head tube.

So no easy answer really!

2alexcoo

Squillinossett wrote:

For the money, PX, full 6700 for that price ( and if imcorrect that includes wheels!!) cant really compare. even if you dont get on with the frame, you could ebay it for £200/£250 and buy a much better on for £500ish.

I could sell my P-X frame tomorrow for £200-250 - a couple of clubmates are looking for a cheap carbon frame.

If I can buy something much better for only 250-300 sheets on top of that, I'd be on it like a shot. What do you recommend for £500?

Squillinossett

I wouldn't like to recommend anything, as there are ALOT of people here that know much, much more than me and will be able to guide you better, its just my opinion.

I would be sorely tempted by this though!

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=24212

different if you want carbon, but that frame with 6700 would be sweet!

Lagavulin

One of the things that would put me off an SL Carbon is that I'd likely require the small frame and that only comes with frame bosses on the downtube.
I know there are alternate means of fixing bottles to a bike but to me that's a design flaw. One 500-750ml bottle between refills. Great.

Still, my own fault for being a dwarf I suppose. :oops:

redddraggon

Lagavulin wrote:

One of the things that would put me off an SL Carbon is that I'd likely require the small frame and that only comes with frame bosses on the downtube.
I know there are alternate means of fixing bottles to a bike but to me that's a design flaw. One 500-750ml bottle between refills. Great.

Still, my own fault for being a dwarf I suppose. :oops:

The Small frame is not all that small, it's still got a headtube length of 125mm, which is quite long for a small race frame.

It's a totally retarded design for a "summer" frame though only having 1 bottle cage. There's no need whatsoever for such a sloping frame. Every other manufacturer (that I know of) manages to fit two bottle cages on their smallest frame.

Still saying that I have been considering getting one to replace my Nero Corsa for the winter. I could still get 9cm of drop with the Medium frame though if I used no spacers + -10deg 110mm stem, and that would give me near enough the same fit as my small PX Road Pro.

amyabcd

I agree one set of bosses is not great, you can get a 750 bottle in but space is tight and results in the bottle rubbing the underside of the top tube too

The sloping top tupe helps me with standover height though.