Planet X Titanium Bike Range?

DonnieMurdo

Does anyone know if Planet X have dropped their Ti range as they have none for sale on their website at present?

redddraggon

I can still see them

uptonspark

Haven't been able to see them for a while now. Can see the frames ok but the bike builds seem to have gone for now.

spanielsson

I believe they are resourcing from Lynskey to elsewhere, that is why stocks are low. Dave from Planet X has mentioned on here they were looking into Van Nicholas producing them.

Have a word with Greg Roache at Sabbath if you are after a Ti bike. Sabbath are a normal manufacturer, not one that is like bid up TV with cash flow trouble!

DonnieMurdo

PlanetX

Have siad that they are out of stock nearly on the Lynskey frames. They may not be using Lynskey in the future but someone else and expect to have new stock of Ti frames in 2-3 months.

It is a shame that they will not be continuing with the award wining and highly rated Lynskey frames. Although Van Nichols wouldbe good.

I beleive Sabbath source their frames from different sources too.

Monty Dog

FWIW VN source from HiLight titanium - they used to sell direct on ebay.

spanielsson

DonnieMurdo wrote:

PlanetX

Have siad that they are out of stock nearly on the Lynskey frames. They may not be using Lynskey in the future but someone else and expect to have new stock of Ti frames in 2-3 months.

It is a shame that they will not be continuing with the award wining and highly rated Lynskey frames. Although Van Nichols wouldbe good.

I beleive Sabbath source their frames from different sources too.

Lynskey from CRC are still good value. I do rate Van Nicholas, I considered buying one before I bought my Silk Road.

I was told in a Lynskey dealership early last year there was an agreement that P X would not continue sourcing from Lynskey because of Hotlines now being the official importer into the UK.

My Sabbath related comments are made because they have steady and reliable sourcing and supply, they also have fantastic customer service that is on par with anyone else I have dealt with. Sadly I can't say the same about P-X.

ScottieP

I think it will be a shame if they're no longer made by Lynskey - I think that was a major part of their appeal - especially with their regular sales...

redddraggon

The Problem with P-X selling Lynksey made Ti frames, is that they cost more to make than they would if they were made in the far east, but P-X still need to price them quite aggressively to sell them, so it really cuts into their profit margin.

(I reckon anyway)

TimoH

ScottieP wrote:

I think it will be a shame if they're no longer made by Lynskey - I think that was a major part of their appeal - especially with their regular sales...

Yep. I've been very close to hitting the "Buy" button, especially when they had the "20% off everything" deal going on.

They still have lots of X-Large sportive frames in stock. If they ever put those on sale to get rid of them, the temptation may be too much for me to resist.

Scrumple

Buy Sabbath.....

still some fab deals to be had as the frames are changing...

ScottieP

I think Planet-X and Hotlines could easily co-exist with Lynskey especially when Planet-x use their own designs. Because Planet X sell direct they have a huge price advantage over a distributor - but they are selling different products. The Lynskey Cooper is the most likely to suffer - but anyone looking for a higher end Lynskey wouldn't buy the Planet-X anyway (e.g. a Helix buyer). Even at the current prices, the Planet-X frame is £800 and a Cooper is £1k - that's quite a difference even before the regular Planet-X sales. Also once someone buys a Lynskey built frame - they might buy another higher end one in the future as they now know the brand etc.

Personally I like the direct selling model and it's the thing I like most about the Planet-X model - but any distributor will argue that it's not helpful as they worry about justifying being a middle man.

I also don't think Planet-X need to look for cheaper suppliers - their model gives them an inherent cost advantage - so if they bring quality and value at direct prices they're really onto a winner.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

pastey_boy

van nicholas will be making their next ti frames so i believe. i hope a price drop follows as vn frames are budget ti to start with. im gutted i missed out on a £799 456 ti but i kept waiting and waiting. unless the vn 456 is something special i will be getting a ragley ti

softlad

pastey_boy wrote:

van nicholas will be making their next ti frames so i believe. i hope a price drop follows as vn frames are budget ti to start with.

not exactly 'budget'.....they have a range of frame prices from £850 to more than £2000...

pastey_boy

softlad wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

van nicholas will be making their next ti frames so i believe. i hope a price drop follows as vn frames are budget ti to start with.

not exactly 'budget'.....they have a range of frame prices from £850 to more than £2000...

for titanium they are at the lower end of things. i know £850 is a lot but as far as ti frames go its the starting point therefore budget

Garry H

pastey_boy wrote:

softlad wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

van nicholas will be making their next ti frames so i believe. i hope a price drop follows as vn frames are budget ti to start with.

not exactly 'budget'.....they have a range of frame prices from £850 to more than £2000...

for titanium they are at the lower end of things. i know £850 is a lot but as far as ti frames go its the starting point therefore budget

I was dithering about getting a VN Yukon frameset as a replacement for my current winter trainer/wet weather jobby(Can get it for 899 and on Cyclescheme). But not sure whether it would be a "sensible" purchase, over say a Racelight TK2. Whaddya reckon?

pastey_boy

you could make more use of the cycle scheme and get a complete bike for that or just a bit more. a boardman carbon team or an ultegra equipped px bike

softlad

pastey_boy wrote:

softlad wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

van nicholas will be making their next ti frames so i believe. i hope a price drop follows as vn frames are budget ti to start with.

not exactly 'budget'.....they have a range of frame prices from £850 to more than £2000...

for titanium they are at the lower end of things. i know £850 is a lot but as far as ti frames go its the starting point therefore budget

I'm not sure what you mean. As I said - £850 is their start point.....it's wrong to call the who brand 'budget' simply because they offer an affordable, entry-level frame at the bottom of their range...

pastey_boy

but it is as cheap as ti frames go at the moment so it has to be a budget model. you cant get a budget merlin. van nicholas,s top of the range offerings are the starting point for boutique makers such as seven or if. vn are mass produced in china and though there is nothing wrong with that it pales in comparison to a hand welded frame from the states. i used to own a pastey ti howler which was one of those chinese frames and it was made to a very high standard but put it next to my titanium titus road bike and there is a difference in workmanship.

Scrumple

but it will not ride any better, or last any less long.

pastey_boy

didnt van nicholas in their previous incarnation as airborne have quite a few issues with frames snapping ?

softlad

pastey_boy wrote:

van nicholas,s top of the range offerings are the starting point for boutique makers such as seven or if. vn are mass produced in china and though there is nothing wrong with that it pales in comparison to a hand welded frame from the states. i used to own a pastey ti howler which was one of those chinese frames and it was made to a very high standard but put it next to my titanium titus road bike and there is a difference in workmanship.

the price differential simply reflects the production quantities and the overheads of the factory - your Titus was probably welded by a competent american Ti welder on a higher wage, as opposed to a competent chinese Ti welder on a lower wage - it doesn't necessarily mean one is 'better' than the other....

pastey_boy

im not arguing the point of more being better ,i have ridden cheap and expensive ti frames and they all performed superbly ,i said there is a difference in the quality of the welding, it is neater and more uniform on the titus to the point of almost looking perfect, the welding on my pastey was not as good. stick a vn zion next to a merlin and tell me you cant tell the difference.

Evil Laugh

http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles ... 850200448/

One day....... 8)

pastey_boy

Evil Laugh wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles/sets/72157617850200448/

One day....... 8)

why lust after that when a van nicholas mistral will be built to the same high standards and rides just as well

Evil Laugh

pastey_boy wrote:

Evil Laugh wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles/sets/72157617850200448/

One day....... 8)

why lust after that when a van nicholas mistral will be built to the same high standards and rides just as well

My lust for that bike is quite unnatural.

It's causing me to think about bike fitting holidays to Oz.

Garry H

pastey_boy wrote:

you could make more use of the cycle scheme and get a complete bike for that or just a bit more. a boardman carbon team or an ultegra equipped px bike

I'm not looking for a carbon bike, already have one of these:

http://kinesisbikes.co.uk/product/large ... e50RGB.jpg

I'm after a new frame for winter etc.

Evil Laugh

I always loved the Martini Lancia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles ... 040946760/

Sorry, thread hijack over.

softlad

Garry H wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

you could make more use of the cycle scheme and get a complete bike for that or just a bit more. a boardman carbon team or an ultegra equipped px bike

I'm not looking for a carbon bike, already have one of these:

http://kinesisbikes.co.uk/product/large ... e50RGB.jpg

I'm after a new frame for winter etc.

excellent frames - but pasteyboy will be along in a minute to tell you that you should have bought a Parlee or a Colnago EPS, because Kinesis frames are made in Taiwan..

pastey_boy

softlad wrote:

Garry H wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

you could make more use of the cycle scheme and get a complete bike for that or just a bit more. a boardman carbon team or an ultegra equipped px bike

I'm not looking for a carbon bike, already have one of these:

http://kinesisbikes.co.uk/product/large ... e50RGB.jpg

I'm after a new frame for winter etc.

excellent frames - but pasteyboy will be along in a minute to tell you that you should have bought a Parlee or a Colnago EPS, because Kinesis frames are made in Taiwan..

read up a bit and you will see i recommended 2 taiwan built bikes. i have bikes built in taiwan and love them. 8)

Garry H

I'll just get a CAAD9 then ;o)