Planet X model and must have upgrades

mickiii

Hi,

I am an eager amateur. I bought my first racer last year, and having found a taste for it, I would like to upgrade to something a little better this year.

I currently have a 2009 Specialized Allez, and really like the comfort of that bike, but it is a bit on the heavy side.

In short, which model from Planet-X or similar would you suggest giving the most "bang for the buck" and which upgrades would you make a top priority?

A more specific question I have, is whether the new nanolight is worth the extra cost over the sl pro carbon?

Money is not such a big issue, but I would like to stay under 2k ₤. Should the price stray slightly over, its also ok.

Thanks in advance for your help!

mickiii

Anyone with any thoughts on this?

fungus_the_muffin_man

You might find it hard to get comparisons on the nano off buyers on here as its only just come out on sale.

warrior4life

The sram red sl pro is hard to beat in the bang for bucks cattegory...
Its light and fast.. a great bike for the money.

mickiii

warrior4life wrote:

The sram red sl pro is hard to beat in the bang for bucks cattegory...
Its light and fast.. a great bike for the money.

Yes, I was actually considering this one, although I will need to try SRAM before buying. Up until now I have only tried Sora and Tiagra, and both Ultegra 6700, Dura Ace and Red should be completely different beasts .

Unfortunately there is not an option for upgrading this one on the website, but which upgrades would you make a priority on this particular model?

alfablue

The Planet-X SL Carbon would be a great value racing bike in Ultegra spec (£1199) or Sram Red (£1499) but if you are talking around or even over £2k then a lot of other bikes might come into the frame.

alfablue

mickiii wrote:

warrior4life wrote:

The sram red sl pro is hard to beat in the bang for bucks cattegory...
Its light and fast.. a great bike for the money.

Yes, I was actually considering this one, although I will need to try SRAM before buying. Up until now I have only tried Sora and Tiagra, and both Ultegra 6700, Dura Ace and Red should be completely different beasts .

Unfortunately there is not an option for upgrading this one on the website, but which upgrades would you make a priority on this particular model?

I think you would struggle to detect any difference between Ultegra or Dura Ace (I have DA and whilst it is nice, and perhaps a handful or grammes lighter, the benefits are more psychological than physical IMHO). No experience of SRAM.

Also, I don't think these bikes require upgrades, the wheels punch well above their weight (which is the usual first place to upgrade), and you would need to spend £500 or more for worthwhile improvements. The only thing really needing upgrading is the aluminium seatpost (if it comes with one); it will tend to corrode in the seat tube, get a carbon one asap (I got a Pro-Lite, about £55).

warrior4life

I was looking at the sram red px myself and the boardman pro carbon...
Under £2000 there is so much competition, i went for a cervelo s1 myself (its in the your road bikes section)
I dont think there's much you can upgrade on the planet x at £1499 that will make a difference, maybe get some planet x 50mm carbon wheels or contact wheelsmith.co.uk and see what he can build.
The model b wheels that come with the bike caant really be beat for under £300.
The model B frame is light and stiff (although some argue that the front end isnt)

I've really checked bikes at this price and you can either get a planet x-boardman type with good finishing kit and groupset but some people will put the frame down, or you can get a bianchi-trek-cannondale big name with an "apparently" better frame.

I've had bikes from most of the big companys and i honestly couldnt tell any difference between the frames on them compared to boardman and px.
Yes some have different riding positions but thats it.
planet x felt look a good middle bike for sportives and racing, the spec drops the weight and that gives it a big advantage over bikes of a similar price.

Get a bike that fits and doesnt weigh to much and your set, pay £2000 for a big name and the weight goes up but performance doesnt.

warrior4life

You might want to change the saddle on a planet x.
I've just changed from dura ace to sram force and i prefer it, i dont actually think about it when riding and the shifting is just as good it just looks better. 8)

TimoH

mickiii wrote:

Unfortunately there is not an option for upgrading this one on the website, but which upgrades would you make a priority on this particular model?

The current configuration of my PX SL Pro Carbon has Ultegra groupset, Fulcrum Racing 1 wheels, Zipp carbon bars, Easton EC90 seatpost and Easton EC70 forks. The price comes quite close to GBP 2k.

The biggest difference came from the new forks. Any hint of "twitchy" front end is now gone. Of course, the wheels (upgraded from PX model C) also make a clearly noticeable difference. The seatpost and bars are mostly for Bling.

bazbadger

TimoH wrote:

mickiii wrote:

Unfortunately there is not an option for upgrading this one on the website, but which upgrades would you make a priority on this particular model?

The current configuration of my PX SL Pro Carbon has Ultegra groupset, Fulcrum Racing 1 wheels, Zipp carbon bars, Easton EC90 seatpost and Easton EC70 forks. The price comes quite close to GBP 2k.

The biggest difference came from the new forks. Any hint of "twitchy" front end is now gone. Of course, the wheels (upgraded from PX model C) also make a clearly noticeable difference. The seatpost and bars are mostly for Bling.

Can you post a photo of your PX with the EC70 forks? Be interested how it looks!

TimoH

bazbadger wrote:

Can you post a photo of your PX with the EC70 forks? Be interested how it looks!

Yes I Can!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64106602@N ... 2667/show/

EDIT: Our German brothers sell the forks nowadays for quite a good price:

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k240/a ... gabel.html

mickiii

Thanks for all your comments and thoughts

I think I am gonna go with the SL Pro Carbon SRAM Red. The group might be a bit much, and I might not feel the big difference from the Ultegra 6700, but it looks nice, and from the short trip I have had with it, I really like it.

bazbadger

TimoH wrote:

bazbadger wrote:

Can you post a photo of your PX with the EC70 forks? Be interested how it looks!

Yes I Can!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64106602@N ... 2667/show/

EDIT: Our German brothers sell the forks nowadays for quite a good price:

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k240/a ... gabel.html

Cheers! That looks great!! Might consider that as I've found the front a bit too skittish for my liking...

willbevan

looks good with the ec70 forks!

NWLondoner

Let us know how you get on with Sram

I currently have DA 7800 on my PX and am looking at going with Red for my next bike. A Nanolight with Red would be nice. Come On PX

Stevo_666

I emailed them last weekend asking if they had any plans to do a Nanolight with SRMA Force or Red - no reply! Maybe a few other people should register an interest then they might take notice.

Daan Hammond

Looks great with the Easton fork. What's the weight comparison with the standard fork. Always wondered whether the alleged skittishness was as a result of a high stacked carbon steerer. I'm going to experiment with taking the spacers out and see if it makes any difference. Saying that I'm a less than featherwight 80kg and I've had no problems..

I've got a carbon seatpin in my my SL, carbon cages and Keo Easy pedals (as they are ludicously light), swapped out some of the steel bolts for Ti and got some lightish Vittoria Rubino Pros. Rides beautifully.

Thinking about the new cabon PX bars but know nothing about them. Will wait for reviews!

NWLondoner

Stevo 666 wrote:

I emailed them last weekend asking if they had any plans to do a Nanolight with SRMA Force or Red - no reply! Maybe a few other people should register an interest then they might take notice.

I'll fire off an email as well.

It's also a shame that the frame does not have BB30

Stevo_666

NWLondoner wrote:

I'll fire off an email as well.

It's also a shame that the frame does not have BB30

Good man. The jury's still out on this one for me pending some real life feedback and a few more reviews (the C+ BOTY was less than enthusiastic, but one review is far from conclusive).

Agree, BB30 would have been good but not a deal killer for me.

bazbadger

I really wanted to like the nano more than I do (based on the photos) but, to me it looks a little messy. There is just too much text on the bike and in different typefaces as well... just makes it look a bit too cobbled together. BUT i've not seen one in the flesh, so might change my mind then .

EDIT: The blue accents on the black frame are great, just too much text guys for my liking...

EDIT 2: PX can make a great looking bike, with graphics that don't look overdone / trying too hard - just check this out: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12693464

I think for me though, the big question mark in the spec is the maximum 24 mm tyre clearence. I doubt I'd be able to get my fave Open Paves on the frame ( big for a 24mm tyre ). It's tight on my Pro SL, but they do fit.

However, it would be great to see some owner pics / reviews.

NWLondoner

Probably going to get flamed for this but would you really want to use Pave's on this bike??

Paves are really for winter/bad weather or rough roads!!

For the record i do love my paves but once the nasty weather goes i switch to open corsa.