Trouble with Planet X. Please help!

daveyok

Took delivery of a Planet X SL Pro today after waiting excitedly for my first road bike. I know it's a lot to spend on a first bike but they seemed like great value and I knew from mountain biking it wasn't going to be a passing fad.

What a let down. I had ordered an 11-28 rear cassette with a compact due to being used to mtb gearing and make it easier on my injured knee. I discovered they had sent me a 12-25. After phoning them up I was told they were out of stock of the 11-28 and so put the 12-25 on and not bothered telling me. Also felt like they were trying to fob me off with it by asking questions like "Are you planning to ride in very hilly areas"!!!!!! Eventually I reluctantly agreed to them sending out a new wheel out with the right cassette on when they came into stock.

Also noticed that the chain rubs on the front deraileur in all but the middle 2 or 3 rear cogs. So I'm faced with prospect of waiting for the part, changing it over myself and then setting up the gears so it's ridable. I accept that riders need to know a bit about maintaining and tweaking their bikes but I didn't think it would be unreasonable having spent over £1000 I would have the bike I ordered which could be ridden 'straight out the box'. I look on YouTube and see that the front mech adjustment is one of the most difficult. Great!

So, the bike is standing (looking lovely) in my kitchen having fixed the handle bars and fitted some pedals. I just feel deflated as I had been looking forward to it coming for ages and also feel guilty for blowing some of my savings on something that seems a bit useless at the moment. I would be very grateful to anyone who could tell me if my situation is normal and what the best course of action would be.

Frank the tank

Sorry to hear of your problem (it's so deflating) but stories such as yours is one reason I puchase bikes from my LBS.

Please don't take offence, and I hope I've not come across as a condecending git. I appreciate not everyone has a good LBS and that they're sometimes more expensive than tinternet. But you do get what you ask for and if you don't, you can deal with them face to face.

ozzy1000_0

don't despair! the bike's a bargin, but its cheap for a reason. you didn't pay customer service, you paid for a spec of bike you wouldn't find for that money anywhere else.....

the planet X's get good write ups everywhere and once you get past these initial problems I'm sure you be flying that said theres no excuse for sending you the wrong bits.....

happy cycling

Ginjafro

I agree with ozzy - don't despair? Yep the rear sprocket is a bit of a pisser but you'll get a new one soon. Planet X often run out of stock, probably because they are so popular. As for the front deraileur rubbing I'm afarid that is what they do on a compact, otherwise the chain falls off going up hills or under severe load. You should though be able to adjust it so it only rubs in the first couple of gears which after time you'll never notice. Compacts aren't like triple rings which don't need to rub - weird I know but something I learnt from MTB'ing to road biking.

Ride it anyway. I reckon you'll find 12-25 ain't too bad considering your PX is so light anyway.

daveyok

Thanks for the reassuring words.

But have I got this right Ginjafro - the chain rubbing on the front deraileur is inevitable and the bike is set-up correctly!? If this is the case then I would rather it rubbed on the smaller sprockets than the bigger ones. And will it rub even more with the 11-28?

Does this mean I have held Planet X to account as much as possible. Would telling them that I want to send the bike back to them and they can sort it all out be reasonable?

Sheesh, so many bloody questions! Mountain biking suddenly seems a lot more straight forward (and cheaper)!

evilollie

I crossed over from Mtb to roadie . I can understand going to a triple as you feel it's not so much of a jump

I did the opposite , a double with an 11-23 haha
You get use to it after a while .... I don't thing I will be going back to mtb now

rich164h

Ginjafro wrote:

As for the front deraileur rubbing I'm afarid that is what they do on a compact, otherwise the chain falls off going up hills or under severe load.

Really? Mine doesn't. ok, perhaps there's the slightest of rubbing on a full cross-chain situation (which is avoided anyway by changing to the other front ring moving the rear across by a few to match the overall gearing) but in any other gear combination there's no rubbing at all. The chain's never fallen off yet regardless of how steep the hill I'm climbing or how hard I push for maximum speed.

For the OP - stick with it. The rear cassette will turn up (I'm assuming that they're letting you use the one they've sent you until the new one arrived so that you're not house bound with your new toy) and getting a LBS to slightly tweak your gears won't be an expensive thing to do. It'll probably be less expensive that the postage to send the bike back and a lot quicker, and you'll be assured of good results when you get the bike back.,At least you can test them before you accept the bike back rather than having the risk of it not being any better when PX returns it to you. I think my LBS (Hargroves) quotes £20 for the setting up of gears and you can probably find someone who will do it cheaper than that.

cougie

I had a px delivered last week - fantastic bike and worked perfectly out of the box.

Is it possible its operator error ? You do know how to trim the front mech ?

My new bike has a compact and I've no problems with it.

desweller

There are plenty of subtle tweaks to be done on the front mech, as NL showed me on here. Check out Park Tools.

I'd be surprised you can't trim it out to some extent on the shifter - I don't know if MTB shifters have the trimming feature, but there should be extra positions you can set the shifter to in order to clean up the rub a bit.

ian_s

daveyok wrote:

Thanks for the reassuring words.

But have I got this right Ginjafro - the chain rubbing on the front deraileur is inevitable and the bike is set-up correctly!? If this is the case then I would rather it rubbed on the smaller sprockets than the bigger ones. And will it rub even more with the 11-28?

Does this mean I have held Planet X to account as much as possible. Would telling them that I want to send the bike back to them and they can sort it all out be reasonable?

Sheesh, so many bloody questions! Mountain biking suddenly seems a lot more straight forward (and cheaper)!

I think that you can send it back within 7 days (within your legal rights).

I would ring them up first and tell them you are doing this - you may find they suddenly get very helpful..

msw

I have the same bike and had a good experience with Planet X - that said, the front derailleur shouldn't be doing that and they should at least be willing to point you in the direction of some help in tweaking it. Emailing them is often quite productive.

If that fails try wheeling it into a local bike shop and asking them if they could have a look at the front shifter. There's a good chance that it's one of those jobs where it takes the mechanic 20 seconds and you won't even be charged; even if you are not many of them will have the face to ask for more than a fiver or so.

andybrock

Not that its a lot of help to say so but Ive only had good experiences with Planet X
Agree that its a posser when your brand new bike doesnt work perfectly from the off,one thing that might be worth looking at is whether the front mech has become misaligned in transit - if so no amount of juggling with the tension or stop adjusters will help - Park website should be able to help - if not drop a mail to that nice Mr Loughran

sundog

msw wrote:

I have the same bike and had a good experience with Planet X - that said, the front derailleur shouldn't be doing that and they should at least be willing to point you in the direction of some help in tweaking it. Emailing them is often quite productive.

If that fails try wheeling it into a local bike shop and asking them if they could have a look at the front shifter. There's a good chance that it's one of those jobs where it takes the mechanic 20 seconds and you won't even be charged; even if you are not many of them will have the face to ask for more than a fiver or so.

Where on earth are these LBS's you mention?

daveyok

Again - thank you all very much for your advice/ admonishments I'm starting at a very low level so a lot of unknowns are becoming known!

As I understand it trimming only works for the very smallest and largest sprockets. My chain seems to rub on everything but the middle 4. I assume that once the right cassette arrives any prior adjustments will need to be made again.

I have come to realise that when it comes to purchasing new/expensive things I am cursed by a combination of incompetence (mine and others), high expectations and bad luck. But why? Why didn't they let me know they were out of stock BEFORE they sent the bike? Why does that bloody chain rub SO much? :x I'm off to trim my anger. Click - Ahhhh.

cougie

So in your small ring and biggest sprocket - it rubs ? When the left gear lever has been released all the way ?

Its an easy fix - I'd not get uptight about it or return the bike for something that would take a minute to sort. Also you'll not need to do it again for the new block.

jim453

msw wrote:

I have the same bike and had a good experience with Planet X - that said, the front derailleur shouldn't be doing that and they should at least be willing to point you in the direction of some help in tweaking it. Emailing them is often quite productive.

If that fails try wheeling it into a local bike shop and asking them if they could have a look at the front shifter. There's a good chance that it's one of those jobs where it takes the mechanic 20 seconds and you won't even be charged; even if you are not many of them will have the face to ask for more than a fiver or so.

To be clear, you buy a bike from a large online retailer who use economies of scale to put the squeeze on all LBS's. You then take the bike straight round to LBS and expect to get the personal touches that you were unwilling to pay for, for free. Even the most chilled out shop owmer is going to struggle to be able to tolerate that kind of cheek. Sytill, if you don't ask, you don't get. Good luck.

Tom Butcher

It doesn't sound like a big deal - I'd just learn how to tweak the mech - that's assuming it's not down to operator error. Don't let it spoil the enjoyment of your new bike.

Dodger747

Ginjafro wrote:

As for the front deraileur rubbing I'm afarid that is what they do on a compact, otherwise the chain falls off going up hills or under severe load. You should though be able to adjust it so it only rubs in the first couple of gears which after time you'll never notice. Compacts aren't like triple rings which don't need to rub - weird I know but something I learnt from MTB'ing to road biking.

No I'm afraid it's not. It shouldn't rub, it needs to be adjusted correctly then it will not rub in any combination, nor will the chain be dropped up hills or under load...

msw

jim453 wrote:

msw wrote:

I have the same bike and had a good experience with Planet X - that said, the front derailleur shouldn't be doing that and they should at least be willing to point you in the direction of some help in tweaking it. Emailing them is often quite productive.

If that fails try wheeling it into a local bike shop and asking them if they could have a look at the front shifter. There's a good chance that it's one of those jobs where it takes the mechanic 20 seconds and you won't even be charged; even if you are not many of them will have the face to ask for more than a fiver or so.

To be clear, you buy a bike from a large online retailer who use economies of scale to put the squeeze on all LBS's. You then take the bike straight round to LBS and expect to get the personal touches that you were unwilling to pay for, for free. Even the most chilled out shop owmer is going to struggle to be able to tolerate that kind of cheek. Sytill, if you don't ask, you don't get. Good luck.

To be clear, I didn't say the poster should *expect* to have it done for free. I said it *might* be one of those things that takes 5 seconds, and that if it is, you *might* be lucky and have them do it for free. I also said that Planet X should have set it up properly in the first place. Calm down.

Also, I may not have been clear that I was using "local bike shop" in a literal sense (rather than to mean "small independent retailer"). My nearest bike shop is a smallish branch of a big chain and they've done this kind of tweak for me 2 or 3 times without asking for payment even when I offered.

ROPEYROVER

Planet X are a a fantastic company, offering great products and incredible value for money. Unfortunately part of the deal with mail order is that your bike may need some tweaking after transit. Not the best method of purchase for those lacking basic mechanical knowledge.

Supplying the wrong rear cassette was naughty, but at least they are sorting it. Consider sending the bike back because you have some chain rub? Don't make me laugh. Get onto the Park Tools website and learn how to adjust your gears. It will stand you in good stead for a lifetime of cycling. Knowledge of basic bike mechanics is essential if you are going to be riding any distance. It also gives you confidence knowing that you can sort most problems at the roadside when invevitably the nearest bike shop will be twenty miles away.

Relax, adjust your gears and ride your bike!

rake

not a bad deal if your getting a new wheel out of it. rear wheels are handy to have. just work through setting up the mechanism . check its parralel to the chainrings and the cage should be about 3mm above the ring on the large one.you can use the 25 until the new cassette arrives, its still pretty low with a compact. you wont use an 27 tooth very often unless you do live near very steep hills.

daveyok

Thanks once again to everyone who has took the trouble to give me their two pence worth. I've got things a little more in perspective after a night's sleep.

I have been picking things up as regards maintenance but I don't really want to start with any tinkering from day one on my first road bike. Previous experience has taught me that I tend to make things a little bit worse rather than better. Basically I want to know what the perfect set-up on the bike looks and feels like before I start arsing things up! If something's not right I want to be 1001% sure it's all me and not the bike.

So, I think I'll leave the bike alone until the new wheel arrives and swap them over myself (seen a video on YouTube - what could possibly go wrong?) Then take the bike along to my LBS and get them to check the front mech - for which I'm prepared to pay a reasonable sum (easy fellas!)

In the mean time I'll get my MTB scrubbed up and get back out there. Up yours, roadies

rake

as clarkson says 'how hard can it be. :?: '

Mike400

Unfortunately its just part of buying a bike online, regardless of who you buy it from.

with Planet X, you are buying direct from the supplier, so the bike will arrive with you exactly how a bike would arrive at an LBS*

If you bought a Planet X from a LBS you would pay more, but it would be ready to ride out of the shop

*ok not exactly as I know Planet X will do a basic setup but nonetheless any bike thats been in transit will need at the very least a basic check and tweak

dodgy

Hmm, not that impressed with some of the advice on here I'm afraid. It is not inevitable that you should get rubbing on the front mech in a lot of the gears. The front gear lever will allow you to friction index the front mech if it's set up properly. That means that there is some allowance to overshift slightly which will give a little more clearance when using the extreme cogs on the rear.

You'll soon get the hang of it, look at it this way, you'll learn more quickly. If you lived near me I'd be delighted to have you around to my (modest) workshop and show you the ropes. Where are you? Maybe another member can help you out?

daveyok

Thanks for the offer, dodgy! But unfortunately I'm on Tyneside and not Merseyside.

Got it on the big sprocket/ small chain ring and going to adjust the L srew!? However, don't know which one that is......bugger!

cougie

You can usually work it out from looking - it'll be the screw stopping the mech from going any further. The other screw wont be touching the mech.

(he says not having the faintest idea which mech this is....)

Monkeypump

Mike400 wrote:

Unfortunately its just part of buying a bike online, regardless of who you buy it from.

with Planet X, you are buying direct from the supplier, so the bike will arrive with you exactly how a bike would arrive at an LBS*

If you bought a Planet X from a LBS you would pay more, but it would be ready to ride out of the shop

*ok not exactly as I know Planet X will do a basic setup but nonetheless any bike thats been in transit will need at the very least a basic check and tweak

Is this actually the case? Doesn't Geoffrey Butler (Croydon) sell PX bikes?

Buckled_Rims

daveyok wrote:

Thanks for the offer, dodgy! But unfortunately I'm on Tyneside and not Merseyside.

Got it on the big sprocket/ small chain ring and going to adjust the L srew!? However, don't know which one that is......bugger!

BTW, is it Ultegra you've got, if so it could be the trimming as previous mentioned.

I live in Jarrow if you need some advice and are passing by. I'll be biking up to Gateshead/Beamish probably on Sunday morning for my weekly grimace on the hills over there

Mike400

Monkeypump wrote:

Mike400 wrote:

Unfortunately its just part of buying a bike online, regardless of who you buy it from.

with Planet X, you are buying direct from the supplier, so the bike will arrive with you exactly how a bike would arrive at an LBS*

If you bought a Planet X from a LBS you would pay more, but it would be ready to ride out of the shop

*ok not exactly as I know Planet X will do a basic setup but nonetheless any bike thats been in transit will need at the very least a basic check and tweak

Is this actually the case? Doesn't Geoffrey Butler (Croydon) sell PX bikes?

If your LBS sells PX at the same price as going direct then surely this would be the bargain of the century - best of both worlds?

daveyok

Thanks for the offer Buckled Rims but I really don't want to put anyone out (other than listening to my whines on here).

Yes, it's Ultegra (too good for me) and having turned the screws I now (seem to) have clearance on the smallest and biggest sprockets when 'trimmed'. At least the other gears don't seem to make the chain catch. Should I be looking for clearance without trimming? Don't want to overdo it in case the chain comes off.

Thanks to everyone on here who has given me the encouragement (& a dose of reality) to get the ball rolling myself. I'll still probably end up taking it to the LBS as I won't be able to trust that it's quite right. Does anyone know what a reasonable charge would be for a quick once over and a few tweaks (and then they could look at the bike!)?