New wheels needed Planet X model B or Mavic Aksium

petemadoc

I think I've read loads of posts on the same subject so sorry for the repeat.

Any updates from all the people who've bought these recently? I've read a few people complaining about minor problems with the Planet X's and then the cassette eating problems.

Anyone happy or unhappy with either of these two wheels?

Planet X model B - £125 - 1758 grams with skewers

Mavic Aksium - £135 - 2088 grams with skewers

bendertherobot

Fulcrum Racing 5 and Planet X skewers?

nochekmate

You can beat the £135 for the Aksiums at Ribble by applying the code TAKE10 - price comes to £122.86 inc. postage.

Never had problems with Aksiums myself - they are not the lightest wheelset around but for the above money, pretty good value

petemadoc

Another spanner in the works

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/showPart. ... R260&bike=

£125.27 delivered

Pro-lite luciano weight 1728 plus squewers

mroli

I've got a set of Model B's and two sets of Aksiums.

I have found that I get a little "flex" out of the Aksiums - more so than out of the Model B's - only really notice when I am out of the saddle pushing hard on hills, but I can get a bit of brake rub which i don't get with the Model b's.

The model b's are a bit of a deeper rim than the aksiums. I don't think they look as good (being a plain black), but other than that, I haven't noticed any difference.

Both have been fine - remained in true, no broken spokes etc for me and I would buy the ones that you like the look of the most.

giant_man

The Model B's are fine wheels for the money, and I've had no probs with 'cassette eating' either. They're smooth, and quieter than wheels four or five times the price. Best 100 quid I ever spent.

warrior4life

Model B's are a great set of wheels for the money, the mavics are good but i'd go with planet x as they perform similar but the planet x are lighter.

petemadoc

Not sure I like the plain black look of the Planet X. Makes them look like some cheap unbranded supermarket wheels or something.

I think I'm a brand snob

Evil Laugh

I thought the Planet X wheels looked pretty good when I had them. Looked more expensive than they were.

I was a bit concerned by the height or whatever of the surface area of the braking surface which was almost exactly the same size, if not smaller than my brake pads. Seemed you could quite easily wear into the rim or tyre if the brake shoes weren't set up bang on. Never used them so don't know if it would have been an issue or not.

petemadoc

Evil Laugh wrote:

I thought the Planet X wheels looked pretty good when I had them. Looked more expensive than they were.

I was a bit concerned by the height or whatever of the surface area of the braking surface which was almost exactly the same size, if not smaller than my brake pads. Seemed you could quite easily wear into the rim or tyre if the brake shoes weren't set up bang on. Never used them so don't know if it would have been an issue or not.

How come you never used them?

flasher

I have both the Model B's and Aksiums and I'd buy thel B's over the Aksiums everytime!

i like the stealthy look of the B's, most wheels have way too many decals for my liking.

petemadoc

Flasher wrote:

I have both the Model B's and Aksiums and I'd buy thel B's over the Aksiums everytime!

i like the stealthy look of the B's, most wheels have way too many decals for my liking.

Great to hear from people who have both. Apart from the decals what's the difference between the two?

hugo15

I'm going through exactly the same decision making process at the moment. I saw the Model B wheels were out of stock so sent Planet X a message to find out when they will be back in. The reply was 6 weeks!!!!

Looks like it will be the Aksiums for me as I can't wait 6 weeks.

Evil Laugh

[quote="PeteMadoc"
How come you never used them?[/quote]

Didn't suit my bike which was an evolving build when I bought them. Sold them to mroli.

chrishd883

Not ridden either wheelset, but a friend has the Aksium's fitted to his bike (as std spec).

Only problem so far is one broken spoke - no big deal - but had trouble getting a replacement, in the end he had to buy a whole set of spokes! On the p lus side he now has spares! Although only for one side - different length spokes on drive / non drive of rear wheel.

Aksiums are roughly the same weight as has been supplied on all my bikes - Grecall's, Shimano RS10's, Roval Pave's etc.

Personally looking for wheelset to replace Shimano RS10's on my Cannondale.

Probably be the Planet X model B's unless I can find something better on a special offer!

If I'm going to "upgrade" it's got to be lighter!!

petemadoc

hugo15 wrote:

I'm going through exactly the same decision making process at the moment. I saw the Model B wheels were out of stock so sent Planet X a message to find out when they will be back in. The reply was 6 weeks!!!!

Looks like it will be the Aksiums for me as I can't wait 6 weeks.

Whoooaa. SIX weeks! Planet X looses this one then.

Anyone any experience of the Pro Lite wheels?

thel33ter

If you can wait for the Model B's, wait, they are IMHO the best cheap wheels you can get.

mroli

Evil Laugh wrote:

Didn't suit my bike which was an evolving build when I bought them. Sold them to mroli.

Check out his bike build if you can find it - it is amazing.

Model B's I took with me on a Jogle and swapped them on day 4 as I put a 12-26 on them and the Aksiums had an 11-23 on them. First task was to get me up Kirkstone pass and they were great.

They're getting a lot of use (Cornish hills this week). Never had any problems with the brake area.

Evil Laugh

mroli wrote:

Evil Laugh wrote:

Didn't suit my bike which was an evolving build when I bought them. Sold them to mroli.

Check out his bike build if you can find it - it is amazing.

Model B's I took with me on a Jogle and swapped them on day 4 as I put a 12-26 on them and the Aksiums had an 11-23 on them. First task was to get me up Kirkstone pass and they were great.

They're getting a lot of use (Cornish hills this week). Never had any problems with the brake area.

Cheers mate! Just search/google Raw Steel Project to see my naked ride.

Incidentally I'll be putting it though its paces in Cornwall soon. Bit worried about being armed with a 53/39, 12-27.

Back on topic...I'd never heard of any problems with the brake area on the px just seemed a bit small compared to other wheels I've had. Glad you're enjoying the wheels, I'll probably give them a go when I need some training/winter wheels.

petemadoc

Evil Laugh wrote:

mroli wrote:

Evil Laugh wrote:

Didn't suit my bike which was an evolving build when I bought them. Sold them to mroli.

Check out his bike build if you can find it - it is amazing.

Model B's I took with me on a Jogle and swapped them on day 4 as I put a 12-26 on them and the Aksiums had an 11-23 on them. First task was to get me up Kirkstone pass and they were great.

They're getting a lot of use (Cornish hills this week). Never had any problems with the brake area.

Cheers mate! Just search/google Raw Steel Project to see my naked ride.

Incidentally I'll be putting it though its paces in Cornwall soon. Bit worried about being armed with a 53/39, 12-27.

Back on topic...I'd never heard of any problems with the brake area on the px just seemed a bit small compared to other wheels I've had. Glad you're enjoying the wheels, I'll probably give them a go when I need some training/winter wheels.

Your steel bike is awesome!

Good luck with the 39 - 27 on the hills

Think I've settled on the Aksiums. Planet x model B's are out of stock for 6 weeks and I've read lots of past comments about problems with various Pro Lite wheels.

Mavic wins! Even if it is by default due to a stock issue

hugo15

I went for the Aksiums at the weekend from Ribble. Too long to wait for the Planet X wheels to come into stock.

dmch2

I guess this question sort of lives in this topic...

How much do normal cheap wheels cost that come with a standard sub £1000 bike? And how bad are they?

I'm just thinking that my Trek 1.5 costs about 800 RRP, how much of that is the wheels? Is paying 100-150 for a better set of wheels really that worthwhile? Are the Model Bs that good or are the standard wheels likely to be really that bad?

For example, no one suggests that I should throw out my tiagra derailleur and get a 105 (unless it breaks or wears out) but every wheel post seems to say I should get Askiums or Model Bs.

@ OP - what wheels are you replacing? Please let us know what the difference is

petemadoc

dmch2 wrote:

I guess this question sort of lives in this topic...

How much do normal cheap wheels cost that come with a standard sub £1000 bike? And how bad are they?

I'm just thinking that my Trek 1.5 costs about 800 RRP, how much of that is the wheels? Is paying 100-150 for a better set of wheels really that worthwhile? Are the Model Bs that good or are the standard wheels likely to be really that bad?

For example, no one suggests that I should throw out my tiagra derailleur and get a 105 (unless it breaks or wears out) but every wheel post seems to say I should get Askiums or Model Bs.

@ OP - what wheels are you replacing? Please let us know what the difference is

The wheels are to replace some buckled ones bought of an ebay bike for my wife. My bike is a focus mares cross bike that came with Concept rims but I can't see these as a factory built wheel anywhere, I keep cross tyres on these wheels. I bought a set of Miche race (£115)from wiggle a few months ago and keep 23mm road tyres on these wheels. The only reason I've bought extra wheels is cos I don't want to have to change tryres when switching from cross to road, just switch wheels.

The Miche race wheels definitely feel a bit nippier (I've tried road tyres on both wheels) but they are still quite heavy compared to really expensive wheels so I can't compare them to more expensive ones because I've never ridden them.

I'll be comparing the Mavic Askiums and the Miche race to see if there is any difference and I'll be choosing which ones I like best and giving the others to the Mrs

The Trek you have seems to come with Bontrager wheels but not sure how much these weigh.

I think people look to upgrade wheels first because they make a difference in acceleration. I don't think there's a massive difference at this end of the market, probably more important to get the best inner tubes and tyres you can afford. I've tried a few different tyres and feel a much bigger difference compared to changing the wheels.

We'll see how long Ribble take to deliver these wheels and I'll report back

petemadoc

BTW

The rims on the Trek 1.5 are advertised as Bontrager "approved", does this mean they're not really Bontrager? Sorry if that sounds stupid.

dmch2

I think it means that they're the cheapest thing they could find with a Bontrager sticker on them. The question is how cheap and nasty are they?

They're certainly better (for the purpose) than the 26 inch wide Shimano/Mavic wheels with 1.75" tyres on my hybrid - but that doesn't exactly help us

petemadoc

dmch2 wrote:

I think it means that they're the cheapest thing they could find with a Bontrager sticker on them. The question is how cheap and nasty are they?

They're certainly better (for the purpose) than the 26 inch wide Shimano/Mavic wheels with 1.75" tyres on my hybrid - but that doesn't exactly help us

lol

I think it depends how anal you want to get about things and what you use the bike for and if you just want to treat yourself.

Lighter wheels = lighter bike = quicker up the hills and faster acceleration. Wheels have more of an effect on acceleration than other parts but I don't know the science behind this one.

Are you worried your wheels are heavy? I reckon that tyres, tubes and tyre pressures make a much bigger difference for your money.

dmch2

I'm not worried (I only just got the bike!) I'm just curious.

Mso my road bike lets me go up hills 40% faster than my hybrid (7mph vs 5mph) and it's not 40% lighter (once you add me) so something else is helping. Many people say it's because lighter wheels accelerate better with each push on the pedal. But wouldn't heavier wheels give more of a helpful flywheel effect there? Or maybe it's just because I'm using SPD-SLs on the road bike and flat pedals on the hybrid.

I don't know... Like I said - I'm curious

giant_man

I wouldn't touch anything with Bontrager or for that matter Trek stamped on them with a barge pole. I'm losing faith in Mavic too after my ti axle snapped in my Ksyrium SLs last week.

The Planet X Model Bs make fine wheels, worth waiting for imo. Light, smooth and quiet. No silly flashy decals either. Got to be a good thing.

fat_homer

I like the plain black look, so much so I'm thinking of removing the big blue Ritchey decals from the wheels on my boardman! I've not however made my mind up yet!

chunkytfg

PeteMadoc wrote:

Another spanner in the works

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/showPart. ... R260&bike=

£125.27 delivered

Pro-lite luciano weight 1728 plus squewers

To add a further spanner into that already busy works how about Quest Eko's

I am convinced thay are the same wheels as the above. They use pro-lite hubs, rim tape, skewers. They are quoted as the same weight(all be it with a variation due to quoting with or without skewers) etc.

http://www.questbikes.co.uk/acatalog/Wheels.html (4th set down)

giant_man

If they're the same wheel as the old Quest Comos, then they are very heavy, bombproof but boy do they weigh something.