PLanet-x/Ribble

okgo

Hi all,

currently weighing up options, want a carbon bike to replace my fairly heavy alu one.

I've been looking at the Ribble Sportive (new one) with 105. The Gran Fondo with 105, the Planet-x sl with Sram Red, and I've also asked if they could build me a slightly cheaper nanolight with a mix of rival and apex.

I'm a fairly powerful rider, and weigh over 90kg ( at the minute) I ride about 25 miles daily to work and do longer stuff after/weekends, really just wanting to get a feel for what people think is the best value, the stiffest, and generally the better bike.

I'll be riding a few of them too obviously, but for now just want to canvass opinion.

Cheers

Monty Dog

If I'm not mistaken, all these frames come from the same source - XPA in China so apart from geometry, it all comes down to the spec. Given your weight, I'd certainly look at wheel options - you want something strong and durable and might be worth paying a little extra.

okgo

I've got some aksiums that I've been using for the last year and they've been fine. I'll probably use those.

Apparently the flex does differ between frames though?

rolf_f

Monty Dog wrote:

If I'm not mistaken, all these frames come from the same source - XPA in China so apart from geometry, it all comes down to the spec. Given your weight, I'd certainly look at wheel options - you want something strong and durable and might be worth paying a little extra.

The GF is Dedacciai - from Taiwan I think.

harrymunro

I might be the new owner of a planet x sl pro carbon tomorrow, if so I'll let you know how it is.

phy2sll2

harrymunro wrote:

I might be the new owner of a planet x sl pro carbon tomorrow, if so I'll let you know how it is.

Please do. I'm going to go and sit on a couple in Bicycle Magic in Whitechapel next week. Very pleased I don't have to go all the way to Sheffield on my week off work!

Does anyone else think that the Ribbles just look a little more... futuristic?

springtide9

Have the PX SL since Xmas. First road bike, but have been riding MTB for many years.

Very happy with the bike. PX are a pleasure to deal with. The frame is a pretty simple design, but I kinda like it as I'm sure it will not 'date' like other more 'futuristic' looking frames.

You can also view/test the bikes at Bike Science (as well as the London store).

I must admit I do like the look of the Ribble Grand F - it was a close call... but I got the bike via C2W and PX were much more flexible.

jonrwg

Maybe because of the paint job?

Ordered Gran Fondo last Wednesday and wanted to change some parts. Emailed them, replied me yesterday saying that I can change. Email them the parts until now no reply whatsoever. Called a thousand times in a day, couldn't get through at all. Called today, voice message saying that they will not be answering phone and call back on Monday.

Been so frustrating these two days. :evil:

EX DH

Ribble are a bit hand miss at picking up the phone.

I have a gran fondo i got last april and its been great. Deffo a good looker(check my sig). I got it with campag khamsin wheels and im really surprised at how strong they've been. I used to ride downhill mtb so the wheels were always going to be on my mind, but not a sniff off trouble and ive hit some BIG pot holes at over 40mph! and there still as true as the day i got them.

Looked at the planet-x but didnt like the look of the head tube moulding into the rest of the bike.

Doughnutface

I've had a PX Pro Carbon SL Sram Red for a month now and I'm very pleased with it. Its light and very responsive and there are no componenets I want to upgrade immediately. I've not used a SRAM gruppo before but I'm very impressed. The double tap shifting took about 2 rides to get used to and it feels faster to shift and is far easier to shift on the drop handlebars. I've not noticed the bike flexing much and I'm 78Kgs and I guess a medium build so I'm not powerful but I'm not weak either.

Hob Nob

I would have been riding a Ribble Stealth, had Ribble not completely & utterly screwed up my order, twice.

I got so fed up, I gave up & cancelled the lot. Yes it was cheap, but the customer service level was down in the gutter. I could never get a straight answer regarding stock/build etc. Drove me nuts.

I considered a PX, and they were very helpfull but the bike just didn't float my boat unfortunatly.

harrymunro

So I got my Planet X SL with Ultegra and Dura-Ace today... very nice bike in the flesh. I've never experienced carbon before, I don't like the plasticy feel when you flick it but it is very very light. The SL is not as slack as it appears in pictures, the geometry feels just right. I don't feel like the nanolight would have been worth the extra wonga.
Looking forward to a long test ride tomorrow...

John C.

Just built up a Planet X carbon pro frame with 105 kit and I love it . I've done very little riding since November and I'm up with my PB times with hardly any training. The only thing I've noticed is the back end seems a bit vague at times, not sure why every thing is tight.

NWLondoner

I have been very happy with my PX Pro SL and am in the same quandary for when I upgrade.

Another couple of issues to consider.

PX have great customer service but how often can you spec a FULL groupset?? More often you have to spec a "mongrel" of a groupset whereas with Ribble you can usually spec a FULL groupset.

However Ribble do have a reputation for being a bit of a pain to deal with when it comes down to customer service whereas PX seems to get nothing but praise.

MInd you after seeing the Canyon "Superbike' in this months C+ magazine i may consider them.

rolf_f

NWLondoner wrote:

However Ribble do have a reputation for being a bit of a pain to deal with when it comes down to customer service whereas PX seems to get nothing but praise.

I've not had real problems with Ribble at all. They've always answered the phone promptly, the staff have been really helpful and they've been happy to deal with problems. I think they are a bit disorganised at times though.

buder

Hi,

I have an SL Pro Red and was really worried about all this flex talk, I test rode quite a few different bikes before to get an idea of what to expect from a carbon frame.

Iin the 2 weeks I have had it I have really tried hard to find any flex from the front and to be honest cant notice anything much to complain about. I got them to reduce the stack height for me as they do come with quite allot of spacers under the stem and I have noticed the front end does seem quite lively when out the saddle but I dont consider that a negative of such.


I weigh 12.5 stone so not a complete light weight but it seems a good ride so far.

okgo

Thanks guys.

Stiffness is important, I've got a BMC alu frame which is
Stiff, just heavy.

I'm still torn, both charge an admin fee, the level of
Group I can get is going to be better on the px, but I like the look of the ribbles! I'll probably go SRAM as it seems good value.

harrymunro

What is your budget?

okgo

I'd put a couple of hundred in the pot, hence I'm looking at the £1100 px. So I'd say max budget £1200.

petemadoc

Hob Nob wrote:

I would have been riding a Ribble Stealth, had Ribble not completely & utterly screwed up my order, twice.

I got so fed up, I gave up & cancelled the lot. Yes it was cheap, but the customer service level was down in the gutter. I could never get a straight answer regarding stock/build etc. Drove me nuts.

I considered a PX, and they were very helpfull but the bike just didn't float my boat unfortunatly.

In what way did they feck up your order? I've noticed stock issues with the stealth frame on th website. Did they explain the stock problems or . . .?

springtide9

okgo wrote:

I'd put a couple of hundred in the pot, hence I'm looking at the £1100 px. So I'd say max budget £1200.

FYI

If CTW....

When I spoke to Ribble they were a bit funny about any kind of top up/upgrade, but PX where the very opposite (very flexible). This ended up being the deciding factor for me.

skyblue337

Just as a counter view on topping up with Ribble, I found them perfectly accommodating when I wanted to go Campag Athena

springtide9

skyblue337 wrote:

Just as a counter view on topping up with Ribble, I found them perfectly accommodating when I wanted to go Campag Athena

That is very interesting, as I asked the question several times via email as well as talking to someone on the phone. Not sure if they were having a bad day or I'd upset them somehow, but the answer for me was basically, "no chance in h*ll".

It was after than conversation I ruled out 'Ribble' for C2W.

[BTW, on looks, think the Grand F looks better than the PX SL]

okgo

I can add money, I've got it in an email them saying yes.

I'm thinking about getting the Sportive from Ribble with 105 as I know it works etc, and it comes out at a good price.

Any thoughts on whether the new Sportive is vastly better than the old one?

ianlash

skyblue337 wrote:

Just as a counter view on topping up with Ribble, I found them perfectly accommodating when I wanted to go Campag Athena

I've posted this before in another thread, but it might be useful for others here too. I asked Ribble about topping up, and this is their reply:-

The maximum allowed on this Government scheme is £1000. This is based on a blanket consumer credit licence to cover all companies joining this scheme.

Companies that hold their own consumer credit licence can set their own limits (within reason). In this case we will obviously accept an order over £1000 as long as a voucher covers it.

In our experience there are certain companies within the private sector who will allow their employees to exceed the standard £1000 limit and in this case you would pay the excess to us when we collect your administration charge. Even in these cases we are not prepared to exceed a maximum order of £1300.

It is our experience that public sector employers will not allow their employees to exceed the standard £1000 voucher. This is based on the principle that the employer would not own the complete bike and this ‘joint ownership’ could present some problems if the employee were to leave or when the scheme is complete.

Any amount over the £1000 limit can be paid for by card. Once we receive your voucher our accounts team will contact you regarding the further payments.
Turnaround time is currently two to three weeks from the point our accounts team gets in touch with you.


Therefore, I won't be topping up, unfortunately.

Poulsy

okgo wrote:

Any thoughts on whether the new Sportive is vastly better than the old one?

Who knows? Surely it isdown to just personal preference on the looks and which geometry works best for you but I think the new one is much better looking (I am biased, as I just bought one )

Poulsy

okgo wrote:

Any thoughts on whether the new Sportive is vastly better than the old one?

Who knows? Surely it isdown to just personal preference on the looks and which geometry works best for you but I think the new one is much better looking (I am biased, as I just bought one )

John C.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_R3sqYbkCmZI/TZIOCDNJV8I/AAAAAAAAAys/GM-3kGlDpDI/s640/DSCN1251.JPG

If I've done this correctly this is my new baby

Zachariah

Very happy owner of a PX SL Pro, extremely nice bike to ride and looks great in the flesh (I haven't seen any photos that do it justice). I originally wanted a Focus Cayo but Wiggle raised the price just before I was set to order, then I was almost going to get the Ribble Nero but the spec of the PX was just too strong for the price (I also got some carbon cranks in the end, and paid less than the current price of the Red model).

Fast,light and,though not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, very reaonably priced (though I'd be looking at Canyon if I was going for an even more expensive bike).

The 'flex' question is, in the absence of any hard numbers, a load of rubbish. I defy any of you to show me footage of bike parts wobbling around (outside of a crash) or show me research on how anyone lost any races due to excess 'flex'. Seriously, it's time to get over this word. It's an industry catch-all term that has no more meaning than 'as part of this nutritional breakfast!' or 'new and improved!'

springtide9

Very right about the non flex issue. I asked the same question before buying mine. Planned to get Easton Folks straight off 'to resolve the non issue'... but a few people told me to wait until I'd tested the bike. The folks are perfect, and I saved some cash.

Bike looks better in the flesh... but doesn't have those curves that are all the rage.. which I'll be honest, I do like.

On that note, the looks is probably the biggest neg point. Of the SL. I also looked at the nanolight at Bike Science a week ago. That is also a very nice bike, with a lovely shaped top tube... best viewed from above!

The PX, B'man and the Ribbles all get good reviews. Pick the one that you best like the look of.