Planet X wheels

secretsam

Am in need of new wheels for my CAAD8, as crummy standard ones keep breaking spokes. Have seen Planet X Model B and C have good reviews, would they be suitable for a chunky 90kg monkey such as myself? Are they any good?

Thanks in advance

welkman

Im a similar weight and recently built up an XL CAAD 8 that I built up with pro light comos that came with my ribble, they are bomb proof, cheap and are heavyish but roll well. I would also say to stay clear of the shimano RS20s which I kept breaking! Have seen the Planet X Bs reccomended in several places.

Loving my new training bike by the way.

nich

Can't fault mine yet, can't remember if they are B or C, but I've struck many a pot hole with them and nothing bad happened

jzed

I'm 105kg and have trashed a couple of pairs or Model B's. Admittedly they took some hammering and a couple of potholes at speed. I would go for C's with 32 spokes if I bought them again.

kelsen

I've used Model Bs for the commute and can't fault them. Have read somewhere that they're comparable to Pro-lite Braccianos but I've never used Braccianos so couldn't say. As JZed says, go for the Model Cs if you're concerned about the spoke count.

london-red

I run Model Bs, and they're fine - if not a bit boring, if you get me. They've stayed true enough for the 12 months or so I've been running them. However, the rim did go on one of them (thought a spoke had popped, but on further inspection found that the nipple hole had blown). PX provided new wheelset no problem and been fine since.

notsoblue

I've trashed a pair of Model B's, the spoke popped from the rim rather spectacularly while coming over Putney Bridge. Up until that point they were fine though. Like the others I'd recommend the C's if you wanted value robustness.

iPete

Admittedly I destroyed the rear on a mother of a pot hole but my front wheel has done over 11,000 miles now, so recommend the model Cs.

This thread has just reminded me that I have a slow puncture. FML.

phy2sll2

SecretSam wrote:

Am in need of new wheels for my CAAD8, as crummy standard ones keep breaking spokes. Have seen Planet X Model B and C have good reviews, would they be suitable for a chunky 90kg monkey such as myself? Are they any good?

Thanks in advance

Mine are good, but I don't think they sell 'em anymore, do they?

Wait, they do, but only Campag freehubs or white rims.

I think the AL30s are their replacement but jury's out on whether they're as good.

symo

B are good for general training and events. Model C's are bomb proof and backed up by PX's amazing customer service. My B's did London to Paris and other stuff last year, still tight and true.

You may also want to check these out : http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPM ... set___700c

spasypaddy

id never buy anything planet x branded again.

frame broke, they didnt want to know. bike was 3 years old, up until last winter it had never been ridden in bad weather. they essentially told me to fuck off.

rear hub disintegrated and then i was told "we dont know what hubs we use as we use so many different types that we have to just have a universal freehub" so rather than giving me guidance on how to measure it and therefore buy the freehub thats specific to my wheel which will cost me £10 they have a freehub body that fits all their wheels that costs £40.

Worst customer service from an awful company.

The only thing i've got from them that i am relatively pleased with is finishing components which are all alloy and i dont think they could go wrong. I also have some of their weight weenie brakes which i going to be selling soon and replacing for next summer with some Dura Ace brakes.

I really really hate Planet X

boondog

completely different experience here to spasypaddy.
I run model B's for commuting, had a pair that ran 20,000 miles and are still going, but I replaced them with newer ones and after 1.5 years the rim cracked. I called them and explained, they sent me a new one.
Had a PX road carbon which I commuted on, got knocked off by a taxi and the forks were damaged and the frame had some interesting shapes in the carbon. Spoke to PX on the phone and ended up driving up to see them, I was very happy with the outcome and got to try out a few bikes from their showroom.
So I would recommend them, they're a small british company who are enthusiastic about the products the sell.

spasypaddy

im genuinely disgusted by the level of customer service i received. they didnt even want to see the frame even though it cracked as i was just riding along, not going through a pot hole, literally just riding along.

so i ring up and explain that my frame has cracked whilst i was just riding along, they say they can offer me a crash replacement. brilliant i think (knowing these frames cost them probably £150) they'll want £200 and i'll be on my way happy as larry. But no they say a crash replacement will be £399. The same price as on their website.

in the end i went and bought my dream bike a few months earlier than i had planned to and got a cheap alu frame off the second hand section off here as a commuter/winter trainer.

im annoyed by the fact they tried to scam me with a 'crash replacement' but what really annoys me and leads me to believe they dont care about their customers is that they didnt even want to look at the broken frame to try and find out why it had just snapped without any stress and from me just riding normally along. That bit is really worrying.

notsoblue

I've dealt with Planet X customer service, and they've been pretty good tbh.

davmaggs

Some online comments say that their wheels seem to use a very soft hub so the wheels either die or the cassette gets wedged onto the hub. Anyone experienced this, or is it a couple of people moaning?

boondog

my first set of model b's had that issue, but to be honest it didn't cause any problems. Some sprockets on the cassette bit into the hub, so you had to remove them one by one, and the embedded ones (1-3mm) you just had to rotate out first. That was 4 years ago, the last wheel didn't seem to do that.

spasypaddy

mine did that davmaggs, but thats now what i meant by disintegrating. the whole internals of the hub fell apart. so much so i found metal imbedded in my finger.