Planet X 52mm Carbon Clincher Wheelset

KentPuncheur

Am I missing something here? PX have a 52mm carbon clincher wheelset for £399 http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPP ... r_wheelset which seems to be a similar spec to deepset carbon clinchers at around £1k (although slightly heavier at 1.7kg)!

Is there a compromise on build and performance quality here that I'm missing or is it simply a brand issue, i.e. Mavic, Shimano, DT Swiss etc etc add on the value for the name. For someone looking at getting their first deepset carbon wheelset PX seems to be the only choice at that price point!

Does anyone else have this wheelset and are they happy with them?

Percy Vera

They are actually an alloy rim with a carbon fairing, but still a good price due to the distribution method and PX pricing

kingrollo

the rim is carbon - its only the braking surface that is alloy.

sungod

they are a bit heavy, and from the images on their website do appear to be an alloy rim plus a fairing...



also, there's more to aerodynamics than rim depth, the profile and surface can make quite a difference, this compares the *change* in resistance vs. wind yaw angle, not absolute resistance (note, it includes some disc wheels)...



then there's stuff like stiffness, with lower spoke counts i'm sure it gets harder to make a stiff, but light, wheel

i'm sure there's some element of paying for the name with branded wheels, but for lower weight, higher stiffness, and better aerodynamics, a fair bit of the cost must be due to the sophistication of design, materials and construction

bus_ter

They also do 60mm for the same price.

Plus notice the pictures don't match the description? In the photo there are 16 spokes in the front wheel, but the description says 20.

"Twenty spokes up front is the optimum balance between aerodynamics and strength" If it turns out the photo is correct I wonder if they will change that to "16 spokes is the optimum.."

oldraver

also, there's more to aerodynamics than rim depth <<<<< some very good advice right there.
The Zipp firecrest & Hed c2 rim shapes have been shown to be more effective during tunnel testing due to a better airflow interface between tyre & rim.
Whether budget manufacturers spend more time in the tunnel is open to argument.
We are talking fractions of aerodynamic savings so the decision is largely down to construction & whether your real world ability is worth the cost.

bus_ter

sungod wrote:

they are a bit heavy, and from the images on their website do appear to be an alloy rim plus a fairing...

They do look like cheap/basic rims with carbon stuck on the inside. You can see they have cut slots in the carbon where the spokes go through to the rims.

If you look at Zipps for example (inc the alloy braking types) you can see the wheels are formed carbon and the spokes connect to the carbon inside section.

warrior4life

I've just got some of these.
Recently I've had dura ace 7850cl (freehub went and they weren't very stiff)
American classic aero 420s (Fast and light but terrible bearing seals)
Soul 2.0 (superlight but spokes kept coming loose)

The planet x feel exactly the same to ride as Mavic Cosmic Carbone sl's, I can honsetly tell no difference at all and they sound the same as cosmics as well.
I've hit some serious potholes as speed and they held up fine.

For the money they're a great wheel, Bearings are sealed well and roll great, Nice and stiff. There's an obvious weight penalty but when you get out of the saddle the stiffness seems to make up for it.
I feel when I sprint on these I go quicker than anything apart from Zipp 404's.
Cross winds aren't that much of a problem either.

I've ridden Zipp 404's and they're the best wheels I've ever used but I doubt using the planet x wheels would even cost me one place in a race. Maybe in a TT the Zipps would net me few seconds.

pkripper

bus_ter wrote:

sungod wrote:

they are a bit heavy, and from the images on their website do appear to be an alloy rim plus a fairing...

They do look like cheap/basic rims with carbon stuck on the inside. You can see they have cut slots in the carbon where the spokes go through to the rims.

If you look at Zipps for example (inc the alloy braking types) you can see the wheels are formed carbon and the spokes connect to the carbon inside section.

Wheels with a carbon fairing dont suffer unduly vs those with structural carbon. The hed jet 60s / 90s et al all used the fairing, and they're not a slow or weak wheel. Or cheap.

And as it stands, I've had one structural carbon wheel fail on me vs. None that use a fairing. I know where my money will stay.

cougie

I've a set of these on my PX - my mate has the more expensive FFWD carbon deep rims. I cant see theres much difference between the two sets. Maybe in a lab you can test a difference - but out on the road ?

supermurph09

KentPuncheur wrote:

Am I missing something here? PX have a 52mm carbon clincher wheelset for £399 http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPPX52CCL/planet_x_52mm_carbon_clincher_wheelset which seems to be a similar spec to deepset carbon clinchers at around £1k (although slightly heavier at 1.7kg)!

Is there a compromise on build and performance quality here that I'm missing or is it simply a brand issue, i.e. Mavic, Shimano, DT Swiss etc etc add on the value for the name. For someone looking at getting their first deepset carbon wheelset PX seems to be the only choice at that price point!

Does anyone else have this wheelset and are they happy with them?

Hi, am I missing something, the wheels are £499 not £399?????

ugo.santalucia

Supermurph09 wrote:

KentPuncheur wrote:

Am I missing something here? PX have a 52mm carbon clincher wheelset for £399 http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPPX52CCL/planet_x_52mm_carbon_clincher_wheelset which seems to be a similar spec to deepset carbon clinchers at around £1k (although slightly heavier at 1.7kg)!

Is there a compromise on build and performance quality here that I'm missing or is it simply a brand issue, i.e. Mavic, Shimano, DT Swiss etc etc add on the value for the name. For someone looking at getting their first deepset carbon wheelset PX seems to be the only choice at that price point!

Does anyone else have this wheelset and are they happy with them?

Hi, am I missing something, the wheels are £499 not £399?????

Maybe they were 399 in February when the topic was started?

supermurph09

Clearly I was missing something!!

stepdavi

Ive got some, had them since march got them for £399. done around 1000 miles on them now and cant complain. No faults and still look and sound good. Free hub is bit noisy but used to it now