Planet X N2A Carbon Frame

ultimedia

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about buying a frame and building a new road bike (a long term project).
The Planet X N2A Carbon Road Frame has caught my attention but I still feel a bit uncertain about the quality of these Planet X frames. 800pounds isn't that cheap and my goal is to build a fast and stiff road bike that could handle rough terrain and climbs.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRP ... e_and_fork

Any general opinions or people that have experience with the Planet X carbon frames?

springtide9

Think this is the only review/first look at the moment:

http://road.cc/content/news/48133-exclu ... anet-x-n2a

Sounds like a great frame to me... but I guess a few more reviews would be preferable before handing over £800.

sandyballs

Have no view on Planet x frames but i recently bought a 2010 Giant TCR Adv frame in mint condition for just shy of £600 on this website. My point is, second hand there are great deals on high end frames. Have you considered this route?

cougie

Look around a bit more - plenty of people ride planet x's. Their sponsored riders seem to do ok on them too.
At any triathlon in the UK you'll find plenty of their bikes.

ultimedia

Thanks for the replies.

What I read on the web is positive but yes 800 pounds is a lot of money so I want to be absolutely confident about my purchase.

Buying second hand / a different brand is definitely an option but you need some luck (with sizing for example), I am 6.2 / 191cm and most of the frames here are too small. I also care about aesthetics and I quite like the looks of this frame.

It would be good to get some opinions from Planet X riders.

kangarouge

I've got a Planet X SL Pro Carbon and have had it for just over three years I think. Its been a great buy and I'm very glad I purchased it. I seem to be getting more out of it all the time. I've even had at least three falls on ice on it, so perhaps carbon frames are not quite as fragile as some would have us believe.

In all probability, the next frame I buy is likely to be another Planet X.

I'd be very surprised if you bought one of their frames and didn't think it represented good value for money.

mcp73

I've recently purchased the RT-57 frame and forks from Planet X. I've had a few rides on it and it's a wonderful piece of kit. Both the RT-57 and the N2A are hugely aesthetically pleasing, and certainly represent outstanding value for money. I believe for your £800 you get frame, fork, headset and seatpost. I found another recent review:

http://rapidperformancecoaching.blogspo ... eview.html

springtide9

It does sound like the N2A is a great frame.

Been thinking about this myself as an upgrade to my SL in the future...

My only concern is that it does sound a little stiff for everyday use, so not sure how comfortable it's going to be on rough terrain; but it does sounds like an excellent frame, but very much race focused (with less compromise for comfort)

I'm wondering if the older Nanolight would be a better choice for me personally (which is very highly regarded I believe)

ajb72

springtide9 wrote:

It does sound like the N2A is a great frame.

Been thinking about this myself as an upgrade to my SL in the future...

My only concern is that it does sound a little stiff for everyday use, so not sure how comfortable it's going to be on rough terrain; but it does sounds like an excellent frame, but very much race focused (with less compromise for comfort)

I'm wondering if the older Nanolight would be a better choice for me personally (which is very highly regarded I believe)

Why not run a lower tyre pressure or 25mm tyres for those days when you value comfort over stiffness, then you have the best of both worlds? I own a cent uno and the difference in comfort even between 100 and 110 psi is amazing. I also run wide HED rims which helps for those days on rough roads or when you just want to get round with our feeling beaten up!

davehun

I have one.
Quick review:
Its loverly to ride. I was worried it was going to be too stiff but its not. So far I have tried a lot of horrid minor b roads (grass in the middle) and its a softer ride than my of aluminium felt. I do have the carbon bars as well so that might help.
It feels fast and I am quicker than I was.
BUT
the paint is really soft. Marks from brake cables after < 70 miles and a few paint chips already! It has more marks than my mountain bike despite the abuse that the off road bike has been through.

springtide9

davehun wrote:

I have one.
Quick review:
Its loverly to ride. I was worried it was going to be too stiff but its not. So far I have tried a lot of horrid minor b roads (grass in the middle) and its a softer ride than my of aluminium felt. I do have the carbon bars as well so that might help.
It feels fast and I am quicker than I was.
BUT
the paint is really soft. Marks from brake cables after < 70 miles and a few paint chips already! It has more marks than my mountain bike despite the abuse that the off road bike has been through.

Thanks for the mini review.

It's great to know that the bike isn't a bone shaker, but a shame about the paint.

What colour did you get? The "black and red"? Wondering if the guru paint finish is any harder?

Maybe part of the issue might be the new paint formulas (to meet the new chemical regulations) are not as tough as they used to be?

Might be worth reporting back to PX as a bit of a moan as it's far from ideal from an £800 frameset.

davehun

Mine is a Guru color set.
I have reported this back but not heard anything back yet...
It feels a bit like it hasn't fully cured yet. I wonder if it was still setting after having been to the fixers. The other Carbon bike is a white and it has what feels like and extra layer of clear varnish on the frame which does and amazing job with mud.

springtide9

davehun wrote:

Mine is a Guru color set.
I have reported this back but not heard anything back yet...
It feels a bit like it hasn't fully cured yet. I wonder if it was still setting after having been to the fixers. The other Carbon bike is a white and it has what feels like and extra layer of clear varnish on the frame which does and amazing job with mud.

You bought the best colour scheme.. love the look of the Guru!

Hmmm... I wonder how upset the wife would get it I ordered one ??? ;-)

fatboy23

No-one would seriously question that PX frames and builds offer excellent value for money.

I'd just suggest though, that from my experience, if you're into racing and can't afford to have good substitute bikes standing by,then it might be best to look elsewhere or at least resign yourself to some very long waits if you do experience problems.

Having invested £2000 in a nanolight/SRAM red machine in late 2010, I first had to wait 6 weeks for a replacement frame when a stress crack appeared on the top tube..(all this after requests that I send photo evidence)...very soon afterwards the headset gave way , cracking the fork crown and again it took nearly 5 weeks and a lot of debate to get this resolved...PX replaced the nanolight with a guru frame.

The delays in getting replacements meant that my seasons racing in 2010 and 2011 were seriously disrupted.

This year with the guru , weakness around the bottle cage bosses lead to PX again agreeing to replace the frame...no problem in that, but PX informed me initially that a replacement would take around 4/5 weeks....now that this time has elapsed PX have said it will now be another 4 weeks before a replacement can be provided.So that's another 10 weeks minimum without my race bike this season.

Before anyone comments,I've never had a crash (touch wood) and have never used a carbon bike on the turbo...and do all my winter work on an old Woodrup.

So..in all..no complaints about the kit (problems happen).. no complaints about PX accepting responsibility.....but insofar as prevaricating and playing for time are concerned then PX would be top of the league.

I've now sourced a cannondale super six and will go with that for what's left of this season, and any eventual guru replacement will have to go on ebay.