Planet X Kaffenback 2

2

Comments

  • gloomyandy
    gloomyandy Posts: 520
    I think px still sell the older frame with a swapout rear disc mount that I think is inside of the rear triangle. I have a on-one inbred which I use as a touring bike, I got the older swap out frame so I could mount the disc brake inside the frame. Racks then fit really easily. No idea if you can get the old frame built up though.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    16mm wrote:
    Mine is a swapout kaff. If the new K2 weighed much less then PX would be on about it in all the advertising.
    SInce they're not I assume it weighs about the same.

    The K2 is 24.5 lbs, 11kg.
    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... _road_bike

    Add a couple of waterbottles and it's about twice the UCI limit ;-)
    fook me ...... what a lump
  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    ben16v wrote:
    damn it the new genesis has mounted the disc inside the rear triangle which seen as i would want a rack is a big deal, how easy have anyone else with the genesis/kaffenback gotten round the mounting issues?

    I have just fitted a Tortec Transalp Rear Disc Rack to my Kaffenback 2 and it could not have been easier. It fits around the brakes fine and at £23 from JEJames was a very cheap but very good quality and sturdy rack. I would have no problem recommending it to anyone for the Kaff 2.

    NP
  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    ben16v wrote:
    damn it the new genesis has mounted the disc inside the rear triangle which seen as i would want a rack is a big deal, how easy have anyone else with the genesis/kaffenback gotten round the mounting issues?

    I have just fitted a Tortec Transalp Rear Disc Rack to my Kaffenback 2 and it could not have been easier. It fits around the brakes fine and at £23 from JEJames was a very cheap but very good quality and sturdy rack. I would have no problem recommending it to anyone for the Kaff 2.

    NP
  • leodis75
    leodis75 Posts: 184
    Thanks for the advice on the Tortec Transalp Rear Disc Rack, I have just ordered K2 as a winter trainer/all year commuter. Been searching the market and for the wheels, brakes, groupset, frame & finishing kit (which I upgraded & tyres) so should come in around 22/23lbs there is nothing close within at least £200.
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    mine came today, its by no means the lump you think...
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • YIMan
    YIMan Posts: 576
    Mine arrive today. I seem to have specced a ridiculous shiny white saddle Selle Italia SLR which will be swapped out.

    It fails the schoolboy "pickup" test and does weigh 11kg spot on, in the largest size.....but I remind myself I bought it for versatility, not weight.
  • ben16v
    ben16v Posts: 296
    what grade steel is the kaff compared to the 725 geneis, not that i know but its a whole new world of research!!
    i need more bikes
  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    It isn't Reynolds steel it is Maxwall custom double-butted chromoly tubing.

    If you want to know the equivalent in Reynolds I think it may be 631 but I am no expert in steels and this is just a guestimation.

    I did read somewhere that all steels have the same flex but the more expensive ones are stronger so less steel is required for the same strength, this equates to lighter frames. Given that the Genesis weighs a kilo more than the Kaffenback then my guestimate may be way off.
  • leodis75
    leodis75 Posts: 184
    I've had the PX for a couple of weeks, I thought it arrived needing the rear to be slightly trued, turned out it is a flat spot the mech can't remove, the BB7's are pretty poor imho weekly tweaking to get them to bite.

    I would look elsewhere and avoid the Kaffenback.
  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    If I were you I would speak to Planet X and see if they can sort out the problems because I have had mine since the first ones were released and it is utterly superb. The brakes are truly amazing and when I get on my carbon bike with normal caliper brakes I am amazed at how weak they are compared to the Kaffenbach's Avids and I have not adjusted them once since the bike arrived. Of course as with all disc brakes there was a bedding in period of a couple of hundred miles but since then they are brilliant.
  • leodis75
    leodis75 Posts: 184
    I am sending it back, hopefully will get a full refund. I do not feel safe commuting in traffic on this bike, the BB7's are not a scratch on my campagnolo centaur rim brakes and with the wheel issue I have lost faith in PX and the bike.
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    rubertoe wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    rubertoe wrote:
    Why is this so damn hard?

    Any other suggestions for do it all bikes (rack and full guards, Disc brakes) around the £800 mark?

    I don't think the PX kaffenbeck can be matched as Value for money... the only reason not to get one is because you don't like it!
    In fact I don't understand what is hard about your choice... I find it very easy... :D

    I know your right, I am just trying to convince myself that I am missing something...

    The WWW has made us all paranoid that we are missing on the best possible deal.. it is a form of FOMO (fear of missing out)... get over it, even if a better deal was to be found somewhere, you still get a pretty amazing bike for 800 quid, which is great value.

    Remember the constant search for the lowest price has only resulted in job losses in the western world and lower quality across the board... we have been fooled into believing this is a better and more efficient system, hence the lower prices, but it's not... it's just modern days slavery and crap manufacturing...
    Modern components are shamefully pathetitc... in this context the PX Kaffenback stands out... :wink:

    Wise words - this is one of the best posts I've read!
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    night_porter wrote:
    It isn't Reynolds steel it is Maxwall custom double-butted chromoly tubing.

    Is it any good?
  • peteco
    peteco Posts: 184
    Interesting to see this thread resurrected.

    I have had my Kaffenback 2 for about 5 months now, and it is just brilliant for the price. I put some mudguards on it, and it has coped with all conditions through the winter.

    Yes it's heavy compared to my "summer" bike, but you don't notice it.

    The BB7 brakes are excellent. They need an occasional tweak to compensate for pad wear, but that's about 15 seconds every couple of months. At least I no longer have the dreaded scraping noise going downhill, knowing that my rims are being destroyed.

    When the trails dry out a bit, I can't wait to remove the mudguards, fit some knobbly tyres, and try some simple offroading with it.

    Pete
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    peteco wrote:
    Yes it's heavy compared to my "summer" bike, but you don't notice it.

    Would you say you no longer need a summer bike?
    As spring is rapidly approaching and most people describe this as the perfect winter bike I don't want to regret my purchase!
  • peteco
    peteco Posts: 184
    DM222 wrote:
    Would you say you no longer need a summer bike?
    As spring is rapidly approaching and most people describe this as the perfect winter bike I don't want to regret my purchase!

    No-one "needs" a summer bike (or a winter bike for that matter) :-)

    If I was forced to have just one bike, then it would be the Kaffenbach due to its versatility, and the fact that it can cope so well with the state of the country lanes around me.

    Pete
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    Many thanks
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    leodis75 wrote:
    the BB7's are pretty poor imho weekly tweaking to get them to bite.

    I would look elsewhere and avoid the Kaffenback.

    Don't blame the brakes, blame cr@ppy cables and someone who doesn't know how to install them correctly - compressionless outers e.g. Goodrich. With BB7s, it's perfectly feasible to 'hang' on drop-offs with one finger on the levers
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    Just out of interest - what made you choose the Kaffenback over the Planet X XLS Cyclocross bike? Admittedly it's £200 more but it has 105 gearing, BB7s and a carbon frame / forks!
  • peteco
    peteco Posts: 184
    I wanted a bike for mostly road use so the gearing may be a little low.
    Not sure whether I could fit mudguards to it.
    But biggest issue (other than £200) was a press fit bottom bracket - definitely not interested particularly on a winter bike.

    Pete
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    peteco wrote:
    I wanted a bike for mostly road use so the gearing may be a little low.
    Not sure whether I could fit mudguards to it.
    But biggest issue (other than £200) was a press fit bottom bracket - definitely not interested particularly on a winter bike.

    Pete

    Forgive my ignorance - what's wrong with a press fit BB?!
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    DM222 wrote:
    Forgive my ignorance - what's wrong with a press fit BB?!

    They are not particularly water tight and the bearings are placed outside the bottom bracket shell with hardly any sealing... realistically one wet ride followed by a week in a cold damp shed can kill them...
    If you look at the bikes fitted with those... they always show guys in shorts on a deep blue sky background... I'd say that is true advertising... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    DM222 wrote:
    Forgive my ignorance - what's wrong with a press fit BB?!

    They are not particularly water tight and the bearings are placed outside the bottom bracket shell with hardly any sealing... realistically one wet ride followed by a week in a cold damp shed can kill them...
    If you look at the bikes fitted with those... they always show guys in shorts on a deep blue sky background... I'd say that is true advertising... :wink:

    Thanks :wink:
  • orangepip
    orangepip Posts: 219
    re press fit BB's I've had a ton of problems with my Caad 9 - mostly as a result of riding it in whatever the weather but I used to have real problems with the grease being washed out and then subject to an all mighty squeaking noise every few months.

    Touch wood the shop appear to have sorted it but my search for a winter bike has definitely centred around the traditional BB as a result.

    In fact the mechanic in my local shop admitted to me that virtually every cannondale they've sold with a bb30 has been back in within a few months with a squeaky bb. Locktite seems to have resolved it at the moment though.
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    peteco wrote:
    I wanted a bike for mostly road use so the gearing may be a little low.
    Not sure whether I could fit mudguards to it.
    But biggest issue (other than £200) was a press fit bottom bracket - definitely not interested particularly on a winter bike.

    Pete


    Out of the 3 wheel options available on the Kaff'2 - which did you consider to be best?
  • peteco
    peteco Posts: 184
    DM222 wrote:
    Out of the 3 wheel options available on the Kaff'2 - which did you consider to be best?

    I don't think I had an option when I ordered. I appear to have the current +£75 option now. I have insufficient expertise on these sort of wheels to make a comment, and it's too early to comment on longevity.

    Pete
  • DM222
    DM222 Posts: 90
    Thanks Pete - I think I'm going to buy a Kaffenback shortly but I just need to work out what wheels are best!
  • superaldo
    superaldo Posts: 1
    Hi all,

    to all owners of a K2. Do you know if it's possible to remove the planet x sticker ?

    Thanks
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    Feels like the decal is under the laquer, another option is Nitromors :lol:
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.

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