What's the catch with the Plant X Pro Carbon?

Emphursis
Emphursis Posts: 124
edited September 2013 in Road buying advice
I'm talking about this one (http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... _road_bike). Full carbon and ultegra for £999.99. I'm sorely tempted, but as I'm a student won't be able to afford it until after Christmas. Am I going to spend the next three months ogling something that will shatter if it goes through a small pothole, or is it really just a fantastic deal?

The only niggle I can see is that it's a compact, but it should be fairly simple to stick a double on it in the future.

Comments

  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    You could do a hell of a lot worse. Reasons it's cheap are:

    - 6700 is 10 speed and is being phased out for 11s 6800.
    - The chainset and brakes are NOT Ultegra.
    - That's a very cheap frameset that they've been doing for years. Nothing wrong with it but it looks a bit dated and it's not super light.

    PX changes it's deals every five minutes so it's highly unlikely you get the same one in 3 months time. Of course there might be a better one but at some point fairly soon I assume they'll stop doing 6700 at all.
  • Emphursis
    Emphursis Posts: 124
    Hm ok, thank you. Re the breaks/chainset, further down the page there is a second set of specs, where it says it does have Ultegra brakes/chainset, which it says again on the customise page. I think there might be a mistake with the first set of specs, as they suggest it has 35mm tyres.

    I didn't know that about the 6700 being phased out, but like you said, there might be an equivalent with 6800 or similar in a few months time, so I'll keep an eye on it.
  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    There is no catch the Pro Carbon has been the best seller for Planet X for many years and is very good vfm a few people I know have them me included and all are more than happy with them. They usually offer this range with Ultegra or SRAM both of which are good gear sets.
    Don't be put of just because they cost less than a big name brand a lot of these carbon frames are made in the same factories. :)
  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    The 35mm tyre description is a misprint 25mm is the biggest the frame will take.
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    Emphursis wrote:
    Hm ok, thank you. Re the breaks/chainset, further down the page there is a second set of specs, where it says it does have Ultegra brakes/chainset, which it says again on the customise page. I think there might be a mistake with the first set of specs, as they suggest it has 35mm tyres.

    I didn't know that about the 6700 being phased out, but like you said, there might be an equivalent with 6800 or similar in a few months time, so I'll keep an eye on it.

    I see what you mean about clicking through, but that's certainly something I'd clarify before buying. FWIW the bike in the photos has the parts listed on the main page (not Ultegra). Frankly I would be a bit surprised if they offered full Ultegra (even with the 105 cassette) as the chainset alone is worth a fair chunk of cash. But it is possible.
  • arran77
    arran77 Posts: 9,260
    Being a compact is not necessarily a niggle so I wouldn't let that put you off, plenty of people will choose to switch to a compact out of choice.
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    Also a good point. I've recently switched to compact on the race bike in fact. Easier to get the low gears for serious climbs and a 50/11 is a massive gear so you'll never run out of top end.
  • Camcycle1974
    Camcycle1974 Posts: 1,356
    pretty sure the px pro carbon is not full ultegra. non-series brakes and chainset.
  • hstiles
    hstiles Posts: 414
    Its a nice bike. I had one with SRAM Rival for a few months. My main issue with the bike was a very tall head tube, so I had to run it with a slammed stem and even then it felt high. That said, there are plenty of people who welcome a more relaxed geometry.

    On the plus side, and it's a big positive, it's a comfortable bike despite being reasonably stiff, which helps the power transfer.

    No issue with a compact chainset. I recently switched from compact to double, but a compact with 11/25 for everyday or 11/28 for days in the alps covers all of the ratios you would probably need.
  • Camcycle1974
    Camcycle1974 Posts: 1,356
    hstiles wrote:
    Its a nice bike. I had one with SRAM Rival for a few months. My main issue with the bike was a very tall head tube, so I had to run it with a slammed stem and even then it felt high. That said, there are plenty of people who welcome a more relaxed geometry.

    On the plus side, and it's a big positive, it's a comfortable bike despite being reasonably stiff, which helps the power transfer.

    No issue with a compact chainset. I recently switched from compact to double, but a compact with 11/25 for everyday or 11/28 for days in the alps covers all of the ratios you would probably need.

    ? the head tube on a medium is only 145mm, less than most bikes and certainly not in the "Sportive" category. Geo is very similar to my Ribble 872 which is certainly not a relaxed geometry. Depends on what you are used to I suppose. A slammed stem with a 125mm head tube on a medium frame is not what most people ride.

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