Planet X SLX (Flanders Colours)

bendertherobot

Yeah, just checked, that's changed.

It might well be worth thinking about the Rival hydraulic build. That's "only" £200 more but the PX wheels come as standard. Ugo thinks the PX wheels are actually pretty good (after some tinkering) so they are worthwhile.

ugo.santalucia

Yeah, I use them every day, not being able to afford my own builds...

They are very decent components and with a spoke upgrade could be just as good as any disc wheelset you can buy bespoke... I was meant to rebuild them with lighter/better spokes but...

A) I can't be bothered

Wasting perfectly good spokes seems a bit too much western world consumerism (especially in view of C)

C) It's actually nice to notice a difference when I fit the other (allegedly better) wheels

bendertherobot

Yeah, I love the Pacenti. They have a purpose. For commuting and pottering they'd be a waste. I do intend on using them in anger.

I'm fast becoming a fan (shock) of downgrading. Apex is great. Ditto 105. I figure that I could actually do that Ritchey Swiss Cross build if I just went for Rival............................

ugo.santalucia

bendertherobot wrote:

Yeah, I love the Pacenti. They have a purpose. For commuting and pottering they'd be a waste. I do intend on using them in anger.

I'm fast becoming a fan (shock) of downgrading. Apex is great. Ditto 105. I figure that I could actually do that Ritchey Swiss Cross build if I just went for Rival............................

There is virtually no difference between Tiagra and Dura Ace... they do the same thing in the same way.
In the Campagnolo world the lower series seem to have a bit more plastic in the shifters, which breaks easily, but the rest of the componentry is actually the same or better. Veloce is the best rear mech, the one that doesn't crack in half if you crash it.
With components you have to be selective... sometimes paying more is better other times is the same, other times it is worse

ianlash

bendertherobot wrote:

Yeah, just checked, that's changed.

It might well be worth thinking about the Rival hydraulic build. That's "only" £200 more but the PX wheels come as standard. Ugo thinks the PX wheels are actually pretty good (after some tinkering) so they are worthwhile.

Bugger, hadn't even seen that bike. More decisions to make now! If they bring out a DI2 version I'll be really confused.

bendertherobot

You're safe there. PX have a SRAM contract going on now!

Viking2136

bendertherobot wrote:

Yeah, just checked, that's changed.

It might well be worth thinking about the Rival hydraulic build. That's "only" £200 more but the PX wheels come as standard. Ugo thinks the PX wheels are actually pretty good (after some tinkering) so they are worthwhile.

Thats the one im stuck on at the moment

rafonabike

Hi all,

After that my first cx bike (a bmc cx01) has been stolen last November, I am ready to pull the trigger for a new cx bike (with the help of my insurance).

I have been lurking on the Planet X SLX (Flanders colours) but was wondering about the size. I am 5,69ft (1m74) and my inseam is 31inches (78,9cm). I am thinking to go for a 51cm bike. What are you thought? Any experience with this size? My goal is to race some cyclocross event next season.

And another questions: does it worth to put 200£ more for the rival set up with hydraulic brake? anyone has experience with those brake?

Thanks a lot for helping me.
Cheers,
r.

bendertherobot

It's worth it. Rival is about 100 quid more without hydro. Hydro brakes and levers will set you back 500 quid. 51 sounds right

Viking2136

bendertherobot wrote:

It's worth it. Rival is about 100 quid more without hydro. Hydro brakes and levers will set you back 500 quid. 51 sounds right

Too right, the brakes are great too so much different to wires, lets hope they do some Easter discount

rafonabike

bendertherobot wrote:

It's worth it. Rival is about 100 quid more without hydro. Hydro brakes and levers will set you back 500 quid. 51 sounds right

Thanks Viking2136 and Bendertherobot.

So I will go for the XLS with hydraulic brake.

cheers
r.

Viking2136

send us a report

ugo.santalucia

bendertherobot wrote:

Mine came with PX wheels. But there was no option to choose at the time.

They are stubborn to pick up pace and feel pretty heavy and dead on the rough stuff... I would not recommend them for competitive racing or long distance riding.

As I said earlier, if rebuilt with Sapim D-Light spokes, they'd probably be much much much better wheels. The Chosen hubs are surprisingly good for that price point

bendertherobot

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Mine came with PX wheels. But there was no option to choose at the time.

They are stubborn to pick up pace and feel pretty heavy and dead on the rough stuff... I would not recommend them for competitive racing or long distance riding.

As I said earlier, if rebuilt with Sapim D-Light spokes, they'd probably be much much much better wheels. The Chosen hubs are surprisingly good for that price point

It would be very interesting to see how you fare, if you do it. You could do the upgrade for relatively cheaply so, for those choosing a PX, it would work out considerably cheaper than buying new wheels.

ugo.santalucia

bendertherobot wrote:

It would be very interesting to see how you fare, if you do it. You could do the upgrade for relatively cheaply so, for those choosing a PX, it would work out considerably cheaper than buying new wheels.

Worth pointing out the QR skewers are complete garbage!
Yesterday the front finally ended up in the bin and the rear will follow suit... it just doesn't lock the hub in place... now back to those trusty Shimano I have in the drawer

bendertherobot

Better than Trek ones though, surely?

veronese68

bendertherobot wrote:

Better than Trek ones though, surely?

Not when closed.

rafonabike

Hi all,

I finally received my SLX today.
I was quite surprised as I haven't received an email from PX that my bike was shipped. Anyway. I am just happy.

I am starting to build it. But I have a question: How much should the seat post clamp be tighten? If any of you have the answer, thanks. And I have a torque wrench.

cheers
r.

Viking2136

rafonabike wrote:

Hi all,

I finally received my SLX today.
I was quite surprised as I haven't received an email from PX that my bike was shipped. Anyway. I am just happy.

I am starting to build it. But I have a question: How much should the seat post clamp be tighten? If any of you have the answer, thanks. And I have a torque wrench.

cheers
r.

I see PX customer contact is still suffering, such a shame as that's one of the reasons most people stay away - did you go for the XLS Rival 22? If so what wheels were on it and did you weigh it before adding your kit?

rafonabike

Hi,

I have to say that I am pretty happy with the PX customer service. I had an answer quickly after sending them an email. So no complaints on my side. Just two thing: I haven't received an email when my bike was shipped and it would have been nice to have a few infos on the sram hydro brake and how much tighten the parts.

And yes I have the XLS with Sram Rival hydro brake. I just weighted my bike this morning (without pedal) and it was around 9.5kg. For wheels, I have the PX CX disc alloy clincher. Looks strong...but heavy. Might change those later.

Any ideas about good wheels for CX race? I may want to go tubeless. any tires to recommend?

cheers,
r.

Viking2136 wrote:

rafonabike wrote:

Hi all,

I finally received my SLX today.
I was quite surprised as I haven't received an email from PX that my bike was shipped. Anyway. I am just happy.

I am starting to build it. But I have a question: How much should the seat post clamp be tighten? If any of you have the answer, thanks. And I have a torque wrench.

cheers
r.

I see PX customer contact is still suffering, such a shame as that's one of the reasons most people stay away - did you go for the XLS Rival 22? If so what wheels were on it and did you weigh it before adding your kit?

Viking2136

I currently use the Kenisis Cross Light which have served me well for 2 seasons now, their not the best out there but are light and strong. Im still in debate between yours and the CX1 version but think Im tipping towards the CX1 - but it depends what day it is!!!!

rafonabike

Yeah I hesitate between the rival or cx1 setup. And finally my banker decided for me....

Are you wheel tubeless ready?

Viking2136 wrote:

I currently use the Kenisis Cross Light which have served me well for 2 seasons now, their not the best out there but are light and strong. Im still in debate between yours and the CX1 version but think Im tipping towards the CX1 - but it depends what day it is!!!!

Viking2136

on the kenisis yes, but only for th elast 2 races last season, using standard tubes and fat wheels for commuting

Viking2136

Still looking around although pretty set on the SLX CX1 now but this is still tugging at my conscience
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... prod120681

I think the build looks slightly better (although a kg heavier) but buying a bike without seeing it seems so wrong!!!!!

Mage Banan

I bought a PlanetX SLX with 105 groupset just over a year ago, and found it an absolute dog. Firstly, delivery took weeks - much longer than they stated before checkout, and when it arrived the build quality was a real Halfords job. Cables and bar tape were a mess.

First failure was within a fortnight when the front innertube blew out through a spoke hole because they had used too narrow rim strips. When replacing these with tape, noticed the rims had been drilled out for schrader tractor valves and no presta adaptors had been fitted.

Brakes seized after 3 weeks and discovered that they had used cheap unbranded cable outers, so replaced these. When replacing the gear cables, discovered that the internal cable guides had come away, rendering it impossible to rethread the inners! This was days before a big cycling trip to France and no time to return bike to PlanetX, so drilled out and replaced with brass tubing.

Found the bars really angular and uncomfortable, so replaced. Had a look at the headset at this time, and bottom cartridge very badly corroded so replaced. I always smear them in grease to stop this and prevent creaks, PlanetX don't.

Avid BB7 callipers were nasty and no matter what pads I used or how I adjusted them, could never get good stopping power or get rid of the squeal. Changed for TRP Spyres, which are in a different class, i.e. they work.

The seals on the Deore rear hub were crap and was forever having to regrease bearings. 2 weeks ago, noticed rim cracking around the rear DS eyelets, so these wheels are for the scrapheap.

For a carbon frame, it is not particularly light or stiff and the finish is pretty poor close up. You can find something very similar on ebay for much less than PlanetX charge. Eventually got fed up of riding around on a nasty PlanetX advertising hoarding so upgraded the frame with an alloy Kinesis Pro6. Frameset weighs 50g more than the SLX for the same size but feels stiffer and looks a lot better.

Sometimes you can get a good deal from PlanetX, but risk getting a badly assembled bunch of parts from the odds bin.

tgotb

Mage Banan wrote:

For a carbon frame, it is not particularly light or stiff and the finish is pretty poor close up. You can find something very similar on ebay for much less than PlanetX charge. Eventually got fed up of riding around on a nasty PlanetX advertising hoarding so upgraded the frame with an alloy Kinesis Pro6. Frameset weighs 50g more than the SLX for the same size but feels stiffer and looks a lot better.

Curious. I have two XLSs and a Pro6, all three of which I ride multiple times a week during the Winter; I find the XLSs noticeably stiffer than the Pro6. I can't remember the XLS frameset weight off the top of my head, but I remember that when I weighed them they were at the light end of the spectrum for CX disc frames. Built up, they came out at 7.5kg, including knobbly tyres etc, which is pretty light for a CX bike.

As for looks I tend to select bikes on how they ride rather than what colour they are, but each to their own...

bendertherobot

Have to say, if the above poster did get a dog then, we must remember that today's bike is entirely different. Wheels are different, brakes are, of course, BB7 but they are crap whatever you have them on. Apex is flawless.

I have a Condor Bivio X in alu. Built for CX. Is it as stiff as the XLS. I hope so, it's metal. But I can't feel any appreciable difference in my Ritchey Swiss Cross, XLS or Bivio when stamping down hard.

tgotb

bendertherobot wrote:

Is it as stiff as the XLS. I hope so, it's metal.

That doesn't necessarily follow; the stiffness of a frame is much more down to the design of the tubes and joints than what material is used. You can make stiff or noodly frames out of any of the three mainstream materials.

As a material, carbon is a little stiffer than steel, which in turn is 3 times as stiff as aluminium (comparing Young's modulus). However, this doesn't take the material density into account. Factor that in (specific modulus) and carbon still wins, followed by aluminium, with steel trailing behind (which is why you don't get many steel aircraft). Now factor in things like minimum wall thickness (to make the frame robust) and steel becomes a realistic option again. It's horses for courses; carbon gives you a few more options when you're playing the stiffness/weight/cost tradeoff, but you could make a pretty good bike frame (or a very poor one) out of any of the three. Things like tube diameter are a much bigger factor, which is why fat tubes and chunky bottom brackets are all the rage. Some of these things are a bit easier to do with carbon than they are with other materials, because it's easier to build tapered tubes, and add in extra material where it makes most difference.

FWIW, out of the 20+ bike frames I've owned at various times, both the stiffest and bendiest were made from aluminium.

Mage Banan

TGOTB wrote:

As for looks I tend to select bikes on how they ride rather than what colour they are, but each to their own...

Rubbish, you wouldn't go out on a sparkling pink bike with barbie tinsel on the handlebars! I bet you spend ages getting your hair and eyewear just right before you go out.

Viking2136

Having been to the factory shop today, very nice, question - does the bare cable which goes down along the RH seat stay to the rear mech not act as a water catcher? Just looks a bit exposed! :roll: