Rose or Planet X?

jbike2014

Hi,

I really need some advice on which bike is better. I have a limited knowledge when it comes to components.

I am looking to buy the lightest bike i can for around £1000. I have 2 bikes in mind:

The Planet X RT57 - weighing in at 8.12kg:
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRT57ULT/planet-x-rt-57-shimano-ultegra-6800-road-bike

The Rose Xeon CRS 2000 - weighing in at 7.55kg:
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-xeon-crs-2000-ltd/aid:715000

The bikes have slightly different components - for example although the Planet X is heavier, it has Shimano Ultegra versus the Shimano 105 on the Rose.

Which bike is better value? Which will go faster? Which bike is superior?

Any comments or opinions greatly appreciated!

macleod113

Which one do you like the most? which company has better customer service, better reviews?

in my opinion I'd be looking at the frame as the other components can be changed or upgraded over time. for me it would be the Rose as it looks nicer and you have a choice in colour. 105 is very good and I have it on my 2 bikes and no complaints.

i'm sure there will be some saying the 105 is only 10 speed and 11 speed is just round the corner so you have to ask yourself if 11 speed is important?

if so then ask Rose if its available or go for the planet X with 11 speed Ultegra

string78

Does it have to be carbon?

In not, Rose do the RS3000 for the same price as the Planet X with Full Ultegra and a Ritchey finishing kit plus Ksryrium Elites. Comes in under 7kg a well.

A month or so ago they had a lot more sale bikes on offer so if you're in no rush it might be worth waiting a few weeks to see what crops up.

I don't think it will be long before they are building up bikes with the new 105 Groupset either.

Doony

+1 for the RS3000..There's a review of it here

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -14-47907/

Must be worth consideration if you are fancying Rose.

rickeverett

Rose


Planet X are like Ribble - altered off the shelf Chinese frames.

Rose are unique, develop there own stuff and offer better kit for the £

chanjy

rickeverett wrote:

...

Rose are unique, develop there own stuff...

Do they?

rickeverett

chanjy wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

...

Rose are unique, develop there own stuff...

Do they?

as in the frames are not off the shelf.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/content/abou ... se-versand

KonkyWonky

Of those it would be the Rose everytime for me.

Not a huge fan of Planet X bikes, never rode one but just think they look cheap.

lawrences

rickeverett wrote:

chanjy wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

...

Rose are unique, develop there own stuff...

Do they?

as in the frames are not off the shelf.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/content/abou ... se-versand

They all say that, about all the "input" they have. In reality they pick it off the wall and ask what colours they can do.

jbike2014

Thanks for all your responses - very helpful indeed. It looks as though there is somewhat of an overwhelming preference for Rose.

In response to some of the points that you raise:

- the Rose RS3000 looks very good - and very very light (6.98kg). You do have to factor in the shipping charge of £27 and then the extra cost of a cardboard box which they charge you (£16). So it will come out closer to £1500 than £1400. Also, the frame is Aluminium. I am very surprised that they have managed to get it so light without using carbon. I would prefer carbon as I think its better quality and will probably last longer than Aluminium. Also, seems a bit more pro doesn't it. I guess if you are paying £1000 you would probably like at least a carbon frame.
If I was going to get an aluminium frame I would go for the Rose Xeon RS2000 - it is £846 and weighs 7.95kg.

- I agree that the Rose frame is better than the Planet X frame.

- I was also wondering which bike would be more comfortable out of the Rose or the Planet X.

I think I will probably go with the Rose. Unless anyone can find a bike that weighs less than 7.55kg for £1,142? I haven't come across a cheaper and lighter bike than the Rose.

Thanks again for your help - the only reason I ask is that there are a lot of good reviews for Planet X out there, but not many people have heard of Rose in England and it is harder to find reviews and information about them!

Camcycle1974

Planet X are like Ribble - altered off the shelf Chinese frames.

No other bike companies do this do they??? Seriously why is there so much prejudice against PX /Ribble but not Canyon or Rose or any other bike company (note, I did not say manufacturer)? Rose/Canyon are the PX/Ribble of Germany. They may do better specs and have more choice but the principle is the same. They don't make bikes, they just assemble and sell them.

KonkyWonky

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Planet X are like Ribble - altered off the shelf Chinese frames.

No other bike companies do this do they??? Seriously why is there so much prejudice against PX /Ribble but not Canyon or Rose or any other bike company (note, I did not say manufacturer)? Rose/Canyon are the PX/Ribble of Germany. They may do better specs and have more choice but the principle is the same. They don't make bikes, they just assemble and sell them.

Rose/Canyon invest in their own R&D and provide an excellent product. They no doubt sub contract out the manufacturing but what bike company actually manufactures their own frames? They then assemble the bike using high quality components.

Planet X/Ribble purchase old design, off the shelf framesets and assemble them with generally poorer quality components.

Your getting a premium product from Rose/Canyon IMO at an excellent price, I wouldn't say the same for Planet X or Ribble. They're ok if that's what you are after and will get plenty sales from people who think the groupset is the most important part of the bike, but not for me thanks.

Camcycle1974

The last two paragraphs are contradictory but I see what you are getting at. I don't get the poor quality component thing are you talking about PX and their ever changing specs which never feature a full groupset?

With Ribble you spec your own components so you can have full DA if you want it. I would put my 872 up against any Canyon any day of the week in terms of quality. There is a thread running currently about Canyon frames continually cracking. Excellent quality? My LBS also had a customer with a 3.5k Canyon which had numerous problems. He sent it back and got a Focus in the end! It was noticeably flexing round the BB area. Given the distribution issues Canyon had last year (due to a dodgy batch of frames I hear) personally wouldn't touch them with a barge pole although they do look nice!

paulbnix

One advantage for Planet X is that you can trip over to Sheffield and at least sit on the bike you are thinking of spending £1000 on.

curto80

The Rose UK rep keeps a pretty decent range of bikes down in Somerset. You can demo them to your heart's content.

chanjy

KonkyWonky wrote:

Rose/Canyon invest in their own R&D and provide an excellent product. They no doubt sub contract out the manufacturing but what bike company actually manufactures their own frames? They then assemble the bike using high quality components.

But there's no real evidence that a Rose frame is the result of a load of Rose R&D is there? They could just buy an design off a ODM carbon manufacturer, make it an exclusive deal and brand it as a Rose bike - exactly the same as what Planet X do for their higher end frames.

alex222

chanjy wrote:

KonkyWonky wrote:

Rose/Canyon invest in their own R&D and provide an excellent product. They no doubt sub contract out the manufacturing but what bike company actually manufactures their own frames? They then assemble the bike using high quality components.

But there's no real evidence that a Rose frame is the result of a load of Rose R&D is there? They could just buy an design off a ODM carbon manufacturer, make it an exclusive deal and brand it as a Rose bike - exactly the same as what Planet X do for their higher end frames.

Apart from their design team in Germany

chanjy

Sorry but people are saying there's a big difference between Rose and Planet X.

Planet X 'About Us' page:

Planet X is currently the second biggest bike assembler in the UK . All our bikes are designed by us, developed with our team riders, then manufactured by carefully selected factories and assembled right here in Sheffield

As nobody here has 100% knowledge of what happens inside Planet X or Rose, either you should believe both Planet X and Rose both design their own frames. Or you should believe neither. People are accepting Rose's claim as gospel and badmouthing Planet X for taking off the shelf designs without any real evidence that there is any significant difference between the two business models.

Rant over. For the record, I don't have a Rose or a Planet X bike but I suspect some people contributing here might...

curto80

Not sure that's right.

Rose explain their input into their frames on their website:

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/content/abou ... test-bench

Can't see anything similar on Planet X.

Doony

Problem I had when I was comparing planet X v Rose, was there was always something I didn't like on every Planet X bike. Whether it was the finishing kit, wheels, tyres or whatever. At least with Rose, you could customize every last aspect of your bike right down to the tyres, and it still came in cheaper than the Planet X equivalent. Plus Rose bikes look simple, but gorgeous. Where as Planet X have a whiff of Primark about them.

Miles253

lawrences wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

chanjy wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

...

Rose are unique, develop there own stuff...

Do they?

as in the frames are not off the shelf.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/content/abou ... se-versand

They all say that, about all the "input" they have. In reality they pick it off the wall and ask what colours they can do.

I would agree with this too, except the old Nanolight which looked nice. Rose, much like Canyon offer awesome value for money and there frames are well regarded. I don't like the paint personally.

Anonymous

Is it simplifying things too much to say that Canyon and Rose do a very similar thing to Planet X and Ribble, but as they are German, people view the brands as better?

lawrences

Pretty much I'd agree with that.

The question is where is the line drawn between manufacturer and assembly company such as p/x and rose. They will both have some say in the designs, boasting about all the computer programming they did to make an aero bike etc.

But in reality all the big brands such as Trek etc. are having their bikes built up in the same/similiar factories. The only difference is the frames are exclusive to them and built to their specifications. Maybe it's the step up from computer fluid dynamics analysis to spending some money and getting a wind tunnel...

diamonddog

^^ Totally agree with the two posts above.

I have a Planet X bike and a Canyon (on the way) both chosen for several reasons - fit, vfm, geometry, looks etc, not one thought was given to who designed them.

rickeverett

naa Rose and Canyon are on a different level.

You can tell just looking at the frames.

lawrences

^Mhmm, Canyon have way better graphics.

stifflersmom

Planet X customer service is poor. Unless you live near the showroom I would avoid them. You also need to check the specs and wording carefully because they often swap out brake calipers so you don't get a full Ultegra groupset, but you might get a full Ultegra drivetrain.

adamfo

Carbonator wrote:

Is it simplifying things too much to say that Canyon and Rose do a very similar thing to Planet X and Ribble, but as they are German, people view the brands as better?

Well, Canyon win pro tour races and TdF stages and have much larger design and test departments including a large x-ray machine.
You can buy those ex-team bikes. Joaquim Rodriguez's aeroroad is £3.8k for example.

http://www.canyon.com/_en/outlet/origin ... /list.html

Diegosbf

Rose over Planet X definitely. But agree with checking out canyon as well. Also have a look at Cube, my gf has a peloton as a training bike and its one of the best made aluminium frames I've come across, from memory of buying it they're relatively reasonably priced and pretty good value for money in my opinion.

At around the £1000 mark in order to get best value for money you should be looking for the best equipped bike you can find, but don't be fooled into thinking carbon is always better. In my experience cheap carbon is almost always worse than a well made aluminium frame.

All just my opinion but hope it helps

buzzwold

jbike2014 wrote:

Thanks for all your responses - very helpful indeed. It looks as though there is somewhat of an overwhelming preference for Rose.

In response to some of the points that you raise:

- the Rose RS3000 looks very good - and very very light (6.98kg). You do have to factor in the shipping charge of £27 and then the extra cost of a cardboard box which they charge you (£16). So it will come out closer to £1500 than £1400. Also, the frame is Aluminium. I am very surprised that they have managed to get it so light without using carbon. I would prefer carbon as I think its better quality and will probably last longer than Aluminium. Also, seems a bit more pro doesn't it. I guess if you are paying £1000 you would probably like at least a carbon frame.
If I was going to get an aluminium frame I would go for the Rose Xeon RS2000 - it is £846 and weighs 7.95kg.

- I agree that the Rose frame is better than the Planet X frame.

- I was also wondering which bike would be more comfortable out of the Rose or the Planet X.

I think I will probably go with the Rose. Unless anyone can find a bike that weighs less than 7.55kg for £1,142? I haven't come across a cheaper and lighter bike than the Rose.

Thanks again for your help - the only reason I ask is that there are a lot of good reviews for Planet X out there, but not many people have heard of Rose in England and it is harder to find reviews and information about them!

As someone who runs an engineering company can I draw your attention to the fact that aluminium is a metal. It will almost certainly outlast a carbon fibre bike under the same conditions and low end carbon fibre frames may be not as good to ride as a similar priced ally frame. Note that at least two of the major players continue to invest quite heavily in ally frame development.

chanjy

Aluminium is a metal? Glad I had an engineering company owner to point that out to me! :P