Planet X London Road

MountainMonster

Hey guys, can't say I've seen any of these on here before. I just took delivery of a new Planet X London Road. The plan is to use it with mudguards during the week so that I can cycle to and from work quickly and comfortably, and when i'm feeling adventurous take the mud guards off and cycle around the local bridleways a la cyclocross!

Looking forward to its maiden voyage tomorrow, got a nice 30km on and offroad route planned for it. She's got disc brakes, mudguard mounts, rack mounts, a fairly decent spec and is in a pretty nice colour.

tim_wand

I can apply for a new C2W voucher in January, and was considering this, for Commuter/ Touring work.

I ve had every incarnation of the Kaffenbach except for the new disc one, and that is also on the list.

Is it harsh being Ally. I certainly would prefer the weight advantage over the Kaffenbach, and I think the colour looks the dogs.

The other bike I m looking at is the Focus Mares AX 300.

I ve already got a PX pro carbon SL. an Older Kaffenbach and 456 MTB, So bit of a PX fan boy.

matt_cartlidge

nice - interested to hear your thoughts after a few rides as it's on my list for commuting...

baznett

I like! I'd be inclined to get that rack colour changed though. Black or try and get the colour matched with the frame if i has to stay!

OfficerDigby

Ditto the above

Don't bother taking mudguards on/off every week (faf!) just get ones with some mud clearance with the wider tyres - looks like there is enough in the frame. It would only be an issue if you like to cycle through deep porridge regularly!

Is it really 9.7kg?

Is my PX Uncle John close to retirement?!

MountainMonster

To run through the points in no particular order. It felt noticeably lighter than my Carrera, which is a bonus. It seems decent!

I want to change the rack, but unfortunately, having just got the bike, I haven't got spare cash, so am stuck using what I've got. I'll be buying a new rack next month for sure.

I doubt it will be rough being Aluminium, but then again, i'm used to it from having the Carrera. I'll let you all know thoughts after having ridden a few times, particularly to work, and then see how I get on.

MountainMonster

So I took it out for a ride this afternoon, only on road unfortunately as my wife and I were cycling to the cinema. I can already tell I am going to love this bike. It fits perfectly, the gear ratios are good, and the disc brakes are a nice revelation. It felt like a pretty quick bike, but it is a few KG lighter than my Virtuoso.

I'm going to take a bit of a longer ride into work tomorrow, and hopefully get some fields, or at least bridleway paths included in the journey. I'm hoping it feels as nice off road as it does on!

MountainMonster

So, I got the chance to take the bike for a spin in the way home. Wow, this thing is fast. It handled well through the mud, I just need to lower the tyre pressure slightly to grip more in the mud. It was blazingly fast on the non muddy sections, and made me smile the whole ride.

To sum it up: I love this thing.

luv2ride

These do look to be great value. I would likely have gone for this instead of my Kinesis Crosslight Pro6 if it was available then. Don't get me wrong, I love my Kinesis, but the London Road just looks to be a great package for the money. May be unable to resist when they finally bring out their more CX/road-focused Ti Pickenflick 8)

MountainMonster

Luv2ride wrote:

These do look to be great value. I would likely have gone for this instead of my Kinesis Crosslight Pro6 if it was available then. Don't get me wrong, I love my Kinesis, but the London Road just looks to be a great package for the money. May be unable to resist when they finally bring out their more CX/road-focused Ti Pickenflick 8)

Those Pickenflicks are going to be good, I can't wait to see them. This bike is stunning value for money, i'm loving it. Can't fault it really in any way. The only grumble is the disc brakes squeal a bit, but that just takes time to bed in.

Matthewfalle

They do look great value. As soon as PX get their customer service sorted out they'll be so much nicer to deal with as well.

MountainMonster

Did you have isissuesith them? I found them to be absolutely fantastic after a few calls over to them.

Matthewfalle

Oh yes - not knowing the answer to simple questions about their products when you call them, being fairly rude on the 'phone, not answering emails to their customer in box, saying that they sent things when they haven't, sending parts to the wrong continent ...... Generally pretty rubbish really.

P/x is good if you know what you want and you don't mind waiting a couple of days, but generally far from being the best.

MountainMonster

Ah that's a shame, I've had nothing but great service from them, and so have my mates. Unfortunately, it's impossible to have 100% perfect service, it looks like you were in the minority that received problems.

tim_wand

Matthewfalle wrote:

Oh yes - not knowing the answer to simple questions about their products when you call them, being fairly rude on the 'phone, not answering emails to their customer in box, saying that they sent things when they haven't, sending parts to the wrong continent ...... Generally pretty rubbish really.

P/x is good if you know what you want and you don't mind waiting a couple of days, but generally far from being the best.

As above comments, I ve a whole stable of PX bikes, and have dealt with them for over 15 years , Yes they have grown to be the victim of their own success , but personally I ve never had a problem with them.

All bike purchasers should "know what they want" by the point of purchase and the majority of on line purchases involve waiting a few days.

MountainMonster

tim wand wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

Oh yes - not knowing the answer to simple questions about their products when you call them, being fairly rude on the 'phone, not answering emails to their customer in box, saying that they sent things when they haven't, sending parts to the wrong continent ...... Generally pretty rubbish really.

P/x is good if you know what you want and you don't mind waiting a couple of days, but generally far from being the best.

As above comments, I ve a whole stable of PX bikes, and have dealt with them for over 15 years , Yes they have grown to be the victim of their own success , but personally I ve never had a problem with them.

All bike purchasers should "know what they want" by the point of purchase and the majority of on line purchases involve waiting a few days.

Not necessarily know what they want for all bike purchases, at least for all online bike purchases.

I didn't realise PX has been around for so long!

Matthewfalle

tim wand wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

Oh yes - not knowing the answer to simple questions about their products when you call them, being fairly rude on the 'phone, not answering emails to their customer in box, saying that they sent things when they haven't, sending parts to the wrong continent ...... Generally pretty rubbish really.

P/x is good if you know what you want and you don't mind waiting a couple of days, but generally far from being the best.

As above comments, I ve a whole stable of PX bikes, and have dealt with them for over 15 years , Yes they have grown to be the victim of their own success , but personally I ve never had a problem with them.

All bike purchasers should "know what they want" by the point of purchase and the majority of on line purchases involve waiting a few days.

I've used P/x for the same - 15ish years. It's only the past year or so that they have been shyyyte.

Re waiting a few days - nah. CRC, Merlin, Evans seem to be able to produce the goods next day.

P/X seem to fail to be able to put something in a packet - for example, 3 weeks for a jacket as they forgot to send it - and no apology. 2 weeks and still counting for some forks (when chased, the guy on the end of the 'phone said "and what do you want me to do about it?" Send another set of forks you imbecile I thought. And send these ones to the right continent).

Just a bit jack, really. Crap hats of the bicycle shop world.

MountainMonster

So, I took the London Road for a pretty great ride today. 30km through some very muddy fields, it was slow going, but an absolute blast. Had a few near offs, but some lucky balancing kept me going. A few pictures from the day. I wanted to take some pictures during the second half of the ride, but unfortunately, seriously muddy hands made me think twice.

I had to cross a few small creeks, including one that I had to ride through which was deceptively deep. Ended up with cold and wet feet after that, but it didn't bother me too much, as it was 9 degrees out.

MountainMonster

I tried using the bike without a computer for quite some time without a computer, and I absolutely loved not staring at the speed all the time discouraging myself because I wasn't going as fast as I wanted. Sadly, I have succumbed to the urge to put my computer on, as I really wanted to be able to see all the KM's I've done without having to turn Strava on for boring commutes and rides to friends houses.

And I dropped the bars a bit, yay!

Still loving this bike!

alan_sherman

How do you find the heel clearance? The chain stays are heavily sculpted.

MountainMonster

I'm alright on them, but then again, i'm only a size 41. I could imagine larger footed gents would have some issues depending on how they have their cleats set up.

MountainMonster

I have definitely now realised I need a wheelset for when I only do road riding, and one for when I am out and about in the fields. Shame my Ultegra wheels are not disc, I would have loved to have them on here!

patrick54896

Hi,

I was just wondering how you are getting on with your London Road, please? Really keen on biting the bullet and getting one, especially for the disks, as commuting with rim brakes here in Aberdeen is fairly hairy in the wet!!

Would you have any comments or criticisms about the bike? This thread is about the only one I have managed to find with any in depth information, so would really appreciate any feeling on the bike. Also, how do you find it for size? I'm just on the cusp between a large and X large at 6'1". I have a Trek Domane as my good bike in 58 and find that suits fine.

Any help greatly appreciated

Patrick

matig0l

Great time to get one. The frameset has been reduced in the sale to £209 from £299. I've taken the plunge, having decided to build a new commuter/winter disc ride.

MountainMonster

patrick54896 wrote:

Hi,

I was just wondering how you are getting on with your London Road, please? Really keen on biting the bullet and getting one, especially for the disks, as commuting with rim brakes here in Aberdeen is fairly hairy in the wet!!

Would you have any comments or criticisms about the bike? This thread is about the only one I have managed to find with any in depth information, so would really appreciate any feeling on the bike. Also, how do you find it for size? I'm just on the cusp between a large and X large at 6'1". I have a Trek Domane as my good bike in 58 and find that suits fine.

Any help greatly appreciated

Patrick

To be honest, I am extremely happy with the bike. No grumbles from me. The Sram kit works well, although the brakes are still quite squeaky, so I may end up getting new discs, something with some a bit of colour in them. The bike rides really well on trails, and of course well on the road. I love being able to have a rack, it is absolutely awesome now!

Actually, I think the only grumble is with mudguards. I couldn't get some urban ones I have to fit and still be easily removable, so I've kind of given up on that for the muddy season, but I'm going to speak to Planet X and see which mudguards they recommend to fit the frame.

I would say the sizing has come out perfect for me, and i'm 5'10 so medium works perfectly. I come from a mountain biking background, so I prefer my frames to be a bit smaller, but I can't really notice much difference between this bike and my Carrera, which is also a medium. I guess it depends whether you like smaller or larger frames.

And Matig01- that is a damn good price for the frame!

patrick54896

Fantastic, many thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. Yes I will be taking the plunge and getting one, glad to hear that there aren't any niggles with it.

With regards to mudguards I haven't got any desire at the moment at least to be taking it off road, so should be all right with a permanent set up.

ravey1981

matig0l wrote:

Great time to get one. The frameset has been reduced in the sale to £209 from £299. I've taken the plunge, having decided to build a new commuter/winter disc ride.

Just ordered a frameset on that information, thanks.

MountainMonster

Great to hear guys, enjoy the bike once you get it!

dj58

Anyone know what is the largest size full type mudguards and tyres that can be fitted to these bikes? What is the width between the seat stay/chain stay bridges and fork crown?

patrick54896

Mine arrived today, seems great so far. Had a toy around setting up the brakes how I liked. Got the pads pretty well bedded in, but the front brake lever was pulling all the way to the handlebars. Followed the instructions and youtube videos to set up BB7, but didn't like how they felt. So I just toyed around and adjusted it so both pads close but not touching and they seem great now.

With regards to mudguards, I see the mount is halfway up the fork. I will only need clearance for road use, but do any of you chaps know what mudguards will fit, please? I was looking at SKS Longboard, but not sure that they will work with the funny mudguard mount. I want something fairly robust, that isn't going to get to knocked out of shape being left in a bike rack. Then all that is left is to fit my pannier rack and my marathon plus and will be away.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Patrick

MountainMonster

To be honest, I could do with hearing what mud guards work best too. I've been thinking long and hard about the wet feet I've had, and it may be time for some full guards.