Planet X Exocet 2 TT

napoleond

But this up after a tentative 2014 seeing if I could get fit and get confident again after a bad crash in 2011.
Had a good year, did my first 25 and 50 and started getting up to speed in to 10s. I did a PB in the beacon Little Mountain Time Trial which was a massive boost.
Also did a bit on the track and had a few podium finishes.

After taking stock of my very limited time available I decided to go full tilt at TTs this year. Sold the track bike and built this up...



Planet X Exocet 2 Frame/Fork/Seatpost
Full Dura Ace 9000 group
3T Aura pro bars with 3T aero brake levers
Speedplay pedals
Weight as you see it is 8.3kg

Wheels-

Wheelsmith Aero 60 for hilly TTs or if very windy. 24mm Vittoria open Pave tyres for those long early season openers.
If it's flat and still I have a Hed 3 Spoke front and a Powertap rear with Raltech Carbon disc covers. I have yet to see which is the fastest front, I suspect if it's calm the trispoke. Nice to have the option.

MountainMonster

Absolutely beautiful, and glad to hear you have recovered from the crash and that you are in full swing now!

How tall are you? Those are some mighty risers on there!

napoleond

6'1. Poor flexibility due to fractured vertebrae/shoulder plates.
This is how I look on it.

Yellow Peril

are those 3T risers specifically for a 3T base bar? I'm about to invest in clip ons (for standard drops)as was thinking of Zipp Vukas

napoleond

Yeah, they are specific to those 3t bars.

ledeev

I thought the same about those risers, but your aero position looks pretty good to me.

napoleond

Heh, here's someone else's bike with a few risers. Only he's a little more successful than me!

Wheelspinner

NapoleonD wrote:

Heh, here's someone else's bike with a few risers. Only he's a little more successful than me!

Does your dentist do TT's as well?

markos1963

Nice build mate. Think I'll have to bring the Ora with me to the LMTT then to keep up with you!

shazzz

Nice. Is the frame size a large?
Ta

napoleond

Medium, I was going to order a large but made the journey to PX in Sheffield, glad I did, sat on the medium and it was perfect, the large was too long. I'm running a 120mm stem.

Dig the Spiritualized avatar btw

nweststeyn

Looks awesome. Nice bike sir!

napoleond

Cheers, I can't wait to race it.

ledeev

Wiggo's roof rack is awesome.

markyone

Looks nice nap well done

MountainMonster

Nice to see the face behind the name! Get out and ride it like you stole it!

napoleond

I finally managed to get out and do a couple of hours outside of it yesterday after a couple of months on the turbo. Did two hours at Sweet Spot the bike is surprisingly refined and comfortable to ride. My legs are battered now though!

Highly recommended, the Ribble time trial bike is the same frame

MiddleRinger

Very nice, sir! Hope you have a speedy season! :twisted:

simon_masterson

White TT bike, excellent taste.

sandyballs

Bike fit at Adrian Timmis? I was meant to pop in last week to see what he had in the shop but never got time with half term. Had My road bike fitted by Adrian but just went with feel for my TT.

napoleond

Yeah.
My TT bike is a fair bit different to my road bike in terms of setback and height but they translate well to each other.

fleshtuxedo

It's funny the sizing on this frame - I'm much smaller than you at 5'10" and ride a large. I compared with my medium Stealth before getting it. Maybe the large being £300 cheaper at the time skewed my judgement a bit .

Enjoy the new bike anyway, I've got some good results (by my standards!) out of mine.

PS if you ever try to use Q rings on it, set aside a whole weekend to set up the front mech :x

napoleond

Front mech was bad enough with round rings!!
My only complaint... That said, now sorted it's fine.

Grill

Setting up the front mech for Q-Rings takes exactly the same amount of time. Osymetrics are a bit fiddlier...

napoleond

Grill wrote:

Setting up the front mech for Q-Rings takes exactly the same amount of time. Osymetrics are a bit fiddlier...

On other bikes yeah I agree, I've done it.

Setting up a front mech even for standard rings is a RIGHT bugger on this thing. Bizarre.

Grill

That is strange. Low braze-on mount?

napoleond

Grill wrote:

That is strange. Low braze-on mount?

It's the bolting mechanism for the braze on, very pernickity, and as you tighten it, the fecker rotates away from where you want it!

stan1000

NapoleonD wrote:

Grill wrote:

That is strange. Low braze-on mount?

It's the bolting mechanism for the braze on, very pernickity, and as you tighten it, the fecker rotates away from where you want it!

Glad its not just you, I built this frame up last summer and the front derailleur is right B*stard to get right and tight. I also had to cut a notch in the seat post to get it past a small internal carbon blockage in the frame. Other than that it rides pretty sweet.

fleshtuxedo

I set mine up for campag 11 speed with 54-42 q rings and it was one of the most infuriating jobs I've ever done on a bike. The mount adjusts for angle but as napd says it moves as you retighten. The frame's front mech mount is also very soft so deforms when you tighten the front mech to it anywhere near the top. If I was doing it again I'd buy the rotor shim kit rather than improvising as I did.

Wheelspinner

FleshTuxedo wrote:

I set mine up for campag 11 speed with 54-42 q rings and it was one of the most infuriating jobs I've ever done on a bike. The mount adjusts for angle but as napd says it moves as you retighten. The frame's front mech mount is also very soft so deforms when you tighten the front mech to it anywhere near the top. If I was doing it again I'd buy the rotor shim kit rather than improvising as I did.

Interesting. I'm beginning to have a theory that there's something odd about Campag 11sp front mechs on braze-on frames. I had a Colnago E1 with braze-on FD mount, and initially had it set up using 10 sp Record, an utter doddle to fit and tune. Swapped it out for 11 sp Super Record, and cursed and swore at it for a good hour or so trying to get the mech cage to sit parallel to the chainrings, or adjusted so it would shift and run somewhat quietly. Tighten it up, and it would go all skewed. Grrrrrr. Used two different mechs too, from different years of manufacture thinking it might have been a bad manufacturing fault with the mounting hole drilled in the mech body, but same problem.

Got it working eventually, but never ideal.

napoleond

I struggled with Ultegra then dura ace on it...

I have to say though, the ride and handling are fantastic for a Tt bike.