Planet x titanium bike reviews

k3vinjam3s

Im looking for a new bike and pkanet x have bith the titanium hurricane and spitfire within budget. Always fancied trying a titanium frame but always been a bit pricey.

So looking on the internet i cant find any independant reviews of either of these bikes. Anyone have experience in them or have found reviews either online or in magazines?

londoncommuter

This question seems to come up all the time and nobody seems to have bought them as the threads get very little.

Had you seen this one:

http://road.cc/content/forum/227376-pla ... ium-anyone

I briefly looked at them but no mudguard mounts at the time so crossed them off the list.

PhilipPirrip

I recently bought one of the Spitfires as I already have a titanium all round/endurance bike that I've enjoyed riding throughout winter and so looking for a more compact road frame and seeing the price of the Spitfire frame I couldn't resist.

For me it's the most comfortable bike I've had but then I went for a 50cm frame (I'm 5'11") and use a Syntace P6 HiFlex seatpost as well as a Redshift stem up front. I have set mine up for comfort as I no longer race but still like to ride fast and it certainly has racing potential if that's what you wanted one for.

k3vinjam3s

PhilipPirrip wrote:

I recently bought one of the Spitfires as I already have a titanium all round/endurance bike that I've enjoyed riding throughout winter and so looking for a more compact road frame and seeing the price of the Spitfire frame I couldn't resist.

For me it's the most comfortable bike I've had but then I went for a 50cm frame (I'm 5'11") and use a Syntace P6 HiFlex seatpost as well as a Redshift stem up front. I have set mine up for comfort as I no longer race but still like to ride fast and it certainly has racing potential if that's what you wanted one for.

How much more aggressive do you find the geometry if the spitfire compared to your other endurance focused bike?

I dont want an all out racey geometry but would prefer the spitfire as im not fussed on disc brakes.

PhilipPirrip

I find the handling of the Spitfire is certainly livelier than my Sabbath September AR-1 Disc and more akin to the carbon road frame it replaces but not so aggressive or twitchy that you're having to hang on.

The wheelbase on my 50cm frame comes out at 100cm which makes for a dependable ride but agile when you need it. I've been descending at over 40mph and no concerns about the handling.

As I said before I went for a smaller size to make the most of the Syntace seatpost, and the combination has exceeded my expectations for comfort, but I also wanted a shorter toptube as I'm not into getting a stretched out position anymore. Possibly by using a shorter top tube, certainly relative to my old carbon frame, they haven't had to employ such steep angles which is why it feels agile yet dependable.

svetty

Friend of mine's PlanetX titanium frame cracked at chainstay:BB junction after 5000 miles. He is a powerful rider tho........

sloppyschleckonds

Svetty wrote:

Friend of mine's PlanetX titanium frame cracked at chainstay:BB junction after 5000 miles. He is a powerful rider tho........

Did Planet-x warranty it for him? :roll:

k3vinjam3s

PhilipPirrip wrote:

I find the handling of the Spitfire is certainly livelier than my Sabbath September AR-1 Disc and more akin to the carbon road frame it replaces but not so aggressive or twitchy that you're having to hang on.

The wheelbase on my 50cm frame comes out at 100cm which makes for a dependable ride but agile when you need it. I've been descending at over 40mph and no concerns about the handling.

As I said before I went for a smaller size to make the most of the Syntace seatpost, and the combination has exceeded my expectations for comfort, but I also wanted a shorter toptube as I'm not into getting a stretched out position anymore. Possibly by using a shorter top tube, certainly relative to my old carbon frame, they haven't had to employ such steep angles which is why it feels agile yet dependable.

Thanks for the detailed response. My main concern is comfort on longer rides. I learned the hard and expensive way when i bought a canyon ultimate that a racing geometry doesnt suit me. Whereas my giant defy is fine. So where would you place the spitfire compared to them 2 bikes?

PhilipPirrip

I'm afraid I can't help you with that comparison as I haven't ridden either of them.

It's a minefield trying to compare bikes and my only reference are my most recent bikes which have been a PX Pro Carbon, Boardman endurance bike as well as a PX XLS and the comfort of the Spitfire surpasses all of these, even the XLS with fat CX tyres on the road.

The other day I took the Spitfire on a road that turned any other bike into a boneshaker and it was so much smoother I was able to keep powering along rather than fighting the vibrations. I've certainly found it less fatiguing although I've only done up to 50 mile rides on it so far as I'm still getting used to the new SMP saddle.

k3vinjam3s

PhilipPirrip wrote:

I'm afraid I can't help you with that comparison as I haven't ridden either of them.

It's a minefield trying to compare bikes and my only reference are my most recent bikes which have been a PX Pro Carbon, Boardman endurance bike as well as a PX XLS and the comfort of the Spitfire surpasses all of these, even the XLS with fat CX tyres on the road.

The other day I took the Spitfire on a road that turned any other bike into a boneshaker and it was so much smoother I was able to keep powering along rather than fighting the vibrations. I've certainly found it less fatiguing although I've only done up to 50 mile rides on it so far as I'm still getting used to the new SMP saddle.

Sounds like it might be a suitable option then. My only concern is it shares the same geometry as one of planet x aero frames which is more racey than i would normally ride.

rdt

PhilipPirrip wrote:

I recently bought one of the Spitfires as I already have a titanium all round/endurance bike that I've enjoyed riding throughout winter and so looking for a more compact road frame and seeing the price of the Spitfire frame I couldn't resist.

For me it's the most comfortable bike I've had but then I went for a 50cm frame (I'm 5'11") and use a Syntace P6 HiFlex seatpost as well as a Redshift stem up front. I have set mine up for comfort as I no longer race but still like to ride fast and it certainly has racing potential if that's what you wanted one for.

PhilipPirrip, just found this thread and I'm intrigued (enticed!) by your combo of Spitfire Ti frame + comfort seatpost and stem (neither of which I've heard of but have now read up on a bit...).

Any more owner feedback now you've had the bike a while?

PhilipPirrip

Hi rdt.

I had to check when I'd written that post and I see I'd only had the frame a few weeks at the time. It's now done over 5,000 miles on local roads as well as around France, Provence and up Ventoux and numerous climbs in the Alps although this time of year it is my turbo bike.

I still love it. On the road you feel connected to the bike and despite the rough British roads it is very comfortable. I can't say how much the Syntace post adds to the equation more than any other post but I'm glad I went for a smaller frame to make maximum use of the post extension. One change I made around June last year was to swap the saddle for a SMP Avant which is wider at the front to suit my pelvis width.

I'm a big fan of the Redshift stem and them on both my Ti bikes. I have the damping tuned so you don't really notice movement at normal riding speeds but once descending above 30mph on rough roads it normalises handling and takes away the need to be gripping the bars and alleviates any blurring of vision.

I don't know if you've seen it but there's another thread about the Ti Spitfire frame here;
viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13102626

rdt

Thanks for the info and thread link.

I like the focus you put into assembling as comfy (but still fast!) a bike as possible, and it sounds excellent.

Currently I've got >220mm of seatpost showing due to compact geometry and slightly undersized frames; I remember when I switched a stock alloy post to a Specialized Pave carbon one (superseded by Specialized CG-R now I think) and comfort-wise it was like going up several tyre sizes. Shame I'm out of luck with the ShockStop stem as I need a 130mm on the current bike, which they don't offer.

step83

Id say the curved Selcof fork adds a little comfort on mine, buzz its not as bad as the carbon one an I run a stubby 90mm stem.
I reckon you could get a 28mm tyre through the front too if you fancy being brave, rear I cant say, frames rated for 25c rear but I've not checked the clearances to be perfectly honest.

You could go carbon stem and bar which will give more dampening.

joey54321

Svetty wrote:

Friend of mine's PlanetX titanium frame cracked at chainstay:BB junction after 5000 miles. He is a powerful rider tho........

My parents and I all have/had Ti bikes from Planet X, the previous generation of "Road Pro Ti" or similar. My Dad's snapped at the rear stay junction and my Mums cracked on the seat tube. Mine has been a fantastic bike. My parents are both very careful with their bikes, I throw mine around a bit as well as racing on it for a few years.

They replaced my Dad's bike with an old stock that had that they had decalled up wrong but with my Mums they've taken 4 months to process the return and tell her they can't/won't fix it and they no longer stock the bike. They are sorting out some sort of financial deal I believe, though I don't know the details. It's a good job she noticed the issue in November as it has given her a bit of time to sort out a replacement summer bike, but 4 months is a long time for them to take to get back to her.

ctahodgkins

I'm reading this thread with interest as I'm considering buying the Spitfire Barry White Edition. How have the bikes been holding up? Is it the bargain it appears to be?