Planet X Aero home build.

rickeverett

Built up this summer and has just hit 1000miles. Done me well and super fast. Dead easy to maintain, stiff, fast and surprisingly comfortable!





Frameset: 54cm EC130E Planet X. Dark Knight.
Bars: Zipp SL70
Stem: Zipp service course SL (for now)
Headset: FSA
Bar Tape: Fizik Superlight Soft Touch

Front Brake Lever: SRAM Force22
Front Caliper: SRAM Force22
Rear Brake Lever: SRAM Force22
Rear Caliper: SRAM Force22

Cables: Jagwire..SRAM frame protectors
Front Mech: SRAM Force22
Rear Mech: SRAM Force22

Seat: Selle Italia SLR Flow
Seat Post: Frameset

Cranks: SRAM Force22
Chain: SRAM Red
Cassette: SRAM Force22
Pedals: Look keo 2Max
Bottom Bracket: SRAM Force22

Front Wheel: Venn REV 35
Tire: Continental GP4000ii

Back Wheel: Venn REV 35
Tire: Continental GP4000ii

Accessories: Elite Stealth bottle cage (x2 usually)

Weight: 6.85kg without pedals. 7.180kg with pedals.

shortfall

Always liked the look of that PX aero frame. How are you getting on with the Venn wheels? Cycling Weekly gave them a good write up. They were around 600 quid a few months ago but PBK have bumped them up to just over 700 just now. Even at that price they seem competitively priced.

rickeverett

Shortfall wrote:

Always liked the look of that PX aero frame. How are you getting on with the Venn wheels? Cycling Weekly gave them a good write up. They were around 600 quid a few months ago but PBK have bumped them up to just over 700 just now. Even at that price they seem competitively priced.

Yeah the PX aero frame / bike is pretty impressive tbh. Caught my eye as a mag rated it Aero bike of the year 2017 so thought I would build one up. As in that review, it's that great combination of super stiff, compliment and comfort as well as practical. No annoying caliper positioning, hidden clamps etc.

The wheels are impressive too. No flex at the back out of the saddle and roll really well. They keep their speed and absorb the road bumps although I'm not sure if that's partly to do with the super wide rims and 25C Contis. .. .. that could be a down side for some. The rims are very wide and some calipers might not fit. My SRAM Force22 calipers are set pretty wide. Not in the limit but wide. They are lighter than the quoted weight too, but the skewers are in the heavier side.

Matthewfalle

Can you post more pics please? MF was looking at getting one of frameset but hesitated.

#intrigued

rickeverett

Matthewfalle wrote:

Can you post more pics please? MF was looking at getting one of frameset but hesitated.

#intrigued

Sorry didn't see your post. ..

dannbodge

Love the EC130
It's one bike that I would like to have a go on.

Good job with the build, enjoy riding it!

arlowood

rickeverett wrote:

Built up this summer and has just hit 1000miles. Done me well and super fast. Dead easy to maintain, stiff, fast and surprisingly comfortable! [/url]

HI there

Just a couple of questions as I'm thinking of doing the same as you i.e. buying the frame and building it up.

I did the same with a Pro Carbon frameset 18 months ago and have enjoyed riding that. The EC130 is promoted as an aero frame but the stack and reach figures are virtually identical to my Pro Carbon so I'm pretty sure I could duplicate my riding position without too much trouble. Also the EC130 still offers a threaded BB which is a huge plus in my book.

Anyway can you confirm whether it was supplied with a headset bearing and if not which one did you buy and fit.

How easy/difficult was it to run the internal cables.

What tyres are you running eg will the frame take 25mm tyres or maybe even 28's. I'm running 28's on my Pro Carbon and althougn the clearances are verging on the marginal I've had no issues.

rickeverett

arlowood wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

Built up this summer and has just hit 1000miles. Done me well and super fast. Dead easy to maintain, stiff, fast and surprisingly comfortable! [/url]

HI there

Just a couple of questions as I'm thinking of doing the same as you i.e. buying the frame and building it up.

I did the same with a Pro Carbon frameset 18 months ago and have enjoyed riding that. The EC130 is promoted as an aero frame but the stack and reach figures are virtually identical to my Pro Carbon so I'm pretty sure I could duplicate my riding position without too much trouble. Also the EC130 still offers a threaded BB which is a huge plus in my book.

Anyway can you confirm whether it was supplied with a headset bearing and if not which one did you buy and fit.

How easy/difficult was it to run the internal cables.

What tyres are you running eg will the frame take 25mm tyres or maybe even 28's. I'm running 28's on my Pro Carbon and althougn the clearances are verging on the marginal I've had no issues.

I think you will notice a massive difference from the pro carbon to this. My brother has a pro carbon and it's good but pretty dated in feel. The ec130 is a completely different animal.

The headset was the only stumbling block with this bike and it doesn't come with one when you get the frame. Planet X did sell it and also spec it on their own builds. It's a FSA Orbit C-40 No.42 ACB Tapered Headset (XYZ). You also need to correctly fit the ring to the forks. This would be best done at a bike shop. Evans did it for me for free.

Internal cables are very easy. I would recommend buying a complete new cable set instead of using old.ines from the other bike. The Frameset comes with guide pipes installed. Keep them in!.. I squirted some teflon based lube down each guide before threading the new cables. I then left the guides in for ease of reference threading at a later date and to protect the cables from dirt ingress within the frame.. especially at the bottom bracket guide area. Just cut the guides to length before finishing.

I'm running 25C GP4000s II ... These Contis run a bit wider than 25mm compared to say Vittoria tyres that come up 23-24mm for 25C. .. I wouldn't be able to run 28C continentals for sure. .. if you are building up a decent set of wheels is a must so get wide rims. The combination with the 25Cs will be just as comfortable as 28C+ without the added weight.

arlowood

rickeverett wrote:

The headset was the only stumbling block with this bike and it doesn't come with one when you get the frame. Planet X did sell it and also spec it on their own builds. It's a FSA Orbit C-40 No.42 ACB Tapered Headset (XYZ). You also need to correctly fit the ring to the forks. This would be best done at a bike shop. Evans did it for me for free.

Internal cables are very easy. I would recommend buying a complete new cable set instead of using old.ines from the other bike. The Frameset comes with guide pipes installed. Keep them in!.. I squirted some teflon based lube down each guide before threading the new cables. I then left the guides in for ease of reference threading at a later date and to protect the cables from dirt ingress within the frame.. especially at the bottom bracket guide area. Just cut the guides to length before finishing.

I'm running 25C GP4000s II ... These Contis run a bit wider than 25mm compared to say Vittoria tyres that come up 23-24mm for 25C. .. I wouldn't be able to run 28C continentals for sure. .. if you are building up a decent set of wheels is a must so get wide rims. The combination with the 25Cs will be just as comfortable as 28C+ without the added weight.

Thanks for the heads up.

Re fitting the crown race to the fork - I had the same issue with the Pro Carbon build and eventually had to admit defeat and take it to the LBS to fit.

Good to hear that the cabling was not a major issue. Have only built up externally cabled frames in the past so was a bit apprehensive about tackling one with internal cabling. I will probably be speccing 105 R7000 or Ultegra 8000 which both have the new front derailleur design that obviates the need for a cable stop or in-line barrel adjuster

I'm not fixated on running 28's - just wondered if they were a possibility. My current wheelset was built by Malcolm at Cycleclinic with Archetype H Plus Son rims and these are now probably a bit "old school" in terms of rim width. They do run well however so I would probably not ditch them immediately while assessing options for wider rim wheelsets.

Matthewfalle

rickeverett wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

Can you post more pics please? MF was looking at getting one of frameset but hesitated.

#intrigued

Sorry didn't see your post. ..

looking very sweet - big phat swansea hat - mf loves the 'bars. may he ask where from?

rickeverett

Matthewfalle wrote:

looking very sweet - big phat swansea hat - mf loves the 'bars. may he ask where from?

Chain reaction was the place I got them. The matching stem was out of the budget at the time so got the lighter ally one... Only issue it's shiny black and not matte. :roll:

Vino'sGhost

purposeful looking bike

Matthewfalle

rickeverett wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

looking very sweet - big phat swansea hat - mf loves the 'bars. may he ask where from?

Chain reaction was the place I got them. The matching stem was out of the budget at the time so got the lighter ally one... Only issue it's shiny black and not matte. :roll:

Deda super zero is Matt black and would look lovely on that

#doperide