Planet X Titanium

davidw007

Just wondering what people's experiences have been of these bikes?

Their titanium range is pretty affordable compared to other brands but the scare stories you hear about Planet X does make you question if it's worth it.

I've been looking at the Planet X Spitfire and Holdsworth Strada (steel) so if anyone has any experience of those that would be great.

arlowood

DavidW007 wrote:

Just wondering what people's experiences have been of these bikes?

Their titanium range is pretty affordable compared to other brands but the scare stories you hear about Planet X does make you question if it's worth it.

I've been looking at the Planet X Spitfire and Holdsworth Strada (steel) so if anyone has any experience of those that would be great.

Drop @Step83 a PM. He recently posted in the Your Road Bikes sub-forum

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13104389&p=20502358&hilit=Spitfire#p20502358

Matthewfalle

Yup - Step is your man for actually owning one (a particularly lovely one at that).

I built one a while ago and was very impressed: really nicely finished, very pretty close up, no problems at all with a full build. Much better designed for home spannering than a Cervelo S5 or Argon 18 something that I can't remember it musty have been so outstanding.

In fact I was so impressed I nearly bought one..............

#remington

Matthewfalle

DavidW007 wrote:

Just wondering what people's experiences have been of these bikes?

Their titanium range is pretty affordable compared to other brands but the scare stories you hear about Planet X does make you question if it's worth it.

I've been looking at the Planet X Spitfire and Holdsworth Strada (steel) so if anyone has any experience of those that would be great.

Generally the only scare stories are some pants customer service bits that all manufacturers and dealers get and snob stories.

No reason not to buy PX.

#don'tbelievetheclubbies

hopkinb

I have a Planet X titanium bike too. Had it for 3 years now, so about 27,000 km. Everything has been replaced at least once except the frame, handlebars, brake callipers and seatpost. The frame seems bombproof, which obviously means it will explode on the way home.

peterdowning

I have a Spitfire bought just after Xmas when it was on sale at £1,500. It is a lovely bike and good to ride. No problems whatsoever in dealing with PX. I made a minor change to the spec after ordering and it wasn't a problem. Their communication throughout the process was good.

I've since put some different wheels on - Shimano RS700 - and a Ti seatpost so it is slightly different to how it was delivered but I'd be happy to recommend it.

I like to do my own maintenance too so the external cabling and standard BSA bottom bracket were also good features for me.

For what it's worth, I also bought two PX Pro carbon frames about 18 months ago when they were on sale at £239 each. I built the first up as a winter bike with older 10 spd Ultegra. I found I enjoyed it so much that I stripped the components of my best bike - a 7 year old S-works Roubaix SL - and put them on the other Pro Carbon frame. I then sold the S-works frame on eBay. I honestly can't tell the difference between the S-works and the Pro Carbon. To put that into context, I am a 58 year old leisure rider with no pretensions about knowing what I should be experiencing from a £5000 bike compared to a sub-£1k one. It certainly didn't feel £4k better.

I've digressed but with regard to your original question, I have only had good experiences with PX products and customer service and I'd certainly recommend the Spitfire.

Matthewfalle

I've got a PX crit bike and PX cx bike - never had any problems with either PX as a company or the bikes tbh.

No better or no worse than any of the others,

joey54321

In my recent dealings with Planet X it really does seem like their customer service has dramatically gone downhill.

I own one of their older Ti bikes and have had it for 8 years, it's been flawless and a very enjoyable bike to own and ride. However, both my parents had the same bike and both have had issues. My Dad's broke at the junction at the rear stays and Mum's developed a crack on the downtube. Both replaced under warranty but it's been a real fight and hassle for them, it took Dad over 6 months and I think Mum has currently been waiting for 7 to get a rideable bike again. I don't think I'd buy a PX bike again.

andyh01

I recently went through a similar dilemma, as someone pointed out to me, no doubt if go looking you'll hear horror stories of to frame failing, however, you don't necessarily hear about ALL the good stories and the same can be said about any fre material.
At the time when I was looking PX didn't have the Tempest in stock, as well as hearing about PX customer service (although I'm originally Sheffield so want to support them, I see them a bit like spots direct) I looked at other Ti offerings such as Enigma or J.Laverack which appear better value imho.
Having done a lot of reading of Ti, I was concerned with where the cost savings are coming from compared to say Lysky/moots/seven.
Similar with steel it all depends...
In the end I went for quality alloy from Mason, they also sell To and steel bikes which assuming they look for the same mark up gives a good comparison of costs of similar bikes in different materials and alloy is still the cheapest.

step83

Matthewfalle wrote:

Yup - Step is your man for actually owning one (a particularly lovely one at that).

I built one a while ago and was very impressed: really nicely finished, very pretty close up, no problems at all with a full build. Much better designed for home spannering than a Cervelo S5 or Argon 18 something that I can't remember it musty have been so outstanding.

In fact I was so impressed I nearly bought one..............

#remington

Yup, loving mine, well would be but its in the LBS for SRAM warranty issues nothing to do with PX or the frameset.
agree on the finish its lovely up close not a single blemish, nice welds and lovely drop outs to boot, clearance you could probably whack a 28 in there but the front forks a bit tight on it.

Definate head turner and easier to work on, all external cable routing. if you scratch it you need a scotch brite pad an thats it. Was a toss up between this an the 953 strada, this won as I thought the strada may have been a little too bling.

shortfall

AndyH01 wrote:

I recently went through a similar dilemma, as someone pointed out to me, no doubt if go looking you'll hear horror stories of to frame failing, however, you don't necessarily hear about ALL the good stories and the same can be said about any fre material.
At the time when I was looking PX didn't have the Tempest in stock, as well as hearing about PX customer service (although I'm originally Sheffield so want to support them, I see them a bit like spots direct) I looked at other Ti offerings such as Enigma or J.Laverack which appear better value imho.
Having done a lot of reading of Ti, I was concerned with where the cost savings are coming from compared to say Lysky/moots/seven.
Similar with steel it all depends...
In the end I went for quality alloy from Mason, they also sell To and steel bikes which assuming they look for the same mark up gives a good comparison of costs of similar bikes in different materials and alloy is still the cheapest.

You really think that Enigma are better value than Planet X?

andyh01

You really think that Enigma are better value than Planet X?

I only saw and test rode the Enigma and not the PX and not sure of pricing of the two, so hard to.comment.

I know you can specify the frame finish on Enigma polish or brushed and few other costomising, which I'm not sure if available on PX, I guess whether you value that.

I get that there's probably little different in quality of the frame, not sure of customer service/warranty is n the two either, although I think someone said PX is Lifetime, can't remember what n the Enigma

964cup

AndyH01 wrote:

You really think that Enigma are better value than Planet X?

I only saw and test rode the Enigma and not the PX and not sure of pricing of the two, so hard to.comment.

I know you can specify the frame finish on Enigma polish or brushed and few other costomising, which I'm not sure if available on PX, I guess whether you value that.

I get that there's probably little different in quality of the frame, not sure of customer service/warranty is n the two either, although I think someone said PX is Lifetime, can't remember what n the Enigma

Enigma are a completely different kettle of fish. Their signature frames are built in the UK; you can visit the factory and spec custom geometry as well as custom finishes. You get to choose grade of Ti, tube diameter and what braze-ons you do or don't want. Their customer service is personal and responsive. And, of course, you pay rather more than you will for a PX frame.

amrushton

But isnt there a price difference between a PX and a signature Enigma? i noticed a recent ad campaign of PX where they showed 2 other 'brands' of Ti bike and it was the same frame just rebadged and priced higher (not Enigma as I'm aware)

Matthewfalle

964Cup wrote:

AndyH01 wrote:

You really think that Enigma are better value than Planet X?

I only saw and test rode the Enigma and not the PX and not sure of pricing of the two, so hard to.comment.

I know you can specify the frame finish on Enigma polish or brushed and few other costomising, which I'm not sure if available on PX, I guess whether you value that.

I get that there's probably little different in quality of the frame, not sure of customer service/warranty is n the two either, although I think someone said PX is Lifetime, can't remember what n the Enigma

Enigma are a completely different kettle of fish. Their signature frames are built in the UK; you can visit the factory and spec custom geometry as well as custom finishes. You get to choose grade of Ti, tube diameter and what braze-ons you do or don't want. Their customer service is personal and responsive. And, of course, you pay rather more than you will for a PX frame.

he last sentence sort of negates the previous sentence

#obvs

step83

I weighed up the options on mine, end of the day the geo on the PX was close to the same as my old so made it a no brainer.

FYI, theres plenty other Ti frame brands around, Reilly, Dolan, Triton, Burls to name a few.

Oh an there's only two real grades of Ti you can make a bike with

3AL2.5V - What most are made from, silly strong an will last a lifetime
6AL4V - Harder to draw, more expensive, even tougher an lighter and will last a lifetime.

Personally I cant see why you feel the Enigma is better value but thats your choice not mine.

964cup

Step83 wrote:

I weighed up the options on mine, end of the day the geo on the PX was close to the same as my old so made it a no brainer.

FYI, theres plenty other Ti frame brands around, Reilly, Dolan, Triton, Burls to name a few.

Oh an there's only two real grades of Ti you can make a bike with

3AL2.5V - What most are made from, silly strong an will last a lifetime
6AL4V - Harder to draw, more expensive, even tougher an lighter and will last a lifetime.

Personally I cant see why you feel the Enigma is better value but thats your choice not mine.

Well, I have three of them, so at least I put my money where my mouth is. You said "value" - I'm not arguing that Enigma are cheaper than PX, obvs. (#obvs?) but value is more complex than price. Otherwise we'd all just buy the cheapest functionally equivalent brand and model of everything, no? I place value on supporting British skilled craftsmanship; on being able to specify my frame to the last detail; on being able to mix 6al4v and 3al2.5v in the same frame to balance stiffness and compliance; on seamless rather than rolled and welded tubing; on machined billet tapered headtube; on a size 57 coming in at 1200-odd g rather than 1500-odd. You may not value any of these things, in which case #obvs you'll buy the PX, because it's a good Ti frame at a competitive price. But then, you could say much the same about carbon frames, couldn't you, and we don't all ride PX or Ribble carbon bikes either.

navrig2

I bought a Lynskey Ti bike for my 50th (6 years ago). At that time PlanetX had stopped their Ti range and Ribble hadn't started with Ti. I paid a lot more for a similarly specced Lynskey.

I have had a look at the photos and would suggest that the Lynskey welds are (much) neater than the Spitfire but at £1,000 less (roughly) I'd go for the Spitfire if I was buying now.

Looking at the Pedal Revolution page the Lynskeys are still £2,500 but now for a lesser spec.