Planet X budget wheel sets

Sprool
Sprool Posts: 1,022
edited October 2013 in Road buying advice
Yes I know, another what wheels post, just looking at the £150 Planet X wheels for winter fooling about, they have model B v2.0 and they have AL30 wheels at ame price. Wondered if there were any opinions about how they stack up against similar priced wheels such as the Mavic Aksiums, Shimano S30/31's, Fulcrum 5's? I can't justify a higher budget for posher wheels but I'm hoping for a reasonable upgrade from my stock Alexrims which are now slightly road-weary.

Comments

  • mpatts
    mpatts Posts: 1,010
    I have Al30's on one of the bikes. They are OK.

    I think you could spend most of your life thinking about the various options at that price point.

    They have been reliable and are OK.
    Insert bike here:
  • daveski12
    daveski12 Posts: 158
    I've got AL30s. Very happy with them.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,234
    The thing is, you spend 150 now, but then you will have to replace the bearings, then the freehub bearings will go and you'll need a new freehub... the rims might crack and the spokes might break...
    If you were me, you could do all these jobs yourself at no cost, but instead you might have to pay someone do fix them and the bill will go up and up, provided the spares can be found.

    On the other hand, Planet X also sell some Ambrosio Excellence on Shimano Ultegra hubs, which will not give you any of the above grief (if built well, which I cannot guarantee)... yes, they cost 100 pounds on top of what you want to pay... but that's the end of what you need to pay and they seem to fit the "buy cheap buy twice" motto a lot better
    left the forum March 2023
  • BillyMansell
    BillyMansell Posts: 817
    So you're looking to buy new wheels for winter riding? Unless your old wheels are falling apart why not use them through the winter, save some more money and get better new wheels next year.
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    Old wheels have dangerous dent in rims where i hit a curb at speed, they wobble like hell now and the rim dent is not recoverable. I have some money for an upgrade and really need some new wheels now :(
    I never see any recommendations on here for the shimano s30 wheel sets, are they not liked?
  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    I've just broken a rear spoke on model Bs, that's a minimum of £20 to get sorted (I don't want to try trueing a low spoke count wheel myself). The spoke broke where it changed profile from round to flat, so you could put it down as a manufacturing defect or build defect (overtensioned? No idea).

    I'm on my second set of Shimano R501s - cheaper (+heavier) than the Px ones but I haven't broken a spoke on either set so they must be better. ;-)
  • whoof
    whoof Posts: 756
    I had a pair of these for the last 2 1/2 years on my commuting bike, done 13500 miles in all weathers. Apart from greasing the bearings a couple of times they have been no trouble.
    Quest Ennerdale (Como) Wheels , the ones I bought were the original Comos now replaced by the Ennerdale.
    http://www.questbikes.co.uk/acatalog/Quest-Wheels.html

    Review of the Como wheels here
    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... omo-10846/
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    £99 looks a really great price for some sturdy winter wheels, thx for the link.
  • trek_dan
    trek_dan Posts: 1,366
    I've had my AL30's since Xmas, used in all weather on my winter bike and they've been faultless. I may just be lucky but I think the hub issue is hugely over egged to be honest. For £150 can't fault them.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Nowt wrong with the Shimano RS30s. I picked up a pair the other week from Ribble and they ride very nice (bit of an allrounder). I do accept that they are not superlight and that the hubs may need the odd bit of attention but they are cup/cone (asaik) so that won't be too much bother. I reckon for £110/120 they are as good as most other options that will get me through the winter (my winter Aksiums died recently). Sure, when the rims go I will need to bin them but I reckon I should get at least a few winters use out of them first (I will swap back to my RS80s in the spring).

    My other bikes have handbuilts (Excellight/Record, etc.,) and they are lovely lovely and very fixable, etc., but they cost nearly 3 times the price of RS30s.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    craker wrote:
    I've just broken a rear spoke on model Bs, that's a minimum of £20 to get sorted (I don't want to try trueing a low spoke count wheel myself). The spoke broke where it changed profile from round to flat, so you could put it down as a manufacturing defect or build defect (overtensioned? No idea).

    I'm on my second set of Shimano R501s - cheaper (+heavier) than the Px ones but I haven't broken a spoke on either set so they must be better. ;-)

    I've just gone for R501's with plain spokes for my winter build. Cheap as chips from Ribble when they were doing 10% off everything. Cup and cone bearings so I can service them every year for pence.

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