Looking for some advice , I had my heart set on the Planet x Carbon Pro Ultegra deal but unfortunately they decided to end It 10 days early. 🙁
Anyhoo the next best value for money Planet x road bike deal seems to be a Sram Rival 11 speed for £849 compared to a 10 speed 105 for £799. So has anyone got any advise as to how good/ bad Sram is compared to say 105 which I have experience off.
Thanks for any Info…

I had Rival 10 speed for a few years, have also used 105 10sp and Ultegra 11sp extensively.

All good in their way but the Ultegra is a definite cut above I reckon – and in your position I’d wait for the next offer. There’s bound to be some crazy deals from PX and Ribble post-Xmas, if you’re after a budget carbon roadie.

I’ll just be sticking to Shimano for my road bikes in future, it just seems a bit less fussy than Sram.

Saying that I haven’t tried 11sp Rival – and £850 is pretty damn cheap if that’s the carbon frame!

Run Rival 10 speed on my cross bike for two seasons, nothing wrong with it, worked reliably even when full of mud, only thing I had to replace was the jockey wheels in the rear mech but that’s normal wear and tear. Crashed it loads, didn’t brake any levers 🙂

I hate SRAM road gears – they seem infinitely more finickity to set up and keep working sweetly than Shimano. I’m not a terrible mechanic by any means, but maybe there’s some knack to them I never got. Anyway – Shimano all the way for me.

I got a PX bike with 10 speed Rival on earlier this year having not used SRAM before and have been very impressed.
It has a nice notchy feel to it and has been completely reliable.
It compares well weight wise with Ultegra too.

Had SRAM Rival in my Crabon Road, quite liked it for the same reason I liked X0 on my MTB, weighty feel to it in a quality way. Never had any issues.

I have 2 road bikes,one with Rival the other Ultegra.
No complaints about either but the Ultegra is what i would choose out of the 2. Better finished and just feels that bit smoother and precise.
Both brakes work equally as well and i think that Rival has the edge in the weight stakes.
The Shimano press fit bb has given no trouble in 3 years but the Sram press fit was troublesome within a couple of 100 miles.

Have 11 speed Force and Ultegra and much prefer the SRAM groupset on the road. Gear changes are really crisp, braking is more possitive as the levers only move on one axis and the hoods are comfier for me. Can’t imagine the Rival is much different, just a bit heavier. Definitely see if you can get a shot of a SRAM equipped bike though, as its marmite.

Comparing Rival with Ultegra is not a fair comparison. Rival is much closer to 105 and Ultegra to Force.

I am a big SRAM fan and use it on both mtb’s and road bikes. I also have Shimano 105 factory fitted to my KTM road bike and will replace it with Rival or Force (depending on funds at the time) when the 105 wears out.

I have always found SRAM to be set and forget, especially if using factory supplied cables, which stretch a little and then stay put for the rest of their lives.

I’d have no worries about buying a bike with Rival, its good solid stuff.

I found the SRAM rival front mech beyond my abilities to set up without it dropping the chain. Seems to be a common experience. Changed for a 105 5700 front mech and no further problems.

The pro carbon rival is now £749… £100 saving over the op should pay for the next step up in mechs?

The yaw front mechs have solved previous shifting issues with the added bonus that you dont need to trim.

front mech is tricky to set up, in general I don’t think it shifts as smoothly as shimano but when you find the sweet spot it’s alright, I like the ergonomics of the levers more than shimano and also I prefer double tap to moving a brake lever

there’s an RT57 with Force22 on there for 999 atm btw

SRAM vs Shimano is exactly the same as Canon vs Nikon

Both make good stuff but it’s personal preference. Personally I like Shimano and Canon.

Thanks for your views folks , Planet x seem to have further confused by relesing more Xmas specials yesterday but seem to have substituted the FSA wheels for there own A57 wheels . This isn’t really a biggie as I have my own Campag Ventos which have been a good cheap wheelset to stick on.
I was just listening to a Rouleur Podcast about Planet x and It seems they are now the biggest bike company bar Brompton in the uk with £20 million pounds worth of sales . Quite staggering really.

Yep, all good apart from SRAM front mechs suck balls. The rest is lovely

Rival 11 is a great groupset, better than the old 10 speed by a good way. Ultegra looks like more money but in use there’s nothing to tell them apart bar Shimano’s annoying front mech trim and the lack of a 32 out back if you so desire.

I’ve put a lot of miles on both Ultegra and Rival 11 bikes this year, I wouldn’t pay the extra for Shimano.

if you already have the wheels and require a medium frame you could build up an ultegra version for less than £850

Frame £270
Ultegra 11 speed groupo – 430 from ribble

leaving £150 for some ok finishing kit