http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT2/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-ultegra-road-bike

Does anyone own/have any experience of riding one of these?
I quite fancy one – looks unbeatable for the money but wonder how it compares to my nearly 10 year old Airborne Thunderbolt aluminium (with 9 speed Campag Veloce). I’ve not ridden any other road bikes so have no means of comparison.
Would like to see one in the flesh/sling my leg over one before deciding to go for it or not…I’m no roadie but need to get some proper miles in as fitness has turned to sh*t. There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with mine but I have had my head turned by this beauty 😉

I had one and loved it, I am no rodie and got it for similar reasons, passed it onto my son and upgraded to their RT58 and love this even more! They ride really well and are,IMO, unbeatable vfm. If you live near west Sussex happy to let you try it out, plenty of pics if you want.
Bob

Thanks wormhole (interesting name!) but I’m quite a way from you in the East Midlands.
No regrets with the Pro then…good.

I bought one of these in November to replace a 10 year old aluminium Fausto Coppi.

Got to say its been a bit of a revelation – so much more comfortable. A lot of this is down to the shorter TT and higher headtube. And although I’m embarrassed to say it, I’m a convert to compact chainsets! (certainly compared to mashing my old standard / 23 tooth cassette 😯 )

Its seems stiff enough and powers up the hills nicely. Not bad weight wise either. I’m not racing now (havent done for about 6 years) but its plenty good enough for 2-3 hour runs on sundays, and I’m looking forward to some fast summer evening blasts in the summer with the roadies. I’ve no doubt it will hold its own (just hope I can do it justice).

In summary bloody good VFM!

Edit – its a lovely shade of blue too!

Untitled by T*inbred, on Flickr

Had mine delivered a couple of weeks ago. First road bike so no real point of reference.

But… From a been riding mtbs for years and having built up a few frames I can say it arrived beautifully finished and everything true, indexed and ready to go.

Only been out for one decent ride so far and unsurprisingly felt amazing, acceleration is amusing. But I refer you to my comment of no real point of reference.

I guess to my untrained eye, they are great!

The SRAM double tap thing took me about 1 shift to get used to, works really well. Classic SRAM ‘thunk’ just like on my HT.

Also went or blue, think was inspired by pic above a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve had 2 (went up a size)
They were my first road frames for about 25 years so, again, not much for reference. Some say they’re flexy. I’m sure they’re not as stiff as some daft race frames but I’m quite heavy and didn’t really notice it at all (see above re no reference point)

That said, my XL is now surplus to requirements as I bought a “daft race frame” in the sales 🙄

The brakea, chainset and wheels- are they any good?

Both of my sons have one. One has the Sram version and the other has the Ultegra version.

I have been riding road bikes for 25+ years so have a reasonable bit of experience and I have been very impressed with them (especially the cost).

Over time (depending on what you intend to use it for) you may want to upgrade the wheels.

The brakes are fine (Road brakes are pretty similar to be honest). Chainset is adequate and no real point upgrading immediately.

I would quite happily ride one (and if my c2w wasn’t with halfords I would get one).

I’m building one up for my brother in law at the moment, but I’ve hilt & ridden several in the past.
About as stiff as a wet noodle (especially the front end) compared to many others, but light, look quite nice for what they cost & ride surprisingly nicely.
If you’re a bigger person or sprint hard you’ll really notice the front end flex, but other than that they’re not a bad buy at all.

I know there’s £500 between them, but if you were in the market for a carbon Ultegra equipped road bike, which would you go for?

The giant Defy Composite looks like a lot of bike for £1500 (with Ultegra chainset – Giant (DT Swiss) wheels and the Planet X pro Carbon is £1000 with non-Ultegra chainset (easily upgraded) and cheap Shimano wheels. The Giant is a non racey position and therefore quite ‘comfortable’…obviously there’s a diffrence in cost but not sure which is the better bike…any Defy owners out there?

The Planet X and the Defy have the same 72.5 degree head tube and 54.5 top tube for Medium. Define “racey”. I race on my Defy. Based on geometry, they will feel pretty similar. The Defy has a nicer carbon and nicer bits. Personally, I’d go better frame and cheaper components.

I have a large for sale if you’re interested!

I just can’t get past the look of the Planet Xs – they just look a bit cheap. Which is surprising as some of their other bikes (cx one I’ve seen) have some wicked graphics.

TiRed – “racey” – The TCR is the same spec as the Defy except for the geometry of the frame. The TCR is defined as more race orientated (apparently) – more stretched out I guess and therefore a little less forgiving on the back.

Chojin – can’t tell if you’re selling a Defy or Planet X – could be interested ether way. YGM

had one for the last 3.5 years (SRAM Rival version) and apart from the SRAM stuff its great.

Only pointer is that i have to have an XL version and its a bit noodley under power, but if you just want it for road riding and not racing its fine. If you want something that can handle a lot of power, look for something stiffer in the BB area. thats my only criticism, and its only minor!

Original planet X wheels are still running beautifully, completely true and bearings smooth despite being forced to ride it through last winter.

i’ve upgraded the brakes from the Planet X ones as they were crap.

Great bike, no plans on selling it any time soon.

I’ve got one, tis a thing of beauty. Its a medium with SRAM rivals, previous road bike was an Alu Lemond with 105 groupset. The Planet X flys, its softer than the Lemond, much nicer on longer rides, I really cant fault it.
I’m in the E.Mids (Oundle) if you want a test ride.

The saddle is at a proper height now, not dwarf height…

Had mine for 3 years and have found nothing to make me want to change it.

Wheels are absolutely fine, 1600g for the pair, and they are still straight and true without any fettling. In fact the whole bike has had little proper maintenance other than a re-grease of the headset. Everything else has been faultless from day one. And I’m always fettling bikes but no need with this one.

Mine is SRAM Rival, and I love the double tap shifting. I also have Tiagra on my commuter and that works fine too, so not a deal changer for me.

I’ve not really found it flexy (it’s an XL), I don’t road race but have done some triathlons on it, so I think the flexy comments might only apply if you are really giving it some.

I’m in Belper if you want a look at one. Although PX is only up the M1 near Meadowhall.

rascal – Member
TiRed – “racey” – The TCR is the same spec as the Defy except for the geometry of the frame. The TCR is defined as more race orientated (apparently) – more stretched out I guess and therefore a little less forgiving on the back.

Chojin – can’t tell if you’re selling a Defy or Planet X – could be interested ether way. YGM

Rascal – It’s a Planet X Pro Carbon SL, full ultegra – It’s covered about 400 miles in total. £700.

Chojin – can you email me – in profile.
You have no contact details…cheers

Very light for the money – the tradeoff seems to be stiffness (I noticed it more in the fork than around the BB) although that doesn’t appear to have translated into cracking problems. Whether or not you notice it when riding will be down to a combination of your weight / aggression / mind games but you can’t argue with the price.

I might be tempted to look at the RT-58 for a bit of extra cash / stiffness.

brakes – Member
I just can’t get past the look of the Planet Xs – they just look a bit cheap. Which is surprising as some of their other bikes (cx one I’ve seen) have some wicked graphics.

Have you seen the Defy graphics on the toptube of the 2014 bikes, it’s god awful! The RT58 looks nice in stealth black, mainly as there aren’t really any graphics.

I had a Nanolight which was supposed to be stiffer, it cracked around the BB shell.

brakes – Member

I just can’t get past the look of the Planet Xs – they just look a bit cheap.
Partner’s daughter has a bare carbon one with SRAM Red & PX wheels.
Looks superb in the flesh, not a single flaw.
The photos on the website don’t do it justice, imo.

Lovely bike, very comfy and, for a bimbler like me it handled really well, on the only occaision she’s let me ride it properly. 🙂
She’s raced, trained and done a few Tri’s on it and never had an issue.

No second water bottle cage on the small, or else I’d have had one ages ago.

used to have one and liked it alot, sold the frame to get a rt57 and prefer that, although i’m riding a sl pro fro 3 days from thurs in mallorca and really looking forward to it

That RT57 looks amazing for an extra £200…might take a wee trip to Sheffield this weekend unless anyone has a large in/around Leics/Derby/Notttm area…

used to ride one years ago and originally thought it was the beez knees. Then i bought another higher end road bike and realised how flexy the PX was, although the PX was a great climber. The front end was not as direct either and felt pretty wobbly in comparison. Great VFM if thats your budget, but would not buy again unless i had no option cost wise

Its an ok bike, very light if you get decent wheels but it is very flexy, and IMO isn’t a looker. For a grand however its a great bargain

I have a red one for sale if you want in medium, alternatively may split the frame and forks if you want a cheap framset.

Looks superb in the flesh, not a single flaw.
The photos on the website don’t do it justice, imo.

I saw all the models they had at the bike show. very plain frames with just a basic sticker on the downtube don’t really cut it for me. each to their own though.

jeepers that’s a bargain 😯 just need to save £1000 for one (sold my tarmac sport couple months ago).

I have an RT57 in SRAM Rival , which was £999, it’s certainly not noodly, and I’m loving it!

A great little rider, but very flexy. I had rub when climbing hard ( 4 sets of different wheels and still rubbed) Got back from Belgium to find it had flexed so much it rubbed under the fork arch and brake bridge.
But still a pleasure to ride.
Fell very very short in races.

Chojin – not sure if you’ve seen this thread recently but still interested in your bike…email me (as you are uncontactable).

Well I finally got round to trying a few bikes out yesterday and today.
The Defy Composite was lovely – very smooth and fitted perfectly – big grin as soon as I sat on it as it just felt right.

Went up to to Planet X in Rotherham today and tried the Pro Carbon Ultegra and the RT57 demo bike which was mostly Sram Force. Have to say I wasn’t blown away by either – neither had a wow factor and made me smile. I’m glad so many like theirs but I thought they looked a bit ‘cheap’ in the flesh. I think they are great for the money but lacked the quality feel of the Giant but then there is £600 difference between them.

More contemplating required 😕

I think it must be right to go with the bike that feels right when you test it. It’s not just about specs but how the bike suits you. I just made a similar choice between two different carbon road bikes. Both get great reviews but only one felt really special when I rode them.