DARKSIDE: Planet X SL Pro Carbon or Ribble Sportive Carbon frame??

As title, I'm after a new raod frame, size large.

Any opinions on best choice & reasons for buying or not buying either.

ribble, looks 2x nicer and only £100 more, most likely a bit lighter also

Planet X. Way ahead all round.

They are both rebadged generic carbon frames bought in from where ever they are made, probably the same factory in the Far East*, so I'd buy the one you like the look of.

*…and therefore will be subject to the same price constraints and quality control..

I've got a P-X superlight (same geometry bu Alu) and have been very happy with it.

Seems to ride 'like a bike' fast, not twitchy.

Check out the geometry on both frames, Ribble might be a more relaxed position being a 'Sportive', longer head tube etc.

The ribble head tube is loooooooooonnnnnngggggggggggg

Ones a racer the others a sportive bike. What are you going to do with it and how comfy do you want it to be?

I had this choice and went for the ribble with 105 kit – its a stiffer frame which is what I needed at ca. 15 stone. The P-X has a speed wobble issue according to reviews. And the Ribble looks MUCH sexier 😀

P-X has a speed wobble issue according to reviews

which reviews?

Large Planet X SL Pro Carbon – 165mm headtube – Frame & Fork – £460.

Large Ribble Sportive Carbon – 175mm headtube – Frame & Fork – £477.

Looking for comfort on leisure rides & commuting. Currently have a Ribble alloy frame with carbon seat stays & find it harsh.

And the Ribble looks MUCH sexier

But all said and done its a Ribble, if you want sexy buy an Italian frameset, if you want to get f***ed around and treat like s**t buy a Ribble..

reviews:

cycling plus mag, probably find it on bikeradar too (their sister website)

also posts on forums when I was researching. google is your friend

EDIT: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/sl-pro-carbon-10-36958

EDIT2:

But all said and done its a Ribble, if you want sexy buy an Italian frameset, if you want to get f***ed around and treat like s**t buy a Ribble

I ordered it expecting the worst, based on comments on here, and had the bike in my hands three weeks later as promised.

Yep, I've read about the speed wobble issue, not being a confident descender It does put me off slightly although it's still on my list of carbon frames.

Yes, wobble is mentioned on bikerader but I doubt it'll trouble me.

My preference is for the looks of the Ribble but its out of stock, heard lots about poor customer service too.
Planet X is in stock & I live 20 miles from Doncaster so handy if I have any issues, & has a 2 year warranty.

Oh and another thing: not all of us have the budget for Italian 'sex on wheels' 🙁 So the Ribble was as 'sexy' as i could get with my wallet.

Dickie, they sound like perfectly good reasons to go ahead and make that purchase! Enjoy.

the BR review just says that the front end is slightly flexy when you honk out the saddle.

Doesn't mention a 'speed wobble' – which I would assume meant that it all got a bit well, wobbly, when you were going fast down hill (pedalling or not)?

Bikeradar;
All these concessions to lightness and smoothness might lead you to expect a soft ride. And indeed, the softer frame feel does result in a noticeable shimmy on high-speed descents.

TBF the Planet X has come under far more scrutiny and the wobble comment is about the most negative comment to date in it's reasonably long run.
And it's not one I've heard from other owners.

Starngely the looks of the Ribble put me off, sort of Ebay meets Starsky & Hutch and it says 'Sportive racing' on the top tube 😕 And my PX was a bit of a crowd puller in france.

I'd also say that the PX is not as racy as some frames out there, but is a very capable bike for both racing and distance.

I've also said this before. The PX is like say Giant technology was three years back. So testers will be comparing it to current tecnology. If you had an old pro spec TCR it wouldn't feel as stiff as the current crop of TCRs. And we're paying £400 and not £2400.

I bought my PX for doing longer rides & sportives and love it! I had read about the 'wobble' issue but real world user comments put that one aside. I've descended up to 50mph, and regularly around 40mph & it's always felt really solid and steady.
There are better looking bikes around, at a price, but I really like the looks and finish of it, much better than from the photos I'd seen.

There was a guy selling a black large PX frameset on Bike Radar (road classifieds), not sure if he's still got it. I was going to enquire about it but have been given a lifetime ban from Bike Radar so I can't.

No wobble issue here either and I've been racing mine.

here's the ad

Personaly……..

I just cant get past the shear epic uglyness of the planet-x.

I agree but only in large, the smaller sizes look better.

What about a Dolan? I think they look great – sexier than Planet X and less flamboyant than the Ribble's graphics – http://www.dolan-bikes.co.uk/mythos.html

Dolans are popular on the race circuit, good shout. Though that just looks like another Ribble/Planet X budget carbon bike.
I think too many questions are asked about these frames. They're sub £400 and people ask about the weave, if I was shelling out £2400 then fair enough.
I can't find any tests on the Sportive, but the poor old PX has been well tested and what's the worst that's been said about it?
As for looks the Ribble is ugly to me and I'd be a bit embarassed to turn up at a race on one, though I understand that some people love a bit of colour to match their tyres to.
Edit I can post a pic of mine with training wheels on if you like, but I thought I'd better give some warning.

Cheers LardLover – I'd have had that but its sold!

No probs dude, I'm not surprised it sold at that price!

I had the same decision and opted for the Ribble.

Lovely bike, very happy with mine.