New Planet X Whippet (Rigid content)

Thanks, I’ll have to measure my bike see how it compares, I’m still

Just purchased some plus wheels for my whippet.
Compared to gravel tyres they feel really slow but I’m loving the amazing grip from the minions. Searching out the muddiest places to exploit them.

Nice @zippykona I found that the plus tyres do roll well once up to speed and as soon as the going is less tarmac/gravel they come into their own.

If you have time and the desire to make things really different, put a granny ring on the front and leave everything else the same.

To test you could do without mech etc, just drop it onto the small ring and go find some techy steep climbs. The grip and low gearing is addictive, even if there is no downhill to enjoy on the other side.

Not quite as much fun as doing the same with a full on fatty, but not far off and much more versatile as a general trail bike.

Tried to fit a granny ,mainly to stop from damage when the chain drops but it fouled the chain stay. Non standard crank will need a wider BB.

Anyone know the weight of the Selcof MTB fork?

Anyone know if the Alex rims that some with the whippet are tubeless ready, I presume tyres are not!

Not sure but I’ll find out soon enough…just ordered a large gx model instead of the scandal as I want a more xc lightweight rig…

I’ve got those Alex rims on my Titus Silk Road. First thing I did was swap the wired tyres to a Bonty XR2 and XR3. Just fitted tubeless tape and valves (think Nukeproof and Lifeline respectively, as they were the cheapest at the time). Went up no problem, and have stayed up…

I’m looking for lighter wheels now though, seem tough but hefty. Also restricted to 11-50 Eagle cassetteas shimano freehub (as I found out post-purchase). Think moving to 10-52 needs a new wheelset, with XD hub. And finding the cassettes in stock.

Otherwise those wheels have been pretty good, tbf

My Alex rims went tubeless really easily.

Also restricted to 11-50 Eagle cassetteas shimano freehub (as I found out post-purchase). Think moving to 10-52 needs a new wheelset, with XD hub. And finding the cassettes in stock.

Have a look at Sunrace cassettes. They fit Shimano HG freehubs and work pretty well.
As for wheels, I got some WTB KOM light i29 on DT350 hubs. Not super light at 1850g but much lighter than the stock wheels. And wide enough to run a 2.6 ikon on the front.

Is SRAM SX much less durable than GX, or any factors, making the £800 SX less of a long term bargain than the £1k GX (as cheap as it’s ever been?) in the sale that ends today?

Am I right in that although it might cost me a kidney, I could replace the 32T chainring with at least a 36T, for more downhill/flat road gears?

I’ve been trying to justify to myself that I can pull the trigger and let my better half use my lumpy ~21 month old Voodoo Marasa as a turbo bike to help her recover from Long Covid, while I get a new lightweight playful commuter and South Downs lane toy…

But then I wonder if a gravel bike like the Free Ranger or the ADV 9.0 (if it ever comes back in stock) might be a better choice for me. Or try and find a more racey road bike bargain than my aero brick Cube Attain GTC with its horrendous 610mm stack… There can be only one (n+1)!

Buy buy buy! I use mine for commutes, southdowns xc, flat bridleway bashing, and everything in between. I just couldn’t bring myself to buy a drop bar gravel bike, so this is the perfect compromise.

Is SRAM SX much less durable than GX, or any factors, making the £800 SX less of a long term bargain than the £1k GX (as cheap as it’s ever been?) in the sale that ends today?

Am I right in that although it might cost me a kidney, I could replace the 32T chainring with at least a 36T, for more downhill/flat road gears?

The only only issue I found with SX parts was the cassette. Only the largest 4 or 5 were pinned together, so the next largest started cutting into the freehub body after 2 rides. A Sunrace cassette sorted this.

I think 36t is the max you can squeeze on there. I have a 34t and there’s not much space.

Is SRAM SX much less durable than GX, or any factors, making the £800 SX less of a long term bargain than the £1k GX (as cheap as it’s ever been?) in the sale that ends today?

Am I right in that although it might cost me a kidney, I could replace the 32T chainring with at least a 36T, for more downhill/flat road gears?

I bought the SX one last time they were £800 and would recommend spending extra on the GX as I have real trouble keeping the indexing correct. Smooth shifting at the top of the range means slipping at the lower and vice versa. SX kit isn’t very nice really so I will upgrade at some point.

I also need to change the chainring as it spins out in no time so is hopeless on road.

Apart from that though, it’s a great bike.

Have a look at Sunrace cassettes. They fit Shimano HG freehubs and work pretty well.

Just had a look but their cassettes giving 10-52 still look to require an XD driver…
https://www.sunrace.com/en/products/mz-12-speed
Useful alternative to actual GX Eagle though by the looks of it, but may still need a new rear / wheel set. Anyone know if you can change the freehub on the Alex Rims wheels being supplied by PX?

They do an 11 to 50 for Shimano HG too.

https://www.sunrace.com/en/products/detail/csmz600

They do an 11 to 50 for Shimano HG too.

Id really want the 10-52 range, I find I spin out on the flat with the 11t

PX kindly came back to me on via their chat function, where I asked if replacement xd freehubs were available for the Formula hubs that come on their OE AlexRim EXR30 wheels:
Specialized Formula XD S192100006 freehub body LordGun online bike store (lordgunbicycles.co.uk)

New bike arrived today 😄😄😄😄👍👍👍😄😄
Opened box to find it cracked around bb. Looks like DPD dropped a tree on it!

Oh no.

I assume you know this already, but get clear photos as quick as possible – while still in the packaging if you can – and get onto PX straight away.

To be fair to Planet X one email with pics at 5pm and by 5.30 they had organised DPD to come and pick it up tomorrow

Nice one @anagallis_arvensis , that’s pretty good service so far. Any suggestion of when you can expect a replacement?

I wasn’t meaning to have a go at PX. I know others here have had issues, but they’ve always been great when I’ve been dealing with them.

Not sure on how fast they can turn it round, I go away for a week on Sunday so have told them not to rush!!

Morning All,

I have just bought a Whippet and thanks to all that contributed to this thread; its been really useful and has informed my decision. It’s a great bike and I am really chuffed with it. I have changed the tyres which took some considerable amount of weight off, put some DyedBro frame protection on it so it now looks like an orange Zebra and put some alternative bars on.

As I live in a really flat part of the country I am looking at changing the rear cassette to something with a reduced range and am considering the Shimano Ultegra R8100 11- 34.

Has anyone done this or have any experience?

Dogsby

No but I’d like some pictures of your bike!

Zippy,

https://www.dropbox.com/s/14n9kw2r10wn96f/20220409_074127.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cgtamj6pbfw0smm/20220409_074119.jpg?dl=0

There you go! Looks good – I’ve got the DYEDBRO VHS on my matte black whippet with tan walls 😁

IDB,

Outstanding and thanks for assisting with my IT deficiencies!!

The DyedBros kit went on really easily and I am really pleased with it.

Dogsby

Looks better than mine did!!

^^that’ll buff out eeehhhhh.

Mine arrives end of this week, hopefully it wont arrive like yours……

Yay new bike arrived, this time with no cracks!!
Quick question, two washers are taped to the crank arm, are they needed for all pedals?

I’ve always fitted washers on pedals, although seen plenty without and never seen any failures etc as a result.

Ps. My Whippet will be for sale soon.

/endstealth

I put the washers on. On closer looking it appeared they just protect the crank arms..

Went for medium in the end after sitting on both a large and medium at a race a few weeks back. Has a lot of seatpost but it’s not at max.

Quick ride with son yesterday and it’s seems good. It’s been 20 years since I had a new mtb. Will give it a proper thrashing this afternoon

Good evening All,

Has anyone changed the 11-50 cassette for something smaller? I am looking at a 11 – 30 or 34 but no idea if the GX mech will cope with it.

Any advice or experience would be appreciated.

Dogsby

Giving the bike a few rides now. I’m not best placed to review it but it certainly feels a lot more planted and a lot faster than my 20 year old steel rock lobster!! I was surprised how much extra traction 29er wheels give on loose climbs. It is harder to pop off little jumps and I also got in a pickle trying to cross a narrow bridge that is approached at an angle with it. On a smaller wheeled bike I could manage the turn much easier. All in all I’m glad I bought it….must enter a race or 2 to see how it goes. Will change tyres and go tubeless at some point but a new bike, cycling holiday in Mallorca and lots of repairs to my old motorbike have left the toy fund empty currently. On that note the Panaracer tyres seem to get a lot of stick online, they seem pretty good to me. The cheap SRAM gears change well and the brakes are acceptable but those levers are pretty agricultural.

Hello Whippeters

There’s something I’ve been wondering about: when I spin the back wheel of my Whippet it stops turning after a couple of revs, it seems to stop suddenly with no roll-back. Obviously a back wheel will not spin like a front but this seems very short – compared to my other bike at least.

There’s nothing rubbing that I can see, I’ve carefully checked the brake pads. I cannot feel any ‘pull’ when I’m riding either, it’s just when the bike is in the stand.

I have the GX version, from back when it came with WTB wheels (annoying, I wanted the Alex wheels, but there you go).

Anyone else noticed this? Is it anything to worry about or am I being needlessly fussy?

I can’t really help but does it happen when the wheel is not in the frame?

Sorry @zippykona, I hadn’t realised anyone had replied. That’s a good idea, I’ll have a look sometime.