So after my last gravel bike thread im now lucky to be in a position to be able to buy the Planet X tempest outright (no cyclescheme on Planet X anymore) for 2k for the spec i want or i can get the Ribble CGR Ti on the cyclescheme which for the spec i want works out to cost me 2k after all the tax relief etc..

So pros and cons for both

Planet X pros

Buy out right, no monthly payments to be made
31.6mm seatpost so a good dropper will be easy to source (have a brand new 31.6mm Marzocchi Transfer sat in a box)

Planet X cons

External cable routing, rear brake partially goes internal at the chain stays
Lower headset cup is external
comes with Force 1 groupset so there will probably be issues with GXP bottom bracket at some point

Ribble CGR Ti pros

Comes with the top of the range Shimano mechanical GRX groupset
Fully internal cable routing
Fully integrated headset

Ribble cons

27.2mm seatpost means a good dropper is unlikely (Ive had various 27.mmm droppers inc Brand X, none have been great)

Shimano groupset means at some point the brake calipers will develop leaks (had this with every bike equipped with Shimano XT, ZEE, SAINT calipers since 2016)

So which do i go for????

So which do i go for????

Which ever looks nicest ?

That Tempest looks pretty tasty tbh. V minor point but I never got on with the Aksium wheels on the CGR Ti – they were fairly heavy, rattled a lot, and have straight pull spokes (that I dislike on principle). Still, it’s cheap enough to upgrade to Hunts or similar.

Problem is both look great!

Agree about the straight pull spokes, never been a fan, although my Campag Bora wheels with straight pull spokes on my road bike and the DT swiss r24 wheels on my Hybrid have been spot on, all other straight pulls Ive had have been rubbish

Id be upgrading the wheels to the Mavic allroad tubeless wheels in the Ribble bike builder

If the wheels are that bad id upgrade them to Hope or DT swiss at a later date

Are GXP BBs known for problems? The one on my Tempest has start clunking after about 1500 miles. Sounds like you can get an adapter for a few quid to then use a Shimano Ultegra BB.

Otherwise pretty happy with my Tempest. I’d maybe allow a bit of budget to swap the finishing kit – I didn’t get on with the supplied stem or saddle, and got rid of the nasty seatpost and seat clamp it came with.

Take a look at the plate dropouts on the Tempest, and also the chainstay area around the BB…it all looks a bit agricultural and not very pretty.

Ribble CGR is much nicer in this respect, also the welding looks much better on the Ribble

so there will probably be issues with GXP bottom bracket at some point

Easily solved (when it disintegrates in 4 months) by a Praxis works BB @ £30ish.

means a good dropper is unlikely

Do you really need a dropper on a gravel bike? Adds weight. The comparatively narrow (compared to MTB) tyres and rigid forks tend to be the limiting factor on descending steep techy stuff. If you’re bike-packing then a dropper is tricky with a seat-pack.

Quite a few posts on the web about the GXP bb, i know there are solutions which is good

Yes i have noticed the agricultural look on the dropouts and chainstay on the Tempest, not too bothered by this but the Ribble does look better

Dropper is a must for me, i have one on the mtb and the hybrid, its great for stopping at junctions and will make riding man made trail like QECP’s blue trail much more fun if can get the seat out of the way

Flip a coin, they are probably made in the same factory.

If I was sinking £2000 on a bike I would want to sit on it and check out the weight without wheels if upgrading and how it felt.

I’d also look at warranty and the customer service reputation for repairs / replacement. If buying a ti frame I’d want at least 5 years warranty.

Internet for cgr states

The 1.72kg frame (claimed, size unspecified) is constructed from triple-butted, 3AL/2.4V titanium tubing that is finished with a very lovely brushed finish. The frame comes with a five-year warranty. This is matched with a 480g (claimed) custom carbon monocoque fork

Internet for px tempest

All Planet X, On-One, Viner, Holdsworth, Titus and Selcof products carry a 2-year warranty as standard for the original owner.

In fact sonder ti frames come with 10 years (I think) so I’d probably pay more and buy that. Just wait for an alpkit special code weekend and get 10 or 15 percent discount. Do they do a r2w scheme?

We offer a 10 year <b>guarantee</b> on both our handmade <b>titanium</b> and Reynolds steel frames. Our hand welded 6061-T6 alloy triple butted frames and carbon frames come with a 5 year manufacturing defect <b>warranty</b>.

https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/bikes/sonder-camino-ti-sram-force1

You also have the added benefit or try before you buy with sonder and they knock the price of the rental off the purchase of the bike.  I don’t think that’s an option with ribble or px.

If I was sinking £2000 on a bike I would want to sit on it and check out the weight without wheels if upgrading and how it felt.

That’s a challenge with both the Ribble and Planet X – I guess it’s partly why they’re “only” £2k.
Fwiw my large CGR Ti was a shade over 10kg out of the box, with 2×11 105 groupset, Aksium wheels and Schwalbe G-Ones. With Hunt wheels, some GP4000s and a new seatpost it’s about 9.5kg.

Ive looked at the Sonder Camino and it has been knocked off the list due to no thru axle on the rear and the fact the wheels and all the finishing kit is all their own Love Mud brand and with no idea of what actual brand of hubs they use or even who makes the rims for them im not willing to consider it

Choices are the Tempest or CGR Ti, not bothered by the 2 or 3 year warranty and not fussed about throwing my leg over a bike before paying for it, tend to only keep bikes for 3ish years before upgrading

Ive bought 8k road bikes without riding them before hand, im quite lucky that i can jump on any bike and get on with it, 25 years of riding bmx’s means i can adjust to pretty much any bike

I’m obviously biased as I have a Tempest.

Force cable routing hasn’t bothered me. It’s on the bottom of the down tube so out of the way of frame bags etc…

yes it’s a GXP bottom bracket but it’s lasted so far and at least it’s threaded so easy enough to replace.

The dropouts are a little agricultural looking, as is the fork axle QR.

It’s nicely put together though. Also little things like every threaded boss has a button headed bolt already in it, unlike my old Camino which came with them bare apart from the bottle mounts.

I’m obviously biased as I have a Tempest.

Force cable routing hasn’t bothered me. It’s on the bottom of the down tube so out of the way of frame bags etc…

yes it’s a GXP bottom bracket but it’s lasted so far and at least it’s threaded so easy enough to replace.

The dropouts are a little agricultural looking, as is the fork axle QR.

It’s nicely put together though. Also little things like every threaded boss has a button headed bolt already in it, unlike my old Camino which came with them bare apart from the bottle mounts.

Don’t know if you’ve made your decision yet but a couple of other thoughts –

Carefully check max tyre width as the Ribble states 47mm but doesn’t say if that’s for the 700 or 650. The PX at least states the same for both wheel sizes (and I suspect it may be a bit conservative).

The basic looking Ti plate on the PX chainstays doesn’t bother me and I presume is used to add tyre / chainwheel clearance so am curious how other brands manage (or claim) to have the same clearance when using tubing, even if they do crimp it a bit.

If PX, swap out the alloy seat post at point of order as it weighs a ton.
Dropper – unless doing some extreme races I personally wouldn’t bother and, if you really need to drop the post occasionally, do what we all did for many years and fit a QR seat collar at a fraction of the weight.

The Fulcrum wheels on the PX are pretty light and I’ve had no issues with mine but they have an unusual spoke arrangement with straight on one side, 2x on the other. Doesn’t bother me but there is an upgrade option at checkout.

The Ribble MIGHT retain its 2nd hand value a smidge better for some buyers.

I’m sure you will be delighted with either bike and, frankly, I have to smile at those who claim you need to spent £4,5,6 grand on a Ti bike. Would love to see those folk ride them in a blind testing and see if they can feel any difference. 🙂

There’s a review of the Tempest in Feb 2020 Cycling Plus.

If PX, swap out the alloy seat post at point of order as it weighs a ton.
Dropper – unless doing some extreme races I personally wouldn’t bother and, if you really need to drop the post occasionally, do what we all did for many years and fit a QR seat collar at a fraction of the weight.

+1

I take my cross bike down plenty of places it probably shouldn’t go. I really can’t see how adding ~1lb of dropper post would help except for significant jumps. The stretched position means that with your arms bent in the drops there isn’t really that much scope to move you butt backwards anyway!

Only time I miss it is over jumps, even on an XC bike without it I’m fine (relatively) in the air, but the cross bike doesn’t like it. But then I’d question the sanity of riding a bike with road wheels and all that weight over the front wheel in that scenario, it’s potentially painfull to both the rider and the components!

Just a note on my Tempest:

I love it.

Hardly any slower than my carbon super-light skinny machine but so so so comfy. I think the comfy factor isn’t to be overlooked – I think that as a result of how comfy it is I can pedal harder for longer. I’ve turned in some of my fastest times in 4 years on this machine. (Edit): And then ridden it over fields to finish my ride and avoid busy roads.

Dropper is a must for me, i have one on the mtb and the hybrid, its great for stopping at junctions

😂😂😂

Dropper is a must for me, i have one on the mtb and the hybrid, its great for stopping at junctions

That has to be one of the strangest things I’ve read on this strangest of forum sites.

Absolutely, you can have your bike set up in any way you want it. Can’t argue with that at all. There is no argument against that at all. I just don’t get the dropper requirement. Really? Junctions???

No decision has been made yet as Ive a few other things going on at the moment

Swaying towards the Ribble mainly due to the P/X dropouts and chainstay behind the crank, i just don’t like the look of it

I like dropper posts on my bikes, have one on my E-mtb, mtb and hybrid, it means i can have it a full extension and be at the right pedalling height without having to stand on tip toes when i clip out or get off the saddle to put my foot flat on the ground at junctions, especially when you have a three year old sat on the top tube (proper kids seat attached to my hybrid)

Also the gravel bike will be used on man made smooth trails with berms, table top jumps (ill keep it low over them and wont do any no footers etc..) so i want the saddle out the way when riding that sort of stuff

I had a good look at the steel CGR in the Birmingham showroom. It was really nicely put together and the staff in there were great. They didn’t have a Ti one at the time so I can’t comment on that.

I went with the Tempest tho as – back then – it was the same price as the steel CGR. I’ve been really impressed with it both on and off road. I never even noticed the drop outs to be honest.

Riding it off road has been fun. But if I was going to some of the places you’re talking about riding, I’d take a MTB!

Anyway it sounds like you’re tending towards the CGR. I’m sure it’ll be ace. Reading this thread makes me want to ride my tempest again. Except there’s a tempest blowing outside!

I wouldn’t consider external cable routing or external headset a con really. Pluses and minuses really.

I’m with you on the dropper. One of the reasons I went with my Kona Libre gravel bike was the 31.6mm seat tube and low stand over meant I could fit a 150mm dropper. I get that some people don’t see the need but I use it loads, even on the road.

Riding it off road has been fun. But if I was going to some of the places you’re talking about riding, I’d take a MTB!

I do on the mtb and e-mtb but the gravel bike will be used whilst passing through these places whilst on bigger rides so it make sense to have a dropper so i can have a little play before carrying on the ride

I wouldn’t consider external cable routing or external headset a con really. Pluses and minuses really.

The external/internal routing and headset doesn’t bother me much, had bikes with both before, internal routing is no problem if you have the right tools and know what your doing plus once its set up you rarely have to touch it, just internal headset and routing look much neater

Just to add, the cheapest CGR Ti is £2199 on a Apex 1x build.
The PX Tempest is currently just £1599 on a Force 1x build.

That’s £700 in your pocket or to spend on a lovely set of wheels that would knock about 500g off the weight. 🙂

(By the way, is there a way to turn on notifications for replies please ?
I haven’t been on here in years but cant find an option anywhere.)