but the frame will be far better than the planet x offering.

Why? Genuine question btw.

Because there’s more to a bike that just being made of carbon. Geometry, layup, design etc. The Addict lower end bikes are trickle down from the top of the range, genuine pro racing focused design and manufacture, they usually have a lower grade carbon to keep the costs down but most other things the same.

I’d choose a good frame with crap components before I took a crap frame with bling components. Components can be upgraded later, but if the frames a turd then no amount of glitter is going to help. (not saying the PX is a turd btw, as I’ve never ridden one)

Why? Genuine question btw

I’ve not ridden the planet x evo, but had an old pro carbon. It wasn’t a bad bike at all, but even under my minimal power and weight I felt it was flexy. You could really tell when I compared to the canyon ultimate I replaced it with.

I now have a giant tcr, and again it feels far nicer than the planet x. Don’t get me wrong, for 900 quid that planet x deal is phenomenal value, but ime the frame is unlikely to be as good as something from the likes of giant/canyon/Scott etc.

I recently was looking for a Defy but they seem really expensive at the minute. Ended up finding a Fuji Gran Fondo 1.5 for £1100 which is a really nice bike. Same shop had a Fuji SL with Ultegra hydraulic groupset in a 56cm frame for £1300. These are the C10 carbon frame so a very nice bike. Just not common in the UK.
But check some bike shops, you never know what you might find!

Giant TCR with tiagra

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/487/products/giant-tcr-advanced-3-road-bike-2019-carbonblue.aspx

I’d forgo disc brakes, but a good frame and not worry about 10/11 speed. 105 won’t shift any better or weigh much less. But a good frame is the best.

Scott of your list. Planet X are fine but there is no magic here, you are getting what you are paying for. The question is where to put the balance of payment.

Fair enough regarding the PX. Reckon the evo must be stiffer as I weight 90 odd kilos and it really doesnt feel flexi.

TBF though I haven’t ridden many carbon road bikes but it feels as nice as a kona one I rented in the alps…..

The TCR is a great bike. Mine is 105 rim brakes and they can be had for good money of you find one from last year or so. But for commuting there’s no room for mudguards etc. if that is a requirement.

The red one cos red is faster

Decathlon has the Triban 520: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_8554421.html

Not personally 100% convinced about the hydro-mechanical disks (although I’ve never used them), but Road CC rated the whole bike highly: https://road.cc/content/review/252475-triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike

thanks for all the imput.im kind of leaning towards the addict 30 as i might stray off road a bit on my routes and this might be able to handle a bit of dirt track stuff?

My two Penneth, I ride a drophandle for a bit of fitness and as second choice to mtbing
but decided to get a new bike as I had a 435mile cycle challenge with work in October 4 days riding over 5 day..

I got a cannondale 105 topstone so I could ride it OffRoad and as a comfy ride.
With slimmer 700×28 Grand Prix tyres it did the charity ride easily, and it kept up and rode just as well as rivals on expensive road bikes whether it was fast chicanes or uphill slogs.. very happy with it. Even got some top10 strava segments chain ganging on it..

If you are patient enough to wait until Spring, the Cyclist magazine track days are a great way of testing a wide range of bikes:

https://cyclisttrackdays.com/cyclisttrackdays2020/en/page/home

If you’re considering 30mm tyres and venturing off road, I’d maybe look at stuff like Giant TCX, Cannondale CAADX etc. The TCX in particular often has some really good deals on 2018 or 2019 bikes.

They’re not as fast as an out and out road bike. You’re giving away maybe 1-2mph at normal average speeds even on slicks. But riding CX bikes off road is a whole world of sketchy fun. And ‘speed’ is relative. Unless you’re the least fit in a group then ~2mph slower just means you work a bit harder to keep up with someone less fit than you riding a ‘faster’ bike.

Same way an aero road bike, helmet, skin suit etc isn’t faster, except in a time trial. You just have a slightly easier time in a group.

The Cube Attains happily take 28mm GP4000S IIs, which measure ~31mm in the real world. Apparently the newish 5000s are truer to size, ~29mm for the same variant.

Gravel bike is certainly an option.whats the best around 1k-1200 mark.

Gravel bike is certainly an option.whats the best around 1k-1200 mark.

At the racey / road-like end of the spectrum (i.e. CX) I’d say Giant TCX from Pauls or Planet-X XLA are both amazing value. I’ve not ridden it, but the XLA looks good and could be a nice bike if you spent the change on a decent wheelset and tyres.

Also, definitely look secondhand. Road bikes depreciate like mountainbikes (i.e. most lose 50% just walking out of the LBS) but get used far less and polish up better. You can also occasional get real bargains. I got my CAADX off here for £400, with full hydraylic brakes and rival groupset! There’s exceptions to that rule (seemingly anything that wins a cycling plus grouptest) but conversely brands with perhaps less cachet are even better bargains (Cube, Orbea, Lapierre). .

In terms of rim brakes/disc, it’s entirely personal preference with both having their advantages.

A fast, lightweight summer bike on a budget, I’d go for rim brakes.

A year round bike for general use, not being raced, I’d favour discs.

At that budget it’s a trade-off between performance and weight.

 i might stray off road a bit on my routes and this might be able to handle a bit of dirt track stuff?

If it’s just an occasional dirt track any road bike with 28mm ish tyres will cope just fine. I wouldn’t comprise the road experience over a bit of gravel.
I’m fancying a gravel bike at the moment, but it’ll be an alternative to my mtb on some rides rather than a compromise road bike.

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/1599/products/cube-cross-race-pro-cyclocross-bike-2019-greyflash-yellow.aspx for £1039 isn’t bad for R7000 group including hydraulic disc.

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/1600/products/cube-cross-race-sl-cyclocross-bike-2019-redorange.aspx for £1199 gets you 8000 group upgrade.

They might fit 38mm tyres from a quick search. As much as I prefer the SL’s red frame, I’m not sure I’d pay £140 more for it. The SL has 36/46 crankset, Pro has a more road conventional 34/50, I do wish Shimano would do something like a 30/46 to give me more gears I would use with an 11-34 cassette including two for emergencies and very steep inclines!

I’d echo many of the points made about discs, they’re not an essential but certainly a ‘nice to have’ if you’re buying a new bike.
Right now there are probably some non-disc bargains about but the bike has to suit your use case, Discs aren’t essential but for a bike that’s going to see year round use in all weathers and maybe some light off road riding (also known as ‘gravel’ these days) then discs start to make good sense…

I will say however if you’re paying for a shiny new bike with disc brakes, give mechanical discs a swerve. Either go Hydraulic discs or rim brakes, I say that as a relatively happy user of mechanical discs on my own CX/gravel bike, they’re more faff and require more maintenance (IME/IMO) and why would you choose the “inferior” version of a technology when the better option isn’t that much more expensive…

those cubes look nice but not got my size in.i will be commuting a fair bit this year 10 miles each way fairly hilly so lighter would be better.i used to commute on the bike for years up until the last couple of years i think the discs would have been handy in winter.an addict 20 disc would be perfect but quite a jump in price really.all the imput has been very interesting.