Planet X Pro carbon road bike - Which model?

[m444ttb]

As my knackered 911 is going to kill my finances for the next year I'm going to upgrade my road bike via the C2W scheme route, which limits things to £1,000, rather than blowing a silly wedge on a Di2 equipped Boardman or similar. The £1k limit seems to exclude most carbon frame hence the Planet X. They offer three different Pro Carbon models around this price point but I've no idea which to go for so any thought appreciated.

Shimano 105 model £899
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLP5800/planet-x-...

SRAM Rival 22 model £899 (after 10% reduction)
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPRIV22/planet-x...

SRAM Force 22 model £999
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPFOR22/planet-x...

I think bar the group set they are otherwise identical. If I've understood correctly the SRAM Force sits above Rival, which is Shimano 105 equivalent. However I already have a PX Stealth TT bike with 105 on and some upgraded wheels that I could swap between the two I presume. Not sure if I could swap onto an SRAM equipped bike.

[Jimbo.]

IME it pays to keep things consistent throughout ones fleet, so if you've 105 already, stay 105 (assuming the exact type ie. 5700 10sp or 5800 11sp). Whilst SRAM and Shimano is mostly compatible re. chains and cassettes), it'll save buggering avoid with two different means of shifting, and mean that should you have to, you can swap shifters and mechs over quite easily. I've had more than the odd ride saved by robbing bits off one bike to fix another!

[Jimbo.]

Missed the TT bike bit, in which case forget the shifters and shifting! Still retain the ability to swap mechs etc.
And SRAM and Shimano cassettes/wheels are compatible.

[Herman Toothrot]

105

[bakerstreet]

I'd probably go SRAM Force out of that selection. The shifting will take a bit of getting used, but I prefer it to 105 and Force brakes are much better than 105 and worth the extra on their own

[Black can man]

bakerstreet said:

I'd probably go SRAM Force out of that selection. The shifting will take a bit of getting used, but I prefer it to 105 and Force brakes are much better than 105 and worth the extra on their own

Chap on my club run yesterday day has recently bought this bike with the SRAM & it does look rather nice tbh, he gets up the Surrey hills pretty well too. grrr..


He did have issues with delivery & had to send the first one back due to bottle the bottle cage screw eyelet faulty. He wasn't too impressed with the customer service he received but he seems pretty impressed with the bike,


Having said all this he never paid this much, i'm sure that if you register they send you mails of " flash sales discounts " i'm sure he said he only paid around £600.00 for it. Planet X's prices seem to Yoyo all the time.

Edited by Black can man on Monday 20th July 09:17

Edited by Black can man on Monday 20th July 09:18

[Herman Toothrot]

Black can man said:

Having said all this he never paid this much, i'm sure that if you register they send you mails of " flash sales discounts " i'm sure he said he only paid around £600.00 for it. Planet X's prices seem to Yoyo all the time.

Edited by Black can man on Monday 20th July 09:17

Edited by Black can man on Monday 20th July 09:18

This is true, for at least a week a month you can get Ultegra equipt for £899, I love mine and think it's hell of a good bike for the money.

[bakerstreet]

Black can man said:

Chap on my club run yesterday day has recently bought this bike with the SRAM & it does look rather nice tbh, he gets up the Surrey hills pretty well too. grrr..


He did have issues with delivery & had to send the first one back due to bottle the bottle cage screw eyelet faulty. He wasn't too impressed with the customer service he received but he seems pretty impressed with the bike,


Having said all this he never paid this much, i'm sure that if you register they send you mails of " flash sales discounts " i'm sure he said he only paid around £600.00 for it. Planet X's prices seem to Yoyo all the time.

Edited by Black can man on Monday 20th July 09:17

Edited by Black can man on Monday 20th July 09:18

In my experience, Planet X customer service is dire. I've bought a bike, frame and a set of wheels from them and on each occasion they made a real mess of it. I got so fed up with them, I eventually sent the frame back.

They appointed a new boss recently and he put an open message on the web site saying he was going to be launching new clothing lines along with bikes etc etc. I wrote to him and said he should look at customer service first. Don't think I ever got a reply.

I don't think the Pro Carbon has ever dropped as low as £600. Their models do seem to vary an awful lot. Its frustrating when you buy a bike and in a month the price and spec changes.

[Black can man]

bakerstreet said:

In my experience, Planet X customer service is dire. I've bought a bike, frame and a set of wheels from them and on each occasion they made a real mess of it. I got so fed up with them, I eventually sent the frame back.

They appointed a new boss recently and he put an open message on the web site saying he was going to be launching new clothing lines along with bikes etc etc. I wrote to him and said he should look at customer service first. Don't think I ever got a reply.

I don't think the Pro Carbon has ever dropped as low as £600. Their models do seem to vary an awful lot. Its frustrating when you buy a bike and in a month the price and spec changes.

OOps my bad & i stand corrected, thinking back to our conversation yesreday he did say it was the Ally frame he had & that the full carbon was £200.00 extra but you kind of get the gist of what i was trying to say.

[pembo]

bakerstreet said:

In my experience, Planet X customer service is dire. I've bought a bike, frame and a set of wheels from them and on each occasion they made a real mess of it. I got so fed up with them, I eventually sent the frame back.

They appointed a new boss recently and he put an open message on the web site saying he was going to be launching new clothing lines along with bikes etc etc. I wrote to him and said he should look at customer service first. Don't think I ever got a reply.

I don't think the Pro Carbon has ever dropped as low as £600. Their models do seem to vary an awful lot. Its frustrating when you buy a bike and in a month the price and spec changes.

They did get close around November last year when they were doing the staff discount code thing. My Shimano 105 Pro Carbon was £640. I wasn't really in the market at the time but I'm so glad I went for it when I did, I wouldn't have got anything close for that kind of money.

[PeteB0]

bakerstreet said:

In my experience, Planet X customer service is dire. I've bought a bike, frame and a set of wheels from them and on each occasion they made a real mess of it. I got so fed up with them, I eventually sent the frame back.

In the interest of balance, my experience with them has been pretty good. I purchased a saddle from them (Selle Italia SLR flow) that failed 18 months later. Spoke to them on the phone, provided some pictures, they agreed it wasn't a result of crash damage etc (it wasn't). Sent the saddle back (so they could follow up with disrributor) and got offered either store credit or cash. Pretty hassle free for what could have been a pain.

Used the store credit to buy some 50mm tubs, which then went AWOL in transit (Yodel = dire). Spoke to Planet X, they checked their tracking system which showed they had been sent out for delivery again, but told me to call him back directly the next day if they still hadn't shown up and they would send out another set and claim from Yodel. The wheels did turn up that day after being 'found' again. Again, good service from Planet X (other than electing to use Yodel)

[GaryGlitter]

Make sure you factor in the possible admin charge that PX may add for C2W, I see this has gone up from 10% to "up to 12.5%" of the bike value.

[m444ttb]

GaryGlitter said:

Make sure you factor in the possible admin charge that PX may add for C2W, I see this has gone up from 10% to "up to 12.5%" of the bike value.

Might actually be cheaper to up the loan i'm going to need to fix my 911 and buy the bike then.

[m444ttb]

Had an email from Planet X today. Pro Carbon with Campag Veloce colour for £750. Sounds like a good deal.