Planet X SL Pro Carbon Review - BikeRadar

If the problem is flex in the from end, would upgrading the stem and adding a stiffer carbon fork solve the problem? or is it an issue with the frame?

in my experience a wobbly front end comes from carbon steerer tubes. im a heavy rider and the amount of flex i could get from a front end with a carbon steerer tube was alarming. i switched to an easton ec70 with alu steerer and now my front end is solid .ok ive gained over a 100 grams but now my bikes goes where i want it to and i have more confidence . the carbon steerer forks i tried were a profile hp a pair of easton ec90 slx and boardman forks on a pro carbon.

I have a medium sized sl, no front flex, and i live in the pyrnees, so i have some very long descents. I think the main issue is that a lot of people have the bars to high and more spacers than the recommended 2-3cm. I have an alloy principia that flexes a lot more in the front end(and the back) than the p-x. I do have an alloy stem (100mm) and alloy bars!

great bike, and its better than the bianchi 928sl that i rode 2 years ago, at a seventh of the price!

I think this bike is now priced at £1149 now on the Planet X website, unless im mistaken?!

This review is a little out of date from the pricing perspective, as zoso7 says above, the initial £999 ran out just before christmas and it's now £1150.

Mind you, i have one and i think it's a cracking bike so even at £1150 i'd recommend it. For reference i've never noticed the lack of stiffness at the front end but that might easily be down to the fact that i probably haven't pushed it that hard yet (winter roads and all).

Looks like a nice package, on the price issue - in addition to the price jumping from £999 to £1149, Planet X have also upped the price of the Euro Special build to £1049 (Ultegra with FSA crankset & brakes and 105 cassette & chain), was slightly surprised they haven't tried to keep the cost of that one at least under a grand as so many people seemed to be buying them through the cycle to work scheme last year.

I agree about 100% with the review. Generally, PX provides an excellent ride but the front end does flex if you apply some force onto the bars. However, that happens only beyond forces I use for riding. A hard-core racer who has an aggressive riding style (i.e. not me) probably wants a stiffer front end. For most other riders, PX delivers a very decent package at a very decent price.

So, if you're looking for an excellent value road bike, consider PX Pro Carbon Ultegra seriously. And, as the reviewer says, when you feel urge to upgrade something, consider a better set of wheels. The PX wheels are OK for the price, but there's clearly room for upgrade. I bought Fulcrum Racing 1s and could not be happier.

After much window and online shopping for a new bike I decided to bite the bullet late last year and go for the PX SL pro carbon with the latest Ultegra kit. From what I could see there wasn't a vast difference between the Dura ace kit and the then new Ultegra and opted for the later.

Unfortunately since I bought the bike I haven't had that many chances to put the bike through its paces, that said when I have I can't say I noticed any flex from the front end. however i'm hardly Cavendish!

On purchase I decided to upgrade the wheels as the PX ones looked fairly basic and decided to splash out on a pair of 50mm Dura ace clinchers, which I feel were well worth the money, maybe a bit too lavish for my ability mind.

The bike is light and quick, the short wheelbase makes it very direct (at least compared to my previous bike) it makes climbing that much easier than it used to be.

Overall this is a great value bike and coupled with the latest Ultegra kit don't think for the money you can go far wrong!

I'm looking forward to breaking it in properly on the Hell of the Ashdown at the end of the month.

I have one of these frames and the model B wheels, yes you are very right about the front end been very avtive but in all honesty thats the only fault it really has, its light , stiff and responsive. i also ride the model B wheels and they are fantastic. Great value for money.

i ride it with sram rival and and a mix of deda, cinelli and tifosi finishings which all came to about £1.4K and it was the best investment i have ever made !

I reckon the best option is as follows: 1. Source the Planet SL Pro frame on its own (Choose a funky color--I chose white). 2. Choose better wheels from elsewhere. 3. Chainset (Ultegra Ice). 4. Collect all the other necessary bits and 5. Self Build. Simply unbeatable and the cost is similar but you have a finer machine. In my ridinig experience, no wobble. Perhaps it's because I am lightweight (58 kg). Just a superb budget British frame through and through.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31406972@N02/4288783380/in/photostream/

Mine is about 3 years old now and I can't say I have noticed a flexy front end but then I have nothing to compare it to. I was a bit worried initially when I noticed the seat tube was basically a carbon wrap. But I have seen inside the head tube it's 100% CF and I suspect the rest is. For the price I don't think it can be beat. The price stays roughly the same every year while its original rivals are getting more expensive for less bike.

The Plant X website is a nightmare; can someone post the link to this bike on their site?

Only had mine (SL Carbon Pro with Ultegra kit bar FSA chainset) a few weeks but love it to bits. Couldn't stop grinning for the first 15 miles ! Web-site & PX staff suggested I should opt for a small frame (5 ft 7) and I have to say that I was initially very nervous as it is very compact indeed but the first ride out proved them very right indeed as the bike is super-light, amazingly responsive but very comfortable too (longest ride to date 50 miles). I spent quite a while weighing up all the competition at this price point (Ribble, Focus, Boardman etc.) but know I made the right choice. Also have to say that the support, pre and post sale, from the Planet-X team is very good which has been important to me a relatively new to road bikes. Can't wait to for better weather and Sportive season to kick in. (Total spend, with upgrade to Dura-Ace carbon wheels WH-7850 : £1230)

I got my wife to buy me this frameset for Christmas and it came to just under £500 for the frame / fork / headset(fitted) / spacers / seatpost / seatclamp.

I carefully shopped around and managed to build it up with a Campagnolo Centaur groupset for a total bike price of just under £800. Even with heavy Campag Khamsin wheels, the whole bike (size:large) weighs a svelte like 18.5lbs and rides like an absolute dream.

To buy an off-the-peg bike that I would notice any discernable difference with I reckon I’d need to spend something approaching £3K.

Fabulous bike, untouchable price!

Having had my bike/s stolen last year, and the insurance only wanting me to use Halfords, I took a reduced settlement and search the internet.

Having seen several Planet X bikes on the road, I was impressed by their discreet looks (plain black), I was even more impressed by the price for the frameset. So with careful consideration and further internet searching I took the plunge and purchased a Large frameset, with additional extras, headset, seat post, carbon cages(on offer) for around £500. I was going to buy a complete bike on offer at the time equiped with Sram Rival, but was put off by the compact chainset. Instead I bought a full Ultegra SL groupset from Merlin Cycles for £450. As I already had a spare stem & handle Bars (Race Face) and some winter wheels (Quest Como, not light but strong), my new bike cost less than a grand.

Despite the not so light wheels it goes like a rocket, and being a weighty rider 90+ kgs, component weight is no t such an issue.

Does the front end flex? Having never ridden a carbon bike, and never ridden a "superbike" I can only state that I feel safe on it, it goes where I want it to go. I've done TT's on it, I've raced closed road course on it, and the times I posted were better than previous times on an Alu bike.

With Summer on it's way (hopefully), new wheels are in the post... lets see what it's like then!

Ordered a SL Pro Ultegra with B wheels as an upgrade from my Superlight Alu and I'm very pleased - out of the box it's way lighter, which is good because it arrived the day before I took it to Gran Canaria. I don't think I'm strong enough to see the front end flex when riding but I went up and down most mountains and had nothing but fun - got 49mph on 1 decent and it felt solid, even with deeper rims than I'm used to and leaning into switchbacks was no problem (Conti Grand Prix tyres from PX - Thanks!), the whole chassis was easy to predict and work, even under massive breaking. It would be nice to have had some frame protection tape to finish the build off but that was easily sorted. Staff at PX were very helpful with sizing & kit choices - nothing comes close for the money.

An update to my earlier review. I upgraded, upon advice from pastey_boy (see his review above), the fork to Easton EC70. That upgrade made the front end flex issue go away for good. Now my 7.8 kg bike descends like a train, even under a rider weighing 93 kg. Not bad for a bike costing about 1200 pounds (with the fork upgrade).

I recently purchased the Carbon SL Pro (lg) frame. fork, stem, seatpost, and FSA Orbit CE integrated headset. I built it up with Campy Centaur 10sp using Chorus UT Compact gearing. I run DT Swiss Threat (Excel Sports Boulder, Co) wheels 28h 240S hubs. This bike so far is an absolute dream ride. It compares in stiffness to my Merlin but it rides so much smoother. As for wobbly descents, I have had it up to 50 mph and it flies through corners. Yeah it's more upright than the old bike, but I'm not a racer (at least when I'm awake)!

I'd reccommend it as a great inexpensive way to get a great carbon bike.

Old post I know but I was chuffed to bits to buy a Carbon SL Pro frame and forks in the Planet x sale for £250. It looks good and despite being an xl appears to be lighter than an ants chuff, though I won't be building it up until march. Its more aggressive geo than my Specialized secteur but I find that I ride with the stem pointing down and low on spacers so at worst I think adding a max of 2.5-3cm of spacers and maybe flip it over should make it more or less in line. The top tube is shorter as well but I am long in leg, short in torso so i think this is going to help. roll on march, its being kitted with a campagnolo montage or chorus, centaur and record bits.