3 bikes - Planet X , Cube or Trek

jamesd

I have my bike choice narrowed down to 3 bikes so looking for some advice from you experts:
Choice 1: €1350 with pedals
Planet X Pro Cabon Rival

http://planetxireland.com/products-page/sl-pro-carbon-bikes/planet-x-sl-pro-carbon-complete-bike-sram-rival

2
Cube Agree GTC 2012 €1400 with pedals
http://www.bikestore.ie/all-road-bikes-1/road-bikes-mens/cube/cube-2012-agree-gtc-compact.html

And no 3
Felt Z85 2012 - €1350
http://www.saddleback.co.uk/Felt-Z-Series-Z85-2012

What are people's views on these? The planet X and Cube are full carbon bikes.

g0g

jamesd wrote: »

And no 3
Felt Z85 2012 - €1350
http://www.saddleback.co.uk/Felt-Z-Series-Z85-2012

What are people's views on these? The planet X and Cube are full carbon bikes.

€ 1,200
That's all the advice I can offer though sorry!:)

triggermortis

You've 2 links for the Felt there, and none for the Cube..

My personal preference would be the Cube as I own one (not that model) and love it. I've heard good things about the Planet X and Felt and can give you no reason to not consider them.
Have you tried each of them? This should give you the best idea of what suits you best
Or, you might just have to pick the features or spec or colour you want and go with that. I've heard that Cube are in short supply at the moment, so unless you are buying from somewhere that physically has the bike, you may have difficulties

jamesd

Thanks gOg - the shop was €1250 today with pedals.

Triggermortis - I cycled the Cube only and liked it, I'm 5'8 but they put me on a 56" cube as the 53" was too small and it seemed a nice size.

kenmc

I've a PX, my wife has a Cube, I'd be very happy with either to be honest. The fact you can ride the cube before purchase would probably swing it very slightly in favour of that. After that it's a question of do you like the Sram shifting vs Shimano (i.e. the doubletap). I dunno really how the "levels" of sram compare to shimano i.e. tiagra < 105 < ultegra < DuraAce etc.

jamesd

I should be able to get a spin on a planet x this week l hope so that should help, am I right ruling out the trek already as I prefer the other 2 bikes already even by just weight and looks.

loinnsigh

I have the Felt Z85 and I love it. I have no frame of reference though cos its my first road bike

kenmc

jamesd wrote: »

I should be able to get a spin on a planet x this week l hope so that should help, am I right ruling out the trek already as I prefer the other 2 bikes already even by just weight and looks.

Yes. overpriced and underspec'd compared to the other 2. Unless you're a lance fanboy

Plastik

kenmc wrote: »

I've a PX, my wife has a Cube, I'd be very happy with either to be honest. The fact you can ride the cube before purchase would probably swing it very slightly in favour of that. After that it's a question of do you like the Sram shifting vs Shimano (i.e. the doubletap). I dunno really how the "levels" of sram compare to shimano i.e. tiagra < 105 < ultegra < DuraAce etc.

Apex < Rival < Force < Red

I've a Planet X SL Pro Rival. I remember reading, perhaps on here, that Rival would be somewhere between 105 and Ultegra in terms of quality.

glennbhoy

Have the cube, forget the rest and just buy it

Great bike and spec for price

jamesd

So it s down to 2 - cube vs planet X

AIR-AUSSIE

The Felt or Cube on looks alone. The Planet X is too plain for me.

C3PO

jamesd wrote: »

I'm 5'8 but they put me on a 56" cube as the 53" was too small and it seemed a nice size.

At 5'8" I would be pretty sure that a 56 is too big for you! I don't know why but bike shops seem to persistently put people on bikes that are too big! They may not have it in stock but there is at least one size between the 53 and the 56 that you tried!

Personally I'd buy the Planet X but I don't think you'll go wrong with any of the bikes mentioned!

full gas

jamesd wrote: »

I have my bike choice narrowed down to 3 bikes so looking for some advice from you experts:
Choice 1: €1350 with pedals
Planet X Pro Cabon Rival

http://planetxireland.com/products-page/sl-pro-carbon-bikes/planet-x-sl-pro-carbon-complete-bike-sram-rival

2
Cube Agree GTC 2012 €1400 with pedals
http://www.bikestore.ie/all-road-bikes-1/road-bikes-mens/cube/cube-2012-agree-gtc-compact.html

And no 3
Felt Z85 2012 - €1350
http://www.saddleback.co.uk/Felt-Z-Series-Z85-2012

What are people's views on these? The planet X and Cube are full carbon bikes.

Felt or cube , not sure about the plant x frames am sure there fine if your 60 kg but frames to soft and sponge like for me, as with most cycling gear ya get what ya pay for , be careful of a bargain

Plastik

full gas wrote: »

Felt or cube , not sure about the plant x frames am sure there fine if your 60 kg but frames to soft and sponge like for me, as with most cycling gear ya get what ya pay for , be careful of a bargain

Wha!?!

Absolute nonsense. I bought an Sl Pro last June and it has been bullet proof. I was 85kg at the time - no shrinking violet. It has been up bohereens and down fast mountain descents, I've done open races, club league, a TT and trained on it and it hasn't disintegrated, dissolved, cracked, melted, faded away or tried to kill me. There's nothing inherently wrong with the frame. You sound like someone that has never even out your leg over one.

OP, the picture linked of the planet x does it no favours. Have a look through the last few pages of the images of beauty thread for a few nicer planet x's owned by people on here. Personally I think it looks great in white or naked carbon, I went with the latter.

full gas

Plastik wrote: »

full gas wrote: »

Felt or cube , not sure about the plant x frames am sure there fine if your 60 kg but frames to soft and sponge like for me, as with most cycling gear ya get what ya pay for , be careful of a bargain

Wha!?!

Absolute nonsense. I bought an Sl Pro last June and it has been bullet proof. I was 85kg at the time - no shrinking violet. It has been up bohereens and down fast mountain descents, I've done open races, club league, a TT and trained on it and it hasn't disintegrated, dissolved, cracked, melted, faded away or tried to kill me. There's nothing inherently wrong with the frame. You sound like someone that has never even out your leg over one.

OP, the picture linked of the planet x does it no favours. Have a look through the last few pages of the images of beauty thread for a few nicer planet x's owned by people on here. Personally I think it looks great in white or naked carbon, I went with the latter.

Steady now , yes I have been on one and yes it was soft , maybe your just not putting enough power through it , and on its look there a little plain , glad your happy with it , time will tell

Plastik

Ah right, opinion masquerading as fact. First it was worries about the frame quality due to rider weight and now it's due to how much power someone can make. What's your current fitness level, are you racing A1/A2 this year? Time will tell for sure, but at least I'll have put in the time to tell it.

OP, have you used SRAM before? I personally love it, and much prefer it to the 105 I have on my other bike. The PX is also 3/4's of a kilo lighter.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You see a plain Planet X, I see an over branded garish Cube.

irishbuzz

RPL1 wrote: »

At 5'8" I would be pretty sure that a 56 is too big for you! I don't know why but bike shops seem to persistently put people on bikes that are too big! They may not have it in stock but there is at least one size between the 53 and the 56 that you tried!

Seemingly, Cube framesizes are generally ~2 sizes smaller than normal. I'm 6'1" and had picked out a Specialized 56" originally and it seemed a good size for me. I ended up going with a Cube 60" however and it fits just as well.

C3PO

irishbuzz wrote: »

Seemingly, Cube framesizes are generally ~2 sizes smaller than normal. I'm 6'1" and had picked out a Specialized 56" originally and it seemed a good size for me. I ended up going with a Cube 60" however and it fits just as well.

Maybe so but at most the Cube charts would put the OP on a 54 or 55! I just suspect that the bike shop has a 53 and a 56 in stock and one of them will be the "right size"!

http://www.cube.eu/en/service/faq/faq-detail/article/how-do-i-determine-the-correct-frame-size/

kenmc

full gas wrote: »

Steady now , yes I have been on one and yes it was soft , maybe your just not putting enough power through it , and on its look there a little plain , glad your happy with it , time will tell

3.5 years for me @circa 80kg (78 at the moment). Did the WW200 on it in 2009, plenty of other 150+km rides on it since, 2 full winters training, club league last year, and A4 this year. No problems with mine whatsoever, and I put plenty of power through it.

blorg

Either the Planet X or Cube would be a good buy, and are good value. Rival and 105 are both good groupsets. Personally I would go for the Planet X as it would likely come in substantially lighter than the Cube's quoted 8.4kg. I got a PX with Ultegra 6700 and it weighed in stock at 7.5kg (large.) Rival is slightly lighter than Ultegra IIRC so you are looking at around a kilo lighter bike with the PX. That's a lot.

donal2000

If somebody wanted to buy a Planet X would it be worth taking a trip to the store in Athlone? Has anybody any experience with the store?
Ideally I would like to try out the bike before buying.

Thanks.

lescol

Ciaran Clarke The carbon pro legend has seen 5 seasons of winter training
nearly 1500 turbo sessions loads of races
3 RAS'S
3 National champs against nicholas roche
crashed about 50 times
and is now riding pro races in Belgium
19 August 2011 at 15:43

"Stolen" from Ciaran Clarkes Facebook page! Looks good to me, no flex there anyway:D

kilns

Have to disagree with anyone who says the PX frame is soft. It has seen me through thousands of KM's from 17km commutes to a 1000km week long trip from north to south of France, all while I was 100kg and not one problem.

ratracer

donal2000 wrote: »

If somebody wanted to buy a Planet X would it be worth taking a trip to the store in Athlone? Has anybody any experience with the store?
Ideally I would like to try out the bike before buying.

Thanks.

It is definitly worth calling into the lads up there. Just ring beforehand to make sure there open, don't go by advertised times.

From earlier in the thread, I had intended to get an XL frame (i'm 6'2") but the lad suggested that I go for a Large, as there is more flex in the head set of an XL apparently. He had both there. I went for the Large, and when set up correctly it is a great bike. Very steady under all of my experiences anyway. I'm considering getting the new N2A frameset later in the year. IMO Planet X are great bikes for the money, I think a lot of people turn their noses up at them because they are 'the poor man's carbon'

vertigo1976

donal2000 wrote: »

If somebody wanted to buy a Planet X would it be worth taking a trip to the store in Athlone? Has anybody any experience with the store?
Ideally I would like to try out the bike before buying.

Thanks.

They have a new retail shop in Athlone and have all the range in stock plus plenty accessories. It's a much better set up than the warehouse they were working from previously.
I have my planet x for about 18 months and am very happy with it. I'm 98kg and it feels solid and planted.

Lumen

The underlying theme of the Planet X Pro SL hatery is that anyone who finds the stiffness of the frame adequate is a crap cyclist, and that we should all buy proper bikes from proper local bike shops making proper profit margins.

Planet X's response to this criticism has been to develop and market a bunch of more expensive harder core racing bikes with neater logos, short head tubes and wafer-thin tyre clearances so they absolutely cannot be accused of marketing soft bikes to talentless Freds.

The internet cyclist's response to this has been to defect to Canyon, who not only sell cheaper bikes with taller head tubes than Planet X but also get the more expensive ones under the arses of pro cyclists, thus making the brand completely immune to criticism of being too soft.

full gas

lescol wrote: »

Ciaran Clarke The carbon pro legend has seen 5 seasons of winter training
nearly 1500 turbo sessions loads of races
3 RAS'S
3 National champs against nicholas roche
crashed about 50 times
and is now riding pro races in Belgium
19 August 2011 at 15:43

"Stolen" from Ciaran Clarkes Facebook page! Looks good to me, no flex there anyway:D

How can you tell from a photo that there is no flex , if ya figure it out let me know, small man small bike , tell me if he was a six foot power house would it effect the frame any differently ,

ROK ON

To throw some perspective on the flexy image problem of the PX.

I own 2 carbon fibre frames, one is reasonably flexy and the other is reasonably stiff.

I prefer to ride the flexy frame, for the same bike set up it is infinitely more pleasurable a ride on crap Irish roads. I may even sell the stiff bike. It is simply not for me. Maybe some guy putting out oodles of wattage may appreciate it more than I.

lescol

full gas wrote: »

How can you tell from a photo that there is no flex , if ya figure it out let me know, small man small bike , tell me if he was a six foot power house would it effect the frame any differently ,

Guess you didn't see the

I happened upon the Ciaran Clarke facebook posting on Planet X Irelands page. A good product endorsement from a guy at a high level in the sport rather than an anonymous internet forum user. The bike in the picture has two bottle cages, therefore, it is at least a medium frame, this frame is suitable for riders 5' 8" to 5' 11" (from the sizing guide). I ride a large Planet X Pro Carbon bike and am 6', having never undergone testing I don't know if I'm weak or a "power house", I can say that I have produced brake rub from Planet X wheels (model B's) on steep climbs but not from a pair of Ksyrium Elites. My top speed on the PX has been 85.4kph. In 4 years of riding my PX I have not had an issue with it. I guess that makes me a happy PX user, but then I'm just an anonymous poster.

ck101

I was down with the guys in Planet x Athlone this week and the bikes look great.

The RT 57 is particularly good, v short head tube though.

Roger Hassenforder

lescol wrote: »

Its a bit ugly though innnit?
I'll get me coat...

Grassey

ck101 wrote: »

I was down with the guys in Planet x Athlone this week and the bikes look great.

The RT 57 is particularly good, v short head tube though.

True I went in only for a look this morning...

... walked out with a B2W quote for the RT 57.
Christmas is coming early to me!

jamesd

Going to go for the cube myself - liked it to cycle so off to Kearneys in Galway once the bike to work cheque gets wrote.

jamesd

Collecting my bike tomorrow - anything I should look for ? Ask for as in setup?