in the midlands

where are you located

In case anyone is interested, you can also get this bike as a "build it yourself" for £799

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBUNPXSLPULT6800/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-ultegra-6800-road-bike-(unbuilt)

Google: Planet X London road (its on Singletrack), you'll see their customer service at its finest! I'd treat the purchase as a second hand sale with no warranty.

On the second hand front I've seen the framesets sell for as little as £100 so if you are intent on purchasing be aware that the resale value is low!

Discs or standard brakes are personal preference and should be treated as such imo. My commuter has discs, I try to commute in all weather conditions and I feel safer amongst London's traffic with them equipped. My other road bikes use standard brakes - mainly for weight and UCI rules...

Disc brakes allow more clearance and wider tyres; so more grip for braking.

Rim brakes in the wet are not nice. Disc brakes carry on working. I've had cable rim, hydraulic rim, hybrid hydraulic disc and full hydraulic disc. For me, the full hydraulics win every time.

Its all some global conspiracy .
twenty years ago you had many more mail order and local bike shops offering more choice

now you've got wiggle, planet x couple others , probably all owed by some holding co.......

you pay peanuts you get monkeys ....And cheap chinky knocks offs dressed up as Italian stallions

These bikes are what they are - cheap! Ask an independent bike shop owner what experiences they have had with one of these bikes especially re: replacing cables. Also the company has a poor reputation regarding customer service and has recently made loads of its staff redundant and now uses contract workers. It had closed its Barnsley shop and is trying to generate cash by offering cheap deals. Something not right here(?)

the main advantage surely is no rim wear - but then youll be spending it other places instead

i think they may well give some riders more confidence than they deserve , with possibly fatal consequences , likewise helmets

That's the logic used by those who protested against the rear much for years...
Your mate is bad at braking.
The brake track on carbon clinchers is lethal. Anyone using them on steep and lomg descents is idiotic. Disc brakes prevent such an issue.

Disc brakes are the future. I firmly believe in their benefits having used them and felt the benefits compared to calliper brakes.

The effect is increase in aero bikes whose often in house brakes are terrible.

Decent calliper pads like swissstops are much more than a fiver.
I absolutely hate the argument that the limiting factor is traction between the tyre and road. How many times have you locked up the front tyre?????????

Disc brakes may you feel more confident in the wet regardless. They are more reliable in such conditions. That alone is enough to make them better not only for beginners but for those looking to improve their confidence descending.


They aren't necessary, but they definitely make riding a lot better in the wet!!! Also allows you to run carbon clinchers more safely and wheels can be more aero.

​They also used single speed bikes in the your a few decades ago so why do you need an integral groupset! Good enough for them!

We both agree that changing disc pads are marginally easier (arguably once the toe in is set up replacing cartridge rim pads is almost as easy). You just need to twiddle the barrel adjustment for distance which is hardly difficult but it is the hydraulics (bleeding air or changing fluid) that is more complicated and costly. To replace a brake cable inner requires some pliers and a 2 quid cable and a 10p ferrule.
On road bike the main problem is not rim brake power (the tdf peleton seem yo manage just fine) but traction from your tyres to the road surface. Modulation may help a little but its not a worthwhile trade off.
Be interesting to see if the super star pads you talk of are universal fit, sintered or organic compound and wear as well as shimano rim pads for a similar price. I suspect it's hard to compare as both rim and disc pad performance is very compound specific.
I know the super star equivalent to my Avid Juicys on my mtb were poor and also wear much quicker than the excellent Avid own pads. But they might have improved over the last 3 years.
Brake pads and tyres are two things not worth skimping on. But then disc brakes on a road bike are overkill for 95% of riders.
Out interest have you ever experienced disc brake fade from overheating?

My advice is to always look at the secondhand market as there are some terrific deals from sellers..much like with guitars that are hardly used...who buy a bike and just either don't have the time to use it or simply find it a chore they'd rather ignore.
I visited the Planet X outlet in Barnsley ..and yes they are price friendly but the quality of the frames and fitted components leaves a lot to be desired...I just purchased a secondhand Giant TCR Advanced SL frameset and for about £1100 I have built a really high spec bike with high quality secondhand components...that's the way to go!!!

Full groupset including the chainset although have heard these frames referred to as planet flex

Have to disagree with this. Disk brake pads are less than a fiver per pair from Superstar and not only do they last much longer than rim pads, they are completely consistent and need no maintenance when paired with hydraulic calipers.

Changing disk pads is a two minute job with no fiddly alignment - it's much easier for a novice than trying to get rim pads dragging at the correct angle and distance.

On any surface and in any condition, the predicability and power of disk brakes is well worth having. Very few that switch to them ever want to switch back.

look down the seat tube of A Pro Carbon and you'll see aluminium wrap. not even full carbon. had one in the workshop recently. Get what you pay for.
Had a three year old Rt58 in, cables seized in frame, no access panel under bottom bracket unlike other frames. frame went in bin as cables couldn't be replaced.
But alot of people love them.

I seriously doubt you'll get a better fast road bike for <£1000... Hot!

I found their CS to be excellent.

Have to disagree with you. The benefits in the rare conditions of very wet and mucky roads are outweighed by the hassle and expense of maintenance.
Replacing rim pads still cost about 5 quid but will cost twice that for rotor pads. Also tuning and replacing a brake cable can be performed inexpensively and by a relative novice easily. Not true for hydraulic disc brakes.
Also a friend experienced massive brake overheating ( and reduced effectiveness to the point where he almost had to bail of his bike) on a long step descent in Portugal.
The tiny rotors on his giant defy did not dissipate heat as well as larger rotors found on mtbs or even the greater surface area of rim brake track.
They are the here and now for mtbs and worth the expense and hassle but not for road bikes.
Sadly the industry is pushing this direction for road bikes with the only upside side being more work and therefore support # your local bike shop.

​Disc brakes literally exist to part MAMILS with their bountiful supplies of money. There's something to be said for the aesthetics of a clean rear triangle and forks but otherwise, disc brakes are heavy and mushy in operation if you go for anything other than full hydraulic. You'll also need new brifters if you do go hydraulic as the reservoir is usually inside them.

As for customer service, my experiences with them have been positive in all my dealings. Only issue I had is when the bike arrived there were some odd setup issues (limit stops on front mech were miles out and the cabling for my rear brake and mech were both around 2" longer than they rightly needed to be).

​If you can afford disc brakes then go for them. Anyone who tells you otherwise is deluded.
Better control over braking, far far more reliable and safer in wet weather and hydraulic disc brakes are very low maintenance.
The issue is disc brake road bikes are relatively new and so you won't get as good a deal on such a bike as you would on a calipers brake bike.

the pro carbon is a safe enough bet on a budget, but as said has been around for years and years.

I hired one in majorca for a week and it was nice enough.

you don't need discs. might be worth thinking about if you do loads of commuting in very wet conditions in a really hilly area, but aside from that they are largely over kill.

I've had a stealth and it was OK. good customer service from px as far as I'm concerned. remember that they sell loads and loads, so will always hear a few bad stories.

Love my full 6800 Pro Carbon. Got it this price 3 years ago and it's still my main bike. Customer service was great.

Have bought another bike from them recently and the experience wasn't as good. So from a sample of two I can only say that they are hit and miss.

I have this bike and it's superb, great deal at this price point.

caliper brakes, though?
I'm looking at buying my first bike since I was a kid so I'm no expert, however I've got advice from the veterans at work and they all say to go disk/hydraulic disk

well I've just sent some faulty suspension forks back to them today let's see how good their customer service is shall we

I don't need another bike, stop it :confused:

Great groupset (my personal favourite) however can't stand the company or their chinese frames.

Pay for what you get

It's a decent deal, although one that they put on a few times each year. The frame hasn't changed in years though and their after care doesn't have the best rep. I think it is a £200 saving on the normal price.

how does this differ from their usual full carbon bike for 999.99?