I have been looking into doing Tri’s and what not…I have looked at damn near every bike there is and the Planet X Stealth Carbon really has caught my eye. After a lil’ bit of research I saw that they are based outside of the U.S. soo here is the question. How would a dude like myself get fitted on one of these bikes with out having to drive a few states over to a Planet X dealer? Are there similar frames that you coud compare the two, to get dialed in halfway decent?
Just for kicks…what do you think is a better bike, the Planet X Stealth Carbon or the P2C.
…what do you think is a better bike, the Planet X Stealth Carbon or the P2C.
The P2C is a better bike. For one, the P2C has internal cable routing where the SC does not. The jury is still out also on if Planet X actually designed the Stealth Carbon or is it a badged generic Taiwanese bike. Now if you are talking about colors, then the Planet X bike looks better than the 07 P2C. I do not like the color on the current P2C at all.
As for fit, you can also try one of the dealers who carry the same bike but badged differently. You can try a Velo Vie, LG and other dealers to see if they are close to you.
My understanding was that Planet X designed the bike, but in order to make the cost cheaper, they signed a deal with the Taiwanese factory that allowed the factory to sell them to other bike manufacturers outside of the U.K. (but Planet X had exclusive rights in the U.K.). This is why you see all the other Planet X-like frames (Velovie, etc.) for sale in the U.S.
There are lots more people on the board with more Planet X knowledge though so correct me if I’m wrong.
Thanks for the responses…I have looked into buying either the P2C as well as the P3C, I almost wonder if it would be smarter to buy the P2C plus a fast set of Zipps or Hed’s…instead of the ridiculously priced P3C minus race wheels. I mean is there that much of a difference between the P2C and the P3C…pretty sure once I get the engine up to par the differences would be minimal? Maybe I am way off though who the hell knows.
The P2C is a better bike. For one, the P2C has internal cable routing where the SC does not. The jury is still out also on if Planet X actually designed the Stealth Carbon or is it a badged generic Taiwanese bike
LOL - internal cables do not make a bike better. They do often make working on the bike a PITA and often dont shift as crisply as external cabling.
Where is it again that the Cervelo “C’s” are made…Hmmmmmmmmmmm
The P2C is a better bike. For one, the P2C has internal cable routing where the SC does not. The jury is still out also on if Planet X actually designed the Stealth Carbon or is it a badged generic Taiwanese bike
LOL - internal cables do not make a bike better. They do often make working on the bike a PITA and often dont shift as crisply as external cabling.
Where is it again that the Cervelo “C’s” are made…Hmmmmmmmmmmm
Granted that you own a Planet X bike so your opinion maybe a little biased.
Where a bike is made and where is it designed are two different things. I drive a BMW that was designed in Germany but built in South Africa.
All the bikes I have ridden with internal cablings have shifted very cripsly. Never been an issue. The internal cables do not make a bike better, but just maybe the designer of the bike was paying attention to the small details and that does make a bike better. Where again was the Planet-X bike designed, Taiwan? Which bike do I think is more aero, the P2C.
Don’t you find it odd that Planet-X does not talk about engineering or design of their bikes on their website? You do find lots of information about bike builds but how and why a bike was designed or why it is better is missing. Engineering is not their forte. Companies with good products that they design always talk about the design and engineering of the product.
Don’t you find it odd that Planet-X does not talk about engineering or design of their bikes on their website? You do find lots of information about bike builds but how and why a bike was designed or why it is better is missing. Engineering is not their forte. Companies with good products that they design always talk about the design and engineering of the product.
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
True true. That however has no relation to the fact that internal cables and the “savings” is so minimal that it is silly really for a MOP or even fast AG’er to worry about that as a reason to pick one bike over another.
And “as the owner of a Planet X”…I also own a Cervelo.
Where a bike is made and where is it designed are two different things. I drive a BMW that was designed in Germany but built in South Africa.
I used to drive a Jetta that was designed in Germany and built in Mexico, and it was a piece of shit. My cousin had a Passat that was designed in Germany and built in Germany, and it was extremely reliable. How do you know a German engineer living in Taiwan didn’t design the frame? (if you buy into the stereotype that Germans are better Engineers).
If you live in the US, buying a PlanetX is just foolish when the same exact bike can be had for considerably less $$ under a different brand. It’s a fine frame, TDF proven, and available for around $800 from one reseller IIRC. Search the forum and you will find the link to it.
There is about to be new pricing from zedsport - 999 usd incl frame / fork / seatpost , our 2008 frame is in development (curremtly with Sportspulse who are developping the frame with us ) and were hoping for a late 07 launch.
Zedsport will be reducing the stealth pricing to bring it in line with our uk consumer direct pricing approach (although in the UK we can only sell frame only) and obviously compete head to head with other vendors in the us selling the same frame . .
We also now have two new sizes a XXS and an XS 650 that Dan helped us tweak the geometry on - these are exclusive to planet x for 6 months , then thrown open to other manufacturers (outside of the uk) to buy towards the end of the year , so youll probably see these start to appear with other decals on later .
I just read your first post about your wheels and Blackwell wheels. Dave, can you set the record straight why your frame is sold by other companies as well?
Dave, can you set the record straight why your frame is sold by other companies as well?
Why does it matter? I dont get it. If they want to sell their frames to others to rebrand - well - that is nothing new at all. How many Ti frames are made in TN that dont have an ABG brand on it (current and historic). Did Huffy make the olympic bikes, or GT for that matter!
I own a Carbon Stealth…granted. It is a GREAT bike. It has a wonderful solid ride. It has damn near zero flex at the BB and screams down the hills at IMLP pissing excelence. My PX fits me better than my Cervelo, Softrides, Specialized and many other frames I have and had owned. The only frame I would say that I did prefer over the PX is my Softride FasTT7 and TT7’s.
I dont care what it has for a label - or where it was built. The bike has a great ride.
We developped the frame in conjunction with the factory in China who had just produced our stealth bars (we had spent a great deal of time , energy and effort developping these with Sportspulse and a very well known uk rider)
For the frame we had a simple choice -
Pay the mold costs ourselves , circa 40,000 usd and obviously have it exclusively to ourselves .
Strike a deal with the factory whereby in return for our design and geometry input , we as a uk based company have an exclusive , but outside of the uk the factory are free to sell to others .
Now , in hindsight , it was a dumb deal I stru
ck , but in the context of where our busimess / brand was at the time then it seemed the right thing to do - by that I mean our triathlon sales were only just starting , we as a brand were quite fresh into the tri market and unknown , especially in the USA / outside of the UK (despite us having been in the industry and competing in triathlons and time trials for 20 years) , and of course we didnt want to spend 40,000 usd on mold costs because we simply didnt have it to spare .
As our brand prsecence and profile grew , helped of course by us signing Spencer Smith , and his comeback IM Arizoma race - things took off and the rest is history and were becoming a much stronger brand and company who can invest in exclusive own design products and mold costs . Currently were left with what is a fast frame , but embarrassingly its open to ridley , velovie , etc etc .
Its no big issue , we agreed the deal with the factory and theyve done nothing wrong , will we ever do this again - of course not , but hindsight is a great thing …
I own a Carbon Stealth…granted. It is a GREAT bike. It has a wonderful solid ride. It has damn near zero flex at the BB and screams down the hills at IMLP pissing excelence. My PX fits me better than my Cervelo, Softrides, Specialized and many other frames I have and had owned. The only frame I would say that I did prefer over the PX is my Softride FasTT7 and TT7’s.
I dont care what it has for a label - or where it was built. The bike has a great ride.
awesome news to hear as mine is currently in the post!! woohoo
but… what are the rules of pjorn/prawn/lawn/smorn?.. i have a very sexy build coming (or i like to think i do!)… but it is now an official PX build option. can i still offer it up to the Slowtwitch community as bike prawn? or do i have to just say it is a new bike?
Nice input everyone, from what I have read concerning Planet X’s bikes there haven’t been too many people that were disappointed…if any for that matter…sooo yeah it will be interesting when it is time for me to pull the trigger. Although I am a noob in everywhich way to triathlon…I have been an athlete all of my life, and when any given company comes up with something good…apparel, shoes, glasses…everyone mimicks it…that being said Planet X’s frames must be pretty Badass if other bike companies are using their mold. My .02…aight keep the replies comming…this lil babies got to fill his head with mucho information.
