Planet X London Road build
Discussion
I picked up a second hand (albeit with 50 miles on it) Planet X London Road frame & fork last Friday with the intention of building up a bike from scratch as a mini project with my 15 year old son who's just outgrown his Specialized Hardrock and to tempt him away from iPad and iPhone and PlayStation and into the man cave and ultimately out on the tarmac with me.
I hasten to add, I'm new to building a bike, this is my first attempt so if you see any howlers or glaring errors please do say something!
The donor bike is my Giant Defy, my winter bike, which went into my LBS to have a fabricator repair the seat stays after an incident earlier this year, all the components were cleaned up ready to put back on it when I thought, sod it, lets go hydraulic brakes and electronic shifting and build a 'new' bike for the boy with the old mechanical discs and mechanical groupset.
Here it is ready to start (Yes the garage floor needs re-painting and yes I do have enough cycling shoes thanks, or do I?)
Fork, bars & shifters (Shimano 105 5800) installed.
Cabled with a Jagwire cable set, disappointing that they don't provide a long enough brake cable at the front for a disc braked bike.
BB & crankset installed Shimano 5800 Compact 50/34
[url]
Front mech fitted and adjusted & chain also fitted.
Wheelset arrived today, trial fit.
So jobs to be done.
Fit callipers to frame.
Fit rotors to wheels and align calipers
Fit rim tape, tubes & tyres
Fit cassette 11:28 Shimano 5800
Fit pedals
Adjust and index rear mech
Bar tape - red Lizard Skin
So far only thing I've not been happy about re the frame is the cable routing under the down tube which could be improved upon by Planet X. Other than that we think it's going to look pretty smart and hopefully as he's helped build it, take care of it and ride it with pride.
More pics and progress in the next few days.
Costs so far.
Frame, forks, seatpost, saddle and a finishing kit £200
Cables £27
BB £19
Wheelset £79
Everything else has been upcycled.
I hasten to add, I'm new to building a bike, this is my first attempt so if you see any howlers or glaring errors please do say something!
The donor bike is my Giant Defy, my winter bike, which went into my LBS to have a fabricator repair the seat stays after an incident earlier this year, all the components were cleaned up ready to put back on it when I thought, sod it, lets go hydraulic brakes and electronic shifting and build a 'new' bike for the boy with the old mechanical discs and mechanical groupset.
Here it is ready to start (Yes the garage floor needs re-painting and yes I do have enough cycling shoes thanks, or do I?)
Fork, bars & shifters (Shimano 105 5800) installed.
Cabled with a Jagwire cable set, disappointing that they don't provide a long enough brake cable at the front for a disc braked bike.
BB & crankset installed Shimano 5800 Compact 50/34
[url]Front mech fitted and adjusted & chain also fitted.
Wheelset arrived today, trial fit.
So jobs to be done.
Fit callipers to frame.
Fit rotors to wheels and align calipers
Fit rim tape, tubes & tyres
Fit cassette 11:28 Shimano 5800
Fit pedals
Adjust and index rear mech
Bar tape - red Lizard Skin
So far only thing I've not been happy about re the frame is the cable routing under the down tube which could be improved upon by Planet X. Other than that we think it's going to look pretty smart and hopefully as he's helped build it, take care of it and ride it with pride.
More pics and progress in the next few days.
Costs so far.
Frame, forks, seatpost, saddle and a finishing kit £200
Cables £27
BB £19
Wheelset £79
Everything else has been upcycled.
Good stuff, I've got 2! Make sure you make the most of all that clearance and fit nice wide tyres, preferably tubeless, around 40c.
First one, silver, initially with drop bars, BB7s and 105 5700 & nice fat tyres. Rode everywhere including Ride London in a reasonable time for me (4.40 iirc)
Then I put flat bars on mainly to get cheap full hydros on. A small 38t front ring, a big 11-40 cassette, WTB Nano Race 40c tyres.
Loaded it with bikepacking luggage and rode the 1st Torino-Nice rally (with others of this parish) last September
A mate's black one became available (was a bit small for him so he got an XL) so I grabbed that for much cheapness and passed the above to my eldest lad as a commuter for him.
Built black one up 1x10 5700, 38t oval 11-36, Juin Tech hybrid brakes (really very good if set up correctly and with compressionless outers). Off to Scotland on a 1000km bikepacking tour of the islands and highlands in July, here it is at Cairn O Mount during a 200km recce ride. You may note I've moved the bottle cages to accommodate a frame bag on the actual tour.
Both bikes have come in around the £500-600 mark, top value go anywhere versatility.
First one, silver, initially with drop bars, BB7s and 105 5700 & nice fat tyres. Rode everywhere including Ride London in a reasonable time for me (4.40 iirc)
Then I put flat bars on mainly to get cheap full hydros on. A small 38t front ring, a big 11-40 cassette, WTB Nano Race 40c tyres.
Loaded it with bikepacking luggage and rode the 1st Torino-Nice rally (with others of this parish) last September
A mate's black one became available (was a bit small for him so he got an XL) so I grabbed that for much cheapness and passed the above to my eldest lad as a commuter for him.
Built black one up 1x10 5700, 38t oval 11-36, Juin Tech hybrid brakes (really very good if set up correctly and with compressionless outers). Off to Scotland on a 1000km bikepacking tour of the islands and highlands in July, here it is at Cairn O Mount during a 200km recce ride. You may note I've moved the bottle cages to accommodate a frame bag on the actual tour.
Both bikes have come in around the £500-600 mark, top value go anywhere versatility.
Edited by richardxjr on Tuesday 23 May 18:01
This thread had me thinking N+1, had a look on the PX site and find the RT90 carbon disc frame is down to £400 for an XL, however different geo to the LR in XL. Do I get a carbon 90 and build up a road bike and gravel up my current LR or just get another LR frame and build it for trails.....
Barchettaman said:
....or do you just get a second wheelset with wide gravel tyres?
Not an LR but that's exactly what I've done for my Arkose. Takes two minutes to transform the bike between tarmac and bridleway basher specs.(plus a few more in the winter if removing/re-fitting mudguards and dynamo lights.)
I'm not the one riding them but on the first ride you could hear the spokes bedding in. I wanted a cheap wheelset as I knew he'd be hitting potholes until he had a bit more road sense and didn't really want to spend more than £100.
In terms of quality they look and feel alright, I have Zipp808s and Cosmics so it's unfair to compare! The hub isn't great to be fair just doesn't feel as well made as a Novatec for example but £79 for a set of disc brakes wheels, you can't argue with that for a 15 year olds first road bike.
In terms of quality they look and feel alright, I have Zipp808s and Cosmics so it's unfair to compare! The hub isn't great to be fair just doesn't feel as well made as a Novatec for example but £79 for a set of disc brakes wheels, you can't argue with that for a 15 year olds first road bike.
Heads-up - London Road Rival 11 is £740 for the next 23hours in their sale.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-l...
Use code PRATOZL to get the lower price.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-l...
Use code PRATOZL to get the lower price.
Your Dad said:
Heads-up - London Road Rival 11 is £740 for the next 23hours in their sale.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-l...
Use code PRATOZL to get the lower price.
I'm quite tempted with the rival 1, I've decided hydraulic discs are a must have on my next bike.http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-l...
Use code PRATOZL to get the lower price.
I was keeping the London Road frame and parts I'd collected to build up a bike for my son when he reached sufficient height but my wife needed a bike for the forest trails we ride as a family. She has a flat-bar Whyte bike which is fine on dry days but there's insufficient clearance for spuddy tyres, making it a bit hard work if the going gets slippery.
So, I decided to rethink what to build my son whenever he needs it, and to use the London Road frame for my wife now.
I started by installing the headset, bottom bracket, crank and pedals.
Colour scheme was important - to match her cycling clothing, of course.
I don't know many people who build bikes but those that do, not one of them checks the hanger before attaching the derailleur. I always do and always need to shift it one way or another, sometimes quite considerably.
Post mount brakes are so much easier to fit.
I like the On One Og bars, so I thought I'd see if my wife would too. They're quite wide though - they suit my hardtail well - but I cut an inch off each end for my wife, and fitted these amazing grips.
It has a really nice finish.
And this is where I got to. Against all conventions, this will have a fairly tall stack under the stem. It's intended for upright, leisurely pacing through the family trail at the Forest of Dean, the Monsal Trail in Derbyshire, and the Mawddach Trail from Barmouth. It only has a 1x9 with a small chain wheel, and isn't intended for speed.
At the moment I'm waiting for 3 parts - the under BB cable guide, a tall head stack spacer, and a little screw adjuster for the gear cable on the frame. All parts on order.
So, I decided to rethink what to build my son whenever he needs it, and to use the London Road frame for my wife now.
I started by installing the headset, bottom bracket, crank and pedals.
Colour scheme was important - to match her cycling clothing, of course.
I don't know many people who build bikes but those that do, not one of them checks the hanger before attaching the derailleur. I always do and always need to shift it one way or another, sometimes quite considerably.
Post mount brakes are so much easier to fit.
I like the On One Og bars, so I thought I'd see if my wife would too. They're quite wide though - they suit my hardtail well - but I cut an inch off each end for my wife, and fitted these amazing grips.
It has a really nice finish.
And this is where I got to. Against all conventions, this will have a fairly tall stack under the stem. It's intended for upright, leisurely pacing through the family trail at the Forest of Dean, the Monsal Trail in Derbyshire, and the Mawddach Trail from Barmouth. It only has a 1x9 with a small chain wheel, and isn't intended for speed.
At the moment I'm waiting for 3 parts - the under BB cable guide, a tall head stack spacer, and a little screw adjuster for the gear cable on the frame. All parts on order.
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