PlanetX Tubs

[TSCfree]

Looking for some lightweight wheels for Crits specifically. Anyone have any opinions on the PlanetX CT45 Tubs? Budget £500 and not much scope for budget creep.

[Disco You]

I believe that all planetx carbon wheels are Gigantex rims with Novatec hubs.

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Disco You said:

I believe that all planetx carbon wheels are Gigantex rims with Novatec hubs.

Cheers, heard of the rims but not the hubs, any good/reliable?

[Dixie]

I have a set of the slightly older 50mm ones. They've been great. I bought them second hand last march and used them all summer. They're very light and seem to roll very fast. They've remained true despite me doing many miles commuting on them.

I can think of a bad thing to say about them. Other than the freewheel is mega loud.

Not sure they're nova tec hubs. The rear hub looks different to ant nova tecs I've seen. I've not even had to service them though.

Pretty sure you'll be happy with them. You'll no doubt be told that your wasting your money any moment now......

[graeme4130]

Dixie said:

I have a set of the slightly older 50mm ones. They've been great. I bought them second hand last march and used them all summer. They're very light and seem to roll very fast. They've remained true despite me doing many miles commuting on them.

I can think of a bad thing to say about them. Other than the freewheel is mega loud.

Not sure they're nova tec hubs. The rear hub looks different to ant nova tecs I've seen. I've not even had to service them though.

Pretty sure you'll be happy with them. You'll no doubt be told that your wasting your money any moment now......

Any man that commutes on carbon 50mm rims is ok by me

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Dixie said:

I have a set of the slightly older 50mm ones. They've been great. I bought them second hand last march and used them all summer. They're very light and seem to roll very fast. They've remained true despite me doing many miles commuting on them.

I can think of a bad thing to say about them. Other than the freewheel is mega loud.

Not sure they're nova tec hubs. The rear hub looks different to ant nova tecs I've seen. I've not even had to service them though.

Pretty sure you'll be happy with them. You'll no doubt be told that your wasting your money any moment now......

Cheers Dixie, it's good to know you've thrown a commute at them and they've held up without any problem. I was riding with someone who has the 50mm clinchers with a ridiculously load freehub! I suppose it provides an incentive to keep pedalling! Had kind of hoped it wasn't the same with the tubs although I suppose after a while you don't notice it..

[Dixie]

TSCfree said:

Cheers Dixie, it's good to know you've thrown a commute at them and they've held up without any problem. I was riding with someone who has the 50mm clinchers with a ridiculously load freehub! I suppose it provides an incentive to keep pedalling! Had kind of hoped it wasn't the same with the tubs although I suppose after a while you don't notice it..

Haha. It kind of does. Also gives the rider in front a clue to pedal harder!! It can easily be changed if need be I guess. Px might even do it for you when you buy them at a small cost.

Have a look at the tufo tyres they sell too. Both the lite one and the cheapo one are fine and seem pretty tough.

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Or Chinese Rims handbuilt in the UK..... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Superlight-Xpace-38mm-ca...

Pretty much the same thing,no?

Which leads me to thinking could I do a better job sourcing the parts myself building them and sending them to the LBS for tensioning/truing?

[Disco You]

Bear in mind that Planetx has the advantage of the warranty.

[agentnomad]

I have 3 or 4 pairs of PlanetX wheels and I have stripped the bearing out of a couple of pairs and have found that they are sealed cartridge bearings (not top quality but ok) and well designed the same day I had stripped a set of Dura Ace, Swiss DT wheels and a set of Reynolds so had a few designs to look at.

To make the freewheel quieter you can add a small amount of light grease to the pawls (not too much or too heavy a grease)

My son had a big crash at Manchester Velodrome on his PX carbon wheels and they came out of true a little but not worth stripping the tube off to true up just yet. (about 3mm total was a 4 or 5 bike pile up)

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TSCfree said:

Which leads me to thinking could I do a better job sourcing the parts myself building them and sending them to the LBS for tensioning/truing?

Chinese Rims(Tubs) - Ebay UK seller £150 640g +- 30g
Hope RS Hubs - UK Seller 24/20h £130 378g
Sapim CX Ray Spokes - UK £84 180g
DT Swiss Nipples - UK £10 <42g

£384 1220g

+ the fun of building them! and the cost of the LBS tensioning/truing

The only risk/unknown is the rim, however the feedback is positive. At least the quality components should last. Any glaring omissions/issues I've overlooked?

[IroningMan]

I've done 50mph on my P-X 50mm tubulars - I don't think I'd have the confidence to do the same on E-Bay specials, although I would like to try building a pair of wheels.

The only issue I've had with the P-X wheels is that they don't have groove for the tyre seam: this is great for flat-stitched tubs like Tufos, but not so hot for those with a pronounced seam like most Contis.

[TSCfree]

After endless research trawling the forums I've taken the plunge on some 38mm Carbon Tubs from Ebay. Thanks to AndyOH for providing genuine feedback about the wheels. Luckily I've access to NDI to hopefully provide some reassurance over the quality.