Getting Uncle John ready for the cyclocross season

Some new Decathlon BTwin Micropore Bar tape fitted to match the Uncle John and my red Samcycling Team kit

September in Nottinghamshire means one thing for many

The Start of the Cyclocross Racing Season

We're lucky to have one of the best local cyclocross leagues in the UK with pretty much a race every weekend through Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as well as many Lincolnshire cyclo cross races within a relatively short drive.

Therefore i've been getting the cx bike ready for some mud and sweat.

I'll get to try them out at the start of September where I'll be working as mobile support at the Wolverhamton Marathon. Sadly it means I miss the start of the cross season and the first round of the Notts and Derby Serie but i'm putting something back into sport as a result.

New Frogglegs brakes from Empella to replace the weak old Planet X Brakes

White frogglegs on a cross bike look bling

Planet X RT 57 Bike Problems after a month of use

I previously showed a selection of images of my new Planet X RT-57 and after a months worth of riding I thought it's be a good time to take you through a few negatives to bear in mind if you're considering buying  a Planet X Bike and looking for reviews and feedback



Planet X RT 57 Review and Problems

Planet X RT 57 Bike Problems (A review)

1. I found that when I collected the bike Planet X's builders hadn't done the best of jobs in tightening the various nuts and bolts. Particularly the bars and stem. The handlebars slipped on their first use and I was rather fortunate I'd bought a set of allen keys for the ride. Therefore I have to mark Planet X down on the bikes build quality
2. I had to spend time myself setting up the rear brake which hadn't been fitted centrally. I wanted to simply get on the bike and ride- finding that you needed to adjust the brakes before your first ride is a real annoyance
3. Bottle cage bolt placement is too close together. If you look at the monochrome photo above notice how close the bottle cages are together. It means that water bottles will not fit correctly into the cages i have. I'm currently on the lookout for a set of bottle cages which sit high up and close to the bolt fixing positions
4. The Planet X CNC Ultralight brakes are pretty weak on stopping power. As someone who previously was used to the strong yet stable breaking of Dura Ace Calipers. The Planet X Ultralight CNC brake set looks good but is relatively weak and in return takes a lot of work to stop- particularly in emergencies. I'm even at the point of considering changing to a set of Sram or Shimano Caliper brakes once I get paid next. 

Planet X CNC Ultralight Calipers offer lightweight and light feeling braking

To be honest most of these are minor issues. The bolt tightness I would recommend anyone to check before they ride a bike anyway but my real worry is the bottle cage bolt fixings being so close together. This is a size large (56cm) RT 57 frameset so I would expect the bolts to be closer together on smaller framesets as well. 

This Planet X bike deep deep is a great bicycle. The frameset is fantastically responsive and I absolutely love it however the above have been a few minor issues I thought best shared with the world and blogosphere. 

The new bike is here- Planet X RT-57 with Sram Red

After a trip up to Rotherham I now have my new bike ready for the 2012 racing season. A new Planet X RT-57

Here are a few images on arrival. More to follow and a full review on the rt-57 coming in future,

As I hope you can see from the photos this bike looks fantastic and should be a fantastic race bike.

Fantastic looking Planet X RT 57 with Sram Red Group 

This bike looks fantastic although I had to have a slight change to the spec offered by Planet X as they had run out of 172.5 cranks and had to subsequently order me in a Sram Red Chainset instead of the Sram Red Aero chainset they were originally offering. However I actually prefer this chainset option.

Sram Red Chainset on Planet X RT-57

The only deviation from a full Sram Groupset is that the bike comes fitted with Planet X's own brand CNC Ultralight brakeset. I've heard mixed views of some CNC brakesets so will see what they're like in terms of performance in relation to my old ultegra and dura-ace brakesets

Planet X CNC Brakes fitted with Swisstop Brake Pads on Planet X RT 57

One thing that strikes you upon initial viewing is the sheer magnitude of the seat-stays and chainstays which are pretty bulky so should provide fantastic power transfer.

Rear end of the Planet X RT 57 featuring Sram Red and Ultralight CNC brakes

It's now time for a ride on the new bike me thinks! Hope you like the photos
Read a full review of the Planet X RT57