Planet X RTD 90

As these forums are here for assisting fellow cyclist's and their potential purchases, I thought I would throw in my two penneth worth, for what it's worth and hopefully help out some prospective amateur cyclists just like me.

First of all, I own two Planet X bikes. My first was the RT-58 which was, and still is, a fantastic bike. Full ultegra on a full carbon frame for less than £1,600. It elevated my cycling passion to another level and was a far more enjoyable ride than my previous Cannondale CAAD 10 and my older Orbea Aqua. A really comfortable ride, whether it's short commuter journeys or the long sportives and Coast to Coast, a really responsive frame and components. In short, a fantastic purchase and one that is still getting a regular spin 2 years later.

I then upgraded to the RT-90 Elite. A £2,000 purchase in June 2015 and a joy to ride. A light frame that is easy to handle, responsive in the acents and descents and yet feels sturdy in windy conditions. The SRAM Force took some getting used too but once you have got past the Shimano mindset, it really is a tremendous system. I have rode this bike on short commutes and loads of long summer rides, including several 100 sportives and it just gets better and better. The only negative was the racing set up which has been replaced by a more forgiving set-up which compliments the terrain of Oldham and the local moorland.

In conclusion, don't ever be dissauded by the criticisms of Planet X as a brand on forums such as these. They provide excellent bikes at superb prices with fantastic customer service. They have always been first class with me and the several mates who also own Planet x bikes. the naysayers are oftent cycling purists who cannot see beyond their Pinarello/Trek/Cervelo etc obsessions and have never even touched a Planet X machine, never mind rode one. The Cycling elite are happy to pay the £3k to £8k to justify their ego's. Let them get on with it.

My next purchase will be the RTD-90......enough saud really.

I built myself a viner mitus 0.6 from planet x three months ago, its the same frame as the RT90. they are both fm066sl framesets I believe, the RT80 is the fm066. I absolutly love my bike its great quality,light, stiff ,fast, very responsive and good looking. My build wieghs in at 7.5kg with pedals, bottle cages and the garmin mount. I got the frame in the sale for £499 which I consider a bargain when compared to other frames available.

I'm pretty sure its the disc version of the chinese frame "FM066" (maybe the disc version is an FM166?).  Which are available unpainted from the likes of Hongfu/Dengfu etc.

I bought an FM066 a few years ago and probably paid as much for it then, after the delivery charge and exchange rate etc, as Planet-X are selling it now with UK warranty back up.

Its hard to tell whether it was any better or worse than other "value" brands but it was well finished and light (sub 900g for the "SL" version).    Rode fine too but I bought a size too small.

Cheaper Trek and Specialized carbon frames are supposedly in the region of 1300g.  Cannondale, Kinesis, Bowman, Canyon all make lighter aluminium frames than that!

I may be a bit biased,

but i just built up my RT90 frame that i bought from Planet X for £499 and the the frame has a nice feel to it, although i can only compare it to my wifes giant defy advanced it rides wel seems quick up the hills.

I am very happy with the bike, would i love a big brand name yes but value for money is there with Planet X, i considered canyon but their build times are terrible at the moment, and all the rose bikes seem a bit bland imo.

Hello, 

The frame quality is decent but you can get better frames for the money. Spec-wise, the Planet X is fantastic and if you wanted to buy this in a Specialized or Trek for example, you'd probably be looking at around the £3000 mark. For the money, perhaps have a look at a Canyon or a Rose bike as their frames are better quality and they too have some fantastic deals like Planet X do. Hope this helps.