Planet X titanium gravel bikes - experiences?

For what it's worth, I love my Tempest. Not ridden for years, fell out of love with mountain biking as could not keep up with the latest trends...but this bike has made me want to ride again.

I can't speak with any authority about how 'gopd' it is, and I may well have got the same feeling from any other gravel bike...but it's got me pedalling again.

Mate has had one for a couple of years and is really happy with it. Only thing he could fault were the standard wheels and tyres aren’t the most sprightly. Rest of spec was good though.

2 friends have them, one inexperienced rider, one experienced rider...... both love them! 

Titus Silk Road here (rigid 29er). Really like it, and idly look at the PX ti Tempest, Hurricane or London Road in case they come up cheap for a ti winter bike. Would have another...

Ive just recently got a tempest axs rival and i love it , i also have a london road but not ti and cant fault it either tbh
That said ive had loads of planetx onone bikes in the past and not had an issue with any of them

Friend has a Tempest for a couple of years, uses it for most riding, including road and very happy with it. Can't comment on components directly, but currently at £1500 with GRX,.seems a mad bargain.

On One Pickenflick here (not made anymore, was more of a CX bike, but to all intents and purposes, a gravel bike).

Nearly 6 years old. 26,000 km in that time. Love it.

I like my Tempest.   Gravel bike, winter road bike and long commute bike - does all that happily. 

Cheers all for the feedback. Not sure my wallet is as pleased 😉

isn't the tempest out of stock in everything but XL. I was looking at a few of the options and noticed this 🙁

I’ve got both a Tempest and a Litespeed gravel bike.  You can tell the difference, the Litespeed is just… better somehow.  I can’t quantify it at all, they’re similar weights and specs, but with different geometry and slightly different material used in very different ways.  <br /><br />

BUT, the tempest V4 is still a great bike and is a great bike for a 1/3rd the price.  The 80:20 rule stands.  It’s my secondary commuter/gravel bike.  

Got a tempest v2 here, had it a little over a year. Love it. Great bike. 

Tempest V3 owner here, had it two years this month

Does around 3000 miles a year commuting etc... been spot on so far

I ditched the wheels and tyres straight away and replaced them with some carbon wheels i got a good deal on

Only other change was the saddle and after a year i swapped out the Sram Force brake calipers for Hope RX4+ calipers for much better braking

Not gravel but have a Titus Fireline (latest version) and it rides really well. As per other posts, sack off the crap tyres and upgrade the wheels when possible.

A mate has a Tempest and he really likes it. It's well made too.

Tiny head tubes.

Also on a pickenflick still. It's not missed a beat but I wish it had rack and guard mounts.
No idea if the newer ones are made by the same factory.
The pickenflick factory knew what they were doing.

Tempest here, love it and it’s my main winter bike. Not as well made as the Enigma I used to own, but that probably won’t come as a suprise.

Pal got one after trying my alloy Full Monty.

He tried various changes to it, especially tyres & wheels and basically found it too stiff (in all directions), and not particularly light.

I tried it, and bought the carbon Freeranger instead.

I've a theory about modern Ti frames, the testing standard that was brought in a few years ago has meant that they're stiffer & heaver than they use to be, which means they're not as 'comfy' nor light as in the past and carbon is just a better material all-round.

I was a Ti fan boi, and still own a Lynskey 456Ti - a bike which if you ride behind you can literally see bend/twist as it goes across rough ground.

I have a tempest v4. Really like it but as above stock wheels and tyres are heavy. It is at the racey end of gravel bike geometry. As for sizing on their website I would be xl but was advised by someone at Planet X that it was massive. Bought a large and it is perfect.

I've had a a Titus Goldrush for 2 years now, great all rounder if you're after something slightly more towards the mtb end of things (rode a Tempest and didn't get on with it - bit too roadie for me.). It had about a £1k discount at the time so good value.

Frame rides really well, seems good quality and has been properly abused without snapping (yet) despite drilling holes in it. SRAM Force groupset is solid enough though the cassette supplied was a weighty, budget item.

Main issues are the 27.2 seat tube really limiting dropper choice and no internal routing for a dropper. The adjustable dropouts can slip and the rear brake calliper bolts are a fiddle to get to.

Fulcrum wheels are crap, soft and heavy, bin them. The Selcof finishing kit feels cheap but is up to the job if you don't mind long stem/narrow bars.

Having fitted PNW dropper/bars/stem, Hope headset, Fabric saddle and a set of DT wheels/Resolutes I really like the bike. Looking back it would have been easier just to buy a Nukeproof Digger but overall happy to have something a bit different.

I had a Titus Mutsu ti for a few years - flat bar gravel bike. Cracked around top of downtube at cable entry point. Only ever used for gravel-style riding with carbon eXotic fork. Was bought at a time when Planet X warranty was only 3 years so not covered. Nice frame while it lasted but I wouldn't go there again.

I have a Tempest (possibly V1). I like it.

Sounds to me as if the OP's original question is at least, in part: "I like my road bike, will I feel the same about a gravel bike"?

There are lots of shades of grey between road and gravel but, depending on build, the Venn diagram of capabilities and character will shift.  I now run two gravel bikes: one lighter build with more road-like setup including 700c wheels and narrower tyres; the other with fatter tyres on 650b and more orientated towards rough surfaces and touring.

The first is closer to road bike speeds on the flat and the gap mainly opens up on uphill segments.  The second bike is noticeably slower everywhere.  Both give a lot more confidence on imperfect surfaces and speed mightn't matter much depending on your needs anyway.

So, surprise, surprise - you shouldn't expect the gravel bike (titanium or not) to ride exactly like a road bike.

Does anyone know what the tyre clearance of the London Road Ti is? The PX site is gobbledygook! One section says 35mm and another 45mm. Looks like the former was cut and pasted from their Aluminium model. Is it a good road/light offroad bike?

Fellow STWr Marcus off of here is a mate of mine and has one. It's a nice bike, he likes it, and given that I've seen him ride, for those that know them, Far Phoside, Coldwell Clough and 39 Steps into Rowarth on it, not necessarily limited to "light" off-road if you're skillful/stupid enough 😉

Therefore see no reason why a gravel bike should be any different and titanium would be a frame material I have never had before.

Compare the geometry carefully. A slack gravel bike with a long wheelbase will be a slow handling beast and not feel remotely roady at all. My titanium cross bike (Charge Freezer 1x11, mini-V's, sub 8 kilos) is set up for road duties with 30c tyres and can hold its own on a medium paced club ride, yet still manage Swinley Blue runs. It has a taller front end than my road and race bikes as the head the is longer and the (titanium) stem is already slammed. It also has wider bars for control off road.

Titanium is a lovely material for a bike (see username - I have red hair), but it's not about the material, it's really about the geometry. Nothing below a head angle of 71.5-72 degrees is my rule. Classic road bike geometry for a medium frame is 73 degrees for seat and head angles. Work from there.

Interesting points about the geo and feel compared to a true road bike. I was sceptical about the point of gravel bikes but now a couple of riding buddies have them and seeing them in action first hand I really want one 😀
Have the ProCarbonEvo for road duties and a Pivot Mach4 carbon for mtb but like the idea of riding lanes and diving off down a bridleway if spotted etc. Also chasing the gravel bikes on my Pivot is hard work on the road sections!

I have a london road not ti but i have 40mm nanos on it no worries

As for the small headtubes they arent as bad as they look as its an external headset so that gives it different dimensions to the internal headsets if that makes sense

Had my Pickenflick since April 14. It has mostly been my best road bike but also gravel, touring CX racing. Love it.

I add guards with stainless p clips at the back and use stays that mount on the QR skewers plus super velcro under the fork crown. Actually have now swapped to a spare carbon fork of a Kinesis CX bike that has mounts.

Does anyone know where this early Picks were built? Mine only, barely takes a 35mm rear tyre and clogs with that.

Mates alloy London Road will take 40mm Nanos but the rear clearance is darn close and cost him paint.

I have a tempest. All stock stuff on it withxthe exception of the stem which I replaced with a shorter one and mudguards of course.

Reminds me of old school mtb crossed with an old Peugeot 10-speed I once had.

It’s OK. I’d prefer a sloping top tube but …

Another tempest owner here

first proper gravel bike was an ally nukeproof digger. Liked that and bought a used tempest (from stw classifieds)

As another’s have said the standard wheels are a bit low rent but the previous owner had fitted some hunt wheels a carbon seat post and a hope stem.
Really like how it rides and think it fits very well

I also have a silkroad set up on (copy) Jones bars with 2.2 xc tyres on. Of course that’s better when further off road but a bit lazy on the road.

if I was confined to one bike it would have to be the Tempest.
that’s said I’d like to try the Silk Road on smaller lighter tyres and drop bars.
that could be the next project!

I don’t have a ti gravel bike but just a general comment on gravel bikes.

I was riding a Cannondale Caad12 but I don’t have a great lower back and I was struggling a bit with it - both on geometry and how much the front end beat you up on bad tarmac.

I decided to pick something up with a taller front end and a bit more forgiving and settled on a carbon gravel bike frame but built up as a road bike with 30c tyres. I got a Dolan GXC - which is broadly the same (other than the BB standard) as the On One Freeranger frame. There are a few other brands knocking the same frame out too - Bombtrack and Carbonda and maybe a few others.

It’s been great for me - had no back issues in the bike at all and out on the road it still feels nimble and quick to me. Yet when you hit broken tarmac it gives you a much easier time.

Pretty such the Freeranger frame will be a chunk lighter than the ti Tempest (I think the freeranger frame is in the region of 1100-1200g) - and I have all sorts of rack mounts all over my bike if that’s something you’d want. I haven’t compared the geometry though. 

I had a v3. Stock other than Richey Venture bars and some lighter wheels. Rode the Welsh C2C on it fully loaded up with gear, and it was a great bike for that kind of light off road/rubbish roads/etc.  Quick enough on tarmac, comfy on firetracks etc. 

I have a digger now which is a lot better off road (probably dropper/geo/wheels/tyres) but not anywhere near as good as a any surface mile muncher.