REVIEW! The long term thoughts on the Planet X Stealth

As most of the parish knows, I've just recently moved on from my beloved Planet X Stealth. While she'll still be around (as a fixie) for coffee rides and trips to the beach, the race duty torch has been passed on to the Cervelo. So, as a last homage to the trusty steed that's seen me through everything from sprints to full 112mi splits, I thought I'd post up my long term thoughts. What I like, love and hate about the Stealth.

Built up for the races

The Review:

The Stealth is no spring chicken. Even before Planet X USA arrived and made the frame more readily available to us(a), the frame had already had a fairly full life in Europe. Nonetheless, the frame is still fairly popular years later, mainly due to it's hard to beat price point for a full carbon frame... and so I still consider it a relevant option for those looking for a tri / tt bike on a budget... but is it worth it at any price? Let's have a closer look.

The Good:

What is there to like about the Stealth? Plenty. (although the things I like and dislike may actually clash at certain points.)

First,  I think the bike usually gets mentioned when price is an issue. At $499 for a frame (minus fork for some reason :/ no bueno Planet X ) and $1699 for a complete (rival) bike, the Stealth pretty much stands alone at price point for a NEW full carbon tri rig. At $1700 you are comparing it to bikes like the Shiv (aluminum) and S32, both fine bikes as well... but let's be honest, some people (for whatever reason, misguided or not) love / want carbon... well this is about a cheap as you can go without falling into the land of Dengfu / Ebay Chinarello bikes.

The fit on the Planet X was what originally drew me towards it. You can get LOW on this bike.

Getting down

It's not terribly long like my P3 is, which in the end was possibly a bit more optimal for something like my Mantis position. Of course, finding the right size bike is always step one... but I think the stealth could fit a pretty wide variety of bodies with it's fairly lax seat tube angle (76°) if you sized properly. Having a bike that lets you get into a good aerodynamic position is also very important (more important the frame itself being aerodynamic in the grand scheme) and the Stealth should have no problem doing that.

The other thing I really liked about my Stealth is the ease of working on it. All the routing is external and all of the components are non-integrated. Not ideal for aerodynamics maybe, but when you're sitting in another state with minimal tools on hand and need to make adjustments there is something to be said about simplicity. Try working on a nose cone shiv with nothing but a frame bag multi tool. Also, both derailleur hangers (the braze for the FD) are replaceable, which isn't a big deal until you NEED to replace it. Also, the horizontal rear dropouts / screws are done correctly... the way other big companies should have been doing it all along. 

Weight of course isn't that big of a deal for a TT bike, but if you are a weenie you could certainly do a lot worse than the Stealth. Mine was almost always sub 20lbs even with some pretty hefty wheels. (H3/Powertap) Even though I didn't use it much, the Planet X fork is very light.

Ride is more of an n=1 thing than most people would probably like to admit, but I have to say, in my experience this is a hell of a predictable ride. You point it straight and it delivers you straight ahead.

And hey, the thing was good enough for Cadel at one time, although Ridley didn't have much to offer.

Evans on the re badged Stealth

The Bad:

So, on to the bad stuff.

First, the elephant in the room. For a Time Trial bike, the Stealth is not all that aerodynamic. External cable routing, non-integrated components, 1 1/8th head tube and possibly most damning... aero *looking* shapes instead of true aerodynamic shapes. It looks good sitting alone, but put a "true" aero bike beside it and even the untrained eye can pretty quickly make out that the Stealth isn't terribly slippery in the wind. Of course, like I said above, the big part of the equation when it comes to aerodynamics is getting your body in the right spot, but nonetheless... the frame can make a big difference when seconds count. It's pretty bad that when I took my trip to A2, one of the first things said to me was "you need a better bike." Yikes.

Another small gripe is that Planet X USA doesn't sell a full frameset at $499. While the Planet X fork is perfectly fine, I don't think it's a $150 option. Seems like for a frame like this, you'd get the full deal for $500. I guess that's asking for a lot, but the stealth frame sounds less like a deal at $650.

That's really all I can fault the Stealth for. It doesn't have the go fast goodies that you're going to find on most of the new high end (and even mid tier) bikes of the current age... but you can only expect so much for the age of the frame. (and $ spent)

The Verdict?

So whether the Stealth is right for you (once you take care of the obvious...does it fit) is a matter of what you are looking for.

I think there is better value (in this case speed to $ spent) in used bikes currently. In the $1700 price range you could likely be sitting on a P2c / B16 / Transition / etc, possibly with some change left over for other goodies. That said, a lot of people have issues with buying a pre-owned bike. All of those bikes are also going to be a bit less user friendly, and a lot of triathletes aren't the best at maintaining their bikes. We should also keep in mind that the Stealth is an entry level bike... it's a little unfair to compare it to mid-grade + bikes.

If you're looking for a predictable ride, carbon, plenty stiff, (really... what bike isn't though) well built (mine has taken a beating and keeps asking for more) and, lets be honest, quite handsome looking bike (especially the black ones :D ) then you could do a lot worse than the Stealth.

Here's a look at my Stealth currently... patiently waiting on me to finish rebuilding her.

Yes, I know my garage is a sh*tstorm of bike parts... Imagine when it was filled with car parts...

Thanks for reading, today is my last day in my 20's, so I thought I'd finish with a changing of the guard and farewell to my old war horse. On to being an old man!

- Christopher Morelock

Trip & Review of A2 Wind Tunnel

 Where the heavy lifting is done

Recently I bit the bullet and decided to take my Aero loving self to A2 Wind Tunnel. Now, the first thing that makes people cringe when they hear you talk about "tunnel time" is the high price of entry. A2 is (to my knowledge) the cheapest of the tunnels available to cyclists, at around $420.00/hour. Not cheap by anybody's standards... but then, let's have a look at what kind of gains we are talking about for the Bones you are ponying up.

Grams of Drag going in - 2981

First Ride of the day

Grams of Drag coming out - 2811

 "Optimal"

Kind of like Floyd, but without the doping scandal or similarity to the green goblin

For those of you who haven't passed 1st Grade, that's 170 grams dropped. So Chris, you say, what  does that mean in "real world" terms.

Steve Hed (HED Cycling) would have you believe that you can save 3 seconds (in a 40k) for every 10 grams of drag you drop.  After some quick math, you (I) get 51" in a 40k, or around 2 minutes for a 1/2 Ironman. That's pretty ok considering I didn't have to do any more work for that... "Free" speed if you will, if you are willing to consider that $80/Watt is "free."

I'd say *most* people who went into a wind tunnel could expect to lower the cost/savings ratio by a substantial amount though. My position (the one I came in with) was one of the faster positions we tested all day. I figured as much, as I've spent A LOT of time doing independent tests to get to that point. However, as you can see, even I came away with some solid gains (and changes), and the peace of mind that now I know for sure what is "best" for me going forward. 

Now for a little more about the experience and what to expect.
The Wizard behind the curtain is David Salazar (the General Manager) and he runs a tight ship. This is what he does on the daily so you don't need me to tell you he knows what he's doing! We got pretty well down to business from the get-go. I chose to run stock wheels (instead of my aero wheels) per John Cobb's advice, and I didn't change wheels at any point due to it eating up time. (It's a bit of work to get the wheels changed, and, despite the numbers always being a bit skewed by the company showing theirs as "best" there is plenty of wheel wind tunnel data out there) I spent the majority of the time on hand position, pad width, bar height, bottle placement and helmet selection. These are things that are important and very individualized from person to person, so they are what I would recommend anyone taking the trip to focus on. For the most part you already want to have your position dialed in... making changes to bar height / width, etc is one thing, but re-doing your tri bike fit in the tunnel is just a massive expense for naught.

Jim O'Brien is the man who was called in for me to help with the mechanical/fit changes and let me just say, he is an EXPERT at what he does. Very knowledgeable with a wide experience base, but not so set in "his way" that he isn't willing to experiment or listen to your input. That's the exact kind of thing you want in an environment like this.

The experience itself is kind of "otherworldly" if you will. The outside of A2 is fairly unassuming, as is the town surrounding it. Only the race inspired street names (and race car trailers driving by) would give you any hint that something serious was going on around what looks like an industrial park. Once you come inside you are greeted by a very nice office, complete with plenty of pictures of exploits that can be at least partially credited  to time spent at A2... world record accolades aplenty. In the main "office" you'll see three computer monitors (Pictured above) where Dave does the technical parts. On the side wall are plenty of *toys* for you to test out if you didn't bring enough of your own. (tons of helmets, aerobars, hydration options, wheels... enough to make any tri shop proud)

The Buffet Line

Inside the actual tunnel, after securing your bike (watch your step!) and clipping in, getting the gear set for you to pedal in (you should cut all your cables before going in... they are just going to be in the way when you start moving things around) and a quick tutorial by Dave on what to be doing (and not doing... HOLD STILL) everybody exits and there you are, alone in the tunnel with nothing but a projected computer screen on the floor to keep you company. Dave then comes over the loudspeaker to tell you to get ready (I thought I was pretty witty when I replied "Yes God?" Sadly they couldn't hear me so I had to pretend like it was funny and move on) and then... the fans start! Let me just say... it's loud... and windy. Then, around 2 minutes or so later (You are pedaling the entire time, not *hard* but certainly at a healthy pace), your run is done and you can wait for Jim's either slight approval or complete dismay at the results, then it's time to change things and go again. After 28 runs, I felt like I had been beaten up on the bike... and my form was starting to suck (hey, it gets hard to hold the same position without squirming for that long) so that was the end for me. After that it was back to the main office to discuss what "it all meant" and what we ended up with, along with a Q&A where I spouted as many questions as I could think of. Then, it was off to re-fuel start the trek back home.

Dave, myself and Jim right after the last run of the day

 
So, wrapping up, is A2 for everyone? Was it worth it? Do you need to be a speed demon to get anything out of it?
I'll answer all of those questions with a question. How important is going as fast as your "motor" can take you in your next race? Personally I wasn't blessed with a big engine, but I want to be as fast as possible, so for me, it was well worth it. If you enjoy the local race or occasional big race but 2 minutes isn't going to make or break your day, then no, I don't think it's for you. The experience itself was worth the price of admission for me, I mean really, how often do you get to play in the same tunnel that Lance, Crowie, Drag cars and Superbikes (motorcycles) are in day in and day out? I mean... just look at the friggin' tunnel!

I had a joke about getting blown, but I'll let you be creative

How Awesome is That! I mean really, that thing is out of some Sci Fi movie!

For some extended reading on Aerodynamics (and testing) You could check out some of the following.

Here is my original thread on Beginner Triathlete
Bike Radar had a nice article on "How Aero is Aero" that is good for extended reading.
A link to the Chung Method Power model (for even cheaper home testing)

-Christopher Morelock