Planet X - worth it?

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sipowicz
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 1:46 pm

by sipowicz

In my quest to find an affordable fast bike for commuting and also good enough for training rides, I remembered Planet X. I just looked at their website and they seem to have way more models available now. Anybody done the research? Are they worth looking into? I'm in the US and apparently they are available here, too.

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meltedbakebeans
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat May 27, 2017 10:34 am

by meltedbakebeans

They are alright. But there frames are cheap because they are not made by planet x but somewhere in china and hence most people that have the money to buy a decent bike will often avoid them because they lack the engineering that big brands put into there frames. However that said they are not bad. It really depends on how much you are spending. Around £500 certainly recommend. Above £1000 then there are better things for you to buy. Don't really know the best retailers in the us. But If I were you I would wait for Canyon US to come and buy as much as you can afford from them because they are brilliant value bikes. How much is Affordable?

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Depends how lucky you are, and how fussy.
I've had all sorts of bits and pieces from On-one/Planet-x and the (few) mistakes they've made have been low grade enough for me to shrug it off and either live with it or chuck the stuff in the bin once i've got the run around from their "customer service".

The two frames that turned up with rust stains were slightly more annoying, plus the frame that the supplied seatpin wouldn't fit into........ but i was prepared for mucking about with tools to get them right. And at a total cost of under £300 for three frames, including shipping, i'm not too bothered.

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tarmackev
Posts: 899
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:59 pm

by tarmackev

I had the pleasure of working there for a short while.
The wheels were a bit of a headache for the company but the frames were okay back then.
Like has been said above the frames I rode aren't as refined as some by bigger brands but as an overall package under £1500 they're quite hard to beat. I've ridden a Canyon aeroroad (Ultegra Di2) recently and the planet X aero bike (SRAM Force) and the ride was very similar, both were bikes I'd have no problem owning.
The Planet X pro carbon is a little flexy and doesn't suit taller riders.
The only model since 2010 that I've ridden is the aero bike so I can't comment on their other bikes but they do have a lot of happy customers.
There's a lot of bike snobbery around, people who've never owned or ridden a Planet X are quick to dismiss them.
Personally if I had £1500 I'd go elsewhere but if I had £1000 and I had to buy a new bike I'd probably end up there.


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AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

If you are on a super strict budget, look for something used - preferably a bike that hung in the garage more than it was ridden.

bikemaniack
Posts: 331
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:33 pm

by bikemaniack

There's a lot of damaged/broken planet x or boardman frames on ebay. All the time

DutchMountains
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2016 9:16 pm

by DutchMountains

I bought a Bish Bash Bosh frameset from them for £360. Yes, it it's not refined, but it rides well (4 months/ 5000km); only true dislike is the toe overlap, but I'm wearing EU size 44 MTB shoes with the cleats a fair bit back. Anyway, well worth the money IMO. Though at the regular price of £999, not so much...

sipowicz
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 1:46 pm

by sipowicz

I have no problem buying a used bike. It's just that it seems to be hard to find the right type of bike that would fit me. I am keeping an eye on eBay and CL but I have not found one yet. Ideally I'm looking for Specialized/Cannondale/Trek/Cervelo with decent parts for less than $1000.

When I lived in Europe I almost bought a Canyon and just looked into it. Not available in the US until end of August. It seems that they don't have as many aluminum models anymore. Is that the case? That would be my choice if they were available here sooner.


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jekyll man
Posts: 1570
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:23 am
Location: Pack filler

by jekyll man

At the end of the day, they're badge engineered Deng-Fu's or whatever.
There's enough of them knocking around under various guises to be not too concerned.

Some of the stuff i've had in my hands has been absolute crap, case in point their wheels, yet i picked up a secondhand exocet2 frame and the assemble quality is as good as my cannondale slice. Ride isnt as smooth though, its rather harsh.

All the PX brand does is give you a fairly easy local face to deal with if something goes wrong.
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srshaw
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:06 pm

by srshaw

I bought a pro carbon frame a while back and quite like it. The front end in particular is flexible though. I bought it with the intention of upgrading to a better frame when funds allow, but never did. It currently has dura ace 9000 with rotor cranks and is quite light. A mate bought one with full ultegra for about £8-900 which I don't think you can complain at.

A Planet X uncle John Imhad though though was awful. It really like riding a lump of pig iron. It just felt dead, OK for riding off road, but horrible as a road bike.

I recently got a good deal on a caad12 frameset which to be honest is much nicer than the pro carbon for about the price I paid for the pro carbon frame (although they are cheaper now) and I think about the same weight, although with discs the bike weight comes in heavier. I definitely think good aluminium is better than cheap carbon.

One final thing about Planet X, If you buy a frameset (or at least the pro carbon), you end up spending a load of money extra for seat collars, headsets, downtube shifter twiddly things etc. All the things that normally come with the frame. Heck, even the fork had to be purchased separately.

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tarmackev
Posts: 899
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:59 pm

by tarmackev

jekyll man wrote:At the end of the day, they're badge engineered Deng-Fu's or whatever.
There's enough of them knocking around under various guises to be not too concerned.

Some of the stuff i've had in my hands has been absolute crap, case in point their wheels, yet i picked up a secondhand exocet2 frame and the assemble quality is as good as my cannondale slice. Ride isnt as smooth though, its rather harsh.

All the PX brand does is give you a fairly easy local face to deal with if something goes wrong.


Smart words.
It's hit and miss with the frames, I know they had trouble with Exocet geometry, the front end was too low (Planet X actually asked for it this low and the manufacture made it that way, caused big problems with Tri fits)

Some of the road frames weren't the best such as the Nanolite but I hear a lot of good things about the majority of current frames.
If I were buying a TT bike today I'd still but the Planet X stealth. An incredibly reliable frame that puts the rider in a good position.


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mariovalentim
Posts: 225
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:03 am

by mariovalentim

I have a Ti CX frameset and love to pieces. Have some friends that use the track carbon model and they quite like it too.

colster
Posts: 98
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:02 pm
Location: West Yorkshire, UK

by colster

Planet X are best described as a bargain-basement style bike brand, which for some is a plus while for others it's a minus. Some of the deals they have can at times seem almost too good to be true - and you know how that can turn out!

If you live outside of the UK then I would say you are taking a big risk with your $$$ buying a bike from Planet X. Anecdotally I've heard many tales of warranties, and I would imagine being on the other side of the Atlantic could make that process even more fraught and probably much more expensive - I very much doubt they would agree to cover shipping a bike/frame back to the UK. Also worth bearing in mind that they laid off about half of their workforce late last year in one fell swoop - any company that does this will struggle to adjust for some period after.

If you are looking for a really cheap bike just to get by on then look closer to home and be patient, don't expect your perfect bike to be waiting in your first ebay search. If however you are looking for a decent quality road bike that you are planning on putting some serious training miles on, but you're also on a strict budget, then you're probably better off buying directly from Deng-Fu - at least then you're speaking to the organ grinder not the monkey!

by Weenie


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