Thoughts on Planet X bikes ?

[kingspirit]

Hi All,

What is your thoughts on a Planet X bikes ? Seems to be cheap for the good specs. Even Titanium is under 2000£.
Must be a low quality frames ?
Cheers

 

[vickster]

Not at all, but it does depend what you’re comparing too. They spend far less on marketing and sponsorship than the big companies, and use generic frames (so less R&D spend). They also have stripped back customer services these days and fewer shops.

@ianrauk has one of their Ti frames. I believe they were designed by a very highly regarded designer/engineer of Ti bikes

They make good solid bikes, certainly worth considering if you aren’t so fussed about brand

 

[Hacienda71]

Generic frames like a lot of bike companies. They are good value with less of a mark up than many bike brands. It isn't an Italian famous name, but they will perform just as well as a far more expensive bike. I would consider one if I was after a new bike. I've used their own branded wheels in the past which were light strong and very good vfm.

 

[Cycleops]

Probably made in the same factory as some the big names using off the shelf designs. They don’t have the same overheads and marketing costs as Specialized, Cannondale etc so can offer things at a lower price.

 

[Tommohawk]

As above, most bikes are made in the same factories these days. PX are definitely very good value for money. I strongly considered getting one very recently and if/when buying again in the future will probably get one as most big name brands are overpriced for what you get.

 

[vickster]

One thing to note, if it’s a concern, Planet X bikes don’t come with very long frame warranties (other than Ti)
https://www.planetx.co.uk/help/warranty

 

[GetFatty]

My Planet X titanium is a rebadged Van Nicholas so it's a decent frame. I've got two PX bikes the Ti and a commuter and both have been quite frankly fantastic

 

[T4tomo]

Must be a low quality frames ?

There carbon stuff is similar "low" quality to trek, specialized and cannondale etc. made from tried and trusted generic frame designs / moulds.

Their Titanium stuff is very highly regarded.

they clearly have a good deal with SRAM for the groupsets

 

[DCLane]

Similar to the above comments they're at the lower end of frame design, using a fairly standard mould. The better Holdsworth bikes are decent though.

We've a Holdsworth Roi de Velo track bike plus an old PlanetX Nanolight that my son uses for hillclimbs. The Roi de Velo's a good piece of kit, it's the rider (i.e. me) that isn't.

 

[Tommohawk]

Their carbon frames appear to be of very similar quality to Ribble/Dolan. Not sure about how they fare against Cannondale, Trek, Specialized and Giant etc.

 

[Arrowfoot]

Hi All,

What is your thoughts on a Planet X bikes ? Seems to be cheap for the good specs. Even Titanium is under 2000£.
Must be a low quality frames ?
Cheers

Planet X's model is low overheads, high volume, low price, quick clearance of outdated models (good bargains). They no longer have physical stores and operate online. There is no director of design or engineering, aeronautical engineer, wide tunnels etc. They are also not into marketing hype. Hence the lower overheads. They are apt at gauging trends and finding manufacturers to do it or re-badging other manufacturers products and pricing it quickly.

I have also seen Planet X bikes in unexpected countries. The noise ratio on the internet is lower than even well known brands. I personally think you are getting value.

 

[Venod]

Planet X stuff = value for money, they have closed all there shops and have cut back on a lot of overheads, keeping track of their prices is harder than finding out who funds Boris's trips and decorating budget.

 

[Tommohawk]

In fact both Ribble and Dolan appear to offer slighter better carbon frames ie Toray 800/1000 vs PX Toray 700. I don’t know how much of a difference that makes in reality though.

 

[fossyant]

Some of their recent mountain bikes are getting rave reviews - the new Scandal is really good. They are nothing fancy, but they use tried and trusted designs. I'd love a 'Space Chicken' or 'Free Ranger'.

Customer service can be a bit hit and miss, but I had no issues when sorting out a large order that was on hold as some stock wasn't available - a quick 'chat' and they released all the stuff in stock (needed it for a bike build) and the rest came a couple of weeks later.

Their helmets are very good value. Just never pay full price as they have revolving sales.

 

[matticus]

A few years ago their complete bikes had a shocking quality control reputation; I've heard nothing about that recently, and their sales seem to be ever upwards, so I'd probably buy a bike from them now.
(I've bought roomfuls of clothing/accesories from them over the years. The odd dud in there, but all cheap. Visited their Sheffield outlet back in the day too, seems an organised, well-run bunch. But awful jokes in their spam email ... )