[Closed] How are PlanetX these days?

I think Easyjet are far to good to be sullied with being like Planet-X / On-One. Brant's company are more like Del Boy and Rodders, flogging any old cheap Chinese tat. Just replace Peckham for Rotherham, and the pub for the internet.

Everytime I see 'Planet X' I still read it as Planet Kiss.

hora. X

That Pickenflick that they just emailed me about does look very, very nice though...!

[img] [/img]

I just go direct to China like they do 😀

Pickenflick

Hilarious! 😐

Simple fact is 'mmm...I wonder what it's really supposed to weigh?' would not cross the mind of a normal person.

Have you not noticed the number of threads about weight saving on here? Normal? Probably not, but neither is spending many thousands of pounds on something to go and play on in the woods.

I brought a KMC Chain from Planet X. It arrived far too short to be of any use. So i assume it was a cut and shut job of other chain spares which they have cut to length. I didnt bother complaining because I had heard about their service so i cut my losses and took it on the chin.

I had my moan a couple of days ago sent them a mail and got a polite response with an apology and a suggested resolution. they have certainly worked hard to resolve the issue. fair to say based on how they have handled the situation I would heartily recommend them to anyone. Things go wrong and often the mark of good service is how the company handles the issue-full marks top Planet X

I brought a KMC Chain from Planet X. It arrived far too short to be of any use. So i assume it was a cut and shut job of other chain spares which they have cut to length. I didnt bother complaining because I had heard about their service so i cut my losses and took it on the chin.

I had this problem with a PX chain, but I found a workaround that you might want to try. I took my bike to a frame builder and had him chop out the rear triangle and fit new shorter stays around a 20" rear wheel. That way the chain could reach fine, with the added benefit that it's great for wheelies. In case I ever buy a normal length chain I had the forethought to have custom-machined 700mm long track end dropouts fitted so I can just move the wheel back until it goes tight.

nickb - Member

That Pickenflick that they just emailed me about does look very, very nice though...!

Cor. Yes it does.

edward2000 - Member

I brought a KMC Chain from Planet X. It arrived far too short to be of any use. So i assume it was a cut and shut job of other chain spares which they have cut to length.

To be fair, not necessarily... Could have been specced to that length for an oem then sold off as excess. Or, could have just been wrong from the factory.

To be fair, not necessarily... Could have been specced to that length for an oem then sold off as excess. Or, could have just been wrong from the factory.

Possibly, but it also arrived in a clear bag (excluding postage bag). Kmc chains come in a neat little box, further compounding my suspicion.

Sounds oemey tbh. As much as I like the idea of Brant staying back late attaching chain leftovers together so he can sell them, probably in the dark to save money on the lecky, it doesn't seem that likely.

(but I do keep my chain remnants myself, and some day...)

(but I do keep my chain remnants myself, and some day...)

I thought i was the only one sad enough to do this!! It's taking a remarkably long time to gather the required amount though 😀

As for PX/OO i've had two orders since the new year, slower than usual but all has come good and i have no complaints.

Have you not noticed the number of threads about weight saving on here? Normal? Probably not, but neither is spending many thousands of pounds on something to go and play on in the woods

Not really noticed those threads, but will now you've brought to my attention 😀

I've never really been bothered about weight myself. Some of my bikes [i]feel [/i]what i would consider lightish for what they are, others are pretty chunky. I've never been inclined to weigh them tbh. Don't see the point.

You're right about us bicyclists being a nutty lot, but you have to admit, if spending big money on a mountain bike is weird then worrying about the weight of it's tyres takes it up another level or two 🙂 (this is coming from a man who is often found alone a field, brandishing a spade 😀 )

Folk chasing weight savings (say for racing purposes) will happily spend over £1 per gram saved. It's not therefore too difficult to see why an overweight tyre might not be a good investment.

For balance, I've never had a problem with their orders or kit.
A cheap merino top got slightly shrunk in the wash, but wor lass admitted to not reading the label & washed it too hot.
Their Scandal 29 was a great bike for the cash...but mine got nicked.
I'd use them again, no worries.

ChunkyMTB - Member
I just go direct to China like they do
POSTED 16 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Where ?

I got a 29er scandal might of been good as geared setup but single speed was shocking as I couldn't get the swap out to fit. I ended up going and buying a file from b and fileing it down to fit. I mailed on one but they did not help me resolve this problem. From now on I will stick with the likes of cannondale etc. I am currently looking for a new tri bike but wouldn't dream of buying Planet X now.

I ordered a rigid carbon fork in the Christmas sales, got an email from Planet X the other week saying they were out of stock and I'd been refunded.
Bit peeved, as I'm sure when I ordered they were expecting stock mid-Jan.
Was a bargain too at £120-odd.
Guess I'll take my chances with the direct-from-China lottery now...

Of all the stuff I have ordered from them, the only issue I have is the stuff actually arrives on my doorstop before I get the email confirming dispatch!

Will happily continue using them. How many other companies would have a rep like Brant who comes onto the forum to help people?

[quote=birney29 ]How many other companies would [s]have[/s] need a rep like Brant who comes onto the forum to help people?

Scotroutes - plenty.

...to add to the above, I've used On One for years and have had nothing but positive experiences until now.
My Ti456 is as close to my perfect bike as I'd ever hoped to achieve...

The Pickenflick is made by Waltly. I doubt they'd just make a copy using PXs drawings, but they might. Ask 'em.

I like you Euro! You spur me out of my voyeuristic world and encourage me to enthusiastically don my keyboard warrior outfit.

[b]RE weighing tyres (Totally OT, I apologise).[/b]

Why? When you spend a proportion of each and every day day towards becoming the best you can possibly be (i.e. get engrossed in racing).

Why? When you devote 10 hours plus per week to putting yourself through discomfort in order to gain that magical feeling referred to as form.

Why? After reducing your race bike to the very barest of necessary function in order to tweak your power to weight ratio a fraction of a point in your favor, to enable you to close that 1,2,5 second gap in a 1.5hr race, [b]yes 1 second over 90 minutes[/b],

WHY? Would you not be royally pissed off when your Shwalbe, (the creme de la creme of lightweight racing tyres), arrived as lunking great wads of useless overweight rubbish not fit for gracing your racers' bin let alone your thoroughbred steed.

God I love the internet!

I rang a couple of weeks ago to ask about one of their Titus bikes as the info I wanted wasn't on their website. Can't remember the blokes name, but some of the info he knew, the rest he just guessed I think. Sent an email instead to confirm in writing what spec some of the parts were so I had it in black and white, not heard anything back in nearly 2 weeks. I wouldn't mind, but the automated email said they should reply within 24 hours or 72 hours if they're busy.

Taking my business elsewhere for important things. I'll still use them for socks and cheap bits though...

I'll still use them for socks and cheap bits though...

Don't their socks are terrible quality. Try Woolly Boolies, Endura or GoreWear instead. They may be pricier, but they last.

shit, in my experience. still waiting for an order, that was placed in 2013.

Ordered a bike from PX at the weekend - not due to get it until next week buy they have been helpful with various things so far (takes a while to get through on the phone though 😐 )

Utterly disgracefull I order on sunday and already get my stuff today the other side of the channel in the middle of nowhere though. Just a pity my main item seems to have dropped 10£ in price in those mere days same when I ordered during sales about 4-5 days from order to the sticks. I take longer driving to a properly stocked shop from my place.

Ordered an inbred frame on the 3rd for the wife's birthday on 18th (this saturday), along with some minor bits to finish build (cassette, chain, headeset etc). Bit of hassle with cassette as to whether in stock or not, and what to do with whole order.

Eventually refunded for XT cassette so i can get the frame and bits released and sent. Not exactly CRC, but sorted quite quickly.

Box arrived yesterday - all the bits - no frame.

FFS. Jesus Christ. etc. etc.

Never. Again.

EDIT: date correction for clarity

dragon - Member

Try Woolly Boolies, Endura or GoreWear instead. They may be pricier, but they last.

Have found Endura socks to be utter rubbish. With you on Defeet though, anything of theirs has lasted YEARS

One One / Planet X's lack of defence on this thread says it all really.

Ordered a Ti, had confirmation it was being built only to be told over a WEEK later that they haven't even got them in stock 👿

Was offered a refund, which I said I wanted, then heard nothing for another week. An hour on the phone later, no refund had been processed.

Eventually had refund confirmed. Annoying part was being made to feel like I was over-reacting for being fed up with them. And called 'mate'.

Will take business elsewhere.

iolo - Member

One One / Planet X's lack of defence on this thread says it all really.

Maybe Brant's in China tweeting about the noodle bar he's in.

Great,not feeling too confident about my chances of being able to buy one adjuster for their fancy brakes....

I wonder what the Chinese think when Brant turns up? I imagine they think the band REM is touring and queue up for autographs?

Maybe Brant's in China tweeting about the noodle bar he's in.

Is that euphemism?

Embarrassing for O-O/P-X when an ordered from a German budget online store arrives sooner despite ordering later... and they actually answer their phone.

[quote=ska-49 ]Embarrassing for O-O/P-X when an ordered from a German budget online store arrives sooner despite ordering later... and they actually answer their phone.
To be fair, they always answered the phone when I called. It's just that none of the promised return calls ever materialised. I became convinced that Dave didn't allow outgoing calls.

what i think is even unfairer is that most of us were helpfully defensive of On One as we understood and grudgingly accepted the teething problems. Especially when Brant comes along sometimes and says he will sort it, not that he did in my case.
But us buyers who have been supportive and actually do some buying get let down so easily because they have not got enough quality staff in sales.
i jokingly offered Brant my services as a sales director at £65k, he said that he already had a very good sales drector in place and he earned substantially more than that.
so we should consider ourselves lucky that Planet X have somebody good in place, because could you imagine the mayhem if they didnt

German budget online store

I was going to order some brakes through On-One, ordered from a German one instead and Jesus their communication is hyper-quick (live chat) and delivery too. Scary how good the competition can be.

Other than their own frames, I've found over the last 2 years there's little I can get from PX that I can't get as cheaply from 1 or 2 European retailers who answer the phone and respond to emails in a couple of hours.

By way of balance though, I've placed a few orders with PX before, most turned up on time but one was a disaster but the person at PX I was dealing with sorted it for me in a pretty efficient manner. That was a couple of years back.

Ordered a tech jacket on Sunday night. Delivered Wednesday morning.

Originally £120, paid £40.

Quite happy (although I would not have said it was ever worth £120, mind).

But all in all, they have never let me down.

I've bought some good value stuff from them over the years, but ordered a couple of things from their latest sale, and neither is as described on the website. Funny how their phone lines are always experiencing an abnormally high volume of calls as well - maybe it's everyone on this thread jostling to get through 🙂

Well this thread has saved me from buying a bike from them. Thanks gang.

Dear oh dear OO/PX are getting an absolute caning here.

Previously had good experiences with them, particularly when asking questions about a s/h Scandal frame I'd bought from here. However they were rude and outright lied to the Missus last year which pretty much deleted them from my suppliers list. Shame.

I used to use frequently and never had a problem.

Then one of their offers turned out they'd oversold but kept on taking orders - and charging cards. All got very messy and I eventually got refunded after they'd sat on my money a few months. No attempt at customer service worth talking about by anyone other than a certain forum member. Who was excellent, I might add.

Stayed away until another offer tempted me - and sure enough, they took the money and then came back a week later telling me they'd run out. Refund quicker this time, customer service still nil. I know that the items I ordered are on the shelf in the new Barnsley shop and a week is plenty time for an inter branch transfer.

Add a side order of times I've been there in person and prices have been wildly not as advertised until pointed out (and blamed on the stock system like everything else)

When they get it right, the price is good and everything's great. They must do this fairly often to still be here.

When it goes wrong, they're maddening though.

I may have the odd chain or pair of socks from them in future, but I'm done with ordering things I actually need because I simply can't trust them to have it.

I think it's unfair to blame Brant if he's not responding to this thread. I don't really see it as his job to pick up CS issues - though he seems to do so fairly often and well.

Got to wonder if the whole organization is just struggling trying to grow so fast and with all these new brands and models. It seemed so much simpler when there were only a couple of options available.

Up to now I've never had a problem.

I did order some stuff a couple of weeks ago and a day or two after got an email saying one item (inner tube) was out of stock so this would be refunded and my order was 'released'.

Another week passed and no package and just got an email saying they 'couldn't find' one of the other things on my order and that would be refunded too.

Good job the stuff isn't urgent.

This thread is making Dave Hinde look good.

No octopus yet though..

Dear oh dear OO/PX are getting an absolute caning here

What for? TBH they probably are making enough cash not to really give a hoot about the whingers on here who have had a bad experience.

There are plenty of folks taking up cycling and moving on from halford's, the cycle of buying it cheap from somewhere continues.

I wonder how uncomfortable this makes Singletrack - they jumped up in flash and challenged easyjet for a fabulous resolution. well done ST!

Somehow I can't see this thread, or any of the other PLanetX/On-One threads going onto the front page of STW.

😐

Dear oh dear OO/PX are getting an absolute caning here

What for?

Come again?

Ordered a bike through cycle scheme, ive been abit of a pain in the rear with it to be honest switching and changing here and there but they have been very good up to now to be fair. Due to turn tomorrow so I wil report back!

Cannot flippin wait!

Ps. Some posts on here have got me on edge about yodel if anything.

fingers crossed.

The Pickenflick is made by Waltly. I doubt they'd just make a copy using PXs drawings, but they might. Ask 'em.

http://waltly.en.alibaba.com/product/1622161887-210760998/Specialized_enduro_titanium_alloy_full_suspension_bike_frame_aero_mountain_bicycle.html

this is a company that might need to defend itself

One One / Planet X's lack of defence on this thread says it all really.

And you think they need to defend themselves why??

[quote=misinformer ]The Pickenflick is made by Waltly. I doubt they'd just make a copy using PXs drawings, but they might. Ask 'em.
> http://waltly.en.alibaba.com/product/1622161887-210760998/Specialized_enduro_titanium_alloy_full_suspension_bike_frame_aero_mountain_bicycle.html
this is a company that might need to defend itself
How so?

And you think they need to defend themselves why??

Did you read all of this thread?
Have you noticed how every is not entirely happy.
Many saying they will not use them again.
It would do px/on one a whole world of good to explain what the problem is with their communication and email problems,website showing stock where there is non and taking customers money and what they can do to restore customer confidence.

How so?

Specialized Enduro, didn't someone recentley get hammered for using the word Roubaix?

Yup Read the thread some folks pissed off, uttering the words will not use again and so on and whilst there are some who will vehemently stick to their guns others will wilt at the next OO/Planet X offer of X Y or Z when they have calmed down and retreived their teddy.

If you work in retail you know some customers are worth the effort to keep others, in all honesty your glad to see the back of em.

website showing stock where there is non and taking customers money and what they can do to restore customer confidence.

This is the nub of the problem.

Never answering the phone, taking days to respond to email and then coming back with a combative tone does nothing to help the 'we've had yet money now f. off' vibe of the customer relations and is a stupid own goal, but really the sheer level of fail in their web shop/stock control system and its relation to what's actually in the warehouse is just inexcusable.

If you have finite stock levels you do not expect to be replenished anytime soon, you know exactly how many you have to sell.

Selling more and then hiding behind T's and c's that state that ordering, paying, and even being emailed back to thank you for your order still doesn't constitute a contract to supply sounds like either a clueless organisation that never paid a real web/SQL dev/have pushed a simple design too far or a cunning scheme to obtain temporary capital. I'm assuming the former, by the way. A real SQL/web dev could fix the problem in days/weeks assuming there isn't a culture of people helping themselves to stock without booking it out.

misinformer - Member
How so?
Specialized Enduro, didn't someone recentley get hammered for using the word Roubaix?

e.g. "[i]I bought a specialized enduro bike today coz my AM rig can't cut it anymore[/i]" 🙂

If any dissatisfied customer has paid with PayPal you could raise a dispute via PayPal. This is should get PX to pull their finger out.

I think maybe people should read this.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12955273&start=20#p18699783

FWIW, I've had some recent problems and they have been rectified. I was an unhappy customer and a bit grumpy.

But fair play to them for this explanation. Restores a little faith.

Found this thread after looking to see if I was in the same boat as others (it looks like I am)...

Ordered a bike on the 20th January before 3pm, expecting next day delivery (or soon after) as promised on the help page in "98%" of cases. After all the bikes in stock so it's just a case of a once over surely.

Got to Thursday and still no bike, phone them and told that it's just waiting to be built and should be next week (27th). Also got a phone call to say it would be built Monday or Tuesday.

Brill they've recognised thier mistake and given me a resolution... apart from I got an email yesterday afternoon stating it will be the 4th of Feburary now.

What a joke, just tried phoning them and the answerphone message is still on, (it states the opening times, then hangs up).

This has all the hallmarks of a company about to go out of business (taking orders but being unable to full fill them), I'm going to try and get through today in order to get an answer (and dependent on that a refund) and if not instruct my CC company to do a chargeback.

[i]This has all the hallmarks of a company about to go out of business (taking orders but being unable to full fill them)[/i]

steady.

Just cancel your order.

Wwaswas abit harsh. I like taking the piss out of brant sometimes but thats abit unfair. From the sounds of it (I dont know why they only posted the explanation on bikeradar) they are growing too quick/teething issues. Brant should explain it fully on here.

[i]Wwaswas abit harsh. [/i]

hang on!

I was the one suggesting the bloke posting the 'they're going bust' comment should go steady.

Looks like too much change all at once. I'm not sure all these 'new' brands is helping, when it sounds like the real focus should be staff training, and investment in website/backend IT.

Ah! Sorreee 🙂

wwaswas - Member

This has all the hallmarks of a company about to go out of business (taking orders but being unable to full fill them)

steady.

Your right I take it back just a tiny bit livid that I placed an order under the basis that

http://www.planetx.co.uk/help#order

Please allow 2-5 days for delivery. 98% of UK orders placed before 3pm Monday to Friday are despatched the same day.

Seems that as soon as they recognised the issue that should of been changed or even simply adding "Apart from bikes for which a build time of around two weeks is required."

Ordered a bike on the 20th January before 3pm, expecting next day delivery (or soon after) as promised on the help page in "98%" of cases. After all the bikes in stock so it's just a case of a once over surely.

All bikes are custom built from frames and parts, for you. We hold no stock of complete bikes other than the ones on the wall in the showroom, or photo shoot bikes which are often offered as clearance models.

I'm sorry that this isn't indicated clearly on the help pages and I will discuss this with our guys today.

Page now updated.
> http://www.planetx.co.uk/help#order <

What if a bike turns up that I haven't ordered brant?

Can I keep it next to my two sofas? 8)

Recived my Pickenflick as promised. Trouble was the website didn't have the "right " spec and the interest in rectifying that fact that I ordered something that wasn't actually available just doesn't seem of interest.
I asked for a road chainset as the webpage said I could . Was told that the page was wrong and was given a MTB set. I can happily live with that, it has its advantages but my email suggesting that they could turn a very unhappy customer into a very happy one merely by swapping 2 chainrings has been totally ignored.
Brant, want to prod them on that one?

my email suggesting that they could turn a very unhappy customer into a very happy one merely by swapping 2 chainrings has been totally ignored.

I'd need a sales order number to look further.

I ordered a pickenflick on the 22nd, (the website stated 5-7days for build). got an email to say bike would be built on the 28th, got an email on the 28th to say it would be sent out the next day. got a phone call on the 29th to say it was dispatched on next day delivery and it was delivered the next day.

Happy customer here.

can't fault anything else .Well the stickers were half off before the box was open but that was a bonus as they are coming off anyway.

brant - Member

Page now updated.
> http://www.planetx.co.uk/help#order

Great, that's all it would of taken for me to not worry. You might even want to turn it into a sales point i.e

All our bikes are built to order in the UK by our team of skilled bike mechanics.