[Simboid]

So far I’ve bought lights for 4 bikes, full finger gloves and carbon handlebars all branded Planet X. All have been utter crap, a complete waste of money.

The lights lasted less than 2 months, the gloves arrived in pieces and bars snapped clean through after 8 months (pretty flipping dangerous).

Have I been unlucky or is it all rubbish? I nearly bought one of their bikes, glad I didn’t. And isn’t it a bit wierd that they don’t allow reviews of anything except their very best bike?

Topic

[whobiggs]

srchar wrote:

The Sports Direct of cycling e-tailers. Product quality is very hit and miss. Like Ribble, they don’t really do customer service either, so if you want to return something or exchange it, prepare for weeks of emails and phone calls before they get their arses in gear.

 

Spot on, some good stuff but don’t expect customer service. I recently spent over a week trying to get a replacement freehub from then and when it arrived it was the wrong one. If they bother replying to emails they don’t actually answer them and no apologies either. I won’t deal with them again no matter how cheap and I will have secons thoughts when a bike comes into my workshop too. The bikes are good value but if it needs parts from them then they can forget it.

[timb27]

My hunch is that most of the

My hunch is that most of the people who waffle on about how terrible cheap open mold Chinese frames are don’t know what they’re banging on about. It’s a bicycle, not a Stradivarius.

I got a carbon RT58 with cheap Khamsin wheels and (mostly) Ultegra 6800 for £799 when they were replacing them for a new frame. It’s been brilliant. This may be because I’m not as ‘discerning’ and therefore content with less, or it may be that I’m not as easily swayed by marketing guff. Delete as applicable.

I was absolutely delighted when I hired 2 bikes in Mallorca (Giant TCR Advanced and Trek Domane S5), and found very little to recommend them over my cheap PX. The Trek was terrible not because it was a worse bike but because it was set up badly and I’m a crap fettler (can’t index gears without making them worse not better).

I’m sure one day I’ll spend silly money on a dream steed, although also a safe bet that 2 weeks later I’ll wrap it round a tree trunk.

 

[Jimnm]

wellsprop wrote:

PlanetX is great for stuff that you really need, but don’t want to waste money on. I.e. socks, clamps, bolts etc.

I also got a VERY good deal on an FSA carbon seatpost (1/2 price of the cheapest retailer), ended up selling it for more than I bought it for (after a couple years use!).

Would I buy a carbon bike from planetx with Ultegra because they are fantastic value? No, not as my pride and joy anyway.​

I bought a Titainium bike from Them and it’s great. Good service, delivered within the time specified. Can’t fault them. Well pleased. 

[froze]

Planet X has poor customer

Planet X has poor customer service rating which that alone would prevent me from buying anything from them, however their fenders are actually quite nice.  But everything that Planet X sells with their brand name on it is cheap low quality stuff made in China.  They use to make a very nice fender though, but they stopped selling it.  Anyway due to their poor customer service record they are not on my radar to buy stuff from.

[TheScotsman]

Been buying from them for

Been buying from them for about three or four years now, and never had an issue with quality or customer service (replaced a pair of Thicky Merino Socks which had a hole in them without quibble).

I’ve been a fan of their Commuter 365 Bib Shorts since I bought my first pair over 3 years ago, and they’re still being used and only now starting to show any real wear’n’tear.  They’re a complete contrast to the DHB bib shorts I used to buy from Wiggle, which had stitching which would be coming undone in under a month and holes developing around the areas of saddle contact within 3 or 4 months.

The Planet X 3/4 ProLine 365x 3/4-lenth bibs are also superb quality & far superior to anything Wiggle offer at a comparable price.

I’ve recently bought a couple of {Pro 365x sleeveless base layers and 365 Race Gloves in their sale, and they too have been exceptionally good for the price.

[ClubSmed]

alansmurphy wrote:

That d-locks a steal

The irony 

[alansmurphy]

Smed, I purchased the Peugeot

Smed, I purchased the Peugeot style cap for our ride up Vntoux, meant i could get the 3 of us one and one to leave for Mr Simpson cheaper than the average cap. Not sure I agree with your summary, it’s not as good as my £15 wiggins cap or Ritch Mitch legends but £1 versus £15…

 

That d-locks a steal

 

I love my flanders socks but better when paired with their flanders jersey 🙂

 

May look for that headspacer bell

 

Had some Selle Italia saddles for £8, again so cheap I bought the same saddle for each road bike which helps, also things like bar tape are good!

[Simboid]

ClubSmed wrote:

Would I buy a bike from them? Maybe not, but I am not sure I would buy any bike purely online so it’s nothing against them personally.

Hope that helps (though I get the impression that the post may have been more of a rant than an actual question)

It does help ClubSmed, it was a genuine question. Everyone seems to like the clothes and the price of big brand stuff.

If I ever do buy from there again it’ll be that kind of thing. But from my own experience and knowledge of Dave’s aspiration to be the Mike Ashley of cycling, on balance I think i’ll spend an extra pound or two somewhere else. I don’t shop at Sports Direct for similar reasons, cheap as they are.

[ClubSmed]

Your post got me thinking so

Your post got me thinking so I logged on to the PlanetX website to review what purchases I have made over the last year. They are listed in the attached image with purchase price and comment.

Overall I am very happy with the items I have had from them, the price is amazing and I’ve not had any issue with service. Particular stand outs to me are:
The Vittoria Hyper tyres (which are great but at thieir price point amazing). 
The spacer bell is a great innovation though I do get through a few due to catching it often but I’ll live with that for the extra space on the handlebars and ease of “dinging” with either hand.
The Merino Arm warmers are an essential for cold, dry weather but don’t expect them to last too long (but I don’t mind at that price).

Would I buy a bike from them? Maybe not, but I am not sure I would buy any bike purely online so it’s nothing against them personally.

Hope that helps (though I get the impression that the post may have been more of a rant than an actual question)

[alansmurphy]

Simboid, also worth noting

Simboid, also worth noting that as his business has grown massively he’s made staff redundant and employed people on zero hour contracts. Even if you forget the cheap import bulk buy element, this lovely Sheffield based company ain’t how it portrays itself…

[antigee]

another vote for their cheap

another vote for their cheap socks – liked the socks so much i bought a frame – bish bash bosh – and the finish is very good and it rides brilliantly – over the years bought various bargain bits – ignoring those where the description doesn’t seem to fit the goods – probably could buy the same stuff direct from china but I’d rather not – that’s a different level of risk – over the years done some pretty good stuff – but failed to address service and seem to lack focus and direction big time – pity as the good stuff is very good – not met the owner but heard similar – so I won’t save enough to buy a Range Rover but  while your business model delivers some quality goods at excellent prices I’ll pick and choose but will never be a loyal customer or suggest that anyone buys without weighing up that it might be a bad experience 

 

[Simboid]

fenix wrote:

fenix wrote:

Simboid is it just you ? Nobody has that much bad luck or keeps buying after a brand has let them down. PX wouldn’t be in business if your experience was the norm.

Bought that stuff all at once and haven’t been back.

Also bought it before meeting Dave Loughlan, the owner, at an industry event. Think Arthur Daley without any of the endearing qualities, his staff were clearly scared of him and boy did he love all the attention he was getting!

We aren’t customers, we’re just the means to another Range Rover.

Came away feeling like I needed a long shower.

[fenix]

Simboid is it just you ?
Simboid is it just you ?

Nobody has that much bad luck or keeps buying after a brand has let them down.

PX wouldn’t be in business if your experience was the norm.

[barbarus]

So anyway, I reckon planet x
So anyway, I reckon planet x socks are pretty good.

[Dr_Lex]

We need another comedy

We need another comedy pairing like Rapha and Behind.

[Author]

Replies