[Closed] On One has lost its charm...

For me they lost their charm when they decided to rob me and lie their way out of a warranty claim.

When’s the last time they named a bike something rude?

What, apart from Inbred, Inbred 456, Inbred 567, Inbred 853?
Or are you thinking of Stiffee, Hummer, Handjob…?
In which case you may be thinking of a different brand on a different continent.
I had a Handjob and a Hummer, one of which changed into an Inbred 567, and the Handjob changed into an Inbred 853. They’re both still out in the shed. So’s the Handjob frame, as it happens.

pompino

For me they lost their charm when they decided to rob me and lie their way out of a warranty claim.

@Northwind Tenner says this thread goes downhill and ends up getting pulled before long...

Celery. That is the ride feel.

I couldn’t help but feel like it has lost it’s charm compared to what it was 10 years ago.

When you were 6?

Cheats, con-merchants and liars.

That about covers it for me.

Cheats, con-merchants and liars.

That about covers it for me.

Brexit profiteers too (they don’t, or didn’t, remove UK VAT for orders going to the continent)

Wasn’t their ‘charm’ riding just the right side of cheap and cheerful/crap so people could overlook a few shortcomings?  For me they’d mostly lost that even before upping prices to take advantage of recent shortages

Last time I bought a bike was the second lot of 853 inbreds, they were fine

I keep riding them

I don't look at bikes anymore and Im much happier for it

@plumber
Indeed, have built a couple of OO frames up for mates, they were good value, I’d happily ride one.
I don’t look at new stuff either, ‘run what ya brung’
Even bikes that aren’t that good are still great.

If you want a strange website that belongs 10 years back, visit Lings Car Leasing....

Tenner says this thread goes downhill and ends up getting pulled before long…

I'll take that bet, but first I'll take your money.  And then not provide the paid for return on the bet because the in stock pay out item isnt really in stock in any meaningful way. But I'll tell you it's about to be delivered I to the warehouse repeatedly,  but it wont be. But on balance enough punters will be ok that I wont give a **** how you feel.

I've been buying from them for years (456, 456 Ti, Full Monty, Scandal 29, Free Ranger and lots of bits & pieces in-between), never had an issue.

Value for Money IMO.

Wasn’t their ‘charm’ riding just the right side of cheap and cheerful/crap so people could overlook a few shortcomings

Add steel to that, but otherwise spot on for me.

For people who want a decent steel bike, reasonable geo and can except not the lightest, not the best finish etc they were good. Not looked recently but last time I did I thought they were no longer that cheap
Compared to other offerings. Still steel at least.

I've loved the bikes they (Brant) has designed. Inbred, 456, Pompetamine, Parkwood and now a Scandal.

As a company they've had their ups and downs. Didn't they go from a small company (Brant in a shed) to Planet X (Sports Direct quality meets Ryanair customer service) back to being staff owned?

My recent experiences suggest they still aren't there in terms of price/quality/customer service balance but are making moves in the right direction. I don't think they've got the love that they used to have in terms of a small number of good unique designs. The specs aren't up their with the likes of Vitus/Canyon etc. either to match in that regard.

I took a punt on the Scandal and like the geometry. It was a stop gap on the way to something nicer. The various Ti options look ideal on paper but I'm not convinced enough to part with my money.

Well I really like my new Scandal and they were meant to send me a "factory second" minor defect frame that I bought off their ebay page. They shipped me a brand new one instead.

On One's charm, pictured yesterday...

I bought my first SS Inbred 17 years ago. I drove to an industrial estate outside Donny, met a bloke called Dave who gave me the bike and a cup of tea. I guess all that has changed.

The bike is still going strong, as are the 456 and 2nd hand Pompino that followed it. I haven't bought a new bike for 3+ years, but when I did it was a Ti Spitfire and it's a beautiful thing to ride. The pricing is irritating, but that's the game they're playing - good luck to them. Cheap but (basically) good.

For me, their charm was equivalent to that of taking a punt on dodgy goods bought from a Del Boy type down the market. You might get an absolute bargain, or you might get a piece of tat with very little recourse to put things right. Their Inbred frames (26 inch) were a great way to build up a winter beater bike when they were knocking them out for a ton. That was 2010-2014ish, not ordered from them in a long time as they're no longer that cheap.

I had a Pompino that lived on for years of abuse with little tlc or maintenance, it also GLOWED IN THE DARK (intentionally). For this much will be forgiven.

I also once bought a merino base that a gorilla would have found a close but not quite fit, massive chest and arms, but really short in the body.

In fairness I don't use any bike companies much these days, they don't tend to sell working from home, coffee or dog accessories sadly.

Well I really like my new Scandal

Put me in this column also, when I was looking for a good all round HT with modern geometry and a decent component spec, nothing came close, plus it was in stock. Ordered it, it arrived, built it, have ridden it ever since with zero issues. I get that it can be frustrating dealing with shit that goes wrong, but On One aren't the worst for it by a long way.

Never liked the website though, always thought it was crap design, and it continues to be

I know we've covered this multiple times before, but talking about PX generally - there is a decent core range of products hiding somewhere within their digital jumble sale of a website.

They are especially good at affordable roadie / gravel bikes and clobber, but then they undermine their own strengths with an incoherent product strategy and their famously offhand customer service.

They are a curate's egg

Bought plenty from them, not too many issues and those were rectified.

Warranty from people like Kona is from personal experience considerably worse

Bargains are less common these days but, 29er pacenti dl31 rims, Vittoria tyres, tik tik frame (the one sent in a box protected so the headtube didn't get damaged), and socks have all been good

Not sure about the recent direction, no idea who is now the "brains" behind their geometry choices. They have lost some of the personality which sometimes helped and sometimes hampered

Honestly, I think that the whole "scene" has lost some charm, not just OO/PX.

I can't afford a gazillion pound bike every couple of years so I'm making do with older kit (2014 spec - ancient eh?. I need to replace the drive train on mine and was told that it was a 2 month wait for parts as nobody stocked triple chain sets. I could convert to a 1x11, but that would entail binning shifters and mechs that were perfectly good, so I'm going to have to wait.

Looking around now I get the impression that the name of the game is to rinse as much money out of us punters as possible, and OO/PX are by no means the worst culprits.

Moan over.

BTW the Carnac riding glasses from PX are an absolute bargain.

When you are looking for odd bits and pieces they are great. If you want up to date geometry on a budget they used to be great and will probably be again when the market subsides a bit. The Big dog was a value for money steel frame when it first came out. The gear hanger was sticking out of the box when the frame was delivered. Not perfect but value for money in my experience.

The Big dog was a value for money steel frame when it first came out. The gear hanger was sticking out of the box when the frame was delivered.

This sums up PX/on-one as well as anything in this thread.

😀

I missed the early days so missed the hype/buzz but my mate caught the tail end of it and has had plenty of their bikes since. His 10+ year old Inbred 29er has been through many builds and is still his go to bike.

They've always been a bit meh to me. I like to enjoy owning a bike rather than it being white goods. Closest I came was last year when they were knocking out cheap Scandals but it didn't take long before I was wondering how to increase my budget so I could afford something I really wanted.

Loved my C456, it was a cracking bike for hammering.

Not purchased anything from them for years. the Website is a mess and they seem more like a Chinese catalogue shop.

Loved my C456, it was a cracking bike for hammering.

Now if they made a carbon version of the Scandal for an inflation-adjusted similar price, that could be amazing.

Instead they seem intent on pumping out dozens of slightly different ti frames.

Still riding a 2006 Il Pompino as a hack bike.

Never had a problem with them myself, but does seem to be the company some people love to hate. Who was it who always posted "Gas Pipes" after every post Brant made on STW a few years back?

Did no one else get a shock when they googled "pompino" from work, when researching a new commuter bike? Just me?

Cheats, con-merchants and liars.

That about covers it for me.

I've got some drinks and snacks ready, and a very comfy chair. And I'm a bit bored. Anyone care to elaborate on this? 😀

Honestly, I think that the whole “scene” has lost some charm,

This. Very much this.

Loved the (several) inbreds i've had over the years - finally stuck on the ex-terrahawk
tinbred i have now. raced (by him) crashed and abused (by me 🙂 ) and everything from
single speed through 3 x and rigid !

I'm another who has not had problems and can only, honestly, report that I've had good products at reasonable prices. The one and only time I've had a customer service issue, a prematurely failing BB, it was resolved quickly and effectively. 3 frames, 2 complete bikes and numerous bits & pieces; base layers, winter tights, helmets, shades, gloves.. Never less than functional and often surprisingly good value.

Anyone care to elaborate on this? 😀

Tbh I'm reading this thread with interest too, as I'm seriously considering getting a Rocky Road Ti.

Having spent a silly amount of money last October on a Van Nicolas ultegra di2 I have been looking for a very cheap flat handlebar gravel bike for quite a while, when the Rocky Road pops up in my emails.

I would be my fourth OO but the last one I bought was an original scandium Scandal, so obviously many years ago.

Anyone care to elaborate on this?

It's a bit like the thread on the bike forum about Scribe / Hunt wheels where people randomly take great offence that they might be rebranding OEM rims, which apparently is the crime of the century. One One / Planet-X were a slightly off the wall modest brand, a bit matey, a bit quirky and for some reason this really grates with a small minority who become avid haters and dedicate their online lives to slagging them off. All companies cock up the odd order here and there, it's just inevitable. The difference is the big brands eg Spezialized etc don't seem to attract the odd ball haters, maybe as they're seen as too big to attack.

There was a similar thing with Superstar components a while back, someone on here had created a complete webside dedcicated to bringing them down as he'd had a bad set of wheels from them.

Can't remember who, but some random STW poster would always post 'gas pipes' after every post from Brant (ex OO / PX) as some sort of one man vigilnte war against the company.

I don't think that's accurate footflaps. On-One/Planet X certainly had a period of terrible quality control and even worse customer service. They may be better now but their poor rep was justified.

One One / Planet-X were a slightly off the wall modest brand, a bit matey, a bit quirky and for some reason this really grates with a small minority who become avid haters and dedicate their online lives to slagging them off.

You couldn't be much further from the truth.

Charm?!

Scoroutes; it's you who is claiming they are 'conmen, cheats and liars', so why not elucidate?

Please; I'm very bored today.

I don’t think that’s accurate footflaps. On-One/Planet X certainly had a period of terrible quality control and even worse customer service. They may be better now but their poor rep was justified.

Well that's my interpretation of events!

Have to say I've used OO/PX for years and never had a single issue with them, but obviously if you serve 1000s of customers you'll always have cocks ups and piss some people off. Most just write it off and move on.....

What I find odd is your only seem to get this level of animosity shown towards the smaller brands and not the larger companies (who will equally screw up a small percentage of sales etc) / have products fail. My 'pop physcology' take is people think the smaller brands are bullyable rather than so big as to be untouchable.

It certainly generates behaviours which could be considered mild disorders.

Tbh I’m reading this thread with interest too, as I’m seriously considering getting a Rocky Road Ti.

Having spent a silly amount of money last October on a Van Nicolas ultegra di2 I have been looking for a very cheap flat handlebar gravel bike for quite a while, when the Rocky Road pops up in my emails.

I would be my fourth OO but the last one I bought was an original scandium Scandal, so obviously many years ago.

I've had nothing but good bikes from Oo / planetX, but not sure I'd go for a Ti bike there. Seems like a bad clash of categories.
They've sold loads over the years, though, Tinbreds and the like, and that rocky road is at a price where you'd manage your expectations in the event of any problem.

What I find odd is your only seem to get this level of animosity shown towards the smaller brands and not the larger companies

What I find odd is that I get the impression some people appear to have had a long experience of poor customer service/reliability with OO.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting but that's the impression I'm getting.

Now I can understand people having repeated issues with say a utility company, after all it's not quite so easy to take your custom elsewhere, but an online bike shop? Surely just one bad experience is enough? Or was the experience so utterly horrendous that they are still affected many years later?

Or was the experience so utterly horrendous that they are still affected many years later?

Exactly my take, its like Brant came round, stabbed their pet dog to death in front of the children, shat on their lawn and then left. Whereas what actually happened was a bottom bracket from the returns pile was accidently sent out as new.

They never had charm but my old Inbred gave me countless hours of fun and happy memories and that's what bikes are for.

Whereas what actually happened was a bottom bracket from the returns pile was accidently sent out as new.

Inexcusable. Salt their fields.

bridges
Free Member

Scoroutes; it’s you who is claiming they are ‘conmen, cheats and liars’, so why not elucidate?

This might as well have been pointed at me, too, so:

Bought a frame with a 2 year warranty. It took about 2 months for them to actually send me all the bits it needed to assemble, the usual "at the warehouse" "sent yesterday" "Oh that's weird we've never heard of this before" (literally every one of these frames went out with the wrong bolts, they were still doing it months after mine and telling customers "oh that's weird we've never heard of this before".

Anyway- finish started falling off of it in sheets, within warranty. (actually within a year of me finally being sent the parts needed to build it) Contact them, they say, "It's only got a 1 year warranty, it'd be covered for sure but it's out of warranty". Maybe a mistake? I sent them back a screenshot of the 2 year warranty. They say oh, but that's only for breakages, the finish is only covered for one year. Just a lie". More conversation. "No bike company covers the carbon surface in their warranty", just a lie. "That's only come off because you used helitape" (on other parts of the frame not the bits where it had come off, just a lie). And so on and so on. It was just random lie of the day, whatever excuse they could think of to muddy it or put me off or just kick it down the road by another 3 weeks of nonresponding, even when the new lie contradicted the old one.

I didn't have the energy at the time to take them to court, found someone that wanted the frame and sold it on. Got a Ragley, funnily enough.

Thanks Garry. Yes my expectations for a £1.3k ti bike would be realistic. The problem is that with flat handlebar gravel bikes the choice is limited. My existing "gravel bike" is a CX bike with flat handlebars, it doesn't work well.

Also after recently spending a silly amount of money on a road bike which is used massively every week I can't really justify spending much on a bike which is likely to be used less than once a week.

The Rocky Road obviously ticks quite a few boxes. Why wouldn't you go for Ti in that category btw, possible frame failure on a cheap ti frame?

possible frame failure on a cheap ti frame?

I guess that would be my only concern, prone to failing if not properly welded fully in inert gas (IIRC). But, then at that price do I care if it fails 5-10 years down the line, probably not.

if it fails 5-10 years down the line

I might have dreamt it but I'm sure the guy who sold me the Van Nicolas told me that if a Ti weld is going to fail it will happen quite quickly, ie if it doesn't then it shouldn't in the future.

The Rocky Road obviously ticks quite a few boxes. Why wouldn’t you go for Ti in that category btw, possible frame failure on a cheap ti frame?

Yeah just that Ti frames seem a bit more vulnerable to breakage and I wouldn't expect a cup of tea out of OnOne on anything but the most cut and dried warranty claim. But a good Ti bike for £1300 AND with excellent warranty doesn't exist, so you have to accept some compromises.

The problem is that with flat handlebar gravel bikes the choice is limited

No such thing as a flat bar gravel bike, what you're referring to is a hybrid, they're the same bike but with less marketing.

Anyway, I've had nothing but positive experienced with O-O/PX, they've always seemed a bit hap-hazard but it's worked for me.

I've had a couple of Inbred SS and an Inbred geared a 456 and Ti cyclo-cross. I found the sizing and geometry fitted me well and they were cheap and cheerful.

I think on the inbreds they used one can of spray paint for the whole production run it was that thin and patchy but other than that no issues. The only one I never got on with was the 456.

What I could never understand about OO is the people that would spend £100 on a frame, then proceed to hang all the bling XTR etc off it, surely you could've afforded a decent frame, not one made from scaffolding?

Did someone mention celery!?

My og inbred felt great like a wet celery tied together by noodles

Prior to all this stiffness CEN testing bs

Planet X Dirty Harry headset kept coming loose which was fun with rigid forks

Oh and unless you’ve experienced chainsuck on inbreds then you dunno how lucky you are these days

😉

Had

456 Summer Season
45650b
London Road

Over the years. have been using their podsacs stuff for bikepacking and it's great. Loads of other bargains over the years with zero issues ever.

what you’re referring to is a hybrid

I'm not sure I would call a bike with 2.3 tyres a hybrid. But yeah I understand the point. And I know how names/descriptions wind some people up. When I got my first 29er HT with carbon forks, at a time when 29er mtbs were new, plenty of people told me that it was a CX bike not a mtb.

Didn't we have this thread a week back but with the London Road frame being the issue?

As said then, On One & Planet X are massivly inconsistent so are either perfectly good or totally shocking based on user experiance.

As for the "small brand" comment, they were valued at around £25 million not long back and if you're looking to cash out and don't want to pay any capital gains tax, you'd wise looking at transfering it from from private to employee owned.

As for the “small brand” comment, they were valued at around £25 million not long back

Very much a minnow compared with the likes of Shimano, Specialized, Giant etc!

Plus they've been about for what 15-20 years?, were much smaller when they started and Brant was posting on here every day.

Sorry, I've referred to this on here before but it bears repetition.
For me the charm disappeared fairly dramatically.
I worked there in their heyday around 2012-15 in the bike build/workshop and latterly as service dept manager. I'd retrained and got my Cytec qualification following a 25 year career in sales management which was slowly killing me. The work was good fun the 10 guys I worked with were great and there was plenty of variety.
One morning I started feeling quite unwell with numbness and dizzy spells. A colleague saw me in distress and sat me down then ran round to the ambulance service training centre which happened to be next door, a stroke of luck (sic).A paramedic examined me and organised an ambulance to take me to Rotherham hospital where I was hooked up to various bleeping machines for the rest of the afternoon. After a few hours I was given the all clear and my wife took me home with instructions not to drive for 2-3 days so I couldn't go to work.
When I got that month's payslip, I was dismayed to see that my hourly pay had been stopped before I'd reached the hospital.

What happened then, did you go back? Did your dizzy spells come back?

Did you get a get well soon card and/or a P45?

Did you get a get well soon card and/or a P45?

Was that the rare but desirable carbon half-fat/half plus frame that they obtained after a cock-up in the Chinese factory?

I went back after 2 days, I didn't know at that stage that my pay had been docked, it was only when my payslip arrived a few weeks later. There was no repetition of the funny turn. When they eventually dispensed with my services, they acted in such a half arsed way and in contravention of employment law that I took them to a ACAS and they settled out of court which added significantly to my bike collection. The guy from ACAS had never seen such a clear case of constuctive dismissal. I was happy to accept the bikes to set up my bike guiding business in Cataluña which I was about to retire to.

Loved my C456, it was a cracking bike for hammering

Loved my Ti29er, it was a cracking bike. Constantly.

I took them to a ACAS and they settled out of court which added significantly to my bike collection. The guy from ACAS had never seen such a clear case of constuctive dismissal. I was happy to accept the bikes to set up my bike guiding business in Cataluña

Nice one.

I like a happy ending.

They never had charm they were just cheap bikes that were fun to thrash about, IMO. Now they're not that cheap.

literally every one of these frames went out with the wrong bolts, they were still doing it months after mine and telling customers “oh that’s weird we’ve never heard of this before

I'm curious how you know this?

C456 owner, still going strong as my singlespeed

My first P-X was an original Kaffenback and had some direct dealings with Dave circa 2001, just to show that they were still relatively small beer. I later bought a green Pompino which was cheap - it felt like it was made from scaffolding; heavy, lifeless - I rode it through a winter and then got rid as it was so awful. I just saw them as cheap and cheerful, when they'd bring in some interesting gear or close-outs/bankrupt stock. The problem is they've gone down the Sports Direct route - bought goodwill / obsolete brands and now are just rebranding stuff/any old tat from the Far East. They've done it with Holdsworth, Tomac, Viner, Carnac to name but a few. Admittedly, I did chuckle after Dave bought all Jimmy Savile's bikes at auction...maybe to go with their Rolf Harris' paintings?

Brexit profiteers too (they don’t, or didn’t, remove UK VAT for orders going to the continent)

To be fair, they are far from the only ones - Sonder/Alpkit started doing that too, post-brexit when they set up websites in the US/EU.

I'm not sure where it falls on the 'legal' bit.

Actually I do remember by parkwood frame arrived looking like it had been crashed. Flat spot on the head tube and the mech hanger out the box. But it was sorted.

I think people are a little more tolerant of small companies initially. You expect Specialized to get it right and fix it when they don't. The thing is that if you market yourself as a very personal company (not a faceless brand) then it is taken personally when it goes wrong.

Very much a minnow compared with the likes of Shimano, Specialized, Giant etc!

Plus they’ve been about for what 15-20 years?, were much smaller when they started and Brant was posting on here every day.

And very much a great white compared to Cotic / Stanton / etc that they are usually mentioned against.

Brant is an ex journalist, he knows what he's doing.

Brant is an ex journalist, he knows what he’s doing.

What is he doing which is so wrong?

As for being a journalist, most barely scrape a living together, so not exactly a great training for creating succesful businesses. Might be better to say 'in spite of having been a journalist, he's doing OK'.

Twodogs
Full Member

I’m curious how you know this?

Have you heard of this internet thing? It used to be you could palm customers off with "must be a one off" "must be a bad batch" but when companies still do it in the internet age it just proves they not only don't give a shit about customer service, they also don't give a shit if their customers know they're lying. I got one of the earliest ones with the wrong bolts, they were still sending them out months later, knowing perfectly well they didn't have the stock of the correct bolts and selling the frames anyway. And still telling customers "oh that's weird, haven't seen that before"

It used to be you could palm customers off with “must be a one off” “must be a bad batch” but when companies still do it in the internet age it just proves they not only don’t give a shit about customer service, they also don’t give a shit if their customers know they’re lying.

And yet they're still in business...

From this I deduce that either they only ever sell once to new customers or possibly their service / products aren't as bad as some make out.....

Or c) they have a customer base made up entirely of masochists who like bad service. Although somehow I think that's unlikely.

Have you heard of this internet thing?

So what you meant to say was "literally every one of those frames that went out that people on the internet complained about"

You that on that internet thingy you mention that the people complaining make more noise than the people that are happy, yes?

What is he doing which is so wrong?

As for being a journalist, most barely scrape a living together, so not exactly a great training for creating succesful businesses. Might be better to say ‘in spite of having been a journalist, he’s doing OK’.

Calm down, who said he did anything wrong? he co-founded and built a successful brand then left and co-founded another successful brand. I can only imagine his time in journalism helps in his ability to communicate and engaging with customers.

Footflaps you know how you're saying it looks weird for people to pursue a vendetta against On One. Yeah, the opposite of that...