Planet X has a long history in the bike market and in its more than 30 years it has produced a plethora of bikes in different styles. Having restructured and refinanced as an employee-owned entity in 2021, the company hasn’t seemed to be in the news as often as it once was, but this week signs of the firm’s ongoing refresh have borne fruit in a new range of Planet X electric bikes.
With a £1.5 million financing facility made available from Santander to the business a few short years ago, among other income streams totalling as much as £3.225 million, the brand has put a trio of pedal-assisted markers down, not focusing solely on one style of electric bike, but instead launching a cargo bike, an On One branded mountain bike and a commuter bike.
To be released into the market from the end of April and with pre-order live as of March 13th, the bikes are pitched at accessible price points, with the Cycle to Work scheme offered as a further saving direct through the website. Sold direct via the website, each of the electric bikes is shipped having been hand-built and checked over by a trained mechanic in Yorkshire.
The Planet X electric bikes
On One Thunderhound
There’s a ton of full-suspension electric bikes going through our reviews pages lately, but when it comes to playful hardtails there’s a little less choice; though there are some great options.
On One is an owned brand under the Planet X portfolio and, we think for the first time, the label now has an e-MTB. Called the Thunderhound, this £2,499 build tucks a 500Wh battery into its downtube to give you the grunt to get to the top of the trailhead over and over without an uplift.
The assistance comes from an Ananda mid-motor which has a seriously high torque output at 110Nm. Backing all of that up is a Shimano Deore 12-speed groupset for further assisting your climbs and a Trans X 170mm dropper post for making fast descents and jumping a more predictable affair.
Planet X Envoy
As I’m sure we all are at present, if you’re looking for a deal and to save on your transport costs, then the commuter build, at only £1,499, looks appealing.
Slotting into the Planet X electric bikes catalogue at the entry-level, this build is built to strike a balance between access and affordability and performance. Shimano’s built to last and be easily serviceable CUES gearing pairs with a lower strength Bafang hub motor with a 35Nm torque that will be better suited to the tarmac.
A quite reasonable for the price 400Wh battery features in the downtube, which powers included lighting front and rear. Adding to the value on show, a pair of mudguards, a kickstand and a pannier rack come equipped as standard.
Planet X Mass Transit
A £3,000 electric cargo bike in the short or longtail format has been the target of many a brand and indeed one of our favourite bikes of 2023 fitted that format. It is, in truth, a game-changer for short journeys to have an electric bike that’s capable at this price point.
Step in the Planet X Mass Transit, which benchmarked against the electric cargo bikes we’ve seen, looks to be offering some worthwhile competition at the price point. The Mass Transit again gets the punchy 110Nm Ananda mid-motor, which will pull its energy from a 500Wh battery in the down tube and astonishingly, you’ll get a second 500Wh cell behind the seat tube for a total of 1,000Wh.
No word yet on the payload that can be carried, but the lengthy rear rack is paired with a headtube rack, both of which look robust enough for a weeks’ shop. It’s clear from the pictures on the brand’s site too that there will be add-on accessories for carting children on the rear, including sidebars and a mini handlebar for the seatpost. When stationary, a double kickstand can prop up the load to stop it tipping over.