On-One Space Chicken Gravel bike
Discussion
Having demo'd a 3T Exploro with SRAM AXS on 650b wheels I'm determined to get a gravel bike to run as a 2nd fun bike/winter bike.
Unfortunately not having the required £6k for the Exploro my budget is a bit more modest.
I'm not really a fan of Planet X/On-One but they look to have it nailed with the Space Chicken.
Good spec, looks and very competitively priced.
Geometry looks comparable with the Open U.P but I'm I mad to expect anything like the U.P's quality?
Unfortunately not having the required £6k for the Exploro my budget is a bit more modest.
I'm not really a fan of Planet X/On-One but they look to have it nailed with the Space Chicken.
Good spec, looks and very competitively priced.
Geometry looks comparable with the Open U.P but I'm I mad to expect anything like the U.P's quality?
Yes, you’re mad to expect anything like the same quality.
I’d imagine lots of development went into the choice of carbon and lay up used in the U.P. I’m guessing Planet X went to Deng Fu, bought an off the peg model, got it painted and threw some components on it.... and don’t get me started on Planet X quality control....
I’d imagine lots of development went into the choice of carbon and lay up used in the U.P. I’m guessing Planet X went to Deng Fu, bought an off the peg model, got it painted and threw some components on it.... and don’t get me started on Planet X quality control....
Looks nice ...
I bought an On-One Pickenflick 4 years ago and it has been a great bike. The only issues I had were that The WTB wheels that came with it had Planet-X/On-One’s own Selcof hubs - I found that the bearings and freehub bearings kept rusting and needed maintenance every month. I even upgraded the free hub to their higher spec offering but still had issues (sqeaks, squeals and the sound of tortured metal when climbing).
The bike now has some Hunt 4 Seasons wheels and since then it has been trouble free.
Other concerns are that as a company they are massively incompetent - ordering parts is a nightmare - I once waited 3 weeks for “next day delivery” - and even though it was their mistake they would not refund the extra I paid for “next day delivery”.
I bought an On-One Pickenflick 4 years ago and it has been a great bike. The only issues I had were that The WTB wheels that came with it had Planet-X/On-One’s own Selcof hubs - I found that the bearings and freehub bearings kept rusting and needed maintenance every month. I even upgraded the free hub to their higher spec offering but still had issues (sqeaks, squeals and the sound of tortured metal when climbing).
The bike now has some Hunt 4 Seasons wheels and since then it has been trouble free.
Other concerns are that as a company they are massively incompetent - ordering parts is a nightmare - I once waited 3 weeks for “next day delivery” - and even though it was their mistake they would not refund the extra I paid for “next day delivery”.
pablo said:
Yes, you’re mad to expect anything like the same quality.
I’d imagine lots of development went into the choice of carbon and lay up used in the U.P. I’m guessing Planet X went to Deng Fu, bought an off the peg model, got it painted and threw some components on it.... and don’t get me started on Planet X quality control....
Rhetorical question really I’d imagine lots of development went into the choice of carbon and lay up used in the U.P. I’m guessing Planet X went to Deng Fu, bought an off the peg model, got it painted and threw some components on it.... and don’t get me started on Planet X quality control....
The difficulty as ever with PX is determining just how good/bad a particular model is.
Press and customer reviews are hard to find for this model but the limited ones I have seen are positive.
Love my Space Chicken 700c, put some 105 pedals on it and some decent tyres. Done some big rides as well
as commuting, it’s been a great bike. Can’t fault it, great value. All current & previous bikes I’ve owned have been GT, Trek & Giant. cant say there is a huge difference in the quality.
as commuting, it’s been a great bike. Can’t fault it, great value. All current & previous bikes I’ve owned have been GT, Trek & Giant. cant say there is a huge difference in the quality.
No, it's not a bespoke super high end gravel bike. But what it is, is extraordinary good value for money, and extremely good build quality.
£1400 (what I paid) for a 9.6kg (with pedals) full carbon gravel bike with full Force 1 SRAM groupset? Yes.
Bloody love mine, it does everything which my 150mm ful suspension 14kg, 29er MTB is overkill for. Commuting to work, 25 mile evening rides down local bridlways and byways, sitting at 20-25mph on the road, I'm tempted to stick on some bags/racks and do some bikepacking on it.
You could upgrade the bars/stem/seatpost for some nice carbon ones, even put a dropper post in as it has internal routing and it would be as good as stuff twice the price.
Edit: Just checked out the U.P. 2,900 euros. For the f
kING frame an fork?!?! 
£1400 (what I paid) for a 9.6kg (with pedals) full carbon gravel bike with full Force 1 SRAM groupset? Yes.
Bloody love mine, it does everything which my 150mm ful suspension 14kg, 29er MTB is overkill for. Commuting to work, 25 mile evening rides down local bridlways and byways, sitting at 20-25mph on the road, I'm tempted to stick on some bags/racks and do some bikepacking on it.
You could upgrade the bars/stem/seatpost for some nice carbon ones, even put a dropper post in as it has internal routing and it would be as good as stuff twice the price.
Edit: Just checked out the U.P. 2,900 euros. For the f
kING frame an fork?!?! Edited by Tall_Paul on Monday 7th October 23:57
Edited by Tall_Paul on Tuesday 8th October 00:03
I've got the Holdsworth Mystique,mate has the Chicken. Can't fault them. Finish on both bikes is great and value great too.
Mines the 650b which I wanted and enjoy
I've got a Dirty Disco and a EC130 too and had no problems with either. I don't know what the beef is with PX. No company is perfect. At least PX don't rip off
Mines the 650b which I wanted and enjoy
I've got a Dirty Disco and a EC130 too and had no problems with either. I don't know what the beef is with PX. No company is perfect. At least PX don't rip off
I've got a 3T Strada, amazing bike.
Was close to buying and Exploro but ended up with a Tideace frame and building up my own knock off, it's good at £1000-ish all in (with Di2, hunt 4 seasons and mainly 3t finishing kit but I spent quite a while looking out for bargains) but if I was buying again now I'd be picking up the old model Exploro from Merlin at half price.
Was close to buying and Exploro but ended up with a Tideace frame and building up my own knock off, it's good at £1000-ish all in (with Di2, hunt 4 seasons and mainly 3t finishing kit but I spent quite a while looking out for bargains) but if I was buying again now I'd be picking up the old model Exploro from Merlin at half price.
TheFungle said:
Thanks for the pics Paul - it's a great looking machine.
What size is that? I'm guessing by your username you're on the taller size
Yeah, well guessed! Mine is an XL.What size is that? I'm guessing by your username you're on the taller size
Mine's a 650b, the tyres that came with it are pretty rubbish but the WTB Byways can handle a surprising amount of rough. If I was doing more offroad and less road/commuting I'd put on some WTB Senderos.
milu said:
I've got the Holdsworth Mystique,mate has the Chicken. Can't fault them. Finish on both bikes is great and value great too.
Mines the 650b which I wanted and enjoy
I've got a Dirty Disco and a EC130 too and had no problems with either. I don't know what the beef is with PX. No company is perfect. At least PX don't rip off
Did you leave the green film on the rear mech for several weeks/months after buying the bike too? Mines the 650b which I wanted and enjoy
I've got a Dirty Disco and a EC130 too and had no problems with either. I don't know what the beef is with PX. No company is perfect. At least PX don't rip off
Tall_Paul said:
Yeah, well guessed! Mine is an XL.
Mine's a 650b, the tyres that came with it are pretty rubbish but the WTB Byways can handle a surprising amount of rough. If I was doing more offroad and less road/commuting I'd put on some WTB Senderos.
What are your measures Tall_Paul? I´m looking for Space Chicken too, but wondering about size between L/57 and XL/60 (6'2" and 36,5" inseam). Mine's a 650b, the tyres that came with it are pretty rubbish but the WTB Byways can handle a surprising amount of rough. If I was doing more offroad and less road/commuting I'd put on some WTB Senderos.
JTpedal said:
What are your measures Tall_Paul? I´m looking for Space Chicken too, but wondering about size between L/57 and XL/60 (6'2" and 36,5" inseam).
I just realised I've never updated my own thread I bought the Space Chicken in large and it's a perfect fit.
I'm 6'1 as a 32" inside leg (trouser leg).
Switching happily to metric I'm 764mm from centre BB to top of saddle, tip of saddle to centre of stem is about 564mm which is based on a 110mm stem.
It's a really good fit for me, IMO an XL would be absolutely massive.
I went for an XL, I'm 6ft 3in.
You might want to go for a free ranger, it's the new space chicken, has more tyre clearance plus a few Geo tweeks.
As for size, I am a tiny bit stretched out when in the drops for long periods, I only notice it when doing 20-30+ road miles though. I may change the stem for one a little shorter and with positive rise, and fit some slightly wider carbon flared bars which should solve that issue.
I've got a set of Wtb sendero tyres on currently and it's great in the winter mud.
You might want to go for a free ranger, it's the new space chicken, has more tyre clearance plus a few Geo tweeks.
As for size, I am a tiny bit stretched out when in the drops for long periods, I only notice it when doing 20-30+ road miles though. I may change the stem for one a little shorter and with positive rise, and fit some slightly wider carbon flared bars which should solve that issue.
I've got a set of Wtb sendero tyres on currently and it's great in the winter mud.
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