PLANET3 - mechanical e-bike derestriction device. https://planet3.bike/

[Captain Slow]

Wow, thanks for posting this Marco. I bought a second set of wheels and will need a speed sensor. I was thinking of getting the Planet 3 as my other speed sensor, but for how much it costs if it's only going to last about 7,500 km's then there's no way I'm buying it. Way too expensive to get that little use out of it. I'd probably wear it out after about a year and a bit. I think the part from Specialized is less than $10. Whereas the Planet 3 is more than $100.

Maybe is the Planet 3 was say $40 and it wore out after 7,500 km's then I would be ok with that, but 120 Euros, that's almost $190 Cdn!!!

After shipping, taxes, etc .... it would easily be over $200. I can buy a bunch of the new Schwalbe tubes for that kind of money!

 

[Deacon Blues]

@Captain Slow, what wheels did you end up buying?
My Mountain bike carbon wheels from Yoeleo have finally landed in Richmond. I ordered them way back in early October.

 

[Captain Slow]

I still haven't bought a set of nice carbon wheels for the Creo. I did buy a set of 27.5" wheels on clearout from CRC. It will be a perfect set of gravel wheels for the Creo.

In order to get the boost spacing MTB wheels to work on the Creo, I got mtbtools to make a sleeve for the front wheel to reduce the diameter from 15 mm to 12 mm.

We'll have to go riding in the spring, pandemic situation permitting.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Captain Slow, did you get charged a brokerage fee and taxes through Skynet World Shipping? I bought a few things from Wiggle in November and got nailed with the extra fee and taxes.

 

[Captain Slow]

I bought the wheels roughly Jan/Feb of 2019 so no I didn't. But I think summer 2020 my friends ordered from CRC and yes they got hit with significant extra fees and taxes. So much so that it's no longer worth it to buy from CRC unless it's a really good deal. I haven't placed an order to any of the UK cycling websites since my friends paid the exorbitant fees and taxes but when I do I'm going to be careful. I will likely pay for expedited shipping that includes pre-payment of duties and taxes and hopefully that won't come with any unexpected charges.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I don't plan on purchasing anything more from online UK bike stores. I haven't purchased much since they stop selling Shimano products to anyone living North America and this shipping ripoff is the final straw.

 

[willnottellyou]

Hello,

Decided to bump this up instead of starting another thread.

Has anyone in the UK got in trouble because of riding derestricted bike? Not counting riding like a moron as Alex says, but just cycling sensibly and paying attention to surroundings/ traffic/ pedestrians and so on.

I've have some experience with BadassBox (on a private road of course) and found it great, especially the ability to just slide it off and restore bike to a road legal condition but this is at the cost of not being able to have the kick stand installed. Battery drains faster as well but that should be expected.

Planet3 looks like a neat solution and kickstand could be retained, so kind of sitting on a fence...

Cheers,

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Will,
You decidedly write an e-mail to [email protected], describe your e-bike, and ask for the right chip for you. Also, ask for the instruction manual prior making your order. Installing a chip could be complex but then you're enjoy all benefits of derestricting/restricting your e-bike on the fly, true speed and distance, etc.

I cannot say anything about the UK but my rule is riding responsibly.

 

[willnottellyou]

Thanks Stefan. I've decided to give the planet3 gizmo a go- should arrive in few days. I think it is a neat solution, with only few minor drawbacks- i don't think this bike is capable of doing 45MPH, so this is going to be an interesting test. On a closed airstrip, that my friend owns- obvs...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thanks Stefan. I've decided to give the planet3 gizmo a go- should arrive in few days. I think it is a neat solution, with only few minor drawbacks- i don't think this bike is capable of doing 45MPH, so this is going to be an interesting test. On a closed airstrip, that my friend owns- obvs...

45 but km/h is doable if you really try. Ride downwind.

 

[willnottellyou]

45KM/H= 28MPH- I can do this on a stock Vado without any derestrictors. Planet3 should allow Vado to get to 45MPH (just over 70KM/H)- not that I'd ever want to go that fast, just interested if it is capable of getting to that speed...

 

[willnottellyou]

Couldn't get the bear skin on short notice- this will have to do...
BTW- took less than 48 hours from placing the order to having it delivered to Brexitstan- not bad at all.
Soooo, will this enable the bike to do ~45MPH? Place your bets now...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

45KM/H= 28MPH- I can do this on a stock Vado without any derestrictors.

How so? Vado is limited to 15.5 mph in the UK. Are you telling me you can do 28 mph on the flat, riding a heavy e-bike, on your muscle power?!

I doubt you could ride at 45 MPH. The power demand grows in third power with speed because of air drag.

 

[willnottellyou]

Yes, but only for few seconds- as you pointed out, heavy bike, lots of drag. But it is doable.
With badassbox it was relatively easy to maintain 25MPH, either on flat, or small incline.
I'm really curious how planet 3 compares.

 

[willnottellyou]

I've watched almost all videos Alex put up on the tube- my understanding is that planet3 tricks the computer into thinking it is only doing 1/3 of the speed it is actually doing, thus practically removing the speed restriction.
Main issue will be gearing- stock Vado takes literally less than 4 full crank rotations to get to 16MPH- less than 3 seconds...
BTW- I'm slowly warming up to this less powerful motor- only did just under 100 miles but it is not as bad as I thought it would be...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Planet3 won't give you any edge over Badass Box. Don't think the derestrictor would magically add any watts to your motor.

 

[willnottellyou]

I understand that, but- multipliers between badass and planet are different, so there will be a difference. Motor is 250W nominal, in theory 400W peak.
Worst case is that I'll have something similar to badass but will be able to also retain kickstand, which will be really handy on my private race track...
You know what Stefan- I'm half tempted to install that thing now and just go for a ride. Could also test this doggy lights at the same time...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I understand that, but- multipliers between badass and planet are different, so there will be a difference.

The speed limit for PearTune is 99 km/h, and that's why I went for it for Vado SL: The speedometer and daily trip meter report correct values. Not that it matters with Vado SL. I max out the motor at 160 W leg input, and the SL adds 240 W. Good enough to get at 34 km/h )))

 

[willnottellyou]

I would not even remotely consider going 60MPH on a bike. all i need is to be able to do 20-30 with relative ease. Because on my private race track speed limits still apply.

 

[willnottellyou]

The speed limit for PearTune is 99 km/h, and that's why I went for it for Vado SL: The speedometer and daily trip meter report correct values. Not that it matters with Vado SL. I max out the motor at 160 W leg input, and the SL adds 240 W. Good enough to get at 34 km/h )))

Just realized you have Vado SL now- well done- I was siting on the fence for a while because lighter bike appeals to me and I like the way they resolved the motor drag issue, such a shame they can't be bothered to put this funky clutch/ decupling into other bikes... Looks bit bare without fenders and rack.
Planet3 in, performance on pair with badassbox as you said, although badass had a tendency to work imminently which I found really annoying, Bike will do 30MPH with a push- raced a chap on a bike that weighs less than battery in my bike and managed to keep up with him to his bemusement ROFL...
And most importantly, kickstand doesn't need to be removed. The hardest part of installation was putting the wheel back on.
All in all really happy.
Cheers