My New Wheels

[Phil W]

...not a car this time!

As some may know, there is a Cycle-To-Work scheme in place, where you basically Contract Hire a bike, and you get it Tax & NI free.

After much hunting and deciding, i spoke to a nice chap on the other end of the phone who talked me through every feature of every bike i wanted to look at.

So, for £24 a month, i've got myself a Specialized Rock Hopper '08. First impressions are its VERY light in comparison to the bike i've been riding. Seems very well built and i love the colour of it!

Just waiting for the rain to hold off for a while before i go out and give it a try!

In 18 months time, i can either hand it in and choose another bike, or pay one more months payment and keep this one!

 

[L0rdMike]

Better than the 206.

Paying £432 to rent a bike?

 

[paradigm]

Just waiting for the rain to hold off for a while before i go out and give it a try!

You don't deserve a mountain bike

I ride mine with the explicit target of getting filthy!

 

[Phil W]

You don't deserve a mountain bike

I ride mine with the explicit target of getting filthy!

Filthy i don't mind, wet i do

 

[Wicksta]

Better than the 206.

Paying £432 to rent a bike?

You basically get to keep it afterwards, I'm in a similar scheme.

 

[Bennah]

Decent enough bike to commute on.

What were the other options?

I would get some semi slicks on there too if you do a lot of road riding to work!

 

[Phil W]

Better than the 206.

Paying £432 to rent a bike?

If you put it into that context, then yes. The overall saving isn't a great deal, but theres no way i would be able to afford a nice bike as a one-off purchase what with house buying etc underway now. One more payment on top of the "Hire Agreement" and you keep the bike

 

[paradigm]

Filthy i don't mind, wet i do

They go hand in hand!

 

[Phil W]

Decent enough bike to commute on.

What were the other options?

I would get some semi slicks on there too if you do a lot of road riding to work!

Loads of options, i had a max budget of £1000, but didn't really feel the need to spend that much on a bike. This seems a nice compromise, not cheap enough to just be an A-B bike, but enough to enjoy it

I purchased a cheap bike from Halfords a few months ago, paradigm advised me strictly against it but i needed a bike on a budget, and these are just worlds apart, the old bike made cycling a chore, i'm hoping this one will change that

 

[paradigm]

I purchased a cheap bike from Halfords a few months ago, paradigm advised me strictly against it

I knew you'd hate it and replace it in good time

 

[Phil W]

I knew you'd hate it and replace it in good time

it would be an "ok" bike if the surface was totally smooth, you had no pot holes or infact stones to ride over. Anyway, lessons have been learned and its now being given to my brother to tide him over until he's back in a car again

 

[Housey]

Not new, but my wall bike (for that is where it lives most its life!)

 

[Bennah]

Loads of options, i had a max budget of £1000, but didn't really feel the need to spend that much on a bike. This seems a nice compromise, not cheap enough to just be an A-B bike, but enough to enjoy it

I purchased a cheap bike from Halfords a few months ago, paradigm advised me strictly against it but i needed a bike on a budget, and these are just worlds apart, the old bike made cycling a chore, i'm hoping this one will change that

Any bike really is better than your normal Halfords bike

Even the Kona Shred's that Ive seen being sold in there was over priced and under spec'd.

housemaster, whats the spec on that? Looks nice!

 

[Joe T]

Where's the motor? I thought this was motors?

 

[Jez]

Surely for a ride to work you want a road bike? Mountain bikes suck balls :/

 

[Bennah]

Mountain bikes suck balls :/

 

[Jez]

I had mountain bikes for years, then i got a road bike. Mountain bikes suck.

 

[Draeger]

I'm just waiting for my Cyclescheme voucher to arrive and then I will be grabbing one of these beauties, got one on order :-

Pinarello FP1

Question to the OP. How long did it take for your actual voucher to arrive after you had signed and returned your Hire Agreement form?.

I'm not talking about how long it took from initial application to the Cyclescheme ( right at the start with the first forms, getting the quote etc ) , I'm wondering how long it took the voucher to arrive once they had the Hire Agreement returned to them?.

I've been sat waiting for nearly 14 days now, a lot of folk at work said their vouchers appeared about a week after they sent the HA back?.

 

[EddScott]

Shouldn't take that long. I did have contact details for them somewhere.

I bought a Core 01 MTB last year and I bought a Gary Fisher Marlin GS MTB for my wife. Shes been on it twice since April. I've rode it more than her and I actually like it more than mine - its a nice shade of aqua marine you see

and

Both on cycle scheme

 

[EvilDreams]

Just waiting for the rain to hold off for a while before i go out and give it a try!

How are you going to cope if you have to get to work in the rain?