New company...........Mountain Bike :)

DJMK4 · 15 Dec 2011 at 18:54

Hi all,

We have had a very generous offer from work, with the Cycle to work scheme, basically the government are obviously paying the % they do, and the rest is usually picked up by either the employer or the employee.

However we have all had the opportunity to go for this, with the rest of the cost being picked up by the employer, so I have to pay zilch.

The company I work for is quite large operating, but only a small staff base and quite a few of us went for this deal, some of us don't even work that close to work and do a longish commute per day in reality outside of cycle distance.

However, the bike I chose from the website, was a GT Sensor 4.0, does anyone have any experience with these? how do you get on with it/did you get on with it?

This was the top spec mountain bike really.

weescott · 15 Dec 2011 at 19:35

It's a very basic full suspension mountain bike. The parts are very cheap but not nasty. The suspension is very basic. The suspension design isn't the greatest but it's certainly not the worst. It's enough that it won't break straight away if you take it off road. It will do for short commutes, just don't expect to get there quickly.

PhillyDee · 15 Dec 2011 at 19:36

Question is, do you need a mountain bike?
Would a road or hybrid bike not be better for you?

Fuzz · 15 Dec 2011 at 19:57

I do have to wonder why people buy full suspension MTB's for commuting. :-/
Glutton for punishment much?

DJMK4 · 15 Dec 2011 at 19:57

Like I said. We didn't get them to commute, well some of us didn't. This model is around 700-800 I believe, with the tax discount around 500 if I remember correctly.

We get to keep them whilst employed however there is a clause I think that if we terminate then we need to return them I think unless we want to pay some money at a discount rate.

Ill just be using it for some bike rides (non extreme ones) more like country lanes, gravel paths and commuting round my local town

Me and one my collegues both live 35 miles from site so a 70 mile round trip

weescott · 15 Dec 2011 at 20:15

DJMK4 said:
Ill just be using it for some bike rides (non extreme ones) more like country lanes, gravel paths and commuting round my local town

It will be perfect for that. You have some awesome trails near you to try it out on too.

DJMK4 · 15 Dec 2011 at 20:18

To be honest I have done a 26 mile trip on a full suspension mountain bike, and I survived

so it can be done, didn't take as much time as I thought it would either.

But yeh I knew there wasnt a chance I would be commuting that, but its obviously a deal I wasnt going to turn away,

nicholas_yiu · 15 Dec 2011 at 22:51

weescott said:
It's a very basic full suspension mountain bike. The parts are very cheap but not nasty. The suspension is very basic. The suspension design isn't the greatest but it's certainly not the worst. It's enough that it won't break straight away if you take it off road. It will do for short commutes, just don't expect to get there quickly.

In my opinion, the suspension design is great

, the same design has been around for ages and I have not ridden anything else with better rear wheel traction and loads of people have the same opinion. It took all the abuse that I have thrown at it without any problem. (I have an older but higher spec one)

It certainly will not break, as the same frame is used for the higher spec models. There is a reason why the I-drives (what they were called) are so heavy. Don't be alarm when the suspension starts creaking though, it is part of the package

weescott · 15 Dec 2011 at 23:14

nicholas_yiu said:
In my opinion, the suspension design is great , the same design has been around for ages and I have not ridden anything else with better rear wheel traction and loads of people have the same opinion.

It's all subjective. A great shock can make an average suspension design great. An Orange with a CCDB springs to mind.