Best time to buy a new bike?

tailwindhome

I seem to have been bitten by the cycling bug again and I am considering buying a road bike.

When is the best (read cheapest) time to buy?

Now, looking at discontinued (and reduced) 2008 models ?

Wait for January sales?

Or will stores promote in the spring?

I will be buying 'off the rack' online and don't want to self build


Redundancy is imminent, though I hope to secure a new job before Xmas and spend some of the severance pay on a bike.

Will be looking at the £500-750 range, though I am hoping my new employer will operate a 'cycle to work scheme'.


Do I have to cycle to work to use the scheme?

It is looking unlikely that I will get job inside a 35 mile radius of home so a daily cycle commute is unlikely, but I still fancy a half price bike!

Any thoughts?

EDIT To make posting more coherent :oops:

Slow Downcp

In theory, yes the bike should be used mainly for commuting to be eligible for the scheme, but in practice you should be okay. If you could show that you could cycle to work one day a week (but not necessarily do it), but do little other mileage then the main use is commuting so you're covered.

If any new job does have the scheme, you may be restricted to new models, where you can buy from, no discount etc so it's not always as attractive as it first seems. Or you could get lucky and join a place that runs a self administered scheme with a £3k upper limit :-)

gtvlusso

Don't mean to be the prophet of doom or anything but; you have not started your new job, how do you know you are safe in your new job (last in, first out). I think the last thing I would be thinking was about buying a new bike in the current turmoil.....with redundancy pay!

But if I was, I would go for the Planet x Carbon road bike with Dura Ace for £899....

I would have thought there would be sales - your new company may do C2W scheme too!

tailwindhome

gtvlusso wrote:

Don't mean to be the prophet of doom or anything but; you have not started your new job, how do you know you are safe in your new job (last in, first out). I think the last thing I would be thinking was about buying a new bike in the current turmoil.....with redundancy pay!

Funny the wife asked the same question and wanted to know how much I would sell the MTB for? :shock:

Thanks for the recommendation, have fallen in love with


http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2008

but think its just the 'celeste' colour and dreams of Alpine climbs.


As a supplementary question I see some bikes priced with a choice of groupsets, Dura Ace, Tiagra etc

For a beginner like me does paying extra for an upgrade make sense?

What are the differences between models?

Slow Downcp

Winstanley's won't be able to supply the bike in your link - they regularly advertise stuff cheap to get your interest and then tell you thay can supply the '09 model instead (at a higher price).

daniel_b

Hi Wheezy,

if it were me I would definitely wait until you start your new job, and if they do offer the C2W scheme, your onto a winner.

Just to stick up for Winstanleys (As I know they get a lot of bad press) a friend of mine ordered a hybrid from them earlier this year, he wasn't sure of the size he needed, but the person he e-mailed was very helpful, and measured the bike for him.

I did mention to him that they were allegedly renowned for not having the stock in they claimed, so told him to check with the warehouse, which he did.
2 days later the bike arrived, i think he said the gears were setup, and it was just a case of straightening the bars and affixing the pedals.

On a personal experience, I was fairly close to buying a lovely Marin mountain bike (Yes another one) from them in the spring time, with a whopping £600 taken off it, I rang through to the warehouse, spoke to a helpful guy there, and he went and checked the stock while I waited, and told me there was 3 of the model left in that size, and he also confirmed the price. Clearly I can't guarantee that he was telling the truth, as I ended up not going for it, but it certainly seemed genuine to me at the time.

Lastly, regaring a good time of year to buy a bike, it's all a bit hit and miss really, I bagged my meant to be last year MTB in the month of May, but then you'll also be getting last years (or even older) models in places like winstanleys and pauls cycles at all times of year.

Personally I would pretty much always go with last years model, unless there was a major upgrade in the current year that I thought justified the price difference, ie better groupset, hydraulic brakes etc etc, and with the current trend for newer bikes to seemingly be lower specced, your probably even better off with last years model.

Dan

gtvlusso

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

Don't mean to be the prophet of doom or anything but; you have not started your new job, how do you know you are safe in your new job (last in, first out). I think the last thing I would be thinking was about buying a new bike in the current turmoil.....with redundancy pay!

Funny the wife asked the same question and wanted to know how much I would sell the MTB for? :shock:

Thanks for the recommendation, have fallen in love with


http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2008

but think its just the 'celeste' colour and dreams of Alpine climbs.


As a supplementary question I see some bikes priced with a choice of groupsets, Dura Ace, Tiagra etc

For a beginner like me does paying extra for an upgrade make sense?

What are the differences between models?

Weight of the components is the key difference - The groupset should match the frame type: i.e. you would not put a £800 lightweight Dura Ace groupset onto a £100 Steel frame from halfords! I would try and go middle of the road - Shimano 105 is very good as Is Campag Mirage. My Boardman has Ultegra - not bad for £899 as it is a £600 groupset!! My TT bike used SRAM Red - kinda odd for a TT bike, but the Groupset is near £1500.... The bike was £3500 and was sold to pay for a kitchen.

The Bianchi is a great bike and will server you well for a few years as a beginner - Xenon is a perfectly good Groupset, but you will probably outgrow it - the frame is good enough to upgrade to 105 or Mirage at a later date if you wear stuff out. I would also recommend Focus bikes from Wiggle.co.uk - very good value of components and frame. You will be out in all weather so, don't get too hung up on it and you may fall off too!

Ultimately, if you buy what you want, you will use it. If you buy something that you were umming and Are'ing about, you proabably won't use it as much.