Hi, Halfords Cycle to Work.

Leesey88

Hi all,

Just wanted abit of help as regards to buying a new bike. I havent sat on a bike in nearly 5 years. And the last time i did, it was a jump and street bike used for messing about at the local dirt jump park.

So, when it comes to finding the right MTB i have no idea what im looking for, and how decent components are. As you can tell by the title im limited to choice with Halfords been the only place i can purchuse a bike from.

Now i dont know the staff at my local Halfords, but i wouldnt find placing money on the the fact that the majority of them know nothing about the bikes they sell, other than the specification that everyone can see when looking on thier website. So ive come here to seek advise from people who have knowledge and experience.

Im looking for a MTB which wont be used to cycle to work(60mile round trip). I will how ever be using it to cycle to the gym(Road) and also taking it around the local bike tracks (off road, small jumps) and when time allows around cannock chase and other bike trails within a decent distance (Im in stoke-on-trent).

I havent been able to decide between full sus, or just front. And also i dont know what the best forks, running gear or breaks are. Im 5'9'' and weighing in at around 83KG with broad shoulders (Rugby player sort of build).

I have a budget of around £800 (willing to up this to a max of £1000 if totaly nesisary) this to be spent purley on the bike. Helmet, gloves and maintence equipment are already owned. A couple of bikes i have been looking at are -

Carrera Banshee X Mountain Bike 09

GT Aggressor XCR Mountain Bike 09

GT Aggressor Elite Hard Tail Mountain Bike 09

Boardman Mountain Bike Comp Full Suspension Medium 2010


Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. And thanks for any time used readign this and helping.

Leesey88

After abit of looking around i think that some other shops my accept the halfords vouchers, and also it might be a case that halfords are willing to try and source any bike at RRP.

Alexonnavitch

When i did cycle2work with halfords, if you contact the actual C2W team they can source you pretty much any bike you want

Leesey88

Yer i spotted that, im just not that clued up on bikes. So, just after advice and recommendations.

Alexonnavitch

Your definately in the right place to get the info you need......im no expert whatsoever so am just offering my opinion, for 800 quid i would look at hardtails. No point in looking at full sussers as they arent gonna be to great at this price point. When i did the scheme i bought a focus hard tail from wiggle.co.uk and i have been very happy with it indeed. I went down the route of "which bike?" on here and you should get a much better response if you list a few bikes that you like the look of

nickfrog

I thought C2W scheme was for people cycling to work (stop me if I state the obvious), hence the tax saving incentive funded by the tax payer.

How come is it possible to save the tax and then not commit to cycle to work ?

Sounds like a tax dodge to me.

Leesey88

Hardly a tax dodge, the scheme is offered to everyone at my work and no where in the T&C's does it say i must cycle to work. I work a manual job and the last thing i want to be doing is a 30mile trip to and from work.

I want to use the bike to cycle to the gym (rather than drive) and also do as many trials as i can fit into my spare time. I used to enjoy biking in my teens and i want to pick it back up again.

I spoke to a couple of lads at work, and with halfords been able to source any bike, im going have a look at some proper bike shops to get some sound advice, and ask if i can use the voucher there, as ive seen this is possible at some independant dealers.

Bikes ive seen not on the halfords site are the rockhoper and 901. So im going have a good look at them this weekend.

Anonymous

Leesey88 - what scheme does your company use?

Leesey88

Halfords cycle to work

Anonymous

I think you'll find that the bike must be used for all or some part of a commute to/from work...

Leesey88

Which is possible when i catch a train into work, ill cycle to the train station. :roll:

Anyways, this thread is not about wether or not im going to cycle into work, its about buying advice. 8)

nickfrog

Leesey88 wrote:

Hardly a tax dodge, the scheme is offered to everyone at my work and no where in the T&C's does it say i must cycle to work. I work a manual job and the last thing i want to be doing is a 30mile trip to and from work.

I want to use the bike to cycle to the gym (rather than drive) and also do as many trials as i can fit into my spare time. I used to enjoy biking in my teens and i want to pick it back up again.

I spoke to a couple of lads at work, and with halfords been able to source any bike, im going have a look at some proper bike shops to get some sound advice, and ask if i can use the voucher there, as ive seen this is possible at some independant dealers.

Bikes ive seen not on the halfords site are the rockhoper and 901. So im going have a good look at them this weekend.

I thought 50% of the use of the bike had to be dedicated to commuting. If not, it is a tax dodge. You're getting the rest of the tax payers to fund a reduction of your tax. It's illegal.

Anonymous

Leesey88 wrote:

Which is possible when i catch a train into work, ill cycle to the train station.

Corrected for you

Leesey88

So, I'll use it to get me the train station. As soon as they have some where to store bikes, which will be soon due to a small revamp. Anyways, back on to buying advice, or does everyone want to lable me as a benifit fraud(I pay my taxes, car insurance, car tax and don't claim any benfits) and not offer sound advice.

Anonymous

I'd be thinking Carrera Fury or top-end Boardman hardtails at your price range.

nickfrog

Leesey88 wrote:

So, I'll use it to get me the train station. As soon as they have some where to store bikes, which will be soon due to a small revamp. Anyways, back on to buying advice, or does everyone want to lable me as a benifit fraud(I pay my taxes, car insurance, car tax and don't claim any benfits) and not offer sound advice.

it will be a fraud, by our own admission.

Leesey88

Well, i have the option of a 30mile bike ride to work, or a 2 mile ride to the station. I rang the the helpline on the C2W scheme and they are happy with this due to the circumstances of distance to work. So nickfrog you can have peace of mind that you are not comiting fraud. Also work would also not countersign the paper work.

I have looked at the Fury, but for £600 i thought i might be able get abit more bike for say £800ish.

I do quite the look of the following now that i know i can order from outside halfords.

Scott Scale 70 2010 - £799.99

SPECIALIZED ROCKHOPPER SL COMP 2010 - £799.99

CUBE Ltd Comp - £750

Whyte 901 Trail 2010
1100

supersonic

I'd take a look at the Boardman Comp and Team - great specs for the money, and lighter than anything else in this range.

nickfrog

Leesey88 wrote:

So nickfrog you can have peace of mind that you are not comiting fraud. Also work would also not countersign the paper work.

Check with the taxman. I have.

It's not called the "Cycle to Work only if you feel like it and if you don't you can still get your riding part-funded by the tax payer Scheme".

Abusing the scheme will simply lead to it being stopped to the detriment of those who genuinely cycle to work.

eebygum

Hey matey,

The Cube LTD series have been getting great reviews from people, as have Boardmans. Also check out paulscycles.co.uk as they have some excellent value 09 model deals on.

From reading similar posts the basic rules seem to be; dont bother with full sus for under a grand. Decide whether you want a xc racey geometry light weight HT or a sturdier hardcore HT with greater travel forks.

If you want a lightweight xc HT then check out the Cube LTD and Trek 6500
If you want something which can take more of a beasting then check out On*One, Orange, and Merlin.

I know they are more than your budget, but have a gander at:

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOO456TR/456-trail

http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/2009bikes/ ... odel_id=92

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/custom-mo ... m-sl1.html


as for the cycle scheme, im guessing that the gov could well cut it in the near future to help bail out our much lovedl investment merchant bankers. so my advice is get in there now and take any break you can get, because you can count on the fact that they will be few and far between over the next few years.

Leesey88

Think im decided on a ->

Boardman Mountain Bike Team Medium 2010 (£850)

■Ultralight super butted race spec aluminium frame has an exceptional strength to weight ratio
■RockShox Reba SL suspension fork with 100mm travel, Motion Control damping and lockout
■SRAM X9/X7 27 speed gearing for crisp, accurate shifting
■Powerful Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes are lightweight and provide reliable braking performance in wet conditions
■Truvativ Firex GXP chainset
■Ritchey Pro rims with sealed bearing hubs for longer bearing life
■Continental Speed King 2.1" tyres
■Ritchey Comp finishing kit

bearfraser

man, there are some real pedants out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, lets just "Pedal"

Leesey88

■Trade up to the Boardman Mountain Bike Pro model for X0 rear mech with carbon fibre cage, ultralight Avid Elixir R carbon hydraulic disc brakes and RockShox Reba Race forks


is this worth paying the extra £150 for also... before i comit to buying the team one.

alexj2233

There's not a huge difference in the spec, the motion control on the reba races will be a certain improvement.

If you can afford to get the pro then go for it, you will definitely have a better bike as a result.

supersonic

The SL has motion control.

Leesey88

Ive applied for the £1000 voucher and im going go for the pro. Should take about 2-3 weeks now to get it. Ill post pics and let you all know how it is