On your heads be it ;-)

JohnBoyUK

Right you lot.

After much lurking and reading your posts, doing some research and especially the "OMG do I go for a compact or triple?" threads, I finally got my backside down to my LBS and ordered the Specialized Allez Elite on Saturday.

I really wanted to get the CAAD 9 but as I'm tied to cyclescheme, it was nigh on impossible finding a Cannondale dealer with stock...so bit the bullet and decided to save some cash and go for the Allez instead.

So.. if I cant get my @rse up over Shooters Hill in SE London on the Allez when I get it, I'm gonna hold you lot responsible ;-)

I thought I'd be clever and use the saving on the cheaper bike to put towards a Garmin 705 but the LBS told me cyclescheme have cracked down and doesnt allow you to do that anymore... so I'm gonna have to make do with my 405 watch for the time being.

Anyhow, just thought I'd say thanks to you lot on here as the advice you lot give on here is invaluable at times. I seriously cant wait to get my roadie and start racking up the miles on the roads. I done a 50 miler mostly off road at the weekend along the Thames and it was fabulous, all be it I've got two tone legs from the cycle shorts now but hey, its worth it.

gregster10217

"So.. if I cant get my @rse up over Shooters Hill in SE London on the Allez when I get it, I'm gonna hold you lot responsible"

You're going to have to catch us first!!! LOL. You'll be fine on your Allez. Can we take it you went for a double then? Not too much around London/Kent that I've really thought I would want a tripple on, just get out there and get some miles in your legs. Enjoy

Headhuunter

They wouldn't let you get a 705 on Cyclescheme? I've never heard that before!

JohnBoyUK

Nope, they were quite adamant it was for a bike and safety equipment only. Was gutted when they told me that but hey, if thats the price for getting a decent bike at a discount then so be it.

Yeah, the Allez Elite is the compact double. The guy in the shop said the bottom end is the equivalent of losing only two gears at the very bottom of my Rockhopper so hopefully should be able to cope ok. I'm getting better up the hills now anyway with some mileage in my legs but am still worrying about mashing my knees up.[/quote]

Headhuunter

I bought a bike, a new set of wheel (Shimano RS80 carbon laminate) for my "good" bike, 105 brake blocks for my "good" bike (as well as the usual lock, pump etc) through Cyclescheme. Since when did the government run scheme exclude things like Garmin?

Radioactiveman

Lots of different experiences from people at work who have bought thought cyclescheme. The level of flexibility varies from shop to shop. Some adhere to the rules strictly and others let you buy anything and everything

ride_whenever

The government has cracked down since people started buying really cheap POS bikes and very expensive garmins on C2W... They felt it was taking the pi$$ too much so have banned all cycle computers.

Headhuunter

Radioactiveman wrote:

Lots of different experiences from people at work who have bought thought cyclescheme. The level of flexibility varies from shop to shop. Some adhere to the rules strictly and others let you buy anything and everything

But there are no rules which say that you can't buy a Garmin 705. The scheme encompasses anything cycling orientated as far as I was aware. You have to buy an actual bike as part of the deal which is supposed to be used to commute on, but other than that are there any rules as to what you can or cannot buy? You don't even have to prove you are commuting on the bike, there is no requirement for you to keep a mileage log or anything. Sounds like Cyclescheme is being weird.

craker

You don't even have to buy a bike afaik.

I got some wheels which went on the quote as 'safety equipment'.

JohnBoyUK

I actually phoned cyclescheme at lunchtime and they confirmed that it was against HMRC rules to buy a computer of any kind under the cyclescheme terms and conditions.

So there you have it from the horses mouth

Headhuunter

JohnBoyUK wrote:

I actually phoned cyclescheme at lunchtime and they confirmed that it was against HMRC rules to buy a computer of any kind under the cyclescheme terms and conditions.

So there you have it from the horses mouth

Really... Wonder when they brought that in. I was thinking of buying a Garmin 705 as part of my order from Ribble but chose new wheels instead

ride_whenever

recently, in the last couple of months.

rake

good i say. should be full bike only. scroungers.

racingcondor

I looked into this a lot when I first bought a bike through the scheme. HMRC guidance has always said 1 bike + safety gear with the suggested safety gear including lights, reflective clothes, helmet etc (pretty vague limits though).

In practice I don't think anyone has enforced it much (why would you waste the money) so I suspect that it's largely down to how paranoid the manager of the bike shop is or, for chains what company policy is.

JohnBoyUK - enjoy the bike, you'll soon realise that everyone on cycling forums worries far too much about what they're buying (me included).

rake

its a bit like mp's expenses, fraud. who's bought a mote.

keef66

Come on! just be grateful that you get to buy a bike cheaply and pay for it a bit at a time. Not everyone gets access to the scheme, and you can probably guess I'm one of the ones who doesn't.

I thought the idea of the scheme was to encourage more people to cycle to work? I can imagine that a bike, lights, clothing, helmet and lock might be considered fair under such a scheme, but a £300 GPS computer? FFS!

JohnBoyUK

Well...finally...after my voucher had been sitting around for 8 days, I picked up my Allez Elite on Friday. God its stunning to look at. However, it had to sit in my spare room until this morning :-(

Let me explain, when I got to the shop, the guy that served me advised me not to ride it until the tyres were up to around 110psi, whereby they are only licenced in the shop to pump the tyres up to 90 psi (has anyone ever heard anything as daft as that before?) otherwise I'd be risking pinch flats.

So the option I had was to buy a track pump from their shop, and the prices seemed quite high in comparison to what I'd seen online, or be a bit more patient and order it online....given the amount of DIY I had to do over the last 3 days, I ordered it online. It was so hard to stare at the bike for 3 days but hey. Good things come to those that wait so my old dear says.

Pump turned up first thing this morning so pumped up the tyres to 110psi and off I went. 40 miles later, wow. So much more fun and so much quicker than my Rockhopper Pro. I know its only 40 miles in but think I've made the right choice. Managed to get over Shooters Hill on both sides too, so am very happy this morning!

Now I need to fight the urge to treat myself to an Edge 705 ;-)

danowat

Get some decent tyres ASAP, those Mondos on the Allez are terrible!!! 8)

JohnBoyUK

What would you recommend?

Pross

I'd recommend a different bike shop - running on 90psi is plenty. Most bike shops can pass purchases off as safety equipment, the likes of a Garmin have never been allowed really but it's not like anyone checks exactly what has been bought anymore than they check if it is being used to get you to work.

danowat

JohnBoyUK wrote:

What would you recommend?

Conti GP4000S