Buying Advice Please!!! - £1500 HT

OrangeAddict

I know this an old subject but there's a bunch of new bikes out there...

I have an Orange Five for gnarly trail riding but live in the cotswolds where FS is simply not necessary. Have a budget of £1000 through the cycle-to-work scheme so retail of c. £1600. Utterly bewildered. Want lightweight, responsive, and some gnarly singletrack aspirations for when I've turned up with the wrong bike ...

Current maybe's... Orange Crush, Boardman HT Pro Carbon, Specialized Carve Expert 29...

Any guidance or other suggestions with reasons why would be really really helpful because I'm struggling to make a decision!

tezboy1234

try looking at the cube reaction bikes. they have a choice of alluminium or carbon, depending on wich reaction you look at. i think the reaction series has it's cables routed inside the frame itself, wich is a nice touch. never read a bad review of a cube bike. theres videos on youtube aswell. apparently cube offer exellent VFM compared to most companies, so you'll be well looked after in the spec department. i'm looking at getting the cube ltd sl 2012 as my 1st bike. thats not as racey as the reaction but exellent value. rock shox reba remote control and poploc, virtually a full shimano deore xt setup. if you go with black anodised colour you save 0.2 kg on the weight. bike ways 11.9 kg and you can get it for under 1k online from the odd place. if your willling to spend 1500, you could use the extra 500 for upgrades. shimano deore xt wheels. lighter handlebars, stem and seatpost. for a 1k bike, you'll be hard challenged to find a better one for the same money. also, cube test the hell out of there stuff so it'll last well. try the giant xtc 3 2011 aswell. 599 at winstanleys. weighs 26ib. used to cos 1k but is last years model now. you'll have plenty left for upgrades should you want them.

The Rookie

What C2W sceme is allowing you to spend £1600 retail? Most cap at £1K due to the need for a credit licence to go over that, are you restricted to any particular retailers by your scheme? Check first, we have too many threads where someone chooses C2W bike only to find they can't get it!

OrangeAddict

C2W scheme is for £1000 limit, since the deal is salary sacrifice this gives me the equivalent buying power of £1600 .... unless I have misunderstood (and on reflection I have a nasty suspicion I have ... bother!)?

We are tied to Halfords but I have been in touch and Halfords are able to source outside their standard range from www.leisurelakesbikes.com at full retail price which opens access to a raft of other brands including Orange and Specialized

snowjho

Thats not how my cycle to work scheme works. Its a £1000 limit unless otherwise agreed with the employer but they need a credit consumer license. I bought an 800 pound bike plus 40 quid shoes. 12 monthly payments of £70 is taken before tax deduction. I lose £50 of my net salary. I think thats right. Some shops will "quote" you for a cheaper bike and then allow you to top up. Doubt halfords will tho. £1000 will get you a lovely HT i gather.

cooldad

You have misunderstood.

OrangeAddict

Ok... so same question with a budget of err... £1000?

drtobiasfunke

Not much better than the boardman pro at the 1k mark to be honest.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65499#tab2

You can get 10% off as usual with the NUS monthly codes. NUSAPR12 is this months code.

The Rookie

And is it a scheme that limits where you can get it from, Halfords only sell on THEIR scheme and no other scheme uses Halfords for example.......for that reason I'll refrain from giving any bike advice unless I know it's available to you, had too many on here fall in love with a bike to find they can't have it!