Govt £50 voucher to get bike roadworthy

squirejim

Im missing a front skewer for my front wheel ..... presumably i can take my bike to a participating store like a Halfords, get them to fix it in seconds and parts and labour will be less than £50..... as ive been burned before by my LBS for service and always end up with bills of £200 +.... presume this is all within the rules? anyone know?

ugo.santalucia

Sounds reasonable to me...

squirejim

muchos gracias - everyone's a winner!

kingstongraham

You don't really need a decent mechanic to install a skewer, surely. (Or to use a £50 voucher, really. Unless I'm missing something.)

orraloon

I'll do it for £40 😊

squirejim

kingstongraham said:

You don't really need a decent mechanic to install a skewer, surely. (Or to use a £50 voucher, really. Unless I'm missing something.)

totally agreee... but if its free and overall will cost less than 50 , then why not !? otherwise, i take it in for full setrvice and invariably will cost greater that £50

squirejim

orraloon said:

I'll do it for £40 😊

done deal! - will you accept a voucher!?

mfin

Remember it says... The scheme is open to anyone in England who has an unused cycle in need of a repair. However, as there are a limited number of vouchers available, please consider the needs of others before applying for a voucher

It's important people don't just use it to get something for free. The point is to help financially people get cycling who otherwise wouldn't have been.

I'd hope loads of cyclists aren't going to try use the scheme just to get work done for free that they otherwise could afford anyway or would have had done anyway.

squirejim

mfin said:

Remember it says... The scheme is open to anyone in England who has an unused cycle in need of a repair. However, as there are a limited number of vouchers available, please consider the needs of others before applying for a voucher

It's important people don't just use it to get something for free. The point is to help financially people get cycling who otherwise wouldn't have been.

I'd hope loads of cyclists aren't going to try use the scheme just to get work done for free that they otherwise could afford anyway or would have had done anyway.

That's a very good point..... and to be honest I hadn't read the aspect about limited vouchers and needs of others who would need it more .....i.e. those that haven't cycled for a while .

Whist i am struggling financially you are right, others that dont currently cycle would need it more. It does worry me though., that i have never had a bike that needed repair / service that cost under £50 , so there may be many suitable people dusting off their bikes, struggling financially, take their bike in, to then be asked to cough up an extra £££ ..... however, i accept, i don't need the £50. as technically i can make my bike roadworthy .... plus ive yet to be able to get a voucher anyway, so that's put paid to that idea. But thanks for pointing out, as that is an extremely valid point !

mfin

Hey, there will be 1000s of people doing it who don't really need to. There's nothing stopping the whole thing being abused really. I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of people are trying it on just see if they can get £50 worth of free stuff too, stuff sold in the bike shops. Hopefully the honourable bike shops will turn those people away. Then of course there will be the brigade who are just thinking "oh, I'll do that and I'll get a service for free". I expect there will be many more non-genuine take ups than genuine ones, as that's what many people are like.

Oh, and I wasn't directing it at you per se anyway, I was just making a general observation on what the scheme is truly intended to do and achieve.

Reading what you've said though, I can send you a shiny pair of pretty much unused road skewers that I have in my garage for nothing if you like. PM me if you'd like them.

squirejim

hey mfin, im pleased you pointed it out, as i was totally unaware. I heard some vague thing about a £50 voucher and then my Dad called me to say, better try and get a voucher, without really understanding the purpose of the scheme to get folks that haven't been out for a while to get them going again.

you're right im sure some people will abuse system, but if people take their bike in for service and it costs £200 and they get £50 discount then that's all OK, in my view, as the bike shop wins as well as cyclist.

My cheapskate plan however, is probably not the correct usage. However, if all the vouchers have gone and only 20% are actually used, then i would consider applying, if more were released....

oh and i believe, you cant use the money for parts, the bike has to be brought into the shop... and in my opinion, certainly where i live a basic service with a couple of small parts required is usually way more than £50... especially, if its a dusty old bike stuck in shed for years, folks may be in for a shock, thinking their dusty old bike will be shiny as new without being asked to fork out extra. although my lbs calls and says what is required, so i guess that may put people off at that point, if they then realise they will have to pay extra .... then what will happen to the voucher, if they decide not to proceed.....

N0bodyOfTheGoat

The scheme concept was reasonable, but the rules for playing the game are very open to abuse.

It would have been far better to at least initially open the scheme only to those on certain benefits.

But it's another I'll thought out cycle fund, just like C2W, where the higher earners get the most discount when they are the most likely to afford the bike at full price.

squirejim

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

The scheme concept was reasonable, but the rules for playing the game are very open to abuse.

It would have been far better to at least initially open the scheme only to those on certain benefits.

But it's another I'll thought out cycle fund, just like C2W, where the higher earners get the most discount when they are the most likely to afford the bike at full price.

Its aims are well intentioned. But I don't know of many bike shops where an old bike needing to get roadworthy, will usually require parts of some sort and certain amount of labour that can be done for £50 or less. So even opening it up to those on certain benefits.... if they are then presented will a bill in excess of £50, potentially puts them at further disadvantage financially, or decide against the idea s a whole. There are lots of variables, but the concept is well intentioned ...

orraloon

Any vouchers on eBay yet? 🤔

squirejim

Ha ha .... will keep an eye out !

N0bodyOfTheGoat

squirejim said:

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

The scheme concept was reasonable, but the rules for playing the game are very open to abuse.

It would have been far better to at least initially open the scheme only to those on certain benefits.

But it's another I'll thought out cycle fund, just like C2W, where the higher earners get the most discount when they are the most likely to afford the bike at full price.

Its aims are well intentioned. But I don't know of many bike shops where an old bike needing to get roadworthy, will usually require parts of some sort and certain amount of labour that can be done for £50 or less. So even opening it up to those on certain benefits.... if they are then presented will a bill in excess of £50, potentially puts them at further disadvantage financially, or decide against the idea s a whole. There are lots of variables, but the concept is well intentioned ...

But as an example, it could be the first time someone with a road bike with little disposable income could afford to try a pair of "premium" tyres such as GP5000s instead of of a "budget" model by supplementing the £50 voucher with ~£20 of their own wonga.

But on the negative flipside, that pair of GP5000s could be sold for say £50, making the voucher user £30 net profit.

squirejim

yes, there are lots of variables..... al im imagining is these bikes that have been stored for years, creaking there way to bike shops and perhaps not appreciating that in certain cases, getting such a bike sufficiently roadworthy that's been neglected will likely cost in excess of £50 and perhaps considerably more... but hey ... the more cyclists the better, provided the infrastructure is supported too....

I must say a BIG THANK YOU though to mfin who has resolved my skewer problem and totally unexpectedly and exceptionally kindly has offered to send a spare set he has unused, to me for free and will not accept an offer at least of reimbursement for shipping costs. So a big thank you to MFIN ! I haven't been on this forum for years and a gesture like this has really made my day .....and is thoroughly appreciated!

ballysmate

Well done mfin!!

ballysmate

Voucher schemes are open to abuse. Witness people trying to use school vouchers to buy booze, ciggies, scratch cards and the like.
Leading to incidents like this.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/i-hope-you-die-coronavirus-18157536

darkhairedlord

ballysmate said:

Voucher schemes are open to abuse. Witness people trying to use school vouchers to buy booze, ciggies, scratch cards and the like.
Leading to incidents like this.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/i-hope-you-die-coronavirus-18157536

The offy always took milk vouchers for beer and fags.

darkhairedlord

A better scheme would be to remove vat from cycles and cycle parts, at the same time they could get shot of c2w.

Ben6899

squirejim said:

mfin said:

Remember it says... The scheme is open to anyone in England who has an unused cycle in need of a repair. However, as there are a limited number of vouchers available, please consider the needs of others before applying for a voucher

It's important people don't just use it to get something for free. The point is to help financially people get cycling who otherwise wouldn't have been.

I'd hope loads of cyclists aren't going to try use the scheme just to get work done for free that they otherwise could afford anyway or would have had done anyway.

That's a very good point..... and to be honest I hadn't read the aspect about limited vouchers and needs of others who would need it more .....i.e. those that haven't cycled for a while .

Whist i am struggling financially you are right, others that dont currently cycle would need it more. It does worry me though., that i have never had a bike that needed repair / service that cost under £50 , so there may be many suitable people dusting off their bikes, struggling financially, take their bike in, to then be asked to cough up an extra £££ ..... however, i accept, i don't need the £50. as technically i can make my bike roadworthy .... plus ive yet to be able to get a voucher anyway, so that's put paid to that idea. But thanks for pointing out, as that is an extremely valid point !

I'll put you a skewer in the post. Road? Front or rear?

Do you need anything else?

thistle_

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

The scheme concept was reasonable, but the rules for playing the game are very open to abuse.

Yeah, I've heard of people now doing a £50 "service" which basically seems to involve looking at the bike and quoting for the repairs that are needed.

Ben6899

Ben6899 said:

squirejim said:

mfin said:

Remember it says... The scheme is open to anyone in England who has an unused cycle in need of a repair. However, as there are a limited number of vouchers available, please consider the needs of others before applying for a voucher

It's important people don't just use it to get something for free. The point is to help financially people get cycling who otherwise wouldn't have been.

I'd hope loads of cyclists aren't going to try use the scheme just to get work done for free that they otherwise could afford anyway or would have had done anyway.

That's a very good point..... and to be honest I hadn't read the aspect about limited vouchers and needs of others who would need it more .....i.e. those that haven't cycled for a while .

Whist i am struggling financially you are right, others that dont currently cycle would need it more. It does worry me though., that i have never had a bike that needed repair / service that cost under £50 , so there may be many suitable people dusting off their bikes, struggling financially, take their bike in, to then be asked to cough up an extra £££ ..... however, i accept, i don't need the £50. as technically i can make my bike roadworthy .... plus ive yet to be able to get a voucher anyway, so that's put paid to that idea. But thanks for pointing out, as that is an extremely valid point !

I'll put you a skewer in the post. Road? Front or rear?

Do you need anything else?

EDIT: just seen that @mfin has sorted you out. Good work!

darkhairedlord

Stevo has probably rolled this into tax avoidance scheme already.

Ben6899

oxoman said:

mfin well done. As an aside to the original post and this is aimed at mod,s. How about a free to good home section as i'm sure between us we have loads of stuff that's serviceable but not good enough to sell on.

I like this idea.

I have scuffed saddles, not-new BBs, lights etc that I'd happily let someone have if they need them. Without going through the hassle of a sale etc.

The Rookie

My MTB has a very worn tyre, £50 should cover it nicely.

OK I have a very worn tyre in the shed I could put on it for the purposes of the visit...

ugo.santalucia

I think it's fine, even Boris claimed for his service to the Cervelo

mfin

Ben6899 said:

oxoman said:

mfin well done. As an aside to the original post and this is aimed at mod,s. How about a free to good home section as i'm sure between us we have loads of stuff that's serviceable but not good enough to sell on.

I like this idea.

I have scuffed saddles, not-new BBs, lights etc that I'd happily let someone have if they need them. Without going through the hassle of a sale etc.

It is a good idea for a section. Probably best if it was led by people describing their needs though rather than just listing stuff, because there are always going to be people who would go against the spirit of things by try to get anything as long as it's free. Better to get things to go to a good home where you know it is helping someone out than any old home.

squirejim

mfin - thank you v much - they arrived today and are installed on my Giant defy which had been front wheelless for along while..... thanks so much again! Have taken a pic and will see if i can find way to upload it !!

squirejim