2021 bike with Ultegra R8000 or wait for the 2022\3 bikes with 12 speed options?

daniel_b

Thanks for your thoughtful reply @redvision, you make some very pertinent points.

The money is there, the Synapse sale could fund over half of it.

Positives:
Mechanical 11 spd (same as most other bikes)
No electronic gears (less to go wrong/keep charged)
Paint job from heaven
Fully integrated cables
Available

Negatives:
Not 12spd
Mechanical groupset (no shiny whirry noises when changing gears)
Full price, not stunning value, zero discount
Can't be bought on C2W scheme

You're right, the 2023 bike potential would be a total gamble, if the stars aligned, supply was good, colours & spec were liked, c2w limit ramped up, then I'd save about 2k, as well as having no initial outlay and seeing it go out over 12 months.

Mechanical/11spd is in both lists, as I can see the pros and cons of each.

This would likely be a bike I would keep for a long time, so on the cards in the future would be new wheels, integrated handlebars, and maybe an electronic groupset a fair way down the line.

I'm committed to a longish ride tomorrow, but if it is still for sale this time next week, I think I'll go down for a viewing at least.

They don't open Sundays.

elbowloh

My last couple of employers have not chosen to or have been unaware that C2W limits can go above a £1000. Its a shame as it seems many brands have moved with the times and no longer have that good commuter bike sitting at or just below that price point.

So, really surprised (and pleased for you) if yours will go as high as £5000!

daniel_b

elbowloh said:

My last couple of employers have not chosen to or have been unaware that C2W limits can go above a £1000. Its a shame as it seems many brands have moved with the times and no longer have that good commuter bike sitting at or just below that price point.

So, really surprised (and pleased for you) if yours will go as high as £5000!

It was that amount for ages wasn't it.
I've organised a campaign of sorts to get as many interested parties to email in along the same lines as me.
We used to only have 1k, then up to 2k, then 3k, but I'm pushing the 'bikes are hyper expensive now, if you want to encourage people to ride in, not use a parking space, use the offices state of the art facilities, then they need to be able to afford a good road bike they will want to ride, or even an ebike' line of persuasion.

Luckily the lady who has been in charge for a few years is very receptive (predecessors were not) and said renewal and an increase in the limit is being discussed in a matter of weeks, and that she will see what she can do, no guarantees mind you.

If I buy this bike in a normal fashion, I'd still hope to be able to use the scheme to buy a groupset for another bike, and wheels and maybe handlebar for this one, the complication being (I think) everything would need to be sourced from the same supplier.

@elbowloh have you and your colleagues tried lobbying the relevant team to up the limit?

I'd make points about:
- green credentials
- better health for employees
- reduced reliance on car parking spaces
- cost of bikes in general
- ebikes are even more

elbowloh

daniel_b said:

elbowloh said:

My last couple of employers have not chosen to or have been unaware that C2W limits can go above a £1000. Its a shame as it seems many brands have moved with the times and no longer have that good commuter bike sitting at or just below that price point.

So, really surprised (and pleased for you) if yours will go as high as £5000!

It was that amount for ages wasn't it.
I've organised a campaign of sorts to get as many interested parties to email in along the same lines as me.
We used to only have 1k, then up to 2k, then 3k, but I'm pushing the 'bikes are hyper expensive now, if you want to encourage people to ride in, not use a parking space, use the offices state of the art facilities, then they need to be able to afford a good road bike they will want to ride, or even an ebike' line of persuasion.

Luckily the lady who has been in charge for a few years is very receptive (predecessors were not) and said renewal and an increase in the limit is being discussed in a matter of weeks, and that she will see what she can do, no guarantees mind you.

If I buy this bike in a normal fashion, I'd still hope to be able to use the scheme to buy a groupset for another bike, and wheels and maybe handlebar for this one, the complication being (I think) everything would need to be sourced from the same supplier.

@elbowloh have you and your colleagues tried lobbying the relevant team to up the limit?

I'd make points about:
- green credentials
- better health for employees
- reduced reliance on car parking spaces
- cost of bikes in general
- ebikes are even more

Nope, i'm in a new job so not rocking the boat at the moment. Plus, not many people are in the office at the moment and i'm 100% WFH for the moment, so they'd ask why i need one for the commute!

daniel_b

Understood, keep your powder dry for now!
I've been where I am for 8.5 years now, so fairly well known

I'm only going in once a week currently, might go in twice next week.
They let me claim 20p a mile for the first 18 months too which is handy.

elbowloh

daniel_b said:

Understood, keep your powder dry for now!
I've been where I am for 8.5 years now, so fairly well known

I'm only going in once a week currently, might go in twice next week.
They let me claim 20p a mile for the first 18 months too which is handy.

Really? I've never heard of that before! How / do they check your claim?

daniel_b

elbowloh said:

daniel_b said:

Understood, keep your powder dry for now!
I've been where I am for 8.5 years now, so fairly well known

I'm only going in once a week currently, might go in twice next week.
They let me claim 20p a mile for the first 18 months too which is handy.

Really? I've never heard of that before! How / do they check your claim?

It's only due to the fact that the head office has moved, and it only applies to people who have to travel further than they used to.
I was literally 5 minutes walk away, now it's ~19 miles away.
Double that amount for vehicle travel as well, but I don't often have access to our van, and would rather ride anyway.

Pre pandemic they were planning to pay everyone straight into their salary the amount for 5 days travel into the office, irrespective of whether they came in or worked from home, which would have been a windfall for a lot of people, myself included.

Now they have changed it, so you have to put in a claim (Not very onerous) and they'll pop it in the next payment run, think I can do them in batches of 10 to minimise admin.
I've worked out if i ride in twice a week over those 18 months it should workout at around £1100 before tax which should pay for a fair chunk of new groupset it will likely need by then
As it's more lucrative in those first 18 months, I might try and ride in Mon, Wed, Fri

The only way they could check would be to check your pass has activated the various doors etc, but I very much doubt anyone will go to the trouble, well unless someone is claiming for 5 days a week, although having said that, there will be those in the call centre who are there day in and day out.

Considering they were going to just pay everyone for vehicular travel 5 days a week, and 40p a mile, this will be a huge 'saving' for them over that, so I think they'll just let it run it's course unchecked.