Best £1000 road bike on ride to work scheme

simwilli
simwilli Posts: 36
edited October 2010 in Road buying advice
Hi. I've just got the go ahead for a £1000 road bike. I'm aiming to do quite a few sportives over the summer. Can you advise what bike would be the best. My current bike is a specialized secteur

Comments

  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    Depends on which scheme. If it is cyclescheme - then is the planet x or ribble - if its the halfords scheme then it has to be the boardman team carbon.

    Cycleschemes aren't what they were - as the tax rules affecting the final payment have changed - this time of year you might actually get a better deal not using the scheme - as most shops won't let you have sales prices on cyclescheme.
  • Scrumple
    Scrumple Posts: 2,665
    Don't blame the shops, have you seen the commission they have to kick back to the schemes!

    Bit rude asking for a sale price and for them to pay even more to a middle man. Unless it is a big chain who run their own scheme and then who cares as they get it all somehow!
  • surreyxc
    surreyxc Posts: 293
    there's a few option: Planet x, Genesis, Boardman all do good bikes at this price. I went for Boardman CX, as I wanted a bike that would be good for winter, shortcuts, and light off-road. Very pleased with it so far
  • norry1
    norry1 Posts: 12
    I recently bought a .... Specialized Secteur Elite and very happy with it.

    Martin
  • ratsbeyfus
    ratsbeyfus Posts: 2,841
    I got a CAAD 9 and I love it... I don't think there are any left though. Can you pre-order a CAAD 10?


    I had one of them red bikes but I don't any more. Sad face.

    @ratsbey
  • springtide9
    springtide9 Posts: 1,731
    It's far enough .... Both Ribble and PX apply a 'admin fee' if you buy via the Cycle Scheme. If I remember, Ribble is £60 and PX is 10%.

    Out of the two, PX is more flexible if you go 'just over' £1000 (top up)

    Not that I've just looked... but...

    Planet-X SL Pro Carbon
    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/sl-pro-carbon-10-36958
    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... n-sram-red
    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/cycle-scheme

    Ribble Gran Fondo
    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -210-39756
    http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikebuild ... type=RIBMO
    http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/publish.a ... eme&page=1


    Hope that helps.. note that the Boardman Carbon is now over £1k, which ruled Halfords out for me. But it depends on which voucher your company uses.
    Simon
  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    Scrumple wrote:
    Don't blame the shops, have you seen the commission they have to kick back to the schemes!

    Bit rude asking for a sale price and for them to pay even more to a middle man. Unless it is a big chain who run their own scheme and then who cares as they get it all somehow!


    What annoys me - is when the shops say 'we are not allowed to sell discount bikes on cyclescheme' - I checked this and it 100% the shops decision.

    When I brought my bike - I negotiated the spec and price - then told him I was using a voucher - he had a little moan - but then when I told him - I had upped the spec by £300 because I had a voucher - he honoured the quotes.
  • Hi the scheme we've got at work is the Nhs one. I really like the planet x sl pro carbon. It's priced at £1100. Can you still get it on the r2w scheme and pay the difference?
  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    simwilli wrote:
    Hi the scheme we've got at work is the Nhs one. I really like the planet x sl pro carbon. It's priced at £1100. Can you still get it on the r2w scheme and pay the difference?

    Thats cyclescheme then ! (confident of keeping your NHS job then !)

    Officially you can't top up - but if you ask the shop nicely most will do it. If not downgrade the spec - then buy some wheels separately.

    I brought some xero wheels for £250 - and these made a massive difference over the stock wheels.
  • springtide9
    springtide9 Posts: 1,731
    simwilli wrote:
    Hi the scheme we've got at work is the Nhs one. I really like the planet x sl pro carbon. It's priced at £1100. Can you still get it on the r2w scheme and pay the difference?

    Yes (that's what I'm hopefully doing!)

    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/news/pr ... on-q-and-a

    Q. Can I use the bike to work scheme with this bike
    Yes. Although the scheme is only meant to go up to £1000, we give you the option to pay the difference direct. Simply add the bike and any accessories to the basket and click the "bike to work" payment option. For more details click here.


    I emailed 'Ribble' about doing this, but it's not possible (which is why I've gone for the PX)
    Simon
  • northpole
    northpole Posts: 1,499
    Simon
    I'm surprised that Ribble wouldn't play ball on this - a colleague in work bought a Gran Fondo at the turn of the year and the final cost was circa £1,200. May be that the new rules on final valuation have changed this?
    Peter
  • springtide9
    springtide9 Posts: 1,731
    northpole wrote:
    Simon
    I'm surprised that Ribble wouldn't play ball on this - a colleague in work bought a Gran Fondo at the turn of the year and the final cost was circa £1,200. May be that the new rules on final valuation have changed this?
    Peter

    FYI - the email reply from Ribble... it's not no, but more of a maybe...

    The maximum allowed on this Government scheme is £1000. This is based on a blanket consumer credit licence to cover all companies joining this scheme.

    Companies that hold their own consumer credit licence can set their own limits (within reason). In this case we will obviously accept an order over £1000 as long as a voucher covers it.

    In our experience there are certain companies within the private sector who will allow their employees to exceed the standard £1000 limit and in this case you would pay the excess to us when we collect your administration charge. Even in these cases we are not prepared to exceed a maximum order of £1300.

    It is our experience that public sector employers will not allow their employees to exceed the standard £1000 voucher. This is based on the principle that the employer would not own the complete bike and this ‘joint ownership’ could present some problems if the employee were to leave or when the scheme is complete.

    Kind Regards,


    I guess there are obviously issues with going over £1000 in terms of ownership. I assume the additional costs are classed as some form of upgrade (which is obviously expected and allowed to happen, as most bike components are unlikely to last 6 years)
    Simon