hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me choose!

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

I thought Halfords would get hold of any bike you want for that scheme?

"Halfords has the largest selection of cycles and cycling safety equipment in the UK, and sells more bikes than any other retailer.

As a participant of the Halfords Cycle2Work scheme, there are a number of ways you can get your bike.

» Visit your local Halfords/Bikehut store and redeem your LoC for a bike they have in stock
» visit your local Halfords/Bikehut and discuss the brands they are able to order in, choosing from Condor, Dahon, Dawes, Diamondback, Dolan, GT, Kona, Merida, Pashley, Raleigh, Saracen, Van Nicholas, Voodoo and many more (orders are normally fulfilled within 5 working days provided supplier has stock)
» visit Cycle Republic, Condor, On Your Bike or Pearsons: these are each associates of the Halfords Cycle2Work scheme and will accept you letter of collection in store
» Still can't find what you are looking for? Simply call Halfords' dedicated Cycle2Work team on 08450 778 850 or click here and we will do our best to source your dream bike for you."

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

Thanks for this! Sounds like Halfords are the people to talk to. I went to my LBS yesterday and looked at their stock, trouble is I really don't like the modern frame designs. Admittedly they mainly stock Specialized and there are plenty of other brands that I am yet to see...

Any ideas on a hardtail MTB that I can buy off the peg with a more tradional frame?

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

Have a look at Genesis bikes, as even their alloy frames are fairly slender, plus they will fit in your budget.

Regards

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

I have not looked at Genesis yet, thanks for the suggestion...

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

I have been looking at the Genesis Latitude, but it is over budget. Is is possible to buy bike parts with the voucher? I like the Latitude frame:

http://m.evanscycles.com/products/genes ... e-ec044457

Could I spend the rest on components and add the difference to complete?

I'm sure this will work out more expensive but I do like that frame! The Latitude 2012 comes just over £1000 for the 2012 model but that is only available from Evans in 20 inch now which would be too big. I will have a look around to see who else sell this model.

EDIT just noticed the frame link is for the SS version, also it's a 29er. Aaagghg!

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

Here is the link to the right Genesis frame, looks nice, apart from the 29 issue:

http://m.evanscycles.com/products/image ... e-ec044456

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

Have a look at the Boardmans in Halfords, good quality bikes with good spec and lightweight.

Ive done the bike2work scheme twice now through halfords as our company run the scheme every two years, my 1st was a 1k Boardman ht pro, fantastic bike that it was, i covered 3400 miles on it in the 2yrs i owned it. The only faults that occurred was the BB failing 3 times. After the 2yrs i sold it on for £430. The 2nd bike which is my current on is the 1k Team FS, ive had it since July last year and done 1700+ miles on it, this one has had a few niggley problems but halfords sorted them straight away IE the freehub has packed up twice, and the back end came loose once.

The way i use the scheme is to treat all the bikes i get as disposable, I run them for 2yrs spending as little as possible on them, then i get rid before anything major goes wrong, that way i can recoup some of the money i spent buying the bike. The HT Pro was 1k but through my wages it worked out at around £630 due to the discount, then add the final value fee which i think was £100 at the time, so all in the bike cost me £730, then knock off the £430 i got for it when i sold it and basically ive rode a nice lightweight hardtail for for two years for £300 not including consumables.

One thing i will say is please dont abuse the scheme because if it gets abused by to many then the scheme will be stopped by the government. Then i wont be able to get a new one :cry:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65499#tab2

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

Thanks for this info! Only if you don't mind saying, how much were you paying back a month on the 1k?

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

SIMONFREESE":ky558qi9 said:

Thanks for this info! Only if you don't mind saying, how much were you paying back a month on the 1k?

Click to expand...

Top line is £19.42pw but because this is deducted before stoppages i pay less tax and ins on my net pay so it comes in at £13.??pw this is over 12 months, then there's the final value fee to add at the end, but even this is broken down and paid through my tax code the following year.

Re: hardtail mtb for £800 on cycletowork scheme help me cho

You won't go wrong with a Cube Acid

Probably the best value sub £800 26" or 29" MTB on the market

Rockshox XC32 TK Air forks
30 speed Shimano drivetrain
Shimano hydraulics
Shimano hubbed wheelset
Easton finishing kit

Good reviews in the mags & from owners too

26"
http://www.jccookcycles.co.uk/epages/es ... 2013-14%22

29"
http://www.jccookcycles.co.uk/epages/es ... -15-Red%22

OK so I work in the shop I've just linked to, but my opinion on these bikes is unbiased. They are almost impossible to beat value & performance wise

We take cyclescheme vouchers from all of the main schemes & Halfords vouchers. You get free delivery too.