I want a Mountain Bike - Help

[Slacker24seve...]

[swiftb]

[cagiva gezzer]

The Vulcan is the best of the bunch to be honest.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[G]

I've never heard of anyone having to show proof for the bike to work scheme.
My company did start to be a bit iffy about how the 'final resale' bit goes. They had initially promised £1, but then were talking about 'market value'. However this was mostly when we were asking about running the scheme again for a new bike.
I did a load of research to show it was between £1 and 5% of purchase price usually - at the very most 10%. But that further, if the company charged £1, it was entirely the employee that could suffer some tax liability (which has never happened) and that was absolutely no fall back on the company.

It's unlikely your company will want to deal with a load of well-used push bikes, unless you happen to work for cash converters .

Typically they run over 18 months or so. You can easily effectively pay half or less of the retail price.

My company had a deal with a local company that immediately gave us 20% off RRP, then all the savings on top of that.
So I paid in total around £560 I think for £1250 worth of kit.

My most recent bike, as I think I mentioned, I bought from someone who was doing the bike to work scheme and wanted some cash - I got it on the day he bought it a couple of housr after he got home.

[swiftb]

I think theres ways round the whole useage thing due to my work position which doesnt involve commuting but a subnote for my position states the bike will need to be used for other things like attending team meetings etc. My team meetings can be 30 miles away so basically its a load of old shite. I might look into it and see if it actually ever gets monitored or if its just in black and white for tax reasons. - the way our scheme works is there is a monthly deduction from my wages over 12 monthly payments. But the bike is on hire for 36months - at the end of which I MAY be offered the bike at market value which will be usually between 5-7%

Means I can get a £400 bike for around £265. But then it only applies to certain outlets and you can technically get a £400 bike for around £250 in end of season sales.
I might have a look further into it but the fact that the bike isnt really mine until ive had it 3 yrs etc is a bit off putting.

EDIT: looks like I misread the part about keeping details of useage. It actually states your NOT required to keep detailed records of useage and mileage.

[G]

See I was thinking this if my company wanted to make trouble with the final value - I'd take all the bits that I'd changed off (tyres, cables, a few other things I'd decide were 'mine') and give them back the frame with a few bits attached.

The trick is probably to get the £250 on-sale bike on the scheme, which should still count .
Or get a £650 bike on sale for £400 and pay £250 .

Oh, I forgot to say, when I left my company; absolutely nothing was said about the bike, which I kept.

Does sound like yours might be a bit more on the top, but I suspect if nothing else, you can just make it up regarding the proof of usage. Providing you don't try and claim fuel for that journey .

Remember also that it's 50% usage for work. So you can just say you've used it twice for work and twice otherwise .

[swiftb]

Ye looking further into it again they are quite on top of it and there are strict joining periods. The last cut off was November the 1st - so the next dates that the vouchers will be issued between 28th march and 15th april. So its a no go for now - though im now back to the point of 'buy a cheap ass bike for now, sign up for the scheme, get a nice expensive bike for around 25% less in the spring' ???

[G]

Makes sense, but I'd still get a bit less cheap-ass .

I'd be happy on Dodsi's bike (no, I'm not getting commission ) and happy to pay that price. I suspect a lot of the cheaper bikes you see around are going to fall apart to some degree - whether it be because they're already knackered, or because they're built cheaply.

[swiftb]

Ye I think Dodsi's might be slightly too big being a 20" frame but going to go try one for size at Halfords. Im about 5'9.5" so going off the guides they advise 18" frame - though no substitute for sitting on one and trying for size.

[G]

Yea, probably is a bit too big; I'm 5'11" apparently (could have sworn I was an inch shorter, but that's what the doc says ) and I go for a 17.5"/18" bike with the seat quite high generally.

[swiftb]

So it seems theres a sale on at the min in Halfords and I can get the Vulcan for £214.99 all in , plus a free £20 acceesories voucher.

Or I can get this £274.99 also with the accesories voucher - is it worth the extra £60 notes - is it going to be a more ugradeable frame therefore better value in the longrun??


https://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_778053_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

(this sodding budget is rapidly expanding as I expected)

[Tango675]

I built myself a bike for about £250.

2nd hand GT Avalanche 1.0 frame, crank, saddle and seatpost. (£90 from singletack forums)
Fitted a set of Mavic 312 rims on XT hubs I had from an old bike
Hope XC4 disc breaks, XT rear mech,
Rock Shock SID 100 front shocks
and a load of odd bits from bikes to finish it off.

Weighs about 26lb, can be thrown uphill, downhill, off rocks, anything.
Use it in the winter when I can't be bothered to clean the "race" bike.
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Somebody give that windup merchant a torque wrench..

[G]

Presume the vulcan is v-brakes?
I much prefer disc brakes personally - can ride with moderately buckled rims and still be fine, while slight problems with the rim on rim brakes makes braking annoying.

[swiftb]

well in the end I went for a used bike - decided not to blow a wedge on something that has a 50-50 chance of being a shed ornament.
I picked up this and it doesnt seem like a half bad bike to be honest. Its very light compared to the old steel jobbies I used to belt around on! Complete bike weighs in at just under 28lbs.

Its also a bit loud and lairy Univega FS730

https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/B7T22BmkKGrHqMOKiEEyVLYHZuBMzy4ZTSRw_12.jpg

Anyhoo - to anyone who knows anything about components etc heres the spec -

Alu 6016-T6 oversized frame
RST 381 R forks
Shimano STX RC rear derailleur
Suntour XTR300 front der/crank
Sachs Powergrip wavey gripshift
Vuelta quick release wheels
everything else is a mix of Shimano and DiaCompe.

I think its a bit retro too - circa around 1998-2001 I think. Not much info on them on the net but from what I can tell it did come in at around 799euros when new.
It made it around the block twice tonight without any missed/slipped gears and without falling apart so that was a bonus!

All for a grand total of £44.00 ! So hoping I got a good deal - if not I spent £44 on a push bike Now to get out and get muddy (and probably bloody) on it.

[ian789]

Now get SPDs

[stinkwheel]

Now buy this helmet:
https://www.motorcyclehelmetsdirect.com/userfiles/image/Moto%20Helmets/creative-motorcycle-helmet-15.jpg
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[psychofox]

Get on Gumtree, you can get a lot of much for not a lot of money on there.

[G]

Bit late as he's already got one.
However seems a bit silly to pay for a stolen bike on gumtree - might as well just steal it yourself for free .