Ride to work scheme and choosing my bike

[cirian75]

We'll I bought my self 2nd specialized road bike.

Love the speed and lightness of the thing but bloody hell it batters the crap out of you with Manchester crappy roads

I know I've lost quite a bit of fat in the last weeks, but was disappointed with only loosing 7lbs in 3 weeks till my mate pointed out I'll have gained muscle mass in my legs.

Any hoo I have contacted the lass at work who organises the ride to work scheme

I found out we use the Halfords scheme so it looks like a Boardman :/

With the bike to be used in all weathers I was thinking about Boardman CX Team Bike

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/b...

It seems about right, can take several tyre sizes, say semi slick 28s for summer and treaded 32 and mud guards for winter, disc bakes for all weather braking, its a do it all bike.

But last night I took beating in the rain on the way home on the specialized and not on the bike today as I pulled by left shoulder.

So was thinking "I'll be riding all the time, I'm not young any more, maybe the bike will need to be slightly less racey?

So it got me thinking why not one one the flat bar road bikes that closer to being a drop bar road bike than a hybrid?

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes...

[anonymous-user]

The Boardman cx will be a more relaxed ride than road bike. My back prefers CX geometry. The Boardman is a fine machine, but 101 other shops take Halfords voucher if you fancy something different..

[mike9009]

I have a Boardman Hybrid with carbon fork and hydraulic brakes and I can heartily recommend it. Admittedly I use it for light recreational use rather than commuting, but I find it robust and comfortable, compared to other bikes I have had.

(Gone are my days of aggressive race geometries at the tender age of 41!!)

Mike

[Quickmoose]

Our company only deal with Halfords too.... but Halfords can either a) source a massive range of bikes they don't offer in store for C2W
OR
Offer vouchers that can be used in a retailer that does stock what Halfords don't.
My last C2W bike...used Halfords vouchers to purchase a Shindelhauer Ludwig 8, from Velorution in London. Wasn't too difficult thankfully.

[cirian75]

still waiting on the code and additional info from the finance girl, will chase it up with her after pay day.

Anyhoo, shoulder and thumb back to normal after the rattling they got on Thursday, so back on the bike tomorrow.

[cirian75]

Quickmoose said:

Our company only deal with Halfords too.... but Halfords can either a) source a massive range of bikes they don't offer in store for C2W
OR
Offer vouchers that can be used in a retailer that does stock what Halfords don't.
My last C2W bike...used Halfords vouchers to purchase a Shindelhauer Ludwig 8, from Velorution in London. Wasn't too difficult thankfully.

The Specialized Sirrus Sport Disc 2015 is getting my attention at the moment

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Specialized+Sirr...

[S10GTA]

Nothing wrong with a Boardman. I've two

[cirian75]

S10GTA said:

Nothing wrong with a Boardman. I've two

similar spec specialized and cannondales are £50 to £150 cheaper

But that Boardman has the 105 gear set, mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Quickmoose]

Let the budget creep and man maths commence!!

My bike was 160% of the C2W allowance ...the shop I bought from had no issues with me subsidising the vouchers...

[cirian75]

crapppppp, just saw the HOY Shizuoka .004 £725

[schmunk]

Quickmoose said:

Let the budget creep and man maths commence!!

My bike was 160% of the C2W allowance ...the shop I bought from had no issues with me subsidising the vouchers...

Let's hope your employer doesn't have a payroll audit from HMRC, then...

The Cycle to Work exemption exists for employers to loan bicycles tax free to employees for the purpose of commuting to/from work. The £1,000 your employer contributed towards your bike does not qualify for this exemption.

This is the technical position, HMRC may be more lenient in practice, but they strictly shouldn't.