Evans Ride2Work + What bike?
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Yes, a thinly disguised "What bike" thread.
Our Company signed up with Evans Ride2Work scheme. However, I'm struggling to find a bike that I want on their site.
What I really want is the Grand Canyon AL 7.9 (Which is about £1120)
If I get a £1000 bike from Evans, it will only cost me £580 through Ride2Work which means the Canyon is suddenly twice the price and doesn't look so good value. Also, I don't have the £1120 right now so I'd have to wait a couple of months instead of getting the Ride2Work bike straight away.
The thing is though, these days the £1000 bikes on Evans seem to come with pretty shockingly rubbish forks (Especially compared to the Canyon)
I'll mostly be using it at Swinley and currently make do on a 2011 V-braked hardrock and I'm not the slowest on that so I don't need something as good as the Canyon but I don't want to be in the situation where I still want a better bike as soon as I've got my new one.
So, do I save up my money, nurse the hardrock round for now hoping I don't need to spend too much keeping it going and get a 2nd hand Canyon around November time or do I get the brand new ride2work bike now?
Thanks, Andrew.
Yes, a thinly disguised "What bike" thread.
Our Company signed up with Evans Ride2Work scheme. However, I'm struggling to find a bike that I want on their site.
What I really want is the Grand Canyon AL 7.9 (Which is about £1120)
If I get a £1000 bike from Evans, it will only cost me £580 through Ride2Work which means the Canyon is suddenly twice the price and doesn't look so good value. Also, I don't have the £1120 right now so I'd have to wait a couple of months instead of getting the Ride2Work bike straight away.
The thing is though, these days the £1000 bikes on Evans seem to come with pretty shockingly rubbish forks (Especially compared to the Canyon)
I'll mostly be using it at Swinley and currently make do on a 2011 V-braked hardrock and I'm not the slowest on that so I don't need something as good as the Canyon but I don't want to be in the situation where I still want a better bike as soon as I've got my new one.
So, do I save up my money, nurse the hardrock round for now hoping I don't need to spend too much keeping it going and get a 2nd hand Canyon around November time or do I get the brand new ride2work bike now?
Thanks, Andrew.
A Specialised Rockhopper will be a 29er and should be fairly well spec'd. Good quality air forks are very good so it might be worth looking for something from Jamis or Fuji to see if a lesser-known brand are spec'ing upgraded forks to counter the monopoly sales from the likes of Trek et al
A few people have found that the C2W schemes are charging much more as a final payment compared to previous years and its comparable to just find the best credit card deal going, 0% on new purchases and 0% over six months, that kind of thing. At least that way you are not limited to bike choice.
A few people have found that the C2W schemes are charging much more as a final payment compared to previous years and its comparable to just find the best credit card deal going, 0% on new purchases and 0% over six months, that kind of thing. At least that way you are not limited to bike choice.
Thanks Pablo,
The Jamis Nemesis looks good value compared to the Rockhopper - tempted by that. Need to do some reading up on that fork as it isn't one I've heard of before. The Rockhoppers fork is the lowest of the Rockshox from what I can tell.
I don't get why people panic about the final value, our scheme still allows you to keep it for 5 years (or is it 6) at which point it is considered value-less and you don't have to pay anything. You only have to pay money if you want it to be yours after 1 year but why would you do that when you can carry on using it for free? Maybe that's unique to the Evans scheme though.
I double checked that with our HR team and Evans and they both agree - Which is ashame as I would love to use it as an excuse to Credit Card the Canyon
The Jamis Nemesis looks good value compared to the Rockhopper - tempted by that. Need to do some reading up on that fork as it isn't one I've heard of before. The Rockhoppers fork is the lowest of the Rockshox from what I can tell.
I don't get why people panic about the final value, our scheme still allows you to keep it for 5 years (or is it 6) at which point it is considered value-less and you don't have to pay anything. You only have to pay money if you want it to be yours after 1 year but why would you do that when you can carry on using it for free? Maybe that's unique to the Evans scheme though.
I double checked that with our HR team and Evans and they both agree - Which is ashame as I would love to use it as an excuse to Credit Card the Canyon
The Trek Elite 8.5 is worth a look as the Rockshox recon fork is better than the XC32 also spec'd at that sort of price.
The Jamis is a 650b, roughly 27.5" wheels, so you may be a bit limited to on tyre size but its not a big deal really. There was a 26", 650b and 29" wheel bike on the podium at the olympics last year! There is no reason it shouldnt work like the 69ers should have worked a few years ago but people are funny and stick to what they know and trust.
Having seen how well 29ers roll at bikefest at the weekend, i'm sorely tempted to open up the wallet and buy a Cotic Solaris...
The Jamis is a 650b, roughly 27.5" wheels, so you may be a bit limited to on tyre size but its not a big deal really. There was a 26", 650b and 29" wheel bike on the podium at the olympics last year! There is no reason it shouldnt work like the 69ers should have worked a few years ago but people are funny and stick to what they know and trust.
Having seen how well 29ers roll at bikefest at the weekend, i'm sorely tempted to open up the wallet and buy a Cotic Solaris...
I would have a proper look at the Bike2Work scheme figures too. It's not as good as it used to be.
When I got my bike, it was literally half-price with nothing else to pay. Now I think it works differently in that, if you leave your company at 1 year, 2 years etc, you haveto pay back some of the cost of the bike.
Last time I looked, it was about 75% of the cost of the bike you had to pay. Which is better than full price, but you may very well be able to get a better deal on a model from last year.
EDIT: Although saying that, they might have changed it again as I've just played with some figures and it said I could save 42%.
When I got my bike, it was literally half-price with nothing else to pay. Now I think it works differently in that, if you leave your company at 1 year, 2 years etc, you haveto pay back some of the cost of the bike.
Last time I looked, it was about 75% of the cost of the bike you had to pay. Which is better than full price, but you may very well be able to get a better deal on a model from last year.
EDIT: Although saying that, they might have changed it again as I've just played with some figures and it said I could save 42%.
Edited by Kell on Monday 10th June 13:23
Here we go again.
I want a C2W bike that I don't intend using to C2W.
The C2W scheme is not as good as it used to be.
Etc, etc, etc....
The scheme is (quite rightly) less generous for this very reason - the Govt cottoned on to the fact that tens of thousands of claims were going in for C2W bikes, but cycle commuter numbers weren't going up by anywhere near as much.
Try a dose of moral courage, admit you don't want a bike on which to commute, then man up and pay the VAT on the sticker price and the PAYE on your wages. The best way, IMHO, for the Govt to encourage more cycling is to take VAT off essential cycling products, like full bikes, and replacement parts for repair/maintenance and then there can be no debate about whether or not the bulk of the population should be subsidising what amounts to a weekend toy for a relatively small percentage of the population. All bike buyers would be treated equally, no preferential treatment for those whose employers sign up to C2W.
No offence meant to you personally, OP, but I'm heartily fed up with all the discussions on this, and other sites with regard to C2W. Some of it is, I freely admit, sour grapes because I never had access to the scheme because my employer didn't subscribe, but my main gripe is with folk who have no intention of actually cycling to work on their "Cycle to Work" scheme bike. It's this very situation which has led to the tighter controls on what was seen as an abuse of the privilege in the first place.
With regard to the original question, as others have said, you may find a better deal if you decide not to use the scheme. You can negotiate some really good packages, or price reductions dependent upon the prevailing market conditions and time of year, etc.
I want a C2W bike that I don't intend using to C2W.
The C2W scheme is not as good as it used to be.
Etc, etc, etc....
The scheme is (quite rightly) less generous for this very reason - the Govt cottoned on to the fact that tens of thousands of claims were going in for C2W bikes, but cycle commuter numbers weren't going up by anywhere near as much.
Try a dose of moral courage, admit you don't want a bike on which to commute, then man up and pay the VAT on the sticker price and the PAYE on your wages. The best way, IMHO, for the Govt to encourage more cycling is to take VAT off essential cycling products, like full bikes, and replacement parts for repair/maintenance and then there can be no debate about whether or not the bulk of the population should be subsidising what amounts to a weekend toy for a relatively small percentage of the population. All bike buyers would be treated equally, no preferential treatment for those whose employers sign up to C2W.
No offence meant to you personally, OP, but I'm heartily fed up with all the discussions on this, and other sites with regard to C2W. Some of it is, I freely admit, sour grapes because I never had access to the scheme because my employer didn't subscribe, but my main gripe is with folk who have no intention of actually cycling to work on their "Cycle to Work" scheme bike. It's this very situation which has led to the tighter controls on what was seen as an abuse of the privilege in the first place.
With regard to the original question, as others have said, you may find a better deal if you decide not to use the scheme. You can negotiate some really good packages, or price reductions dependent upon the prevailing market conditions and time of year, etc.
Bit of a thread hijack (sorry) but if the Governement were so cottoned on, why is the Cycle to Work Scheme hassling me to buy another bike, because I've finished paying for my first... I actaully do ride my bike to work, I can't ride two?! Shirley one application per applicant?
As for you OP... waiting is the best solution, buy once, buy right my old dad always says...
It is also the hardest and least likely to happen IME.
As for you OP... waiting is the best solution, buy once, buy right my old dad always says...
It is also the hardest and least likely to happen IME.
Edited by Agoogy on Monday 10th June 14:12
yellowjack said:
Here we go again.
I want a C2W bike that I don't intend using to C2W.
The C2W scheme is not as good as it used to be.
Etc, etc, etc....
I know why you made the assumption I wouldn't be cycling to work on it as I only mentioned Swinley but actually I've done around 1500 miles on my Hardrock (Non C2W bike as I bought it just before my work decided to sign up) and At least 800miles of that was cycling to work. I want a C2W bike that I don't intend using to C2W.
The C2W scheme is not as good as it used to be.
Etc, etc, etc....
AndyDRZ said:
I know why you made the assumption I wouldn't be cycling to work on it as I only mentioned Swinley but actually I've done around 1500 miles on my Hardrock (Non C2W bike as I bought it just before my work decided to sign up) and At least 800miles of that was cycling to work.
Like I said, some of it (my vitriol) was a result of sour grapes, and the rest aimed at folk who have no intention of riding to work. Dangerous things, assumptions. Cool that you ride in on your Hardrock, but if you have the storage space and funds, there are bikes out there way more suitable for the task (n+1 etc) Many people have done pretty good deals outside the scheme. I saved over 25% on my road bike, along with 30% off the accessories I bought at the same time. When I bought my MTB (GT Avalanche 3.0) I managed to push for lights/guards/lock but it was the wrong time of year to be asking for much discount off the ticket price.
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