You took that rather personally!

*looks out of window at ‘crap area’ and considers the surf (not today, too flat), looks out of other window at the moors (yea, singletrack looks nice and dry, I fancy a ride 🙂 *

To the Op’s question.

Most of my bikes are the triggers brush technique.

Or build up with a mix of 2nd hand or new over time.

No Debt for me on anything except mortgage. But have bought on CC before just don’t need to now.

theres loads wrong with that logic.

But simply. I’ll save for a year and either get the out-going MY bike, or the incoming MY.
No Credit.

Err but you won’t have the bike for a year (so you’re assuming you already have a bike for starters). you can still get the out-going or incoming MY bike, just for the year you actually want the bike not in a year’s time.

I like to buy mine with cash, making sure I’ve got a spare twenty to light my cigar with while the transaction takes place.

i priced up the bike i wanted at £2500 & i could afford the ~£200/ month payments on a 0% CC.

built the bike & it cost £2700 buy the time i finished building. I didn’t quite keep up the payments & ended up paying back £3K+.

didn’t even like the bike and sold the £900 frame on for £300.

Expensive lesson.

My posh road bike i got for my 40th, i bunged on the credit card.
Other bikes and kit are all pretty much classifieds/ebay/discount online stuff that i put together/upgrade as and when i can afford it.

Save up for a deposit and then buy one on finance if you can’t afford one outright. Most places offer interest free credit over 12, 18, 24, 36 months. But you’ll not really be in a position to haggle over the discount. But can afford the better bike.

Hello Everyone,

I thought that I would post as we were mentioned early on in the discussions.

It’s good to know that Bike Leasing Company is becoming more well known out there. I guess having built up a plethora of happy customers now helps:)

A couple of very interesting points have been raised about the relative merits of credit etc.

I think that the point to focus upon here is that the originator of the thread is looking to buy a NEW road bike.

Clearly, second hand doesn’t really fulfill their criteria, and new will never compete with used at a price level. However, new does compete with used in terms of warranty and aftercare and often in terms of reliability.

Not to mention the sheer joy of riding a brand new shiny bling bike!

As has already been mentioned,new bikes are available as current model year and previous model year bikes.

However, affordability is always the crunch point.

0% finance certainly helps with this, but it does involve being tied in for the term of the credit. It is also very rarely available on previous model year bikes or sale items; and where it is, it is usually for a very short term. On current model year bikes it usually means that there is no opportunity for discount.

Either way, it is only an option for people with impeccable credit histories.

So many people have experienced redundancy between 2008 and now that the majority of people have at least 1 missed payment on their credit file. This often means that 0% finance is not an option for them.

Interest bearing credit can also make it “affordable” in cashflow terms, but naturally, you end up paying more. Bank loans for typical “bike values” e.g. below £7,500, often run at 18% or more! So this is hardly an enticing option.

Credit cards are often a risky option. You have to be disciplined to make sure that you don’t find yourself “caught out” at the end of the 0% offer period.

If you use the card for other purchases (outside the usual 3 month offer period) then any payments you make will be used to pay off the 0% finance first and you will pay the usual credit card’s interest on the purchases until you have cleared the 0% element.

Also, no 0% credit card offer is ever truly free. There is always a “charge”. It’s typically 3% or more nowadays. You’ll pay this each time you move the balance.

Then there is the cash option. This is only really open to people who have enough disposable income to just go out and get what they want, are good savers, or are willing to compromise significantly on the quality of the bike they ride.

Whichever option chosen, all of the above involve tying your cash up in the bike. If you want to get a replacement bike you often have to sell your old bike to fund your new one.

We’ve considered all these issues faced by riders with the “traditional” funding options and realised that there was a better way (in our opinion of course)

Leasing presents an entirely different option:

If you or your partner lose your income or become injured and can no longer afford the lease, then you can simply hand the bike back with no penalties.

The costs are spread out over 2 years. We have made the first 6 months of the payments higher so that the last 18 are amazingly low, reducing the financial burden on you and your family. It also helps to make sure that we are all being financially responsible. It makes no sense at all to damage your financial health with a bicycle.

We only want our customers to lease bikes that are affordable for them. The good news is that leasing lets you get a much better bike at a cost that is affordable to you, or you can get the bike you originally wanted and spend less of your money over the 2 years. Either way, you get what you want.

We take on the burden of depreciation so that you don’t have to sell your old bike to fund a new one.

The bikes are all covered by manufacturer’s warranties, but if something does break or wear out then you can replace it at trade prices: that saves you a lot of running costs.

We know that the natural response is that leasing means that you don’t own the bike. That is true. But you do get to enjoy all the benefits of owning it without many of the downsides.

The total lease costs over the 2 years are typically 30% less than the retail price. Much more of your cash is freed up for the majority of the lease to spend on those other things that can crop up over 2 years, like broken cars and vets bills etc, and the costs of replacement parts and accessories is much lower.

There are no hidden catches in terms of the condition that the bike needs to come back in either. We expect it to be ridden and used as you would your own i.e. regularly and hard:).

All we ask is that you return it in one piece and functioning. Scratches and the odd ding are not an issue. Even if it does get broken, there is no problem, as again, you can make use of crash replacement policies or trade prices to repair it.

Also, very importantly, if one of customers did want to own their bike at the end of the lease, the equivalent APR they would have paid would be just less than 6%. That’s a lot less than a bank loan and probably less than the ultimate costs involved with credit cards.

Obviously it’s not less than 0% finance, but remember, you’re not tied in and your cash is not tied up in the bike until you come to sell it (and your running costs are likely higher with 0% finance).

You’d also have to be 100% confident that you would get more than 30% back on the bike when you came to sell it. Remember to take into account ebay or pinkbike fees and charges, timewasters and the final haggling that invariably occurs:)!

I hope that this goes some way to explain leasing as an option in a little more detail. We think it represents a cost effective and safe alternative.

We now have customers with Road, Triathlon, Downhill, All Mountain and XC bikes out there who are enjoying the thrill of a high-end bike in a very cost-effective manner.

I’d be happy to talk to anyone who would like to find out more detail.

I know that some of our customers would be happy to discuss it with you as well to give their point of view on how leasing works for them compared to all the other funding options that can be considered.

Our contact number is available on our website.

I wish the best of luck to the originator of the post in their pursuit of the right bike at the right price for them. There is simply so much choice out there, that finding the right model can be problematic enough, without even considering all the funding options available.

Enjoy this brief respite with the weather everyone. Hopefully it will give the trails a chance to dry off a bit and I can avoid trying to defy the laws of physics by trying to get mud laden tyres to have friction on wet roots!

I thought I’d my experience. Paul (paulmtbleasing) helped me to source my bike and I’m leasing it through his company. I’ve been amazingly happy with my choice (and no he’s not paying me to day this!).

Leasing allows you to choose a silly expensive bike to play out on, paying in a way that suits you. Yes, it’s a credit agreement so if you’re one of the people in this thread who’s against credit in principle, then it won’t suit you as yes, you’re borrowing money. But I found it the best credit agreement for me and I’ve got a lovely shiny bike – although the shiny bit is a lie after a trip up Windy Hill yesterday.

If you’re in the market for a new bike (or indeed some new kit, Paul leases new bits too), all I can say is give him a call. Nice bloke, pleasure to talk to and he’ll find something to suit you.

I did a little post about my experience here if you fancy a read.

Thanks for the kind comments Phill.

Phil, I’ve just had a look at your website and the one thing that’s a little unclear is whether somebody can purchase the bike from you at the end of the lease period. If so, what sort of price they would expect to pay (let’s say it’s a £2500 bike for the sake of an example?) and how they would go about paying you for it – would this need to be a lump sum or could it be financed?

To buy my first bike I used Evans 0% finance over 12 months thingy. Worked out that after the deposit I’d pay £40 a month. Paid this off early.

Second bike, I did a load of overtime at work (Retail over xmas period) 60-70 hour weeks sort of thing. Hard graft, but reaped the reward.

The M+S credit card thing is interesting as this is a new adventure for me. So long as you’re disciplined, it’s wicked.

+1 Overtime

I used the following formula for my latest bike:

X4 72 hour weeks + no social life divided by headaches + lowered immune system = new bike.

Well worth it IMO

0% finance is the way to go.

Bought my British made mtb last year for £2.6k with £200 knocked off. The shop also allowed me to swap lots of components over such as tyres and disc rotors to what I wanted.

Biggish £700 deposit and 2 years interest free finance.

Well there is certainly a divided opinion on this. Well for me to get a new bike its got to be save+over time. Sod the credit deals and cards there is always gunna be a bike i want so i can wait till i got the money then see what deal i can get with a wad of notes down the LBS.

Phil, I’ve just had a look at your website and the one thing that’s a little unclear is whether somebody can purchase the bike from you at the end of the lease period. If so, what sort of price they would expect to pay (let’s say it’s a £2500 bike for the sake of an example?) and how they would go about paying you for it – would this need to be a lump sum or could it be financed?

Does this help?:
Bike Leasing Company

Regards

Paul (not Phill). Phill is one of our customers 🙂

Have never bought a single bike component, accessory or bike (or any other ‘toy’ for that matter) on credit of any sort and I’ve owned well into tripple figures in bikes over the years.
makes you realise the true value of stuff IMO

buy quality, then sell before it loses value.
Bought Yeti 575 in 2008 – was voted one of the best trail bikes at the time,
crossmax wheels bought 1/2 price, odds and bits all bought in sales and canny shopping
Cost about £2800 – £2900 in total

rode it for 3 1/2 years

Sold it for £1500 on ebay, bought new bike (£2,500 rep) talked shop down to 2,100

So look that after initial investment its costing me about £500 a year less than or about £40 a month.

Obviously you need to be able to fund initial purchase, but buy it in bits when you see clearance deals etc.. then build it yourself

i been monitoring bikes via mags for 20 years nearly. guess what? next years deals will be as good as last years deals. save up for 12 months, and you’ll be right.

GW – Member
…I’ve owned well into tripple figures in bikes over the years.

£1.73

Recent Bike History

2009 GT Aggressor XCR . Cycle to work (when It was good)
2010 Bought a second hand Inbred frame from Coast kid £100
2012 Bought some second hand Revs £90 and Prince Albert frame for £110 from STW for the On One . Sold On One to TJ for £75 .

2011 Got some redundancy and bought a Canyon Nerve XC for my 40th Birthday £1200

2012 Bought a £100 road bike from a local Radge 😀 and replaced the frame with a Surosa frame from the bay for £50 , Will pay GW handsomly in Beer to help with the hardbits of swapping the bike over.

Saying that I was tempted to go down the cycle to work scheme again for a good road bike but really cant afford the £40 a month deductions .

The only existing parts from my original Gt currently on my Prince Albert are the rear mech and shifters everything else has came from here or gumtree.

Prob not too far off 173 bikes tbh RS 😉 (Lost count at over 100 many years back)