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I have signed up for the cyclescheme at work an shortly will have £1k to spend on a hardtail.
From my early discussions its seems that this does not give me the equivalent of 1k to spend with a shop - most places seem to exclude any offers etc as they must not receive the full 1k.
Usually I would look for last years model and gain a bit of quality by getting last years colours.
The bike is for local Calderdale trails - mostly in winter - I have an Orange 5 for trips further afield and summer
I am replacing a voodoo Bizango which has been fine - but a little heavy and the shock isn't the best.
I have seen the Whyte 901 / Orange Clockwork and am thinking of one of those - the Charge Cooker 3 also looks good and I am curious about the plus size tyres.
Any top tips for getting the most out of the cyclescheme?
Any other bikes I should consider?
Cheers!
I think the general consensus is that the retailer is already losing 10% by doing Cyclescheme, hence no deals.
Some would offer deals if you pay back the 10% yourself, I think Paul's Cycles did this.
I went through this recently and got a Trek Superfly (I forget which model but there is one available at £999 I'm pretty sure).
Very fast feeling, very capable. Stock tyres are very light and fast rolling, great fun but I slashed one pretty quickly at Comrie Croft trail centre.
I liked the Whyte 905 I owned previously but I couldn't see past the better spec of the Superfly compared to the Whyte 901.
I remember asking on here and I think there was some agreement that Trek (having bought Gary Fisher and their 'genesis' geometry) are probably at the top of the game for 29er geometry, certainly a lot faster handling that I was expecting.
edit: and as a final plug for Trek, I think with Trek you *can* get the reduced price stock on Cyclescheme, as it's actually Trek who reduce the price to the retailer, or something.
We do our scheme through Halfords and I got a Bird Zero 3, great bike and Bird and Halfords were both very helpful as Bird weren't in the scheme at the time.
Will look up the superfly - Thanks Monk
I had not thought of Halfords Gary will have a chat - Thanks
https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-iroko-3-2016-mountain-bike-EV244134
3 sold out so down to a 2 or up to a 4.
How are you going to keep your work clothes clean while cycle commuting via a scenic XC route on a hardtail? 😉
How about a CX, or a flat bar hybrid like http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-hybrid-bike-pro ? Quick googlefu suggests the Boardman Hybrids have clearance for at least 700x38c.
Or how about the Pinnacle Ramin 3 Plus? https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ramin-3-plus-2017-mountain-bike-EV264163 (although it has shot up in price to £900 😯 )
Bargain 15" Marin Pine Mountain 1 (£549) http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/marin-pine-mountain-1-275-2016-9675-p.asp
I thought about wearing a Breaking Bad type orange boiler suit over my shirt and tie!
I think another issue is that the scenic route from Halifax to Heathrow (where my head office is) is likely to take quite some time!
I already have an Arkose 3 for road / light off roading and am too big for the Marin (although I do have a soft spot for Marins from the 80's)
I remember asking on here and I think there was some agreement that Trek (having bought Gary Fisher and their 'genesis' geometry) are probably at the top of the game for 29er geometry,
This might have been relevant for a year or so, over a decade ago... These days there are many other brands pushing the boundaries of 29er geometry further than Trek!
Check out the Whyte 629 for instance. Like the 901, but you fancy bigger wheels? 5£3 629 is your answer...
I liked the Whyte 905 I owned previously but I couldn't see past the better spec of the Superfly compared to the Whyte 901.
Don't get too hung up on spec. This is far easier to change than poor geometry! Pretty much everyone accepts that the £1k C2W price limit is going to bring some spec compromises with it, I'd rather upgrade the brakes or drivetrain myself over time than I would put up with a lesser frame.
Genesis Longitude.
My stock answer to £1000 hardtail is Bird Zero, if you can get one through Halfords, same applies on C2W.
The cyclescheme changed last year so you can now spend over £1k by paying the additional amount in cash. Aslong as your employer allows that is, we can spend up to £1.5k through cyclescheme.
Depends if you intend to use it as intended or simply to take advantage of the scheme to buy a hardtail for cheap. Also, wheel size...
If planning to commute via MTB then take a good, long look at where you will be locking the bike up through the day and the way other people use it. I refused to take anything with decent forks to the lockup at my last job simply because it was just fact that they would get the stanchions scratched. Quite apart from other people not being careful, those hip height staples for locking up to are just the right height for your stanchions to be rubbing away on all day in the wind unless the bike shed is somewhere protected. Something skinnier than a MTB made more sense anyway for speed, so I had two CX bikes on the scheme, first a Cotic X and then a Kinesis Crosslight 5T.
I'd agree that I'd spend on a frame over components if I needed to make a choice. A Bird would be well and truly on my shortlist for a MTB that might never see the office.
Also, don't lose sight of the fact that if you leave your job for any reason then you'll need to pay the full outstanding amount out of your last paypacket...
Since you have a Bizango, 9/10ths of all £1000 bike will probably be worse than what you already have. If it were me I'd throw some upgrades at the Voodoo instead.
Interesting idea Northwind
I could buy some new lighter wheels and a better fork!
Thanks for all the very practical CX ideas, but as most of you suspect this is a cheap way to get a bike (although I will ensure I cycle to work on it in the next year and possibly do a work related charity event on it too!)
