as the above says road bike sub £1000 build on a cycle to work scheme. I am only allowed to use Evans or Halfords however someone at work told me that Halfords would source any bike I choose on my behalf?

Is carbon to far at this price point?

I was going to go gears, something pretty racy but could I build a SS dream machine?

Halfords will use there insurance devision to source almost any bike you want they have accounts with pretty much everyone. I think carbon is a bit far go with the SS but if you want a custom build i would probably go with evans.

i know halfords used to supply planet x bikes dont know if they still do but the carbon race bike is very nice and in budget with good gear on it too . Thats unless prices have gone up

Do you have to use Halfrauds or Evans? or can you use a LBS that partakes in C2W.

Apparently, Halfords no longer deal with Planet X or Wiggle. This puts the Focus Cayo and PX Carbon Superlight out of reach. You may still be able to get the Dolan Mythos or the Ribble Dedaccaccaiaiaiaia(or whatever its called) – you’d need to check with the Halfords central admin. team.

Have a good look at the Boardmans at Halfords. They look really well finished, decent spec. and are getting good ride reports.

Folk must be getting sick of me bigging up the Boardman bikes, but my MB Pro is just fantastic – light as you like and very comfy for all day riding once you get some fatter tyres on.

Do you have to use Halfrauds or Evans? or can you use a LBS that partakes in C2W.

Joxster it depends on the employer most dont have time to administer such a scheme so they will go with someone else to do it for them. Wiggle will run it as do evans and halfords there is one that does it for lbs’s called cycle scheme which is the one im trying to get my employer to sign up to at the moment.

Ok i’m maybe a bit biased, but the Boardman team carbon road bike is the nuts and it comes in just under a grand, getting great reviews in the press, i’d have one but me back can’t take the road bike riding position 🙁

According to our accountant it’s very easy to administer the scheme. Brother Will, if you want you can email me and I’ll see if I can get some documents from him. I think he just uses a spreadsheet to work out the salary sacrifice, so not loads of extra work and the LBS gets the full amount for your bike purchase (i.e you can haggle a bit).

Some LBSs will accept Halfrauds vouchers (e.g. I know Alpine bikes does), so it might be worth asking the question.

Thanks richpenny that may be useful but anything my company did would need to be implemented at a national level for about 5000 employees so going though cycle scheme or halfords may be our best option.

I persuaded my company to let me go directly to Planet X who’ll give you the documents you need – unfortunately they went out of stock of the bike I wanted so won’t be going with them now.

Evans sells bikes, Hellfrauds sell Chrome plated gear knobs for chavMobiles – so go buy a proper brand.

No it has to be Halfords or Evans I am afraid…the boardmans do sound good but is it best to go carbon with a lower spec or alu with a higher one?

Boardman Pro Ltd hybrid is under consideration by me 4 when our C2W kicks in.

seems you cannot go wrong with the Boardmans 😉

I got the Pro MTB. I can’t fault it at that price point. The handling and balance are particularly impressive, never mind the kit. It makes my Whyte a bit superfluous really.
A colleague went for the Team Alu road bike, again he’s really impressed with it.

If I was a cynic Halfords refusal to provide access to Merlin, Focus, Cube, and Ribble (they mentioned a few others) could be seen as a marketing ploy to drive up demand for Boardman’s as you can’t get their main price point rivals. I expressed my annoyance about this over the phone, and the reason they gave was they couldn’t agree commercial terms. Whether thats true is not the issue but it’s very convenient for Halfords.

I am thinking of going Halfords but the ‘they are not a real bike shop’ puts me off. They would be far more local to me than Evans who’s nearest stores are either Gatwick or London (I live in Kent).

Road bike wise is it better to go Boardman carbon or top end alu?

Crell.. when did they stop dealing with Merlin? They were able to source bikes from them a few months ago as I pointed a friend of mine at a bike at Merlin for her C2W and she got a cracking deal..

I was faced with hellfrauds or evans too.
was strongly considering a boardman hybrid team (I couldn’t see the point getting a better version, its great as it is) but as a bit of a contrast went and got a charge plug from evans ha ha.
If I were you I’d strongly consider a boardman – really nice. just make sure you check every single nut and bolt once they’ve “assembled it” for you.
Friend at work went for a top alu road boardman and bought mtb spd’s/shoes and another guy went for the carbon road one. they’re damn good for the money.

All this negativity about hafords 🙁

If you are worried about the build, ask to see the Specialist, We are all bike riders and much more highly trained than the part timers you guys probably see at the weekends.
If you can, go in on a weekday. With my Boardman customers, I will build the bike, then (weather permitting) take them on a test ride iron out any bugs and fine tune the riding position.

Every bike shop has good and crappy staff, but the great thing about the interwebs is you only hear about the crappy ones….

I think I am going to go Boardman and halfords but the question is go high end alu with good kit or entry level carbon with not so good kit?

I really do fancy carbon but a few friends have said to me go alu and get better kit on it like shimano 105

BTW Dirtbiker I fancy the charge plug too!

was strongly considering a boardman hybrid team (I couldn’t see the point getting a better version, its great as it is) but as a bit of a contrast went and got a charge plug from evans ha ha.

Yeah I may struggle like hell up the hills but its less fuss and I do smile each time I look at it, ha.
I think I’d go alu but I’m stingey like that and not worried on the weight. my friend who was looking only went alu due to cost as well. think if you can afford it maybe go carbon

someone said to me today that carbon frames need changing every two years?

thats a load of shite

still service old MCM teams and cadexs regularly …

one thing to note … cheap carbon frames arnt worth the hassle.

aw… looking at the Boardman road bikes, the top alu bike has exactly the same kit on it as the bottom of the range carbon, it’s just the frame and forks which are different, with the carbon being £200 more expensive.

And no, no need to be changing a carbon frame every twp years at all…

sounds like team carbon then 😉