Apologies if this has been done.
£50 towards cycle repair, but currently it doesn’t say if one off voucher, annual etc.
Anyone know more details? I need a new headset on my road bike and thinking of using this, but does it exclude parts ie just labour etc etc?
Just labour.
I thought I read it included tyres, so fit a grubby pair to your best bike (if you have nothing needing more urgent attention that the voucher could help with), then use £50 to get a nice pair of new tyres.
Sod's law Halfords website (only certain chains are in this voucher scheme IIRC) isn't showing GP4000S IIs or GP5000s in stock!
Debating whether to get voucher and see if Halfords can source me a replacement crankset for the Wazoo they sold me in Feb 2016... Bound to cost significantly more than £50 to source and then get them to fit it.
So you can't use it on at a shop of your choice?
So you can’t use it on at a shop of your choice?
You can use it in any shop that has signed up to the scheme.
Reality is it's not aimed at us, 50,000 vouchers for me is best used by those who have bikes in the shed they haven't used for a few years, or folk who have bikes that haven't a clue how to turn a spanner on it.
I'll not grab one as it'll just be taking it away from someone who could actually benefit.
Aye, just because it's free, I still don't want someone else spannering my bike.
Does it cover servicing of forks/dropper posts? My reverb is jiggered
I haven't used a bike shop to fix a bike for years. I'm not going to take this away from people who might actually need it. It would be pretty shameful if people on here got these vouchers and used them....
Its all just a show to try and gain political points any way, if they were really bothered about people getting fitter they'd try and get gyms and swimming pools open quicker and then spend time and money improving them and bringing the prices down. £5.20 to go swimming in Leeds!!
I get the point about not grabbing them so that others who need them can use them. I felt the same about supermarket delivery slots during lockdown. That said, this is a pilot scheme, and more will be released if it is successful. Is there any merit in grabbing them just to show that it is popular? If they run out on the first day that would prove the need.
Totally agree about the price of doing sport BTW. I've already posted that there should be more free facilities like multi-sport courts in parks (and more bike trails).
Seems a good idea to me. Worth remembering that the scheme probably isn't aimed at us lot as we can and do fix our own bikes but those who have a bike sitting in the shed with a puncture, snapped cable or something else. This could be the little push they need to get it sorted and be back on the bike. With a bit of luck, they enjoy it and keep cycling and spending on the cycling economy.
It would be pretty shameful if people on here got these vouchers and used them
Just shows the element of take, take, take that we have in our society.
Not a big deal but anyone else think even the headline is a bit odd:
"If you are a keen cyclist and have an old bike gathering dust at home, you can apply for a £50 voucher to get it repaired."
Why mention "keen cyclist"? As championed by the hero Chris Boardman, we're trying to get away from labelling people as "cyclists", more "people who use a bike for a journey" and why say you have to be keen already as it should be helping people who don't use them back on their bikes.
Anyway, just shooting the breeze.
Guidance on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fix-your-bike-voucher-scheme-apply-for-a-voucher says...
"The scheme is open to anyone in England who has an unused cycle in need of a repair.
However, as there are a limited number of vouchers available, please consider the needs of others before applying for a voucher."
I’m interested to know if the various suspension service centres might accept this. For those bemoaning ANY cyclist looking to use the voucher scheme I’m assuming you’ve never used a discount code or salary sacrifice scheme? Or taken advantage of the discounted vat rate on food?
In addition this isn’t as far as I know taking money away from lbs/ suspension centres that we so love to moan about the demise of?
Cyclists get the dog egg covered end of the stick so often infrastructure/ access/ rights, if applicable I’ll certainly look into this for some of the maintenance tasks I don’t personally undertake.
It would be pretty shameful if people on here got these vouchers and used them
Just shows the element of take, take, take that we have in our society.
Hope nobody with that view is (perfectly legally) minimising their tax bill, or using cash ISAs, childcare vouchers etc etc. The vouchers are aimed at people who already own bikes (or it would be a money off new bike scheme instead) and there doesn't seem to be anything to suggest it's only for people who haven't ridden their bike lately.
This is a win for bike shops* aswell as cyclists (old or new) if you're worried about taking what someone else might need more, then wait for a while before applying, if they're gone, they're gone.
*tho Im guessing the larger ones will benefit more (is the >£2M liability cover about average or would only the bigger stores have that?)
I anticipate there will be a lot of people who expect their bike fixed for £50, rather than £50 towards a bike repair/service.
Not labour only; repairer section on energy saving trust website has information on what is/isn't allowable.
The repairs must be necessary to make cycles roadworthy and fit for purpose, this may include:
- Repair or replace tyres, tubes, wheels and related components
- Adjust, repair or replace braking system components
- Adjust, repair or replace transmission system components.
- Repair or replace other essential components which prevent safe use of the cycle e.g. deteriorated grips or saddle
- Repair or replacement of components for permanently fitted lighting systems
Repairs which are NOT eligible:
- replacement or upgrade of existing safe and roadworthy components
- replacement or repair of removeable lighting accessories
Other questions above are covered on the website.
Hoping it covers droppers.
Hoping it covers droppers.
Not sure a dropper is needed to ensure a bike is road worthy, you might argue it for a fork I suppose but it would have to be pretty shonky to be not road worthy.
They might replace your full compliment of reflectors (including replacing your SPDs with crappy moulded things with reflectors) and your bell though.
[edit] Thinking about it, it would be pretty hilarious if someone took their 7k enduro sled in for repair, got whacked with a bill for work they wouldn't have bothered about it they hadn't thought they'd get £50 off, and discovered the voucher had covered the addition of a bell, spoke protector, bso reflective pedals etc.
[i]“If you are a keen cyclist and have an old bike gathering dust at home, you can apply for a £50 voucher to get it repaired.”[/i]
Surely if you are a "keen cyclist" (God I hate that phrase - am I a keen train-ist for getting on Northern Rail every morning to go to work??) then your bike would already be in good order?
The phrasing is shit - ultimately this is aimed at those people who paid £100 for the whole bike, not those people who pay £100 for one set of tyres. There were loads of these wrecks out on the roads over lockdown and when I worked in a London bike shop, we used to see it every year about 2 weeks before London-Brighton, people bringing in these dusty old bikes that had sat in the shed since last L2B needing them road-worthy again for the one big ride of the year that they did!
Having spent too much money on workshop tools and having recently fitted out my garage to be the workshop that I've always wanted, I won't be using these vouchers. As others have said elsewhere, I think that this scheme is aimed at those that lack the skill or means to repair their own bike.
am I a keen train-ist for getting on Northern Rail every morning to go to work?
Fool or masochist maybe?
For those bemoaning ANY cyclist looking to use the voucher scheme I’m assuming you’ve never used a discount code or salary sacrifice scheme? Or taken advantage of the discounted vat rate on food?
Are any of these examples limited to a certain number of applicants?
That said, this is a pilot scheme, and more will be released if it is successful. Is there any merit in grabbing them just to show that it is popular? If they run out on the first day that would prove the need.
And if they don't? Would we expect to see all those that could afford it anyway donate 50 quid to their local cycle charity?
13 hours until the portal opens to the public tonight... In theory.
I mean the obvious use here for most people is truing wheels. Even if you're a reasonable spanner, most don't have a truing stand and most people's wheels will be slightly out.
It would be pretty shameful if people on here got these vouchers and used them….
Bit of a blanket statement that. Plenty on here who don’t have a the skills to fully maintain their own bike or the money - especially when more than a few have been made redundant...
It'll be abused no matter what, from those who take their old bike out the shed, get a shop to fix it up and then they sell it, to folk using it who do their own bikes usually.
If folk on here use it i don't see the issue, unless they are abusing it, i.e. they bleed their own brakes every month, but now get the shop to do it as they have a 50 quid voucher, that to me would be one voucher being used where it didn't really need too.
But, i would say there'll be plenty here who may have good use of the voucher, from a wheel truing to a gear indexing, or whatever, i just wouldn't apply for one as i do my bikes myself, bar the full shock service.
I think that this scheme is aimed at those that lack the skill or means to repair their own bike.
Exactly - my bike that I use for commuting needs a new headset. I don’t own a head set press so need a shop to do it.
Is it only 1 £50? I have 2 bikes that need essential maintenance at the min (will be over £50 for both)
Bit of a blanket statement that. Plenty on here who don’t have a the skills to fully maintain their own bike or the money – especially when more than a few have been made redundant…
Oh well, you know if you genuinely need it or not...
I'm not swearing on my death bed, but I think it's one voucher per bike.
I’ll not grab one as it’ll just be taking it away from someone who could actually benefit.
Ditto...
Whether it's explicitly stated or not this Scheme is not intended for the likes of me (and my family) with a garage full of functional bikes, tools and the ability to wield them.
It's to help the Mums/Dads retrieving neglected Apollo's from the back of the shed facing down six weeks or more with already bored, inactive post lockdown kids. To get people and ideally families who've rediscovered bicycle use during lockdown rolling about more safely with brakes, gears and tyres that function...
If existing bike enthusiasts start using it to score cheaper parts/services that they would probably have bought anyway and/or didn't actually Need, to me that's one more kid deprived of access to a working bike to enjoy this summer.
It might be legal to use it to get some nice tyres or a shiny Mech, but it's morally reprehensible... (IMO of course)
Oh well, you know if you genuinely need it or not…
I wasn’t talking about myself...
I do hope that people don’t take this piss though...
Is it only 1 £50? I have 2 bikes that need essential maintenance at the min (will be over £50 for both)
Two vouchers per household maximum. Whether or not you can use two vouchers on one bike though is less clear.
Our workplace has just sent out an email advertising it. Also used the opportunity to push their Cycle To Work scheme as well.
Whether or not you can use two vouchers on one bike though is less clear.
It's pretty clear. You can't.
3.Redemption of vouchers
3.1. In order for vouchers to be eligible for redemption:
3.1.1. The individual claiming the voucher must be 18 or over;
3.1.2. The repairs must be Eligible Repairs; and
3.1.3. The voucher must be valid at the point of redemption.3.2.Vouchers will cover up to £50 per cycle towards the Eligible Repairs and parts that need replacement as part of the Eligible Repairs. The cycle owner will need to pay the remainder cost if the cost is greater than £50.
3.3.3 If the cost of the service is below £50, the voucher will only cover for the effective cost of the transaction (less than £50).
3.4. A maximum of 2 vouchers can be claimed per customer address, and only 1 voucher per cycle.
https://fixyourbikevoucherscheme.est.org.uk/ cannot be reached, even though it's gone 2345, when I thought it was going live (I was up anyway, not stayed up purposefully).
It was working at 23:30ish, I guess it's being flooded with requests.
Now saying no vouchers in this first batch available... Wonderful!
Just on the news - volume of traffic broke the website.
*insert facepalm gif here*
3 posts in..
I thought I read it included tyres, so fit a grubby pair to your best bike (if you have nothing needing more urgent attention that the voucher could help with), then use £50 to get a nice pair of new tyres.
I seriously despair about some people. This scheme is about people getting their broken bikes fixed, not so greedy skinflints can scam some new top quality tyres for free..
I wonder how many shops actually have the workshop capacity to take in the extra work?
+1 cookeaa and tpbiker
Political stunt or not, it's not a gift voucher for you to get someone to sort out the internal cabling on your Santa Cruz. Have some bloody principles.
Looking at the big picture, they've been taken up in no time at all, 50,000 x £50 means that bikeshops across the country will share in a £2.5 million shot in the arm, and even if 10% of people use them properly to get bikes back up and running, that's 10,000 people who might be using their bike more, so i'd say it's a win for cycling.
Through out this whole pandemic me and the misses have both worked fall time (me as a key worker in a health and safety role (home based but attending different sites throughout the day) and the misses working from home probably even harder than normal. We will both apply for the voucher for our bikes even though they definitely done full under the fixer upper category because we haven’t had any help/furlough money from the government. If it hadn’t of been as high at 80% pay for sitting at home I might of felt differently.
even though they definitely done full under the fixer upper category
Are they broken?
