It seems bike shops who should know the rules are prepared to band them. I asked in a very well known LBS in the lake district about reciepts and they said they provided a receipt of the full price of the bike for insurance purposes. Lets say £2K for arguments sake. They then said the balance of £1K could be paid by cash or card, even if the employer has set the limit at £1K for the scheme. In fact in every bike shop I've asked in, must be a dozen, none of them have said "sorry sir the limits £1K" despite bing shown the paperwork!!

I've been to three bike shops today, all of who said paying above the £1K limit can be done to get a more expensive bike. Or are they just trying to sell me something more expnsive to help the cash flow?!

The Zesty's look nice. How long do the bearings in the rear suspension last? How easy are they to change and how much does it cost?

I know the Stumpy are a pain to change and a bearing kit is £40, and they need doing every 1000Km or so apparently.

Thanks

Matthew

Thanks for your commants on discs. Definitely more options than I initially thought.

Thanks for the reply. Are cable disc brakes any good and worth the price difference?

The technology and cost of a front suspension fork must be more than whats required to design, test and build a cross bike.

Ribble and Merlin are both advertising that this stand got 10/10 in a recent cycling plus magazine. Which issue was it? Did anybody ready it?

Are these stands identical to the Edinburgh bike coop equivalent that is £80?

Are easy are they to put up and take down?

Thanks

Matthew