Cycle to work certificate received but now no stock?

[272BHP]

So I finally got the certificate through for 1000 pounds from Evans

Was after a Cannondale BadBoy 2 but it is not even showing on the Evans site anymore. I guess they are preparing for 2021 models.

The only thing I fancy that I can preorder for September is a Specialized Sirrus X 4.0 but looking at the tyre size this is more towards the mountain bike end of the hybrid spectrum?

Not sure what to do now.

[CAPP0]

When I got my bike from Evans under C2W they told me that whatever I bought had to exactly match the value of the certificate, it couldn't be under and I couldn't top it up either, so I added clothes, lock, lights, pedals etc before I submitted. Point being, you may have to pick something for the same price, or re-apply, I don't know.

Evans got my bike in in advance and held it for me on a refundable deposit, so I collected the day after I got the certificate.

[jimmsy]

I did this recently with Bike2Work so not 100% it's the same, but you can swap what shop the voucher is for, and some shops will let you ring before asking for the voucher and reserve what you want. I did this with Rutland and got the price close to the voucher (a few quid above) and they applied a discount to make it match up.

[272BHP]

I want a nice bike so looking for something at 900 + I can easily make it up to a 1000 with a bike lock or other gear.

As I understand it I have to buy from Evans on this particular scheme. The Sirrus is now not showing, I have nothing I can even pre-order now!

[anonymous-user]

I believe you can return the voucher, as it’s a waste of time for a while.
Get another when bike shops actually have bikes to sell again!

[Kermit power]

Looking at your first choice, I'd say you seem to be paying quite a lot for gimmicky built in lights and the love it or loathe it Cannondale lefty fork (guess which camp I'm in! ) with a pretty crappy chainset. I'm also not quite sure what it's actually supposed to excel at? It looks like it should be a year-round commuter for places with crap roads or where you've got significant amounts of tow path-type off road to do, but it doesn't appear to have mudguard or pannier rack mounts, which rather goes against that?

If you want to go chunky, why not go for a decent hardtail MTB and maybe invest in a second set of wheels so you can have one with slicks for weekday commuting and another with proper knobblies for weekend fun?

On the other hand, if you want more normal road-going hybridity, how about the Cannondale Quick 2? It appears to be available, has a better groupset and a normal fork.

[J4CKO]

My first CTW bike ten years ago was a Bad Boy, was ok but sooo stiff without suspension.

A horrendous combination of an MTB style ally frame, no suspension and skinny tyres.

Our place has a short window for CTW, missed it due to Covid and they have said they arent doing it again until next year, so will be ready !

[272BHP]

Kermit power said:

Looking at your first choice, I'd say you seem to be paying quite a lot for gimmicky built in lights and the love it or loathe it Cannondale lefty fork (guess which camp I'm in! ) with a pretty crappy chainset. I'm also not quite sure what it's actually supposed to excel at? It looks like it should be a year-round commuter for places with crap roads or where you've got significant amounts of tow path-type off road to do, but it doesn't appear to have mudguard or pannier rack mounts, which rather goes against that?

If you want to go chunky, why not go for a decent hardtail MTB and maybe invest in a second set of wheels so you can have one with slicks for weekday commuting and another with proper knobblies for weekend fun?

On the other hand, if you want more normal road-going hybridity, how about the Cannondale Quick 2? It appears to be available, has a better groupset and a normal fork.

I just like the look of the Bad Boy 2 and I had a good look at it in the local shop and was quite impressed. Maybe I would have been better off with something else. I do prefer a single chain ring and the Bad Boy 2 is a 2 x 9

I hate the Quick range though. My wife had a Quick 3 and it was a heavy agricultural thing compared to my current ride an IslaBike Beinn 29.

To be honest I want something similar to my IslaBike Beinn 29, which is great to ride and very light but I want that with a better group set and better brakes. My Beinn is over 8 years old and pretty much everything needs replacing. I am now starting to think of how much it would cost for someone to respray my frame a nice matt carbon and fit my Beinn with disk brakes and a better group set.

[272BHP]

Looks as though a Pinnacle Neon 5 is in stock

Are the components any good for an 850 pound bike?

SRAM Apex 1 x 11
SRAM Level Hydraulic brakes

[Piginapoke]

Just FYI, you can certainly top up the voucher at Evans, I did that 2 years ago. May be better increasing your budget a bit

[272BHP]

Piginapoke said:

Just FYI, you can certainly top up the voucher at Evans, I did that 2 years ago. May be better increasing your budget a bit

Thanks! i didn't know that - might open up some possibilities.

[CAPP0]

Piginapoke said:

Just FYI, you can certainly top up the voucher at Evans, I did that 2 years ago. May be better increasing your budget a bit

Not sure what the difference might be but the reason I posted that above was that when I got mine in Feb this year they did specifically tell me it absolutely couldn't be topped up. They were very specific on that. Sure, you can buy more stuff outright, but not on the loan.

[Evanivitch]

CAPP0 said:

Piginapoke said:

Just FYI, you can certainly top up the voucher at Evans, I did that 2 years ago. May be better increasing your budget a bit

Not sure what the difference might be but the reason I posted that above was that when I got mine in Feb this year they did specifically tell me it absolutely couldn't be topped up. They were very specific on that. Sure, you can buy more stuff outright, but not on the loan.

Yeah you have to remember that you don't own the bicycle, your employer does. If you contribute beyond the voucher then it becomes a mess of ownership.

[Countdown]

CAPPO said:

Not sure what the difference might be but the reason I posted that above was that when I got mine in Feb this year they did specifically tell me it absolutely couldn't be topped up. They were very specific on that. Sure, you can buy more stuff outright, but not on the loan.

There shouldn't be any issues with "topping up". You just turn up at the bike shop, hand over the certificate plus any extra cash and buy whatever you want. The "loan" amount doesn't change but you can add in extra cash IYSWIM

Evanivitch said:

Yeah you have to remember that you don't own the bicycle, your employer does. If you contribute beyond the voucher then it becomes a mess of ownership.

Theoretically perhaps but I doubt the vast majority of Employers even care. All you need to do once the initial repayment period is over is ask to extend the "rental" period for another 4 years for a token payment and then it becomes yours. My company makes about 10-15 loans a year and once the loan has been fully repaid we dont do anything. AIUI Cycle scheme write to the Employee and sort out the admin.

[CAPP0]

Countdown said:

Theoretically perhaps but I doubt the vast majority of Employers even care. All you need to do once the initial repayment period is over is ask to extend the "rental" period for another 4 years for a token payment and then it becomes yours. My company makes about 10-15 loans a year and once the loan has been fully repaid we dont do anything. AIUI Cycle scheme write to the Employee and sort out the admin.

What happens if you have repaid the loan in full but you leave the company inside the 4 year period (or even the 12 month period)?

[Evanivitch]

Countdown said:

Theoretically perhaps but I doubt the vast majority of Employers even care. All you need to do once the initial repayment period is over is ask to extend the "rental" period for another 4 years for a token payment and then it becomes yours. My company makes about 10-15 loans a year and once the loan has been fully repaid we dont do anything. AIUI Cycle scheme write to the Employee and sort out the admin.

The employees don't care, which is why the scheme admin is nearly always externally run. But the taxman does care, and so does the company that is providing the audit trail.

I know if was common several years ago, but I don't believe it happens anymore with the highstreet bike shops.

[Countdown]

CAPP0 said:

What happens if you have repaid the loan in full but you leave the company inside the 4 year period (or even the 12 month period)?

After the loan period has finished Cyclescheme contact you and you can opt to extend the hire period for 3% or 7% of the loan price or (I think) you can take out right ownership for 25% of the loan price.

[Countdown]

Evanivitch said:

Countdown said:

Theoretically perhaps but I doubt the vast majority of Employers even care. All you need to do once the initial repayment period is over is ask to extend the "rental" period for another 4 years for a token payment and then it becomes yours. My company makes about 10-15 loans a year and once the loan has been fully repaid we dont do anything. AIUI Cycle scheme write to the Employee and sort out the admin.

The employees don't care, which is why the scheme admin is nearly always externally run. But the taxman does care, and so does the company that is providing the audit trail.

I know if was common several years ago, but I don't believe it happens anymore with the highstreet bike shops.

You wouldn't get any tax benefits on any additional top-up payments so there isn't any reason for the taxman to get upset. I know top-ups still do happen; the bike our IT Director wanted was out of stock so he bought the next one up, which needed an extra £150.

However there is less reason for top ups now because the £1k limit for loans has been removed. So you might as well get a Cyclsescheme loan for the FULL amount rather than topping up (and not getting any tax relief on the top up).

[Evanivitch]

Countdown said:

You wouldn't get any tax benefits on any additional top-up payments so there isn't any reason for the taxman to get upset

There is, because you don't own the bike. If you top-up then you become a partial owner of the bike which completely voids the whole scheme.

I'm not saying top-ups don't happen, but you shouldn't assume you'll be allowed to even if one branch does.

[CAPP0]

Countdown said:

CAPP0 said:

What happens if you have repaid the loan in full but you leave the company inside the 4 year period (or even the 12 month period)?

After the loan period has finished Cyclescheme contact you and you can opt to extend the hire period for 3% or 7% of the loan price or (I think) you can take out right ownership for 25% of the loan price.

I can live with a small % extension but paying 25% would wipe out a good chunk of the savings, that seems a bit counter-productive?