Halfords/Cycle To work/Another one.....

[bingledee]

Being yet another person whose Cycle2Work scheme is limited to Halfords, and having checked that none of the local bike stores will take the Halfords voucher (understandably i suppose)

I've narrowed it down to the following bikes

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_273287_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#dtab


http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_561381_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_502571_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

my budget is going to be £550, so this will leave me nothing for accessories,
the top 2 are more relevant if I wanted to go off the roads, and the final one is good for just racking up the miles... just wondering if my fitness and enjoyment would improve with the mountain bikes, or whether i should rack up the road miles on the hybrids...

i know Halfords can source most bikes from elsewhere, but I understand that they wont employ the usual returns policy if they have to source a bike externally.

Any thoughts/concerns/suggestions on alternatives?

thanks all

PS: once I choose the bike, I'll be using my LBS for regular servicing/repairs etc

 

[spandex]

Is it not against the Law for a company / employer so say where you can and can not spend your own money!! It is the same with most insurance company's saying you have to go to X shop to get your new bike! I say ER NO I do not it is my money and I will spend it where I wish.

 

[spandex]

I love the way S**tfords say FREE BIKE BUILD AND INSPECTION !!! what is that all about.

They have to Build the bike and give it a Inspection known as a PDI by Law.

 

[Theseus]

I sourced my C2W bike through Halfords, but it is not one of theirs. It is a Pearson. I raised the same issue with Pearson and they said that as far as the warranties were concerned they would honour them. Apart from passing through their delivery network, that bike has not been touched by Halfords.

 

[spandex]

How dose that work then if there is some thing wrong with the bike you have what you have to do is take it back to the shop you got it from! So if you got the bike from S**tfords and because they do not stock the bike they go to the LBS that dose and gets it for you.... So let me get this right if you have something wrong with your bike you take it back to S**tfords and they take it back to the LBS who then sort it (in what ever way) give it back to S**tfords how then give it back to you?!?

But some where in that line there is a kid that is working at S**tfords that will not be able to keep his mits off of it and changes somthing on there...


Why not just go to the LBS in the first place ?

 

[bingledee]

I sourced my C2W bike through Halfords, but it is not one of theirs. It is a Pearson. I raised the same issue with Pearson and they said that as far as the warranties were concerned they would honour them. Apart from passing through their delivery network, that bike has not been touched by Halfords.

good to hear, and inspiring... what bike did you get out of curioisty, or was it a while ago?

 

[Theseus]

How dose that work then if there is some thing wrong with the bike you have what you have to do is take it back to the shop you got it from! So if you got the bike from S**tfords and because they do not stock the bike they go to the LBS that dose and gets it for you.... So let me get this right if you have something wrong with your bike you take it back to S**tfords and they take it back to the LBS who then sort it (in what ever way) give it back to S**tfords how then give it back to you?!?

But some where in that line there is a kid that is working at S**tfords that will not be able to keep his mits off of it and changes somthing on there...


Why not just go to the LBS in the first place ?

Err ... not sure I understand you, but ...

If anything breaks while under warranty, I can send it back to Pearson. If it is a fault in the part, they replace it for free. If through wear & tear, I would expect a charge. After nearly 2 years I have not had any failures and the only thing I would bother them with now is if the frame broke.

good to hear, and inspiring... what bike did you get out of curioisty, or was it a while ago?

I got the Touche. Mine at the top of Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh shortly after getting it in August 2007.

p.s. you may recognize this as my name and avatar.

 

[bingledee]

How dose that work then if there is some thing wrong with the bike you have what you have to do is take it back to the shop you got it from! So if you got the bike from S**tfords and because they do not stock the bike they go to the LBS that dose and gets it for you.... So let me get this right if you have something wrong with your bike you take it back to S**tfords and they take it back to the LBS who then sort it (in what ever way) give it back to S**tfords how then give it back to you?!?

But some where in that line there is a kid that is working at S**tfords that will not be able to keep his mits off of it and changes somthing on there...


Why not just go to the LBS in the first place ?

cos as mentioned in my original post, its a voucher through the Cycle2Work scheme at work which they have ties with Halfords.... obviously i could walk into a LBS in the first place if i was paying with my own money

 

[John the Monkey]

Bingledee, if it was my money, I'd go for the Boardman Hybrid of those three.

Unless you're using the bike fairly seriously off road, suspension &c is just extra weight to lug around - the hybrid should be capable of the sort of off road most people do (towpaths, bike paths &c) and won't feel like a boat anchor on the road.

 

[bingledee]

Bingledee, if it was my money, I'd go for the Boardman Hybrid of those three.

Unless you're using the bike fairly seriously off road, suspension &c is just extra weight to lug around - the hybrid should be capable of the sort of off road most people do (towpaths, bike paths &c) and won't feel like a boat anchor on the road.

thanks John, i dont think i'd be doing any serious off roading just yet, though it would be fun just to use it on some dirt tracks for example (not full off road)... far too many choices for a novice

 

[John the Monkey]

thought it would be fun just to use it on some dirt tracks for example (not full off road)... far too many choices for a novice

A "road" hybrid should stand up to that sort of use easily (imo).

The Boardmans are nice bikes, with decent finishing kit.

 

[grhm]

Is it not against the Law for a company / employer so say where you can and can not spend your own money!!

Possibly, but it's not technically your money buying your bike. You apply for a voucher from your employer, take it to a shop and buy a bike. However, at this point you've paid nothing, a legally the company owns the bike.

You then spend the next 12 months (typically) paying for the use of bike, but the bike is still technically owned by the company. At the end of the hire period the company can (as usually does) offer to sell the bike to you - only at that point do you buy the bike.

I think a company are legally allowed to dictate where you spend their money. I you don't like it, you can always buy a bike from whereever you like - you don't *have* to use the company's C2W scheme.

(My employer has a C2W scheme that starts in October each year tat is tied to Halfords. We can opt-in to in we want to - or not. I ended up buying from my LBS direct in July as I didn't want to want and didn't want to deal with Halfords).

 

[grhm]

Like JtM, I too would go for the Hybrid. It'll cope fine with most of the off-road type riding you've decribed.

 

[bingledee]

Like JtM, I too would go for the Hybrid. It'll cope fine with most of the off-road type riding you've decribed.

thanks grhm and jtm, i was leaning toward the MTB Sport on the Boardman range, thought i could have put some different tyres on it for road use, but then realised i'd probably be doing majority of road work...

 

[MrW]

I love the way S**tfords say FREE BIKE BUILD AND INSPECTION !!! what is that all about.

They have to Build the bike and give it a Inspection known as a PDI by Law.

not if the customer wants it in a box and agrees to take responsibility for poor assembly