Interesting thread.
I wanted to buy my bicycle through the Cycle to Work Scheme. First I had to set up the scheme for the company I work for - really straightforward. The Scheme website tells you which bike shops participate so I went along to The Bicycle Hub in Ironbridge. They do bicycle and tandem hire as well as bicycle sales and servicing. I knew nothing at all about what I needed. I fancied a Pashley because I like the traditional look but the staff spent a lot of time talking through what cycling I was planning to do. When I said I would mainly be cycling 8 miles each way to work and back they asked about the route and what the road/track surfaces would be like, made some recommendations and sent me away to think about it. They advised against the Pashley due to the weight of it, reasoning that I would be more likely to keep cycling if I had something lighter and with more gears (and I'm really not very fit!). Once I'd made my choice, they measured me so they could select the correct frame size and spent a lot of time explaining the best route I could take to work - it doesn't follow the route I take in the car so I wasn't familiar with large parts of it - and showed me the route on a map that they gave me to keep. When I went to collect the bike, they checked the height again and spent time watching me practice the gears (my last bike was a 1940s BSA with 4 Sturmey Archer gears). They then recommended other routes that I might want to try for fun - got another map to take away. They rang me a couple of weeks later to see if the bike was ready for its first free service - I hadn't used it much by then, for various reasons, so they are going to call back in a couple of weeks.
I'm really impressed by the service and glad I went to the LBS, rather than buying on the internet - especially as a newbie/beginner. Internet probably makes more sense once you have a bit more experience and know pretty much what you want or need.
Hazel
I wanted to buy my bicycle through the Cycle to Work Scheme. First I had to set up the scheme for the company I work for - really straightforward. The Scheme website tells you which bike shops participate so I went along to The Bicycle Hub in Ironbridge. They do bicycle and tandem hire as well as bicycle sales and servicing. I knew nothing at all about what I needed. I fancied a Pashley because I like the traditional look but the staff spent a lot of time talking through what cycling I was planning to do. When I said I would mainly be cycling 8 miles each way to work and back they asked about the route and what the road/track surfaces would be like, made some recommendations and sent me away to think about it. They advised against the Pashley due to the weight of it, reasoning that I would be more likely to keep cycling if I had something lighter and with more gears (and I'm really not very fit!). Once I'd made my choice, they measured me so they could select the correct frame size and spent a lot of time explaining the best route I could take to work - it doesn't follow the route I take in the car so I wasn't familiar with large parts of it - and showed me the route on a map that they gave me to keep. When I went to collect the bike, they checked the height again and spent time watching me practice the gears (my last bike was a 1940s BSA with 4 Sturmey Archer gears). They then recommended other routes that I might want to try for fun - got another map to take away. They rang me a couple of weeks later to see if the bike was ready for its first free service - I hadn't used it much by then, for various reasons, so they are going to call back in a couple of weeks.
I'm really impressed by the service and glad I went to the LBS, rather than buying on the internet - especially as a newbie/beginner. Internet probably makes more sense once you have a bit more experience and know pretty much what you want or need.
Hazel
