Making the most of the Cycle to work scheme

[brit151]

Having zero experience with electric bikes I have been trying to research as much as I can to try and work out the best way to achieve my desired ebike. This would be as follows:
- capable of 20mph with an LCD or ability to add one
- short communte with a few small hills with a range of at least 10 miles on a single charge
- Nice sporty MTB with reasonalbe gears suspension so I can take off road for some fun
- like the bigger tyres so ability to add chunky ones would be great

My work does the cycle scheme through halfords with a 1K limit. This from what I gather is the top limit and I can't add to it out of my own pocket. From reading around it sounds like some people have managed to wangle it but I spoke with e bikes and they said it wasn't possibel.

So with that limit in mind I figure im unlikely to find a decent e bike that meets all my requirements. Therefore I'm thinking of getting a bike with the best kit in the first year. They apply through the scheme again the second year and get a better bike (suspension gears) to which I fit the kit onto. eg http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-aizan-29er-mountain-bike

The bike for the e kit I had in mind is the cyclotricity revolver due to the 500W motor and LCD. However I see there are many bikes on offer through e bikes on the halfords website so was wondering if any of these had better kits attached to which I would fit onto a better bike later down the line?

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/cyclotricity-revolver-500w-electric-bike-9ah-50cm

Hope that makes sense any advice would be much appreciated?

 

[nichodia]

Don't forget to spend every penny that you ask for under the scheme ie if you ask for a grand and then buy a bike for £800 they will still take the whole grand! So spend any extra on accessories (I found out the hard way)!

 

[mfj197]

Don't forget to spend every penny that you ask for under the scheme ie if you ask for a grand and then buy a bike for £800 they will still take the whole grand! So spend any extra on accessories (I found out the hard way)!

I'm not quite sure what you mean here. If you buy a bike for £800 you will only be charged £800 - no more. If you have been charged more then there's been an administrative fault or something with your scheme.

Michael

 

[nichodia]

Yeah that is what I thought but it has happened to a few people I know, the manager in Halfords in Louth actually told one of my freinds that had asked for 500 and bought a bike for 300 to take the rest in accessories as they would take the full 500 anyway....luckily I bought a freego regency at 980 so only lost 20 quid. May be best for the op to check with his local halfords!

 

[the_killjoy]

I think someone has their wires crossed.

If you bought an £800 bike but they deducted £1000 then you would be betterr off buying it outside of the scheme.

 

[nichodia]

Well whatever..my wires are not crossed at all..my bike was ordered through the Halfords cycle to work scheme from ebikes direct...my friend went into the local Halfords with her paperwork and chose her bike..only relaying what we experienced...and what was told to my friend by the local Halfords manager...believe it or not...just don't say you were not warned..I was actually trying to be helpful to the OP but never mind.

 

[Nealh]

I have never tried the scheme and to be honest is doesn't interest me, however I would take Nichodia at his/her word and would investigate the scheme first to insure I wasn't short changed or paying over the odds .Nichodia's experience shows that there may be flaws in the scheme or someone taking the wee.

 

[nichodia]

I think someone has their wires crossed.

If you bought an £800 bike but they deducted £1000 then you would be betterr off buying it outside of the scheme.

But the way the scheme works is that you take a salary sacrifice for the amount you ask for so then pay less tax..so you theoretically pay less for your bike because of the tax break..however the bike is only hired for the duration of the scheme and it is up to individual employers to then sell the bike to you at a nominal price at the end of the year.

 

[dinger19]

Don't forget to spend every penny that you ask for under the scheme ie if you ask for a grand and then buy a bike for £800 they will still take the whole grand! So spend any extra on accessories (I found out the hard way)!

Your right when you apply for one of these schemes you have a choice on how much you want to spend ie anything upto a £1k and if you chose the higher amount then you have to buy a bike plus extras to that value because the repayments are set for the £1k and cannot be changed,so there is nothing wrong with these schemes you just really need to do your homework in regards to buying a bike before you commit.

Example you apply for the £1k and the repayments are set however you only spend £500 on a bike then you have another £500 pounds to spend on extras or a second bike,but you will pay the £1k back regardless on whether you spend the surplus or not.

 

[the_killjoy]

My point was why ask for more than the bike cost.

 

[dinger19]

My point was why ask for more than the bike cost.

because I think it is a misunderstanding on how these schemes work and human nature will always dictate they apply for as much as they can get.

 

[mfj197]

Yeah that is what I thought but it has happened to a few people I know, the manager in Halfords in Louth actually told one of my freinds that had asked for 500 and bought a bike for 300 to take the rest in accessories as they would take the full 500 anyway....luckily I bought a freego regency at 980 so only lost 20 quid. May be best for the op to check with his local halfords!

Ah, I see the problem. Your friend went in to the shop having already asked for a voucher for £500. Repayments were therefore set up for this amount and that's not going to change. You're supposed to do it the other way round - visit the shop first and they'll give you a quote for what you want, and you then apply for a voucher for that specific amount. That way the repayment is set up for exactly the amount you need.

Michael

 

[brit151]

Thanks for advice with regards to the scheme.

Through a bit of additional searching I see there are some good reports on the Kudos cobra/tornado which have Bafang SWXH motors, 36V battery. although only 250W if I put this on a lighter bike later down the line would it achieve better speeds?or is it possible to derestrict? attach an LCD?

Other than the Kudos Im still thinking about the cyclotricity revolver 500W or the stealth 1000W?

 

[mfj197]

The Kudos Tornado actually has the BPM motor. I rode 80 miles testing a Typhoon (the 29er version of the Tornado) last year and can confirm it has an LCD, can be derestricted in the settings and if you do that it will happily run at 19.5mph all day.

The Typhoon is quite a big bike but the BPM pushes it along quite happily. A lighter bike wouldn't have a higher top speed as the motor physically can't turn any faster - it is reaching its no-load speed. Because of this I imagine the Tornado would be just a bit slower due to having smaller wheels, unless Kudos have used a different winding version of the motor in the Tornado.

Incidentally the BPM is marked as 250W (so is legal) but in reality it kicks out a lot more.

Michael

 

[brit151]

Cheers mfj197. Sounds like a good motor. 19.5 mph seems like a good cruising speed especially for a 250W.

Is it possible to remove the motor and add to a bigger wheel such as a 29er? I do prefer the look of the bigger wheeled bikes, but wouldn't be able to get the electric 29er on the scheme.

 

[mfj197]

Cheers mfj197. Sounds like a good motor. 19.5 mph seems like a good cruising speed especially for a 250W.

Most of the "250W" motors will provide quite a bit more power. My BBS01 conversion is nominally rated at 250W but on full assist it will cruise happily at 27mph.

Is it possible to remove the motor and add to a bigger wheel such as a 29er? I do prefer the look of the bigger wheeled bikes, but wouldn't be able to get the electric 29er on the scheme.

No reason why not, although then you've wasted the rest of the bike. You can get the BPM or CST motors as conversion kits for a lot less than spending a grand on a Tornado, even once you take tax off!

Michael