Cycle to work scheme or buy online?

iguot

Gonna buy a bike, which way is the way to go?

Gonna spend a grand or more, haven't bought a bike in years and years so haven't a clue whats a good bike, live 20 mile away from work so nice enough distance, whats the way to go? Im guessing local shop will screw ya over online?

Whats a good bike spec to look for?

Chuchote

Local bike shop (if a shop run by cyclists, as most are) won't screw you over. And depending on how much you earn/are paying in tax, you can get up to 52% of the price - over half the price! - off if you get it on the bike-to-work scheme

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/income_tax_credits_and_reliefs/cycle_to_work_scheme.html

What shops can be bought from and how depends on your employer's rules on this. Take a look at the very least; it's a stupendously good scheme, though!

What height and build are you (long or short legs and arms) and roughly where do you live? Height for size of bike, where you live so people can recommend a few bike shops.

You might be best to borrow a few different bikes and ride them the distance to see what you love.

Get a good lock too - spend 10% of the bike price on it.

People here will give you great advice on a good bike for your daily cycle. Enjoy!

bren_mc

Depending on your employer, you may be able to buy online through the scheme. I used it recently to buy from Chainreactioncycles.com. The scheme itself allows for purchases from any seller in the EU, whether online or 'bricks n mortar'

Chuchote

The advantage of a local bike shop (or LBS as they're known here ) is that you can go back to them for help, advice, mending, parts, etc - it's the start of a years-long relationship.

magicbastarder

iguot wrote: »

Im guessing local shop will screw ya over online?

or else you could look at it as the LBS will be able to give you advice and maintenance the online store won't, especially if something goes wrong; as you don't know what a good bike is, you may be paying for their knowledge and assistance as well as the physical goods purchased.

Miklos

When buying something as expensive as a bike, you're much better off buying from a shop with well informed people. It's important to support local businesses, you never know when you might need them.

Wishbone Ash

iguot wrote: »

... Im guessing local shop will screw ya over online?...

It's a bit unfair to use the term 'screw ya' even if the LBS is more expensive. They have much more financial overheads than an online store. If something mechanical went wrong with your bike, you'd probably expect a LBS to repair it for you.

Effects

Chuchote wrote: »

The advantage of a local bike shop (or LBS as they're known here ) is that you can go back to them for help, advice, mending, parts, etc - it's the start of a years-long relationship.

I've had bad experiences with local bike shops but also some really great ones.
Last month I forgot my lights and rather than chance cycling home in the dark I dropped into McDonalds Cycles on Wexford St to buy another set, and keep them as spares. They let me borrow a set instead of buying new ones from them and I dropped them back the next day.

lissard

It's a no-brainer, local bike shop all the way and no, they will not screw you over. If you are just starting out again there is a very good chance that you will need some mechanical support in the months after you buy the bike. With a local shop this is easy, for online retailers it is not. Have a look at the many threads on this forum dealing with the after sales experience with Canyon (big online cycling retailer). I was originally leaning this way but was very glad I stuck with a bricks and mortar store. In the first few months after my last purchase I was back with issues to do with my bottom bracket and a faulty rear derailleur. That would have been long periods without my bike if I had to ship it back for fixing.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I have ordered a bike from Wiggle on the BTW purely because there are no Felt dealers in Ireland anymore and I wanted a Felt VR30. I looked at all the alternatives (Synapse, Domane, Defy, Attain etc) but none of them matched the felt in terms of spec

cython

bren_mc wrote: »

Depending on your employer, you may be able to buy online through the scheme. I used it recently to buy from Chainreactioncycles.com. The scheme itself allows for purchases from any seller in the EU, whether online or 'bricks n mortar'

The caveat/exception with that being if the seller is not registered for Irish VAT, it must be purchased ex-VAT, and the employer must pay the VAT themselves. Most of the big names (Wiggle, CRC, Canyon) are already charging Irish VAT (due to selling over the threshold necessitating that they register and charge it), but some of the less common Euro retailers online may not be, so even if your employer is willing to deal online, they may draw the line at dealing with one of the "smaller" (in the sense of their Irish market, I mean) retailers.

iwillhtfu

lissard wrote: »

Have a look at the many threads on this forum dealing with the after sales experience with Canyon (big online cycling retailer). I was originally leaning this way but was very glad I stuck with a bricks and mortar store

Is this old nugget still doing the rounds. I've used Canyon and couldn't have been happier with their service before, during and after.

Lads will always bring up oh I've heard horror stories on their after sales etc etc but sure why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Yes there are some bad stories of people getting caught with Canyons wave assemble line approach. They make and sell thousands of bikes every year there will be a few bad experiences but as always you always hear the bad never the good.

OP in almost all instances there are better bargains to be had on line. Shopping online obviously brings up problems when it comes to sizing it's not as easy as jumping on a bike and trying it out so you may get it wrong. In saying that I've also heard numerous stories of lads being sent out to a carpark by a LBS and do a few laps resulting in yeah that looks about right. It may not be right at all so really a bike fit would be well advised measurements can then be transferred to any decisions LBS V online.

In your case having not ridden in a long time a LBS would probably suit best as you'll be looking at numerous brands and models in the flesh.

magicbastarder

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Is this old nugget still doing the rounds. I've used Canyon and couldn't have been happy with their service before, during and after.

i think you misphrased that...

seamus

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It's a bit unfair to use the term 'screw ya' even if the LBS is more expensive. They have much more financial overheads than an online store. If something mechanical went wrong with your bike, you'd probably expect a LBS to repair it for you.

There's probably a popular perception that like buying a car, the bike shop will try to extract as much cash out of you as possible for the least effort.

While this is in general true of everything, for the vast majority of shops and shop employees, it's a labour of love and they'd much rather see someone leave the shop with a bike that'll give the rider ongoing happiness rather than the one with the biggest profit margin that will fall apart in a week.

There are a couple of notable exceptions to the rule which won't be named here, but OP if you mention your locality, people can give recommendations on which shop(s) to look at.

iwillhtfu

magicbastarder wrote: »

i think you misphrased that...

Indeed I did

chuckbass

Originally Posted by bren_mc
Depending on your employer, you may be able to buy online through the scheme. I used it recently to buy from Chainreactioncycles.com. The scheme itself allows for purchases from any seller in the EU, whether online or 'bricks n mortar'

The caveat/exception with that being if the seller is not registered for Irish VAT, it must be purchased ex-VAT, and the employer must pay the VAT themselves. Most of the big names (Wiggle, CRC, Canyon) are already charging Irish VAT (due to selling over the threshold necessitating that they register and charge it), but some of the less common Euro retailers online may not be, so even if your employer is willing to deal online, they may draw the line at dealing with one of the "smaller" (in the sense of their Irish market, I mean) retailers.



Hey, sorry, I'm a bit clueless at all this VAT malarkey, I'm looking at bikes on http://www.chainreactioncycles.com and also www.bikeinn.com, since they are both based in the EU are they eligible? Why would it be a big deal for emlpoyers to deal online rather than bricks and mortar?