Bike to Work scheme - the Megathread - Read post #1 before posting

DaveyDave wrote: »

Apologies I know people hate frequently asked questions being repeated but I read through 3 pages of search results for this thread and found mixed results going back to 2018.

Canyon. What's the verdict for bikes exceeding the grant? Some say they paid the excess, others are saying they won't take split payments.

My employer paid the 1,000 into Canyon's bank account and I paid the balance by bank transfer from my end. Canyon didn't have any issue with that. There was a bit of delay with the employer's payment so that was a bit stressful, but all worked out ok in the end.

Canyon just provided an invoice for the whole amount and I gave that to my employer.

There was a bit of confusion with my employer initially saying they would not send money to a non-Irish account, but then said it wasn't a problem. Employer also initially wanted an invoice for exactly 1,000, but I just gave them the invoice for the full amount, and they didn't raise an issue.

My employer also insisted the bike had to be delivered to the company address, which was weird, but didn't cause me any issues, so I needed an amended invoice with my employer's address. Other than that it was fine. I had to use Canyon chat function a few times with all those issues, but as I said, it worked out fine in the end.

Good luck with it.

quenching wrote: »

Didn’t notice the lack of quick release wheels until you pointed that out!

Quick release wheels went out of style a few years ago. They're not stiff enough for disc brakes, so we've got thru-axles now.

CramCycle wrote: »

Not out of style, just only for rim brakes, just saying.

Yeah, but rim brakes went out of style too. Same difference

adrian522 wrote: »

I just paid the balance, so 1250 went through the company and I paid €410 I think. I don't think my company uses a 3rd party though.

Thanks for that. I believe the likes of TravelHub take 8% or so of the voucher value so it costs the shop if you use them, so there’s €100 of the VIP discount gone straight away I suppose.

https://shop.independent.ie/pages/electric-bikes

€1,500 + free delivery in Ireland.

Came across this on the indo website. I know nothing about the bike nor do I work for the indo:)

It mentions a saving of a €1,000 (€2,499 RRP) and it is offered on the Cycle to Work scheme.

Might be of interest to someone here?

TychoCaine wrote: »

That was never a €2,500 bike. You'll get bikes like that for €1,500 from any bike shop. The Indo shop is full of products like that with inflated RRPs so they can advertise crazy discounts

https://www.veloci.be/nl/veloci-spirit-dames

Seems to be 2,500e on the above site? But yeah probably inflating prices, sure they not the only ones...

insert name here 123 wrote: »

https://www.veloci.be/nl/veloci-spirit-dames

Seems to be 2,500e on the above site? But yeah probably inflating prices, sure they not the only ones...

https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/veloci-spirit-ebike-is-a-good-ride-but-on-the-pricey-side-40104027.html

Here's an review in their own paper saying it was expensive @ €1,499 :D:D:D

At the end of the day e-bikes fall into 2 price categories: Ones with Chinese built motors are all in the €1,500 range. The Bafang motor in this bike is one of these Chinese ones. The bikes with Shimano & Bosch motors are all €2,500+

Am looking for a hybrid bike under the BTW scheme. Any good recommendations for around the 1k mark?

podgey1992 wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm a civil servant and want to get the VanMoof S3 bike as part of the cycle to work scheme, I emailed VanMoof for a quote and they got back to me with an invoice for 1500 and another for the remaining 500 that I'd have to pay myself (I'm cool with this). However - on the government websitehttp://peoplepoint.gov.ie/hr-for-employees-managers/employee-schemes/cycle-to-work-scheme/] they request that the invoice be made out to the specific department. When I said this to the VanMoof sales rep, they replied with

'In Ireland we only work with Bike to Work (Travelhub) and Cyclescheme IE, we can't process an order if your employer doesn't participate in either of these schemes'.

Does anyone have any experience of getting the VanMoof when employed by the government? Would really appreciate any advice.

Thanks!

I'm not sure how the civil service one works but it looks as though they just use a list of vendors which they provide https://ogp.gov.ie/cycle-to-work-scheme/

If your employer doesn't use a voucher scheme and the seller is happy to take a split payment then it is a simple matter of a bank transfer it doesn't matter what schemes vanmoof allow as it's basically a cash sale.

It does appear as though you're out of luck though but some other public servants may know a loop hole or have been successful in requesting a direct payment.

magicbastarder wrote: »

yeah, i don't know why vanmoof are limiting themselves in this way. strange decision - especially as those middlemen take a cut.

I think a lot of the mainland European companies mistakenly think when asked about the bike to work scheme what voucher companies they allow. It must be common for European business to use voucher companies only

Why have they made this so hard now.

Both myself and my other half went in and priced up bikes and gear in 2 different shops who said they do the bike to work scheme.

We both approached our employers.

Mine uses cyclescheme as the "middleman" and i cant remember who my other halfs uses.

So neither of the middlemen deal with either of the shops we priced the bikes in.

Went to another shop for mine and I noticed that the bikes were very overpriced compared to what id seen the exact same bike for up the north a few months ago.

I pointed this out and was told they could do a deal if i wasnt going through bike to work, but if going through bike to work that was the price.

In the end we drove up the North one day, and got the 2 bikes and brought them home that day.

We paid less than we would have paid for the exact same bikes and gear through cycle to work, even including the tax we would have saved.

The only shop that had the same prices of the same bikes here as in the North was Halfords. And cyclescheme wouldnt let me buy a bike in Halfords either.

This scheme is a ripoff to the tax payer.

There shouldn't be any problems with what you're proposing from the scheme end of things, but a variety of employers have put different rules in place, including things like a 6 week window in the year where HR will deal with applications. Best to check with the company also

This was another concern to be honest. I'm not exactly earning a ton at the moment, so my tax is already quite low. Would I even make a saving by using this scheme? Especially if I am returning to college in October?

I'm not a tax expert but when I was in college, i didn't reach the standard rate cutoff never mind the higher rate so in my case the savings on a 1250 bike would have been 250 or something like that.

At that price point there is better value buying a second hand bike that someone else has saved the full 600 odd on but hasn't used.

Yeah that's an option alright, though I am looking for something in the touring/gravel category so, not as many options. 250 quid is still a saving, especially on my budget!