Cycling UK Forum

Hello, I've been trying to find out whether the Cycle2Work scheme rules allow for a new bike to be bought if one bought on the scheme is stolen. I can't find clear information about this anywhere. Does anyone know?

I'm just coming to the end of the initial 12 month hire on a bike and have been offered the zero cost hire extension - does taking that affect the ability to buy a new bike through the scheme if the first is stolen during the extended hire period?

I wonder because if if my current bike were stolen (not that unlikely in my city), I may opt for a folding bike replacement that I can bring indoors more, and it would be frustrating if I were blocked from using the scheme for that as those bikes are much more expensive.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see if I can try out the Decathlon bike. I don't know of a place I could try the edinburghbicycle.com one, though, and I'm a bit reticent about buying without trying.

A couple of extra questions came to mind about the Carrera - I noticed it has front suspension, which I've read is often worse than having no suspension on budget bikes - would that be the case at the £250ish price point too? And would its disc brakes be expected to be of decent quality (they seem to normally be found on more expensive bikes, so I'm wondering if these stand much chance of being good)?

Hello, my bike was stolen so I'm looking for a good value replacement for commuting 5 miles per day on road, and I would very much appreciate some good advice from here. I'd like something that basically rides well and that I could expect to last 5-10 years (with regular maintenance and servicing) before it becomes not worth repairing. From what I've read, I should expect to need to pay £250+.

A bike that seems popular in the bike shops near me is the Python Quantum 8000, which I can buy for £279. I did a test ride at a shop and it felt comfortable. It seems like decent value from what I can tell, but does anyone here have any experience with them or know much about the Python make?

Another shop suggested the Ridgeback Motion for £330. I also have a Halfords and Decathlon in town, and was eyeing up the B'Twin Triban 500 (£260) and Carrera Crossfire 2 (£256). Are any of these clearly a better option than the others? Are any of the brands best avoided?

I wouldn't mind paying more if a more expensive bike is likely to last longer and require fewer repairs, so that the cost per year is lower, if anyone has ideas that would be better value in the long run. I find it hard to tell myself what I'm paying for if I go higher in price. (Though, having had my last bike stolen, I'm not looking to pay hugely more.)

Thanks for all the replies. I think the key question to have an answer to that would be useful for making good decisions in the future is how can you tell how hard-wearing a wheel is going to be when making a buying decision? I've not been able to see what information is relevant when browsing wheels online, for example, and it seems like a key quality to look for if it differs a lot between wheels. It sounds like it's not something you can tell just from the price, either. Are there particular brands or models of hubs or wheel features that you should look for, for example?

After doing some more research, it also seems that the freewheel/hub can be replaced separately from the wheel, so if this becomes a problem again then could I just replace the freewheel/hub with one that is better sealed, without needing to replace the whole wheel? (I've not had time to figure out yet if I have a freewheel or freehub, and I didn't know until now that there were two possibilities - it might just be easiest to pop into the bike shop and ask I guess.) If it's a freewheel, I guess that I need to oil it now and then - possibly the shop did not put much on when I got the wheel the first time, and I didn't know I was meant to lubricate it, so it got a bit worn. The cassette did seem to click quite loudly when I was coasting, which I've read is a symptom of a freewheel that needs lubricating, but I didn't think anything of it before. Maybe my old wheel had a freehub and could last a long time without requiring lubrication.

In response to Brucey's question about the wheel cost - my figures are just the costs for the wheels, not the labour to fit them.

Thanks very much for the replies. When deciding which wheels to get, I tried looking up the advantages of getting better-than-basic wheels and the information I found mainly talked about more expensive wheels being lighter and stronger, neither of which were qualities I felt I needed for 5-miles-per-day commuting. I never saw or heard anything mentioned about resistance to British weather being an issue with any particular wheels. It also seemed like spending a lot of money on wheels would not be worth it when other bits of my bike are quite worn out (though not essential parts, so I was hoping to keep it going for a few more years). Is there anything I can do to the wheels to avoid having to do maintenance on them every couple of months? Is there a way to tell in future if particular wheels will be quite weather-proof like my old ones managed to be? Thanks blackbike for the information about good value wheels that are out there (though I should add that mine are 26" wheels, on a hybrid bike).

Hello, I had my bike wheels replaced two months ago with a "basic" wheelset at my local bike shop (they charged me £25 for the front wheel and £40 for the rear to give an idea of the quality). I found after a few weeks that a couple of times the rear cassette would not engage with the rear wheel - for example, I would try to get going at a junction and my pedals would just spin. I figured the rear wheel hub may have been damaged so I took it back to the shop for them to have a look at it. They said they couldn't find anything wrong, except for some "water damage", and they did a service and gave the bike back to me. I asked them how come there was already water damage, and they said it's what is expected for basic wheels. I had ridden my previous (better quality) wheels for about six years until their rims wore down, without water damage being an issue. I do occasionally ride in heavy rain for the couple of miles between my home and work and my bike is not covered when parked at work, but there's not been any especially severe weather in the last few weeks.

Is it true that cheaper wheels have hubs that are that much less water resistant than those of more expensive wheels? If so, I wish I had known that before opting to get basic wheels. Still, am I wrong to think that even basic wheels ought to be fine to ride in the rain?

Thanks very much for any useful insight you can give.

Hello, my wheel rims have become worn and I'm looking to replace both wheels. My local bike shop recommended wheels costing £120. I can find many wheels online with numerous good reviews for much less than that, though. I use my bike for light commuting (5 miles per day) and I'm basically looking for wheels that will give the best value over the long term i.e. to minimise the cost of wheels (and repairs to them) divided by their lifetime. I'm not experienced with repairing wheels so it may be best to assume that I would take the bike to the shop if any repairs needed doing. Do you think my bike shop's suggested price is likely to be in the right ballpark, or could I get cheaper wheels that will be better value?

Hello, I'm looking into purchasing cycling public liability insurance. Cycleplan seem to give the best value, but I don't know whether to get insurance up to £1M, £2M or £5M indemnity. Are there conceivable scenarios where a cyclist's liability would be more than £1M or £2M? It would be interesting to know how much cover people here buy. Thanks in advance for any responses.