[nikosg]

let me get this right,

you guys can buy up to 1000 pound bike, for free if you intend on riding it to work...? :s

bloody hell.

[fatreg]

let me get this right,

you guys can buy up to 1000 pound bike, for free if you intend on riding it to work...? :s

bloody hell.

No, you get the money up front, pay it back over 3 years minus tax and ni, so you pay about £700 for a £1000 bike if you're on the lowest tax band..

[pukkabruv]

nah... its basically a tax dodge.. work buys the bike, then you pay them back over 10 months, but the money comes out before your taxed, so you end up saving about 300/400 on a £1000 bike.. think the VAT is also knocked off, my work would only let you buy through halfords so I couldnt do it. but its a great way of getting a better bike for your budget

[steve-o]

thats a pretty sweet deal if you're in the market for a new bike

[nikosg]

thats fairly awesome pukka! shame about your work, coulda saved yourself a lot of money!!

---

and fatreg... please dont quote posts in the future, unless they are on a different page (or because no one will have any idea what you are referring to if you dont), it just gets annoying with large posts, pictures etc... takes up the pages.

[reid]

Kona bikes are quite nice for the price, a lower-end one will do you nice as a starter. But if you want a decent bike on a realistic budget, you can always look for second-hand bikes. You get a lot of kids buying a fancy-ass bikes (especially jump bikes), grow bored and then sell them off for half price.

Personally, a good free-ride hardtail is probably your best bet at this point. Try and get one with more aggressive geometry (basically a low seatpost, sharp angle on the bottom tubing, straighter on top) but not so ridiculous you won't be able to crank the seatpost up high enough to ride comfortably. Pinkbike.com is a good place to start. Occasionally get some bargains.

Santa Cruz Chameleons (like this) are great allrounders and can do pretty much whatever you throw at them, but they can be a bit pricey (frame on it's own is £500 new). Orange hardtails are pretty solid but some are a bit too specialised for jumping. Then you've got Kona's and Specialized's and the like. I've been out of riding for the past couple years so not too hip on whats hot and whats not but you can't really go too far wrong with the bigger names.

[fatreg]

Chameleon is no good for blazing down the road though, too heavy! Kona are all good as reid has said but you need to spend a fair whack to get a good bike.. Orange bikes are damn good for the UK scene, Orange P7 is always a good choice if you are going to take it off road.

[pukkabruv]

I was impressed with GIANT aswell, picked up a second hand one when i was in Oz for £150, really light and took everything that was thrown at it

[fatreg]

Yeah, I've got a Giant road bike, lovely machine, mate has a Giant Glory DH bike and that's super too, sadly it's a case of going to a bike shop and sitting and riding a few, not all geos work with all people, Genesis for example make you sit up and beg, Dale will make you crouch over... Nip to your local indy bike shop and hop on a few bikes

[Whisky-Ace]

I am sorry that I have to dig this thread up again...
I was so lucky that I managed to stop some punks trying to steal my bike...
They were so nice to kick the bike five to ten times befor they ran away.

The only thing they did damage on was my rear disc brake.

So i was thinking if any of you are selling or know any one selling a Avid break system.