Cycle to work: Budget clampdown

[Electric_Andy]

people spent £100 to £ 250 to get a decent secondhand bike

Not everyone is confident buying a 2nd hand bike when they could be getting ripped off; at least with a new one you have a warranty and some comeback. There is also the, I won't say wrong, but inflated idea that because you're getting it through work then it's somehow been vetted and will be a good bike. Secondly it's a good way of getting credit without paying interest.

But I still don't understand why this method is being slated so much - the employee is paying less into their pension pot (so it's costing them in the long run) and subsequently so is their employer (so it's saving them money in the long run). Why is it our concern if they ride the bike to work or not?

 

[winjim]

Do you really need a 4 grand bike to cycle 3 miles to work? Or are you just kicking the arxe out of it?

I was riding 20km to work for years on a bike that cost under 2 grand in all weather, with no problems.

Well the answer to the question as posed is obviously no, I personally do not need a four grand bike solely for the purposes of commuting. However, I've already described circumstances in which three, four, five grand bikes are used for commuting and it seems rather short sighted to me to restrict the scheme to people who are already fit cyclists, and to bikes which are only to be used for a single purpose. To reiterate I think bikes, including ebikes and cargo bikes are expensive for what they are, but equally that means they're out of reach for a lot of people without some sort of lease scheme.

You might be happy cycling 20km in all weathers on a sub 2k bike but not everybody is or can be expected to be. We're supposed to be encouraging people into cycling and you don't get points for being a hero.

 

[winjim]

Incidentally I just checked the C2W website for my provider and the equivalent to my bike which I bought on the scheme in 2012 for £1000 is now about £1400. So we do need to consider inflation.

 

[Dadam]

When I got my first bike on the scheme, that I mentioned upthread, my employer at the time had a £1k cap. The Giant hybrid plus D-lock, helmet and lights I bought came to £650. It was fine to get me started but the commute home up the big hill was a slog, and on occasion made my heartrate spike worryingly high (I have AF). So on quite a few days I chickened out of taking the bike especially if it was going to be a fierce headwind on the way home.

A few years later with the old scheme finished, now at my current employer whose scheme has a £5k cap, I bought a £3k e-bike on the scheme and then had no such qualms, so I have definitely commuted more than I would have done without the "fancy" bike.

Did I need to get a £3K bike? Not strictly, no. But I commuted more on it, and as it's a nice e-road bike it made me go out for more and longer rides. Previously my max was about 11 miles, now it's 60.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

I’ve had two bikes from the C2W sche. One was my main commuting bike for a while and other was my winter commuting so I am probably a bit of an exception.

My major gripe with the system is that it is inherently unfair.As a higher rate tax payer, why should I save more than someone earning considerably less? Even addressing that would be a step in the right direction for me.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I’ve had two bikes from the C2W sche. One was my main commuting bike for a while and other was my winter commuting so I am probably a bit of an exception.

My major gripe with the system is that it is inherently unfair.As a higher rate tax payer, why should I save more than someone earning considerably less? Even addressing that would be a step in the right direction for me.

Good Point

 

[Dadam]

But I still don't understand why this method is being slated so much - the employee is paying less into their pension pot (so it's costing them in the long run) and subsequently so is their employer (so it's saving them money in the long run). Why is it our concern if they ride the bike to work or not?

Yes even on higher tax rate, the savings aren't vastly greater than discounted bikes, as the retailers generally charge RRP.

My major gripe with the system is that it is inherently unfair.As a higher rate tax payer, why should I save more than someone earning considerably less? Even addressing that would be a step in the right direction for me.

Because that's how salary sacrifice and progressive taxation work. You are paying more tax in the first place. You might as well complain that higher salaries for some people are inherently unfair.

Also you may save more on the bike but your pension contributions go down more.

 

[figbat]

We had a visit from the C2W provider to the place I used to work. Someone asked about how much and how often you had to ride it to work - the answer was that theoretically it had to be the primary use of the bike, but nobody checks and there’s no law that requires it, going on to imply that it was a good way to get that trail MTB you always wanted, or a lightweight set of road wheels, or an electronic group set upgrade. I know people who have done just that.

Maybe it should be renamed from ‘cycle to work’ to just ‘cycling anywhere’? Surely there’s a health benefit - and associated reduction in NHS burden - from just enabling people to cycle, or cycle more?

If commuting by cycle is actually to be encouraged then create some other scheme that actually rewards journeys to work.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Also you may save more on the bike but your pension contributions go down more.

Didn’t cause a problem as I was on a final salary scheme.

 

[Gunk]

Didn’t cause a problem as I was on a final salary scheme.

Good for you 🙄

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Good for you 🙄

It’s nothing more than me showing how unfair the C2W scheme is, and one reason why I have never got a third bike on the scheme.

There are a great many others in much more need than me and they should be allowed to benefit to the best they can. Yes, I pay more tax but that’s a fact of life and I can afford to buy a bike retail without resorting to tax avoidance.

 

[ktmbiker58]

Five years ago I bought a new Wiggle brand road bike to use on a turbo trainer, it was aluminium framed, had Shimano 2 X 7, it would've made a perfect ride to work bike, when I got a smart trainer I gave it to a mates son who used it for precisely that! It cost £250 - allowing for inflation it must be possible to get something similar today at quite a bit less than £1k, Brompton still sell the A-line at £999 so limiting the Cycle To Work scheme to £1k maybe isn't too unreasonable ?

 

[wiggydiggy]

Budget 2025 leaves Cycle to Work scheme rules unchanged

A rumoured return to a £1,000 Cycle to Work scheme limit failed to materialise in the 2025 budget, with the Cycle to Work Alliance stating its happy there has been no change

Good news!

 

[markemark]

Budget 2025 leaves Cycle to Work scheme rules unchanged



Good news!

Indeed. But outweighed by plenty of bad news.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Indeed. But outweighed by plenty of bad news.

I'll leave that for NACA lol

I nearly ordered a C2W voucher the other day for my maximum amount, £3k, glad I didn't!