Not Another Bike Thread - Ribble Allroad SL

[fossyant]

Take a look at Dolan. Relatively local to Manchester so you can go in person. They accept all C2W schemes.

 

[Zoglug83]

Cheers for the input and advice!

For the time being, I think I'm going to stick with the voodoo.....reason being I have fallen in love with the look of the Fairlight frames.

Need to see if I can convince my wife I need one and that it will be my forever bike ha ha! I think rather than buying something I may want to change in a few years, I may as well loo.for something which I may keep for ever.

 

[Dadam]

You live and learn I suppose.

Which schemes have a compulsory insurance clause ?

Cyclescheme have a mandatory insurance clause. At least they did for mine. I don't know if that was because it was an ebike or because of the value.

 

[oxoman]

Cheers for the input and advice!

For the time being, I think I'm going to stick with the voodoo.....reason being I have fallen in love with the look of the Fairlight frames.

Need to see if I can convince my wife I need one and that it will be my forever bike ha ha! I think rather than buying something I may want to change in a few years, I may as well loo.for something which I may keep for ever.

Good choice IMHO. I'm about to take delivery of a Fairlight Faran frameset that im having built to my specification. All of the built bikes are good specifications, just not able to do everything I want aka comutte, bikepacking, touring, gravel.

 

[kingrollo]

Cyclescheme have a mandatory insurance clause. At least they did for mine. I don't know if that was because it was an ebike or because of the value.

Doesn't seem compulsory on their website - unless you are counting 14 days bikmo cover as compulsory?

The only time I've heard of insurance being compulsory is if the employer insists on it - as in strictness they own the bike.

 

[Dadam]

Doesn't seem compulsory on their website - unless you are counting 14 days bikmo cover as compulsory?

The only time I've heard of insurance being compulsory is if the employer insists on it - as in strictness they own the bike.

It's in the Salary Sacrifice agreement:

2.7 You must insure the Equipment. The Employer will not be liable should the Equipment be damaged or stolen either during the Hire Period or afterwards. Should the Equipment be stolen or damaged during the Hire Period this will not affect your obligations under the Hire Agreement including the Payments to be made under that nor the continuation of the Salary Reduction for the duration of the remainder of the Hire Period

Also, at least in the case of this scheme, Cyclescheme own the bike:

2.5 The Equipment will remain Cyclescheme's property during the Hire Agreement and the Employer gives no warranty as to the value, condition, roadworthiness or fitness for purpose of the Equipment and shall have no liability in respect of the same. At the end of the Hire Period, the owner of the Equipment, Cyclescheme will contact You to discuss your available options in relation to the Equipment and the Employer shall have no liability in this regard.

 

[Tom B]

Do you do your own maintenance ?, internal cables look nice but can be harder to change when running through the frame . I have stuck with 8 speed for commuting and external cabling as its easier to work on and the parts are cheaper .

Me too, 8 speed boring, no faff and crucially for me as a tight wad is that cassettes and chains are load cheaper.

I broke a gear cable in France in the summer and changed it with nothing more than a 7 year olds assistance and a multi tool. Wouldn't be so easy with internals.

I quite fancy a Sonder Camino, but looking to despec it to 10speed largely for parts economy but with hydro brakes because I really like and vslue the no faff of them.

 

[All uphill]

I quite fancy a Sonder Camino, but looking to despec it to 10speed largely for parts economy but with hydro brakes because I really like and vslue the no faff of them.

I'm the same. Five years ago I bought a Spa Aubisque with 2x9 and cable discs. I've never missed having 11 gears at the back, but I'd have enjoyed the bike much more if I'd spent a few quid more and specified hydraulic discs.

 

[wafter]

Cheers for the input and advice!

For the time being, I think I'm going to stick with the voodoo.....reason being I have fallen in love with the look of the Fairlight frames.

Need to see if I can convince my wife I need one and that it will be my forever bike ha ha! I think rather than buying something I may want to change in a few years, I may as well loo.for something which I may keep for ever.

Sounds like a wise choice - IIRC the Fairlight range are very well thought of.

The only caution I'd give is to be realistic about the bike and its intended use - several times I've fallen into the trap of buying something that's "too nice" to subject to the rigors of daily, all-weather use. With the best will in the world such utility applications will take their toll on the bike, which personally I'd struggle to deal with on a brand new, potentially expensive bike.

IMO the best utility bike is something decent-enough but low-mid range, not too flashy and probably bought used with a bit of battle damage already. A 9/10sp groupset is appealing since (as previously mentioned) the cost of wear parts seems to grow exponentially with the increase in sprocket count. For example a 9sp HG400 cassette for my Fuji cost me about £20, a 10sp whateverthefeck is about £25 while an 11sp HG700 is the fat end of £60...