Riding on balloons!!

[KneesUp]

Better get used to it if it was a C2W purchase

Quite. It seems it's fine to use C2W to buy a nice bike for less and then not use if for cycling to work, but if you're self-employed and ask about tax breaks for buying a bike to actually commute on you get treated as a tax-evading parriah. Strange.

OP - you go slower is the short answer

 

[vickster]

The OP did clarify the terms of his C2W scheme so all good there

 

[SquareDaff]

Indeed!

I will use it for recreation - but in terms of it's mileage its main purpose will be commuting as I'll use it in low traction winter conditions, when I just fancy a change of transport, when I need to do some maintainance to my CX and all other scenarios that might take my CX off the road for a while. For example, an up and coming paint job.

Speaking of which - getting back on the CX today after riding the MB yesterday felt equally stange. It certainly highlighted how a good tucked position improves efficiency. My daily commute of 25 miles half killed me yesterday. Today it was easy.

 

[DCLane]

@SquareDaff - my two C2W bikes have turned out not to be used much for commuting. The Spesh Globe never was as I won a bike a week later. The current Whyte is occasionally but was bought for winter use.

Before the critics come note: I ride every day to work. Just not usually on the C2W bike.

 

[akb]

What did you get? I used to commute on the Mtb in the winter and for a better cycling experience in the summer . Was great fun and allowed me to ride trails to work I couldnt on my hybrid.

 

[KneesUp]

Just to clarify I'm not criticising people for using C2W to buy bikes to commute on and then using other bikes. SImply contrasting it to the fact that when I asked about how to tax-efficiently buy a bike to commute on being as I am self-employed and therefore cannot use C2W, I got lots of replies along the lines of 'if you want a bike then pay full price'

It's an interesting difference.

 

[SquareDaff]

Just to clarify I'm not criticising people for using C2W to buy bikes to commute on and then using other bikes. SImply contrasting it to the fact that when I asked about how to tax-efficiently buy a bike to commute on being as I am self-employed and therefore cannot use C2W, I got lots of replies along the lines of 'if you want a bike then pay full price'

It's an interesting difference.

I agree. And some harsh replies if on this forum.

I'd be surprised if there's not some way of making a saving but I'm not an accountant. I gather you can also claim mileage if you use your bike for business travel rather than just commuting.

 

[SquareDaff]

What did you get? I used to commute on the Mtb in the winter and for a better cycling experience in the summer . Was great fun and allowed me to ride trails to work I couldnt on my hybrid.

I got the Boardman Comp 650b. It's more than sufficient for my needs. A Hard-tail with Lock Out Front Air fork (personally I don't like full susp) and 27 gears to go at. With this companies T&C's I'll get it for about £250 less than the shop price so it was a no brainer. Have had Boardmans before and have had very few problems other than dry bottom brackets. As I built mine myself I made sure the BB on this was fine. It's a good ride....just massively different to the CX and Road bikes I've been riding recently. Plus the higher COG almost caught me out when I first took it out! Weirdly I used to ride MB's almost exclusively. It's amazing how quickly you get used to things. (or should that be un-used?!?)

 

[DCLane]

@SquareDaff - as an aside how have you found riding a 650b size?

My C2W purchase is a 2014 Whyte 805 which also runs on 650b wheels. I can echo the 'balloon' comment. They've been OK but hard work uphill; having done about 350 miles I'm finding I don't use it anywhere near as much as I'd thought. That's partly because the road/cross bikes are easier and I'm using the basic 26" wheel MTB I have instead.

 

[SquareDaff]

@SquareDaff - as an aside how have you found riding a 650b size?

My C2W purchase is a 2014 Whyte 805 which also runs on 650b wheels. I can echo the 'balloon' comment. They've been OK but hard work uphill; having done about 350 miles I'm finding I don't use it anywhere near as much as I'd thought. That's partly because the road/cross bikes are easier and I'm using the basic 26" wheel MTB I have instead.

I agree with you re: the Cross bikes being easier. I can get an average of a fraction under 20mph on my Boardman CX - but only around 16mph on the MTB (on road). Maybe due to the weight and the balloon effect which is quite energy sapping.

Now I've got used to the higher COG I'm finding it quite agile at lower speeds, which is obviously what it's designed for. On the roads it rarely gets off the big chain ring. The commute in on Tuesday was a "fault finding" ride and I ended up with a list of minor adjustments that I'll need to make this weekend. Once they're done I'll give it a spin on something more suitable to it's role.

As for the 650b wheelsize - I'm only 5ft 6ins and for how I'll use it, it seemed the ideal choice. At speeds, once you get over the initial shock of the slight "imbalance movement" (for want of a better description) it seems quite responsive to power throughput and turns into corners well. Obviously they drop speed quite quickly - but I'd suspect thats primarily down to tyre choice.

I should get quite a bit of leisure use out of it in the summer months - but expect it'll come into its own in the winter months - especially if we ever get levels of snow like we did a couple of years ago. I might also use it as a "fitness aid". I was done in after about 15 miles of riding the MB, yet can easilg ride 100+ on my road bike.