by Chris Butterworth
As you will probably already know, our offices are based in central Manchester and our staff mostly live in the outlying towns surrounding the city. Unless you really enjoy battling with rush hour traffic and can afford the astronomical car parking costs of the city centre, then our transport options to and from the office are public transport or cycling.
I (like several other members of the team) cycle to work regularly. Partly to avoid the ever-increasing costs of train travel (and having to stand in an overcrowded carriage all the way in) but mostly for the health benefits cycling to work brings. Not just the physical health benefits either, but the time out in the fresh air to relax and clear your head before and after a day’s work is really great. Not great in torrential rain in the middle of the winter, but we have to take the rough with the smooth…
Back in 2017, just before EPIX introduced the Ride to Work scheme for employees, I purchased my commuter bike, a lovely belt driven hybrid bike, designed to withstand the potholes of Manchester’s roads. It’s been amazing, better than amazing in fact, but 8500 miles later and with one too many maintenance issues needing addressing, I thought it was time for something new. (Any excuse really!)
EPIX has been signed up the Ride to Work scheme with Evans Cycles for some time now to provide bikes for our staff. So far, myself included, we have had five of our staff purchase bikes in this way, and it really is a good way of doing it.
But what is ‘Ride to Work’?
Ride to Work is Evans Cycles’ version of the Government’s Cycle to Work Scheme which was introduced way back in 1999 with the aim of making cycling a more attractive way of commuting to work. According to the Cycle to Work website, over 1 million bikes have been purchased on this scheme so far.
How does it work?
Essentially, employees lease a bike, and cycling equipment*, from their employer. The cost of which is repaid by the employee through salary sacrifice over a time period agreed upon by the employer. Doing it this way means that employees benefit from savings of up to 47% on the bike/equipment whilst at the same time benefitting from the obvious health and wellbeing benefits that cycling can bring. Once the repayments have all been made and the Fair Market Value for the goods becomes negligible (this varies depending on the value of the bike you’ve gone for) then the transfer of ownership comes to you, the employee.
* Equipment? Well, it’s all well and good buying a nice shiny bike, but what if you don’t have a helmet, lights, mudguards (and you need those in the UK), suitable clothing etc? Ride to Work also covers these so you can bundle the costs of everything you need to get riding into your overall repayments.
How easy is it?
In short, very… Even I managed it without any hiccups.
It starts with doing a ‘shopping list’ of what you need, so you know the total value you need to apply for. So I went onto Evans’ website and found the bike and the bits I needed and added up the total in a nice spreadsheet (of course).
You then apply for a certificate to the value of the shopping list, which I did immediately, not that I was excited about getting a new bike you understand.
This was sent to Evans, who contacted EPIX to approve it. Once approved, EPIX then received an invoice for the value of the certificate. As soon as Evans received the payment they issued me with the certificate to use on their website (or in store) to buy the goods.
Naturally as soon as I received it I went straight onto Evans’ website and found all the things from my ‘shopping list’ again. BUT, when I reached the checkout, instead of inputting my credit card details, I popped the certificate number in and submitted the order. Easy!
I opted for home delivery because I wanted to set the bike up myself, but it is perfectly possible (and probably more common) to have the bike delivered to a store where it is assembled ready for you. When you go in to collect it the stores are amazing and get the bike setup for you and talk you through everything. Ideal if you’re not sure and haven’t set up a bike yourself before.
Less than a week passed and I’d already had a number of small parcels delivered to my house containing my lights and mudguards etc. Literally a few days after placing my order, early morning as I was about to leave for the office, I encountered a man with a van unloading a large bike shaped box onto my driveway. Unfortunately as I was leaving for work I couldn’t stop to open it, that had to wait for the evening.
Less than a week from thinking about getting a new bike to the new one arriving at my house!
Am I happy with the bike?
Very happy!
I opted for a gravel bike because I wanted the feel and speed of a road bike but with the robustness of a hybrid/mountain bike. Over the years I’ve found that regularly commuting on a very lightweight road bike is only fast when you’re not stopping to do running repairs!
After a nice weekend afternoon in the sun with a beer setting the bike up and fitting the mud guards all was ready for its first trip to the office that week.
I can report it is amazing! I love the new bike and for the Strava fans amongst you I set my fastest ever time from the office back home again on it’s second trip out. Given I’ve done probably over 10,000 miles doing this same 9.5 mile trip back and forth to the office since 2016, (and I’ve got a few years older), I’m very pleased with that.
Would I recommend Ride to Work?
Absolutely. If you’re a keen cyclist who needs a new bike to get to work on or someone just getting into commuting by bike, there really isn’t a better way to get yourself a nice new bike.
Obviously the financial savings are great, because the repayments come out of your salary before tax you barely even notice them. For me, I needed a new means of getting me to the office in the way I prefer, and this did that for me without me needing to outlay the whole amount in one go.
EPIX Systems Ltd use Evans Cycles who make the whole process really easy but there are many other providers out there doing similar, if not the same thing.
Hope to see some of you on Strava clocking up commuting miles soon!
