Can I get a sale bike on the cycle to work scheme?
Cyclescheme gives you fantastic savings of between 25 - 39% on all bikes and accessories; it's like a year-round sale with interest free credit rolled into one simple package.
This means that
you can save money on everything you need to cycle to work with the added benefit of getting to spread the cost. It's a no brainer!
The cycle to work scheme is one of the best ways to make new bikes and accessories (where RRPs - Recommended Retail Prices - have little to no wiggle room) affordable. However, many people want to wring even more value out of the scheme by 'saving on sale' - and this answer explains just how you can do that.
What is 'save-on-sale'?
You can use Cyclescheme in addition to a promotion, deal or discount being offered at many retailers. What does this mean in practice? Well, let’s say your dream bike is RRP £1000. You find the bike is available in a 'no-quibble' Cyclescheme retailer for the discounted price of £800; saving £200 vs. RRP. Obtain this bike through the cycle to work scheme and the final cost after benefitting from tax savings (and paying an
ownership fee) will be just £600 for a lower rate taxpayer (or even less for a higher rate payer). That means you’ve saved
at least 40% on the original RRP!
There are three approaches to getting sale bikes with Cyclescheme
1
No-quibble Retailers
These retailers have committed to honour their price matching guarantees, sale bikes and Black Friday deals on Cyclescheme.
2
Cyclescheme offers
Every month the experts at Cyclescheme bring you the best deals from our partner retailers together in one handy place.
These offers tend to be fast moving (as offers and deals are often fundamentally based on limited amounts of stock) so it's important to move quickly to secure these deals.
3
Negotiate with local retailer
Some local retailers will also allow you to benefit from sale or offers bikes through the scheme,
but this needs to be negotiated with the store itself.
Local retailers often work under tight margins and can struggle to offer 'save-on-sale', but it's always worth asking. Where a sale price cannot be offered on the scheme, it tends to be best practice for the store to add 10% to the price of the sale item. This means you still get a reduction and the store still preserve their profitability.
We must note though, that the price of the item is set at the discretion of the retailer.
✋ Helping hand
Please remember that sale bikes are often based on product lines where stock is limited. Sale bikes do not tend to be held back for participants and many of the offers tend to be online. As such, the best way to get a sale bike on the scheme is to request a Certificate for a value you are comfortable with via the 'Decide later' option and when it arrives this is the time to browse and order your bike.
If you wish to secure the exact bike you want, you may wish to simply enjoy your standard savings of 25-39% and follow the normal process. Then you can rest assured that you'll be able to get exactly what you want. To do this, simply engage a local store in the process and ask them to hold on to your desired bike until your Certificate arrives (and you can collect your bike).
Need help finding your perfect bike? Check out our 'Any bike guarantee'.
For a personalised savings figure that includes ownership fees, visit our calculator and enter your details.
You can search to see if your workplace is signed up using the search box on Cyclescheme's homepage.