We are part of the Government Cycle to Work Scheme. There are a number of commercial organisations which 'deliver' this scheme. They make their money by taking a percentage of the bike sales which are processed by them via bike shops and dealers.

One of the most widely available and used of these schemes is Cyclescheme.  Practical Cycles is a member of this scheme. For full details check out their website - www.cyclescheme.co.uk

In simple terms here's how it works:

1/ Check that your employer has signed up to Cyclescheme - if they have, then great - if not then why not convince them of the benefit it will bring to their company and their employees.

2/ You see a bike you like - contact us - tell us what you are interested in and we will send you a written quotation on an official Cyclescheme form (there's no obligation to buy).

3/ If the quotation is to your liking, take the form to your employer who will then approve the quotation and send it to the Cyclescheme office.

4/ The Cyclescheme office issue a voucher based on the original quotation and send it to you. You should then bring this voucher to us (or post it if it is a mail order purchase).

5/ You get a shiny new Cargo/Utility Bike for a lot less than normal price!

There are some things which we will point out that are important.

1/ There is a limit on the price of the bike you can purchase - £1,000. You can purchase a bike that is more expensive but your employer MUST have a consumer credit licence. Why? Effectively your employer is providing you with a loan to buy the bike which you pay back to them over the space of one year out of your wages - tax free. Becasue it is a loan, the government states that your employer must have a Consumer Credit Licence to issue loans of over £1,000. 

2/ Cyclescheme are a commercial organisation, not a charity and are not part of the government. Therefore they have to make money - they do this by taking 10% of the value of the bike you purchase.

Practical Cycles sell very specialised bikes produced in small volumes and often ones that have incurred heavy shipping costs due to their size weight and provenance. We don't sell mass-produced bikes - we are a niche bicycle dealer - cargo bikes are not yet mainstream - we are working on that!

What we are trying to say is that profit margins on our bikes are tight. In short, we add a 10% charge on top of the price of the bike. If we don't do this it's barely worth while selling the bike. You might think this is unfair but we'd ask you to remember you are getting a super Practical bicycle for up to 40% less than you would normally pay (ie no tax).Our bikes save you money anyway by replacing car journeys with bicycle journeys!

3/ The good news is that the scheme is not just restricted to bikes. When you buy a bike you can add locks, spares, lights, upgrades- in fact just about any bicycle accessory - so don't forget to factor these in when requesting a quote.