Tag Archives: MTB Equipment

The Bike Leasing Company

Why Should Anyone Invest In Somebody Else’s Bike Business?

That’s a good question.

To put money into anyone else’s idea, you first have to know what good is going to come of it – for you, not just for the business.

Sure, the business gets access to funds to help it grow, but what’s in it for the investor?

To put it bluntly, a successful small business is more likely to be bought up by a major player in the market. Successful niche companies have a habit of being bought by bigger companies, looking to increase their loyal customer base and share in the some of the good feeling that a great smaller business generates. The bigger business can usually offer customers a wider range of great products too, so everyone wins.

The best bit is that the bigger business, the one doing the buying, usually pays good money for the great smaller business which has grown through your investment…. So you make a profit, in return for helping the small business to become so attractive.

Crowd Funding? What’s That?

Crowd Funding is an awesome idea which probably wouldn’t have worked before the internet. It’s a way of making it possible for small investors to contribute to big plans. By reducing the costs of organising funding and increasing the ability of normal people to see where their investment will go, crowd funding allows people like you and me to share in the growth of great businesses.

The Bike Leasing Company

The Bike Leasing Company on CrowdCube.com

I got my bike from The Bike Leasing Company about 12 months ago. I should really publish a “year long review” piece here, but for now I’ll just say that the experience was painless and I got a lot of bike for not a lot of money. The Bike Leasing Company is now set for growth but needs investment, so they’ve turned to CrowdCube to see if the internet can make it happen.

On the right hand side of this page is a widget showing how the appeal is going, and by clicking the “Help Fund This Pitch” button you can see what freebies you get for your investment straight away – and don’t we all like something for nothing? But don’t forget, your investment isn’t only for a free t-shirt, or a free lease of a totally cool new bike…

It might help to get a lot more people riding cool bikes. It might also make you a handsome profit.

Tell the bank manager Phill sent you 😉

I’ve launched a new site! – Mountain Biking Resources .com

Mountain Biking Resources .com

A couple of weeks ago, I launched a new website which isn’t quite so personal.  It’s aimed at giving Mountain Bike riders what they want, when & where they want it.

The site will be filled with things like:

  • MTB Gear Reviews
  • Rides
  • Mountain Biking News
  • MTB Products
  • MTB Articles

… whereas this site will always be my personal indulgence, with a wider remit to waffle on about more random stuff.

Which is where this post comes in.

You See…

I wrote a post on MountainBikingResources.com which was about a ride we went on yesterday, the Rivington Ramble.  But, thanks to the riders all being people I know from the internets, perhaps it should have been shared on here.

So… Go and read it on the other site.  If you get a subscription popup, you can fill it in or you can just hit “refresh” (best option on phones cos of the popup size) or close it and it’ll go away and not come back for at least a few days.  If you do fill it, you’ll receive carefully written updates from me, right into your inbox.  I promise they won’t be crap, and I also promise that if you want to stop getting them, there’ll be a wee “unsubscribe” option on every one. I’m nice like that.

Mountain Biking Resouces .com

Mountain Biking Resources.com

So Now What Happens To This Blog?

If you were wondering what’d happen to Phill’s Irregular Cycles, then the answer is… Nothing.

This blog will still be here and I’ll still be waffling on about stuff, as I do.  You’ll be treated to my usual brand of self-indulgent writing and I’ll be treated, in turn, to your comments and confusion.

I just thought I should keep you up to date 🙂

Talk soon, then…!

Here’s (No) Mud In Your Eye – RRP Neoguard Review

A little while ago I bought myself an RRP Neoguard via Amazon, after reading a review where one had performed much better than a crudcatcher in a very muddy test.

What’s An RRP Neoguard, Then?

The Neoguard is a simple product, made from neoprene with velcro fastenings, which attaches to your front forks in about 30 seconds (I kid you not. I’ve done it).  Put simply, it catches the spray and gloop from your front wheel before that spray and gloop flies up into the air, and into your face.

Last winter, I got home from many a ride with a face looking like a Jackson Pollock painting.  As a bespectacled man, my glasses were usually rendered useless by the amount of kack thrown onto them, too.

I don’t much like the look of crudcatchers myself, and my bike doesn’t have lugs to attach one.  Seeing the Neoguard review in a magazine, and reading that they’re only 20g in weight, I took the plunge.

RRP Neoguard - and yes, that's a horse.

RRP Neoguard with my new friend.

Does It Work?

To put it bluntly: Yes, it works.  Saturday was day which began with a lot of rain.  This was after a week with a lot of rain and melting snow.  I took the Merida to the top of a big hill because I wanted to give the suspension a workout on the way down, and there was water running down the singletrack as I splashed, bunnyhopped and whooped my way to the bottom.

When I slowed to open the gate from Deep Lane to Littleborough Rugby Club’s grounds, I noticed that I only had one speck of water on my specs.  This was fantastic news!  I’m suddenly a total convert.

A product which I bought to save weight and space, leaving my new bike looking sexy, actually works like a dream.  I’m so pleased that I’ve ordered another one for my boy’s bike.

If you want one, here’s some links to buy them on Amazon:

Small – Medium – Large

A small will fit anything up to 150mm forks, basically.  Tell ’em Phill sent you 🙂

Datatag Bicycle Security – My Experience

What’s Datatag?

Datatag is a simple idea, combined with a few technically effective ways of reducing theft and improving the chances of recovering your valuable item.  In my case, the item was my new bike.  The kit supplied by the Bike Leasing Company which came from Datatag included some simple, easy-to-use gubbins:

1. A highly visible big sticker which is adhered using strong resin-based glue, making the bike less attractive to thieves;
2. A few stickers with a clearly identifiable registration number, which are designed to fall apart if any attempt to alter them is made;
3. A bunch of microdots in a clear glue solution, which can be painted onto inconspicuous bit of your frame or parts and which the police can read using magnifiers;
4. A rice-grain sized transponder to place inside your bike somewhere, which the police can scan to identify you on the database which Datatag shares with them.

On top of this lot, a registration form is needed which the Datatag people use to get your details – and your bike’s – onto their database.  They give the police 24-hour access to this database so that they can trace you in the event of picking your bike up from some thieving scumbag, or purchaser of your lovely bike after it’s been fenced.  If the stickers are vandalised, the transponder will still work and it can be triggered using a hand-held reader, very much like the things used for cats & dogs, if you’ve ever seen one of those.

How Did I Do The Datatag Thing?

All in all, I reckon the process took me about half an hour.  I simply wiped down the areas where I was going to attach the stickers & microdot solution to make sure they’d adhere properly, then got to work.  You can see from the photos how they look.

The microdot solution looks grey here because it’s wet – it dries to a clear coating so you can put it anywhere, but it doesn’t dry to a gloss finish so it’s best to put it somewhere inconspicuous.

The photos don’t show every sticker or each location of the microdot stuff, but I needed to make sure all the expensive bits were identified.

Also, the transponder can be glued somewhere it can’t be seen, but can’t easily be removed either.  Any good quality resin glue can be used for this.

And Finally, Don’t Forget!

The job isn’t done until you fill in your registration form and send it back to the Datatag people.  Otherwise, if your bike is stolen and the police recover it, the database wont’ have your name on it!

In my case, the kit came from the people I got the bike from, but if you’re concerned about your bike and if you’d like to be able to get the best insurance prices possible, this idea might put your mind at rest, and save you some money!

Tell ’em Phill sent you 🙂

The Bike Leasing Company, My Experience

You Can Lease Bikes? Really?

I didn’t know that leasing a high end bike was an option until seeing BLC’s stand at the Cycle Show in Birmingham: I’d always assumed that the only way to afford one without a major windfall was to seek 2 or 3 years’ interest-free credit.  So I picked up a leaflet and read it at home later.

First of all I checked the BLC website and noticed a few bike brands which weren’t commonly advertised, which impressed me.  Up to that point I’d only looked at 0% credit options, so my shortlist had been limited to the high volume brands sold through major retailers.  BLC opened up a wider range of boutique options.

So, How Does It Work?

Paul at BLC talked with me about where and how I ride, to help narrow the search to a couple of strong choices.  A little thinking and advice later and I’d made my decision to lease a 120mm full suspension bike to progress from my previous hardtail.  A Merida One Twenty fitted the bill perfectly.

My lovely Merida One Twenty

Phill’s Merida One Twenty

The choice of leasing options was helpful: I chose to pay a heavier initial payment followed by 24 months at a very affordable rate.  I’m only paying for around 2/3 of the bike’s overall value, so in two years I can decide whether to purchase my bike, or hand it back and begin a new lease.  The biggest reason to lease instead of buy was the way that BLC’s lease option makes higher-end bikes available with affordable payments.

The bike was delivered to my work at my convenience, even though Christmas got in the way of deliveries for a short time!  BLC put a mechanic in touch with me, who came to my home – at a time that suited me – to set the bike up.  He (Ben) was pleasant, professional and remarkably skilful, setting the bike up quickly and perfectly with no fuss.  After a quick test ride around the street to confirm that everything was right for me, he made sure I had his number in case anything went wrong and left me to it.

Cut To The Chase: Is It A Good Idea?

There’s no feeling quite like riding a new bike for the first time. Snowy conditions didn’t keep us indoors on the first day we had the daylight and the time to get out.  Making fresh trails in the white powder was even more of a pleasure than when I’d done it in the past, and the bike performed beautifully.  I’m looking forward to spending more and more time enjoying the great outdoors, climbing and descending the pennine foothills on my shiny Merida.

Thanks very much to the Bike Leasing Company for making a potentially complex process very simple, and for delivering and setting up a fantastic top-end bike for me to play out on!

You can look at BLC’s website here, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter too.

Tell ’em Phill sent you! 😉

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