Tag Archives: Merida

The Bike Leasing Company

By Tat, , , , , , , , , ,

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 😉

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

By Cycling Challenges, Reviews, Rides, , , , , , , ,

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 🙂

The Bike Leasing Company, My Experience

By 6 commentsReviews, Rides, , , , , , , ,

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! 😉

Merida One Twenty 800 D Carbon 2011 – My First Review

By 1 commentReviews, Rides, , , , , , , , ,

My Marvellous Merida

After (almost) two years happily thrashing my hardtail Fat Boy around the trails of Rochdale, Littleborough and further afield, I gradually came to the decision that I wanted a bit more bike.  Since I decided to buy the Fat Boy, my mileage has increased and with it, the amount of time I spend thinking about bikes in general.

I toyed with the idea of going roadie at one point.  A neighbour offered me a good bike at an excellent price but after much soul-searching I decided that mountain biking was my true love.  I’m lucky enough to live in the foothills of the Pennines, not very far from where Singletrack Magazine is based, so their features and photos never fail to inspire me to get out into the hills where I live.

So, I started to look around and to think about buying options.  My research was in-depth and extensive.  But I’m not writing about the purchasing process here: I’ll do that in another post.  This one’s all about the bike.

With much advice, much checking, much thought and much procrastination, I decided that I definitely needed a 120mm full-suspension steed.  Any more would be too big a step and the bike would be bigger than both my talents and my usual trails.

Merida One Twenty 800 D Carbon 2011

Merida are arguably the biggest bike company in the world.  They hold a 48% stake in Specialized (apparently) and their Taiwanese operation turns out huge numbers of bikes of all shapes & sizes.  Their MTB design team is German-led and the mountain bikes seem ideally designed for European conditions.

The One Twenty range is designed to merge go-faster XC with go-more MTB riding.  The geometry is reasonably steep by modern standards, but noticeably slacker than my speed-intended Focus.  As such, the bike feels like a fantastic plaything beneath my feet and hands.

So, How Is It?

I’ve only covered around 8 miles so far, on a beautiful winter’s day.  There was plenty of snow, a little ice and some trepidation about staying upright!  The bike feels incredibly stable and is a simple pleasure to propel along.  The Carbon frame and lightweight wheelset accelerate amazingly and the Shimano gears click into place instantly.

The forks and shock are a total revelation.  I have no frame of reference, since this is my first full-bouncer, but the comfort and grip offered as I pootled along in the snow were excellent.  I deliberately avoided locking either the front or back, so I could get a feel for how active the suspension was at each end.  There seemed to be no stiction when I hit any bumps, but I certainly didn’t feel to be bouncing as I pedalled along my path, even when I climbed out of the saddle.

I can’t wait to get out into my local hills when the weather’s a bit better and I have more time.  The new bike’s been a total revelation so far, even with the tiny little ride I’ve managed so far.

Bring it on. 🙂

Couriers – Who’d Have ‘Em?

By Tat, , , , , ,

Grrrrrr!

I ordered a new bike.  It was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.  On Tuesday night, a mechanic was booked to come to our house to make sure everything was where it should be, and to set the bike up so that it would extract the maximum output from my minimum talents.

I was excited about this.

At Tuesday lunchtime, I contacted the guy who’s sold me the bike.  He chased up the delivery.  He was told that it wasn’t on the courier’s van.  There was a docket in the courier’s office clearly indicating a Tuesday delivery, but it wasn’t in the van.

I waited until the end of the day at work, just in case there had been a mistake.  There hadn’t: it definitely wasn’t in the van.  We cancelled the mechanic.

Now it’s Wednesday lunchtime and I have heard nothing.  Neither has the guy who sold me the bike.

Why?

Why is it that the final link in the supply chain, the vital link which actually delivers everybody else’s promises and dreams, is so unaccountable?

The guy who’s spoken to me over the last few weeks and helped me to choose a bike which should be perfect for my needs; the distributor who so carefully ordered, prepared, boxed and handed the bike to the courier; the various organisations involved in carrying messages and money over the wires and airwaves to facilitate the choosing and buying interaction…. all of these worked beautifully.

Then the couriers, who are paid regardless of their ineptitude and indifference, let everyone down.  They don’t call us to tell us when it will be delivered. We have to call them, and so far can’t get a concrete indication of where the bike is, let alone when it might be delivered.

I’m still waiting.  🙁

If you’d like a guess at what time the bike will turn up, you can enter a prize sweepstake on my Google+ pages.  There is an actual prize and I’ll mail it anywhere in the world if you’re right.

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