The Cycle to Work schemes are great government initiatives that allow cyclists to save at least 32% (up to 42%) off the cost of a bike and cycling equipment.

The schemes we currently work with are Cycle Scheme, Green Commute Initiative and Bike2Work.

In essence, your employer buys a bike for you to ride to work and you ‘hire’ it through salary sacrifice (which is where you save by not paying tax and National Insurance contributions on the monthly fees). In other words, your salary sacrifice is made from your gross salary, not your net salary. This reduced cost is then simply deducted out of your payslip over a period of up to 48 months, depending on the scheme.

At the end of the ‘hire’ period, you are usually offered the option to buy the bike from your employer.