Mongoose Sabrosa Ocho and Cyclescheme.co.uk



Hi all,

I've been taking the bus to work and, including the wait at the bus
stop, it's taking me twice as long as I know I can do it on a decent
bicycle.

So I've been looking for a decent commuter bicycle and have my eye on
the Mongoose Sabrosa Ocho: http://www.mongoose.com/mtn/int/ProductDetails.html?id=2634&enc=mtn|25
I can't find any reviews though, so I'm posting here to ask if anybody
has experience with this bike. How is the ride? Is it low maintenance?
Would you buy it again?

The second part is about the ride-to-work tax incentive scheme at
Cyclescheme.co.uk . I'm a little worried that because it's not a hire-
purchase scheme, I risk my employers deciding that they don't want to
sell me the bike at the end or deciding that fair-market-value is high-
value. Is this an unfounded worry? Any horror stories like this being
told?

Thanks,
Ben
 
On 12 Mar, 10:54, [email protected] wrote:
> So I've been looking for a decent commuter bicycle and have my eye on
> the Mongoose Sabrosa Ocho:http://www.mongoose.com/mtn/int/ProductDetails.html?id=2634&enc=mtn|25


I love the thermos flask
 
[email protected] wrote:
> The second part is about the ride-to-work tax incentive scheme at
> Cyclescheme.co.uk . I'm a little worried that because it's not a hire-
> purchase scheme, I risk my employers deciding that they don't want to
> sell me the bike at the end or deciding that fair-market-value is
> high-
> value. Is this an unfounded worry? Any horror stories like this being
> told?


I doubt it happens often, if at all.

Theoretically, yes, your employer could tell you that the market value is
100% of the new price. And you have to pay or walk away.

In practise, most employers give a pretty clear indication of the market
value when you start out. (They can do the same for other employee benefits,
such as cars and computers, even if taxed).
For most companies, the market value includes the cost of disposal (ie.
their advertising costs, staff time taken finding buyers, etc.), and its the
value is probably best taken as that into the "trade". Which raises the
question of how many second hand bicycle shops exist, and what would they
pay for a second hand bicycle ?


So, do you think your employers are malicious nasty people (why do you
stay?), or are they just normal ?



- Nigel



--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/
 
[email protected] wrote:
> So I've been looking for a decent commuter bicycle and have my eye on
> the Mongoose Sabrosa Ocho: http://www.mongoose.com/mtn/int/ProductDetails.html?id=2634&enc=mtn|25
> I can't find any reviews though, so I'm posting here to ask if anybody
> has experience with this bike. How is the ride? Is it low maintenance?
> Would you buy it again?


I don't own it, comments are based on just a quick glance of the bike &
specs.:
- no mudguards
- no lights
- quite fat tyres
- QR seat clamp (= easy target for theives)
Personally, it doesn't look that attractive as a _commuter_ bike, unless
you are willing to spend a bit more pimpin it up. But already at £700,
it looks quite expensive.
 
renum wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > So I've been looking for a decent commuter bicycle and have my eye on
>> the Mongoose Sabrosa Ocho:
>> http://www.mongoose.com/mtn/int/ProductDetails.html?id=2634&enc=mtn|25
>> I can't find any reviews though, so I'm posting here to ask if anybody
>> has experience with this bike. How is the ride? Is it low maintenance?
>> Would you buy it again?

>
> I don't own it, comments are based on just a quick glance of the bike &
> specs.:
> - no mudguards
> - no lights
> - quite fat tyres
> - QR seat clamp (= easy target for theives)
> Personally, it doesn't look that attractive as a _commuter_ bike, unless
> you are willing to spend a bit more pimpin it up. But already at £700,
> it looks quite expensive.


Pluses are (for low maintenance) are hydraulic disc brakes, a rear hub gear.

The lacing on the rear wheel looks a bit strange. I would want to be
certain that these wheels are hand built if the are using unusual spoke
patterns.

Martin.
 
"renum" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

| I don't own it, comments are based on just a quick glance of the bike &
| specs.:
| - no mudguards
| - no lights
| - quite fat tyres
| - QR seat clamp (= easy target for theives)

Easy to replace the clamp - (Wiggle supply it with a Surly Constrictor
clamp, allen key needed)...

I test rode last years 3x9 version of the Sabrosa, and found it a very
competent performer.

Tyres are slicks (conti city contact), so pumped up well should be fine - I
prefer my ballon like hemispheres on my commuter to the Marathons I used to
use, takes the sting out of cobbles, even when well pumped, and I can go
onto hardpack/towpaths/etc easily.

| Personally, it doesn't look that attractive as a _commuter_ bike, unless

Looks a lot better than the MTBs with very knobbly tyres that are sold as
commuting bikes by most places, though that's a discussion for another
time...

| you are willing to spend a bit more pimpin it up. But already at £700,
| it looks quite expensive.

Yes, I'd agree - check out the Carrera Subway 8 - similar spec but a tad
cheaper.
 
On Wed, 12 Mar, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:

> The second part is about the ride-to-work tax incentive scheme at
> Cyclescheme.co.uk . I'm a little worried that because it's not a
> hire- purchase scheme, I risk my employers deciding that they don't
> want to sell me the bike at the end or deciding that
> fair-market-value is high- value. Is this an unfounded worry? Any
> horror stories like this being told?


They _could_, but what would your employers do with a 18-month (or
whatever) old bike? Do they collect that sort of thing?

If you don't trust your employer not to screw you over the scheme, I'd
be cautious about trusting them for anything, really.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I've been taking the bus to work and, including the wait at the bus
> stop, it's taking me twice as long as I know I can do it on a decent
> bicycle.
>
> So I've been looking for a decent commuter bicycle and have my eye on
> the Mongoose Sabrosa Ocho: http://www.mongoose.com/mtn/int/ProductDetails.html?id=2634&enc=mtn|25
> I can't find any reviews though, so I'm posting here to ask if anybody
> has experience with this bike. How is the ride? Is it low maintenance?
> Would you buy it again?


Not got one, but a proverbial mate has, about a year old now. Drop me a
line and I'll put you in touch with him and you can discuss finer points.

As people have pointed out, it needs minimum mudguards and rack[1] for a
commuter. He has made these changes, along with half clip pedals and
finds it a very good bike.



[1] Yesyes, but this is, afterall, my opinion.
 
In article <[email protected]>, Martin Dann
[email protected] says...

> The lacing on the rear wheel looks a bit strange. I would want to be
> certain that these wheels are hand built if the are using unusual spoke
> patterns.
>

It's not strange, it's just that the large flange rear hub changes the
angles a bit compared to the front wheel. If you look at the spoke
crossing of both wheels and ignore the angles then you can see they're
the same.
 
On Mar 12, 1:45 pm, "Nigel Cliffe" <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > The second part is about the ride-to-work tax incentive scheme at
> > Cyclescheme.co.uk . I'm a little worried that because it's not a hire-
> > purchase scheme, I risk my employers deciding that they don't want to
> > sell me the bike at the end or deciding that fair-market-value is
> > high-value. Is this an unfounded worry? Any horror stories like this
> > being told?

>
> I doubt it happens often, if at all.
>
> Theoretically, yes, your employer could tell you that the market value is
> 100% of the new price. And you have to pay or walk away.
>
> In practise, most employers give a pretty clear indication of the market
> value when you start out. (They can do the same for other employee benefits,
> such as cars and computers, even if taxed).
> For most companies, the market value includes the cost of disposal (ie.
> their advertising costs, staff time taken finding buyers, etc.), and its the
> value is probably best taken as that into the "trade". Which raises the
> question of how many second hand bicycle shops exist, and what would they
> pay for a second hand bicycle ?
>
> So, do you think your employers are malicious nasty people (why do you
> stay?), or are they just normal ?


They're just normal. The boss is nice - just a little worried that I'd
have to kiss his a** for the next 12 months /-:

Oh well, you can't beat a 50%+ discount... Thanks for your advice!
 
On Mar 12, 4:55 pm, "PoB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> [...] check out the Carrera Subway 8 - similar spec but a tad
> cheaper.


I saw it but was put off by the Halfords name tbh. Plus, I'm not too
sure about the roller-brakes and Inter-8 hub as compared to the
hydraulic disc-brakes and Alfine hub. That said, it /is/ over £400
cheaper...

Any experiences with Halford bikes?
 
On Mar 12, 10:14 pm, Ian Smith <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> If you don't trust your employer not to screw you over the scheme, I'd
> be cautious about trusting them for anything, really.


Thanks for putting it so bluntly - you're quite right.
 
On 2008-03-17, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mar 12, 4:55 pm, "PoB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> [...] check out the Carrera Subway 8 - similar spec but a tad
>> cheaper.

>
> I saw it but was put off by the Halfords name tbh. Plus, I'm not too
> sure about the roller-brakes and Inter-8 hub as compared to the
> hydraulic disc-brakes and Alfine hub. That said, it /is/ over £400
> cheaper...
>
> Any experiences with Halford bikes?


I've had a Subway 8 for about 4 years. Since I decided to keep it cheap
and use a Lidl bike computer, I can't tell you how many miles it's done:)
It's more than 6,000, but probably less than 10,000. All weathers,
some gentle off road, with panniers. It's my ubercommuter.

The brakes are adequate, for such use. The Shimano Inter-8 is not.
I'm now on my third unit and waiting for the next occurence of
horrific noise and vibration in the high gear range. Shimano (well
Madison, really) replace them without question, but take a looong
time to get replacements. It's coming up to time for a third set of
chainring/chain/sprocket, but the only part that has given any trouble
is the hub.

OTOH, my daughter has had 10 trouble free years with a Nexus 7.

I wouldn't recommend an 8 speed Shimano on any bike. Bike shops won't
badmouth Shimano, but try to steer you to the Nexus 7, I understand
that my experience is not unusual. Is there any evidence that Alfine
internals are different to Nexus?

Halfords Carrera frames are well made, if unexciting, and the parts are
what you'd expect for the price. Are you saying that they're selling the
Subway 8 again? I thought they stopped selling them at least a year ago.

--
Jan
 
On 2008-03-17, Jan Wysocki <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 2008-03-17, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On Mar 12, 4:55 pm, "PoB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> [...] check out the Carrera Subway 8 - similar spec but a tad
>>> cheaper.

>>
>> I saw it but was put off by the Halfords name tbh. Plus, I'm not too
>> sure about the roller-brakes and Inter-8 hub as compared to the
>> hydraulic disc-brakes and Alfine hub. That said, it /is/ over £400
>> cheaper...
>>
>> Any experiences with Halford bikes?

>
> I've had a Subway 8 for about 4 years. Since I decided to keep it cheap
> and use a Lidl bike computer, I can't tell you how many miles it's done:)
> It's more than 6,000, but probably less than 10,000. All weathers,
> some gentle off road, with panniers. It's my ubercommuter.
>
> The brakes are adequate, for such use. The Shimano Inter-8 is not.
> I'm now on my third unit and waiting for the next occurence of
> horrific noise and vibration in the high gear range. Shimano (well
> Madison, really) replace them without question, but take a looong
> time to get replacements. It's coming up to time for a third set of
> chainring/chain/sprocket, but the only part that has given any trouble
> is the hub.


The hub on my Subway 8 gave up the ghost after about 1500 miles with similar
symptoms. The replacement has done about 1000 miles and is ok at the moment.
Halfords - or rather the manager of one particular branch - were totally
useless and refused to assist in any way with the warranty process.
Fortunately the mechanic was a decent bloke and at least phoned Madison to
get a return code for me. I don't know what will happen when this hub breaks,
do I get a new two year warranty from Shimano on the replacement?

Other than that the bike has been fine. It is heavy, as has been pointed out.

> I wouldn't recommend an 8 speed Shimano on any bike. Bike shops won't
> badmouth Shimano, but try to steer you to the Nexus 7, I understand
> that my experience is not unusual. Is there any evidence that Alfine
> internals are different to Nexus?


I have heard, anecdotally, that the new Sturmey 8-speeds may not be greatly
reliable, either.

cheers,

Finlay
 
On 2008-03-17, Finlay Mackay <fmackayatclaradotcodotyookay> wrote:
> On 2008-03-17, Jan Wysocki <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 2008-03-17, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> On Mar 12, 4:55 pm, "PoB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> [...] check out the Carrera Subway 8 - similar spec but a tad
>>>> cheaper.
>>>
>>> I saw it but was put off by the Halfords name tbh. Plus, I'm not too
>>> sure about the roller-brakes and Inter-8 hub as compared to the
>>> hydraulic disc-brakes and Alfine hub. That said, it /is/ over £400
>>> cheaper...
>>>
>>> Any experiences with Halford bikes?

>>

[snip, my Subway-8 experience]
>
> The hub on my Subway 8 gave up the ghost after about 1500 miles with similar
> symptoms. The replacement has done about 1000 miles and is ok at the moment.
> Halfords - or rather the manager of one particular branch - were totally
> useless and refused to assist in any way with the warranty process.
> Fortunately the mechanic was a decent bloke and at least phoned Madison to
> get a return code for me. I don't know what will happen when this hub breaks,
> do I get a new two year warranty from Shimano on the replacement?


The enthusiastic mechanic at Halfords ordered tools to open the hub.
Broke the tools, then ordered a complete new rear wheel for me.

The next time, I took it to a proper bike shop. They just extracted the
internals and sent them off to Madison. They offered a replacement
without asking about age or original receipts, but there was a delay of
around three months before new internals arrived from Shimano.
I don't think you need to worry about 'warranty'.

>
> Other than that the bike has been fine. It is heavy, as has been pointed out.
>
>> I wouldn't recommend an 8 speed Shimano on any bike. Bike shops won't
>> badmouth Shimano, but try to steer you to the Nexus 7, I understand
>> that my experience is not unusual. Is there any evidence that Alfine
>> internals are different to Nexus?

>
> I have heard, anecdotally, that the new Sturmey 8-speeds may not be greatly
> reliable, either.


The proper bike shop seemd to think that the SA was "better", but they're
very hard to get hold of in the UK. If this happens again, I may give
SA a try, or maybe the <whatever Sram are now called> iMotion will have
materialised or I may just bite my lip and buy a second Rohloff.

I've seen modern (China) SA 5 speeds on Pashleys, has anyone seen an 8
speed in the wild?

--
Jan

>
> cheers,
>
> Finlay