Cycle to Work Scheme for Electric Mountain Bikes

How the Cycle to Work Scheme Works

Your employer buys the bike and you repay the cost from your gross salary before tax and National Insurance are deducted, spreading payments over an agreed period (commonly 12 months). Because the repayment comes out of gross pay, you effectively pay less overall than buying the same bike outright — the saving comes from the tax and NI you'd otherwise have paid on that portion of salary.

At the end of the hire period, most schemes offer you the option to keep the bike (sometimes for a small final payment based on its depreciated value), extend the hire, or return it — the exact process depends on which scheme provider your employer uses, and it's worth understanding this upfront rather than assuming ownership is automatic.

Savings by Tax Bracket

As a rough guide, basic-rate (20%) taxpayers typically save in the region of 32% including National Insurance, while higher-rate (40%) taxpayers can save more depending on their scheme provider's structure. Exact figures vary by scheme and whether the bike is returned, kept, or bought out at the end of the hire period — your employer's scheme provider will give you the precise numbers for your situation.

It's worth running the actual numbers for your salary and tax bracket before committing, since the marketing materials from some scheme providers can overstate the headline saving compared to what you'll see on your specific payslip once minimum wage protections and other deductions are factored in.

The £5,000 Cap: Why It Matters for eMTBs

The original Cycle to Work scheme had an implied £1,000 cap unless the employer held a consumer credit licence; most larger scheme providers today support unlimited value, but individual employers can still set their own lower limit. Because many eMTBs — including several full-suspension and enduro models in our range — cost well above £1,000, it's essential to check your specific employer's cap before choosing a bike, not just the scheme provider's general terms.

Some employers cap the scheme deliberately at a level that suits their typical unassisted-bike-buying staff, without realising eMTBs often exceed it — if that's the case for you, it's worth asking HR directly whether the cap can be reviewed, since many scheme providers support much higher limits than employers actually configure by default, sometimes simply because nobody has asked before.

Which Peak Pedal Bikes Fit Common Scheme Caps

If your employer caps the scheme around £3,000, our hardtail range and entry lightweight SL bikes like the Orbea Rise LT H30 fit comfortably. For schemes with a higher or uncapped limit, most of our full suspension range becomes available, including enduro and premium builds.

How to Apply Through Peak Pedal

Check with your employer or HR team which scheme provider they use and what value cap applies. Once you know that, get in touch or message us on WhatsApp and we'll confirm which bikes in our range fit within it and how to place the order through your provider — see our Cycle to Work page for the general process.

Things to Check Before You Commit

Confirm the repayment period, whether there's an early-exit fee if you change jobs during the hire term, and what happens to remaining payments if you leave your employer — schemes vary on this, and it's better to know upfront than find out after you've already ordered. Some schemes also require you to use the bike primarily for commuting, so check that requirement applies before assuming a pure leisure/trail bike qualifies.

Cycle to Work vs Standard Finance

If your employer doesn't offer Cycle to Work, or your preferred bike exceeds their cap, our finance options are worth comparing directly — while Cycle to Work's tax and NI saving is hard to beat, standard finance doesn't require your employer's involvement or a fixed hire period, which suits some buyers better depending on their circumstances and how long they plan to keep the bike.

What Happens If the Bike Needs Repair During the Scheme

You remain responsible for maintenance and repairs during the hire period in most schemes, the same as if you owned the bike outright — this is worth budgeting for separately from the salary-sacrifice repayments themselves, particularly for a higher-value eMTB where battery or motor repairs can be a meaningful cost if something goes wrong outside of warranty.

Common Questions From Employers

If your HR team is unfamiliar with applying Cycle to Work to a higher-value eMTB specifically, it can help to point them to their scheme provider's own documentation on value caps — most confusion comes from employers assuming the old £1,000 limit still applies universally, when in practice most modern providers support far higher values by default.

Which Scheme Providers Are Common in the UK

Several established providers operate Cycle to Work schemes for UK employers, each with slightly different processes, retailer networks and value caps. If your employer hasn't named their specific provider, ask HR directly — the process for redeeming a voucher or letter of collection with us differs slightly depending on which provider is involved.

Timing Your Purchase Around the Scheme

Some schemes run on a fixed annual enrolment window rather than accepting applications year-round, so it's worth checking your employer's specific timing rather than assuming you can join at any point. If you've missed this year's window, ask us about finance alternatives in the meantime rather than waiting a full year to buy.

Self-Employed and Company Director Considerations

If you run your own limited company, Cycle to Work can still apply, but the mechanics differ slightly from a standard employee scheme — you'd typically need to set up the arrangement between yourself as director and your own company, ideally with a quick check from your accountant that the salary sacrifice is structured correctly for tax purposes. This is a common query from self-employed customers, and worth raising with us directly if it applies to you.

Sole traders without a limited company structure generally can't access Cycle to Work in the same way, since the scheme relies on an employer-employee salary sacrifice relationship. In that case, our standard finance options are usually the more relevant route to spreading the cost of a higher-value eMTB.

Combining Cycle to Work With Other Savings

Some employers run Cycle to Work alongside other benefits schemes, and it's worth checking whether any employer-specific discount or benefits portal offers additional savings on top of the standard tax and National Insurance saving — though this varies considerably by employer and scheme provider, so treat it as a bonus to check for rather than something to assume applies to your situation.

Getting Your Employer On Board If They Don't Currently Offer It

If your employer doesn't currently run a Cycle to Work scheme at all, setting one up is usually straightforward for them — most scheme providers handle the administrative burden, and the arrangement costs the employer little beyond some initial setup time, while offering a genuine wellbeing benefit to staff. If this would help you, it's worth raising with HR directly, since many employers simply haven't considered it rather than having actively decided against it.

Talk to Us Before You Choose a Bike

Once you know your employer's scheme provider and value cap, it's worth talking to us before finalising your choice — we can confirm exactly which models fit comfortably within your specific limit and help you avoid the disappointment of falling in love with a bike that's a few hundred pounds over your employer's cap. Contact us with the details and we'll take it from there, including confirming lead times so the scheme paperwork and delivery line up smoothly, and flagging early if a specific size or colour needs a longer wait.

Frequently Asked Questions