How are you all saving for your deposits

PasturesNew

My bike was strangely expensive and new. I've no idea what I was thinking of.
It was a combination of not having access to many bikes due to my location. Each shop only had a maximum of one bike that might be what I want. Each shop was about 20 miles apart. I'd driven over 200 miles trying to find a bike to sit on that met my needs.

I just wanted a "normal bike", not a mountain bike. A road bike. Plain, bike. But I am short, with a short inside leg. And I was in a remote rural area. In the end the only bike I could find that was "a bike" that I could ALMOST reach the ground on was £250, so I bought the thing out of frustration.

I had problems though. Had to keep taking it apart to get it in the car to take it back to the shop 18 miles away as the chain kept falling off. They decided I was cycling it too slowly. And I could never change gear because you had to do 2 whole cycles of the pedals for the gears to change - and I didn't have the power to do that on the slopes. So I had to push it up all the 1-in-4 to 1-in-6 roads in my area. And I didn't have the confidence to take it out in case I got trapped with the chain off it on a tiny, winding back lane.

I also couldn't have any lights on it. An odd thing, but I got it from Halfords and I wanted lights, but they only sold the lights that went under the seat, on the seat post. The thing was, due to my shortness and trying to reach the ground, they had to take the usual seat post out to lower it that FIIINAL inch, as far down as it would go. So there was no room to fit a rear light. And they didn't sell the lights that fit to the rear wheel and stick out. So I could never take it out after dark either.


Also, when I have things I like them to remain brand new/perfect. So consequently I daren't ever leave it anywhere. Nowhere at all. Always had to keep hold of it.

It's not with me now. It will be when I get my own house in the future. There's no room for a bike in my bedsit.

beingjdc

For the record PasturesNew, £250 is in my opinion almost exactly the right budget if you want to buy a *decent* but not too flashy bike, new, that will last. Wouldn't necessarily go to Halfords though it beats Cycle King.

I gave up cycling when I moved to London, like the coward that I am. When I lived in the Midlands my commute to work was a sweet 25 minutes down an off-road riverside cycle path.

hostman

beingjdc wrote: »

For the record PasturesNew, £250 is in my opinion almost exactly the right budget if you want to buy a *decent* but not too flashy bike, new, that will last. Wouldn't necessarily go to Halfords though it beats Cycle King.

I gave up cycling when I moved to London, like the coward that I am. When I lived in the Midlands my commute to work was a sweet 25 minutes down an off-road riverside cycle path.

You need to be certifiable to cycle in London, down right dangerous.

If local authorities and central Government want to encourage cycling, they need to "do an Amsterdam" and restrict driving completely to allow for safe cycling paths. For those that haven't been, you need to be more aware of bikes than the cars and trams.

WTF?_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

My bike was strangely expensive and new. I've no idea what I was thinking of.
It was a combination of not having access to many bikes due to my location. Each shop only had a maximum of one bike that might be what I want. Each shop was about 20 miles apart. I'd driven over 200 miles trying to find a bike to sit on that met my needs.

I just wanted a "normal bike", not a mountain bike. A road bike. Plain, bike. But I am short, with a short inside leg. And I was in a remote rural area. In the end the only bike I could find that was "a bike" that I could ALMOST reach the ground on was £250, so I bought the thing out of frustration.

I had problems though. Had to keep taking it apart to get it in the car to take it back to the shop 18 miles away as the chain kept falling off. They decided I was cycling it too slowly. And I could never change gear because you had to do 2 whole cycles of the pedals for the gears to change - and I didn't have the power to do that on the slopes. So I had to push it up all the 1-in-4 to 1-in-6 roads in my area. And I didn't have the confidence to take it out in case I got trapped with the chain off it on a tiny, winding back lane.

I also couldn't have any lights on it. An odd thing, but I got it from Halfords and I wanted lights, but they only sold the lights that went under the seat, on the seat post. The thing was, due to my shortness and trying to reach the ground, they had to take the usual seat post out to lower it that FIIINAL inch, as far down as it would go. So there was no room to fit a rear light. And they didn't sell the lights that fit to the rear wheel and stick out. So I could never take it out after dark either.


Also, when I have things I like them to remain brand new/perfect. So consequently I daren't ever leave it anywhere. Nowhere at all. Always had to keep hold of it.

It's not with me now. It will be when I get my own house in the future. There's no room for a bike in my bedsit.

Wow - sounds like you had really bad luck.

Assuming you don't want the bike to do really long distances, then one of these might be perfect for you: Brompton Folding Bicycle.



Pricey though (575 quid). And they seem to have gone up since I last checked. That's inflation for you.

neverdespairgirl

!!!!!!? wrote: »

However, it gets me from A to B perfectly and is very reliable and cheap to run

Our car's like that - not rusty, however, but cheap to run and reliable (an R reg 3 door Fiat).

neverdespairgirl

hostman wrote: »

However, I'll be a Dad within two months, so events may force my hand in terms of buying or renting sooner rather than later.

Where do Hostwoman and Host-baby-to-be live? (I'm assuming in the same place as each other......)

neverdespairgirl

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Wow - sounds like you had really bad luck.

Assuming you don't want the bike to do really long distances, then one of these might be perfect for you: Brompton Folding Bicycle.

I don't like these. Great idea ,but not great to cycle on.

neverdespairgirl

hostman wrote: »

You need to be certifiable to cycle in London, down right dangerous.

It's not dangerous! You just need to pick where you go - there are loads of very quiet and / or pedestrianised roads around here, and lots of paths and cycle paths too.

chrisandanne

hostman wrote: »

I'm currently saving £1000 a month. I can do this because I still live at home with my parents (I'm 22). I'm a director for a company, my company pays rent for the office at my parents (spare bedroom ...), so I pay my parents a relatively small sum to live there due to the extra they receive for the office rental. All the food I consume is purchased by me.

My target is £18,000, I currently have £12100.

However, I'll be a Dad within two months, so events may force my hand in terms of buying or renting sooner rather than later.

If you decide to rent ask for a reduction on the asking price of the rent...it's often negotiable.
Ax

hostman

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Where do Hostwoman and Host-baby-to-be live? (I'm assuming in the same place as each other......)

We'll be living with hostwoman's parents until we buy or rent. Not an ideal situation, but I get on very well with her parents. Practically spend most of the time there anyway.

We could afford to rent now, but it would forgo our ability to save quickly when the market is right to buy. I'm prepared to sacrifice my own place and instead be in a stronger position with a larger deposit when we opt to buy.