Blike is an innovative cycle-to-work scheme for London commuters. Cycle-to-Work is a UK Government scheme that allows employees to save money on the purchase of an e-bike they use for commuting by paying for it via salary sacrifice.
Salary sacrifice means that your employer takes the payments for the e-bike from your gross (or pre-tax) salary every month. You save because you pay no tax on that money. How much you save, in terms of your out of pocket expense, is determined by your tax band.
Blike is all about making cycle-to-work hassle-free for you and your employer. You choose the e-bike you want, add accessories like a lock and a helmet and choose the period over which you want to pay. We offer payment over 12, 24 or 36-months.
Here is an example of a fully insured and maintained typical e-bike (Cowboy 3) costing £1,990 with a lock and helmet together worth £200.
| Tax Band (Taxable Income) | 12 months | 24 months | 36 months |
| Basic (£12,571 to £50,270 p.a) | £141 | £79 | £59 |
| Higher (£50,271 to £150,000 p.a.) | £121 | £68 | £50 |
| Additional (over £150,000 p.a) | £110 | £62 | £46 |
This means substantial monthly savings on your commute compared with other forms of travel. (A Zone 1 to 4 Travel Card costs £167 a month.)
As you browse the bikes you can access a monthly price calculator to see how much each one costs for the different tax bands. Also when you choose a bike, you can add accessories and calculate the exact cost of the plan, based on your actual salary.
Again this depends on the tax band, but here is an example for a basic rate taxpayer.
The savings table below compares going by Blike (using our Cowboy e-bike example) with an equal amount of equipment, insurance and maintenance without Blike Cycle-to-Work. The savings assume market-rate costs of cycle insurance and maintenance.
Don’t forget, unlike most bike finance options, all our Blike plans come with zero deposit and zero finance charges too so you can ‘ride now, pay later’.
| Plan length | 12 months | 24 months | 36 months |
| Blike total package value | £2,494 | £2,798 | £3,102 |
| Total Blike net monthly payments | £1,696 | £1,903 | £2,109 |
| Ownership fee (Optional) | £498 | £338 | £239 |
| Total cost of ownership with Blike | £2,193 | £2,241 | £2,348 |
| Saving in £ vs retail value | £303 | £501 | £639 |
| Saving as a % of retail value | 12% | 18% | 21% |
For additional rate taxpayers the savings for the same package are:
| Saving in £ vs retail value | £677 | £920 | £1104 |
| Saving as a % retail value | 27% | 34% | 37% |
For additional rate taxpayers the savings for the same package are:
| Saving in £ vs retail value | £677 | £920 | £1104 |
| Saving as a % retail value | 27% | 34% | 37% |
All employers save 13.8% (15% from April 2022) on the total amount of your package. They don’t need to pay for the equipment up-front as Blike offers full financing to all employers.
The HMRC rules for cycle-to-work say that at the end of the 12, 24 or 36-months plan you must make a payment to take ownership of the bike. The payment is related to the market value of the bike at the time.
We include this payment when we show you your savings. However, you don’t necessarily have to pay the ownership payment. At the end of the plan term, Blike offers you four options:
| Cycle-to-Work Scheme Comparison | Other Schemes | Blike |
| Avoids retailer commission (7%-10%)? | No | Yes |
| Allows trade-ins to make your next bike more affordable? | No | Yes |
| Increased inclusivity by offering second-hand bikes? | No | Yes |
| Offers flexible, cancel any-time hire agreements? | No | Yes |
| Allows rollover of hire plan to reduce ownership payment? | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance and maintenance included as standard? | No | Yes |
| Allows salary sacrifice of the total cost of ownership? | No | Yes |
| Offers finance to all employers (big and small)? | No | Yes |
| Guaranteed cash flow positive for every employer? | No | Yes |
For more info: See Blike's FAQs
