Well after slating the wonders of inexpensive bikes and alluding to the fact that Catherines new bike would be a heavyweight I sit corrected

Through the wonders of the ride to work scheme operated by our employers (you can see further details on the forum @ www.descent-world.co.uk where discussions have been had.) She is now the proud owner of a Carerra Vulcan

Now I was scheptical about the virtuues of a bike that cost less than my last set of wheels but it's perfect for what we need.

Only minor downside is the cheap bouncy Suntour suspension forks and the Tektro cable disk brakes - these were a bit of trouble to set up, need to pull to the bar to stop and seem to rub constantly.

Still an Ali frame - integrated headset and (this will keep Paton happy) Flat wellgo pedals combined with a lower end SRAM drive train and and a BB thats wider than my DH set up for £200 isn't bad - in fact it's great value.

So badger your boss or HR dept into setting up a scheme - you can spend as little or as much as you like and Halfords where we got ours will order in any bike as long as it's in stock from the manufacturers they can also deal with a few of the larger shops to ensure you get what your heart desires

Now all you have to do is practice saying

"Yes boss the Sunday design does pedal really well on the way to work...."