We like riding expensive bikes. Problem is, they’re expensive. So our ears pricked up when we heard about the Bike Leasing Company.

They currently offer bikes from 12 mountain bike manufacturers – including Yeti, Merida and Kinesis – four road and triathlon brands, and a selection of high-end component suppliers on two year leases, ultimately reducing the amount you pay for a bike before you trade it in.

“A good bike is expensive,” says Paul from the Bike Leasing Company. ” Up until now, if you wanted one, you had to buy one.  You had to pay out the full retail price and then hope to claw some back when you came to change your bike.

“Have you ever had that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that you get when you had to sell your pride and joy (that you’d probably spent thousands on) for next to nothing second hand?”

So how does it work?

If you want to lease a bike that retails for £4,000 there would typically be a total lease amount over the two years of £2,900. You pay 25 per cent of the RRP as an initial rental, although this can be paid over the course of three payments. That leaves £1900 to pay over the remaining two years at £18.27 per week.

At the end of the two year lease you have the option to hand the bike back and take out another lease on a new bike (with a lower initial rental – typically 15 per cent of RRP), buy the bike from them for 35 per cent of its original RRP, extend the lease for a further 12 months if there isn’t a new model you’d like to change to (for 20 per cent of the original RRP) or hand it back at the end of the lease with no further commitment.

The bikes are covered by the manufacturer’s warranty during the lease so if anything breaks they say they’ll help you to get it sorted, while anything that wears out (e.g. tyres, brake pads etc) can be replaced at trade prices.

You have the option to take out insurance if you wish (the Bike Leasing Company offer competitive rates themselves), but if you choose not to, they say you’d be no worse off because they ask you to be responsible for the full RRP of the bike less any less payments you’ve already made.

Visit www.bikeleasingcompany.com for more information and to get a quote.