Does DIT do any sort of Bike Scheme or grant

ddooris

Hi all,

I'm heading back to college in sept and looking to buy a bike to cycle to college, unfortunately I don't have a job so I can't apply for the cycle to work bike scheme as you employer has to do it for you.

Does DIT do any sort of bike scheme or grant for student to get cyclying to college.

Any help welcome

thanks

campuslife

Hi ddooris,

We have organised discounts for DIT students at the following shops:

McDonald Cycles – Wexford St http://www.macdonaldcycles.ie/
Thinkbike – Rathmines Rd - http://www.thinkbike.ie/
City Cycles – Blackhall Place http://www.citycycles.ie/
Cycleways – Parnell St http://www.cycleways.com/

The discount should be between 10-15%.

We have also worked closely with Rothar in the past - they refurbish second hand bikes. http://www.rothar.ie/
If you're buying a second hand bike, please buy from a reputable dealer rather than a dodgy side of the road merchant, as you may be supporting the market for stolen bikes.

If you're buying a bike, get a good lock! It should cost at least 10-20% of the cost of the bike its securing. Some good advice on keeping your bike safe here: http://ditbikecritic.wordpress.com/

Which campus will you be studying in?

campuslife

If you're on Facebook, you should join the DIT Smarter Travel Facebook page. They post useful information for cyclists in Dublin.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/DITSmarterTravel

ddooris

Thanks for all that information,

I was in city cycles the other day but it was the one in cabra and they knew nothing about discounts or tax back, so i'll try the one in Blackhall place I think its a bigger store.

I'm studying in mountjoy square do I have access to the carpark out the back to lock a bike or will it have to be locked out front ???

Thanks again

campuslife

Hi ddooris,

We deal with City Cycles quite a bit, and Joey the boss there is very helpful. He's from Dundalk (which isn't relevant but there you are). Contact me if there's any difficulty with the discount and I'll follow up on it.

In Mountjoy Square you should park your bike in the car park at the rear of the building. There have been some problems with people messing with bikes parked out the front. There's an intercom on the back gate, and if you buzz on it, the Porters will open the gates for you. Probably best beforehand to introduce yourself to the porters on the first day, so they can confirm you're a student.

There should be new bike racks in the car park now, but I haven't been able to get over to have a look at them.

Best of luck.

ddooris

great thanks for all the info.......now to go bike shopping

crazydingo

I was in at MacDondald's Cycles and they didn't mention any discount for students when I was asking about lock prices and potential discounts for people who visit the blog. Is it just a matter of showing your student card?

On a separate note, I haven't been into City Cycles for this purpose, but I visited 5 city bike shops and found that MacDonald's seem to do the cheapest locks.
I'll have a blog post up soon (once I've visited City Cycles and perhaps one or two other stores) about the price comparisons between different stores with regards to locks