Bike to Work, Without the Head-Scratching: Lifty’s Application Guide

Lifty Electric · Website feature guide · Checked 17 October 2026

Cover: AI-generated editorial scene. Walkthrough screenshots: the Lifty website.

Listen: Richie walks you through it

Press Play, pause whenever you need, and follow the screenshots below.

Open or download the spoken guide

Richie is Lifty’s scripted guide voice. This recording uses a synthetic narrator and is not a live staff conversation.

Read the complete spoken transcript

Well, hello there, you lovely commuter. Fancy a better relationship with your morning? I'm Richie. Let's introduce you to a bike, and give the traffic a little less of your affection.

Before you start, ask HR or payroll whether your employer participates in Bike to Work and which provider or payment process it uses. Your employer must buy the qualifying bicycle. Paying yourself and asking for reimbursement doesn't qualify. Get that bit right first and we'll keep the paperwork behaving itself.

Open your chosen e-bike on Lifty and select the Bike to Work quote button. Or open Need Help, choose the Bike to Work route and find your bike there. Grand. Now for the six steps.

Step one: your details. Add your name, mobile, email, employer and required address. Choose your provider or direct-employer route. Not sure? Use the available option and check with HR. Give the email one extra look. We want your quote arriving with you, not enjoying a completely new life in somebody else's inbox.

Step two: the bike. Check the exact model, variant, size or colour options and current price. If you're unsure about suitability, ask Lifty. We match the machine to the actual journey. A beautiful bike that doesn't suit you is just a very expensive crush.

Step three: your setup. Choose collection or delivery where offered. Review optional assembly and compatible accessories. A correctly fitting helmet, suitable lock and appropriate lights are a sensible start. Confirm eligibility before counting equipment towards the scheme. Separate workshop services aren't automatically tax-exempt. Keep the useful extras; skip the hopeful assumptions.

Step four: the estimate. Look separately at the scheme amount, any personal balance and the estimated effect on take-home pay. Ask payroll for your individual calculation. The category cap isn't the tax saving, and a headline maximum isn't a discount on the whole order. Premium bike above the cap? Agree the excess before paying. Good taste deserves good maths.

Step five: review. Check the bike, fulfilment, equipment, totals and your details. Correct mistakes, then read the consent statement before confirming. Our screenshots use demonstration details. Your application needs your own accurate information.

Step six: generate the employer-ready quote when you're ready. The screen offers a PDF and an email copy. Check the PDF before sending it through your employer's process. Missing download or email? Check downloads and spam, then contact Lifty.

After that come approval and employer or provider payment. Contact Lifty with the payment reference to confirm status, availability and fulfilment. A generated quote doesn't mean the bike is paid for, reserved or ready to collect.

Quote, approval, payment, confirmation. Keep that order. Then choose the bike that suits your real life, with upgrades that earn their place. There you go, lovely. A clearer application, and a commute worth looking forward to.

Your next commute could begin with a bike you enjoy instead of another argument with traffic. First, there is the paperwork. Lifty’s quote application breaks it into six steps, and this guide explains what each one is asking for—without treating you like you have taken up tax administration as a hobby.

Richie’s walkthrough: “You choose the bike. We’ll explain the buttons. HR handles the approval. Three very different jobs, and thankfully you do not need to become all three people before lunch.”

Before you apply: check with your employer

Ask HR or payroll whether your employer participates and which provider or payment process it uses. Ireland’s Cycle to Work Scheme is an employer purchase arrangement. Buying the bike yourself and claiming reimbursement does not qualify. The official Revenue guide sets the current category limits, including eligible safety equipment: €1,250 for other bicycles, €1,500 for qualifying e-bikes and €3,000 for qualifying cargo or e-cargo bikes. Scooters are excluded.

Eligibility is normally once in four tax years, and the bike must be mainly for qualifying journeys. Salary sacrifice, where used, may run for up to 12 months. Savings depend on your tax position; a headline maximum is not a discount on the whole order. Confirm any amount above the scheme limit and any separate services with your employer or provider.

Find your bike and open its quote application

Browse the e-bike range, or select NEED HELP? and Help me apply for Bike to Work. Search by bike name and select the matching result. On the product page, use Apply with Bike to Work — Get your quote now. Button wording can vary as the site is updated; the Bike to Work quote control is the route you need.

Step 1: Your details and employer information

Enter your name, mobile number, email, employer and required address. Choose your scheme provider or direct-employer option. If you do not know, use the available Not sure yet option and confirm with HR before proceeding with the purchase. Check your email carefully: the quote screen uses it for the customer copy.

Richie’s walkthrough: “Give your email one extra look. One missing letter can send your dream bike paperwork on a much less exciting journey. We want it with you, not a confused stranger called Brian.”

Step 2: Choose your exact e-bike

Check the selected model, variant, size or colour options available and current price. The application also offers a bike browser to switch models. Confirm suitability and the supplied specification with Lifty when needed. The screenshot uses a CUBE Fold Hybrid Comfort 545 as an example, not a promise that it is the best bike for every commute.

Step 3: Build the setup you actually need

Choose collection or delivery where offered, then review any optional assembly, weather protection and accessories. Confirm the current fulfilment price and the work included. Collection and professional assembly are separate choices in the illustrated form. Eligibility and fitment need checking before equipment is included in the scheme amount; workshop services are not automatically tax-exempt cycling equipment.

Start with a correctly fitting helmet, suitable lock and appropriate lights rather than a basket of random extras. If frequent wet riding is part of your route, ask about a compatible weather-protection service and its limitations. An optional treatment does not make the bike suitable for immersion or establish a new independently tested IP rating.

Richie’s walkthrough: “Build the setup for your Tuesday commute, not an imaginary expedition across the Alps. Unless Tuesday genuinely involves the Alps. In that case, we have a few more questions.”

Step 4: Treat the savings screen as an estimate

Review the salary, pay frequency and salary-sacrifice period controls. Check the scheme amount, any direct balance and estimated take-home-pay effect separately. Ask payroll for your personal calculation. A weekly illustration is not proof that the entire bike costs that amount per week, especially when a balance must be paid separately.

Useful fact: the category cap limits qualifying expenditure; it is not the amount of tax you automatically save. Premium bikes can cost more than the cap. Agree the employer payment, any personal top-up and treatment of the excess before paying. Your individual savings can differ from the example shown in the screenshot.

Step 5: Review every detail

Check the bike, variant, equipment, fulfilment, applicant information and totals. Use Edit Details if something is wrong. Read the consent statement and confirm it only when the details are accurate and you want the quotation generated. The screenshots use clearly marked demo information and an example email; enter your own accurate details for your application.

Step 6: Generate your employer-ready quotation

The final screen offers Get my employer-ready quote. It describes a PDF download and an email copy. Generate your quote when ready, then check the PDF itself before sending it to HR or your provider. If the download or email does not arrive, check your browser’s download area and spam folder, then contact Lifty rather than assuming the application has been approved.

What happens after the quote?

Send the checked quotation through your employer’s required process. Wait for approval and arrange employer or provider payment as instructed. Contact Lifty with the reference once payment is made so the team can confirm payment status, availability and the next fulfilment step. A generated PDF alone does not confirm payment, reservation or collection readiness.

Richie’s walkthrough: “Quote, approval, payment, confirmation. Keep that order and the process gets much calmer. The PDF is your opening move, not the finishing-line confetti.”

Compare the upgrade before you commit

If folding storage matters, compare the CUBE Fold. For a different riding brief, inspect the CUBE Reaction Hybrid ONE 600 and ask about equipment and suitability. Choose the bike around your route, fit, carrying and maintenance needs. Recheck current prices and availability; these are comparison options, not verified sales leaders.

Questions riders ask

Is generating a quote an approved application?

No. Your employer or provider must approve and purchase the eligible package. Confirm payment and fulfilment with Lifty.

Can I include a premium bike above €1,500?

Discuss the excess and any approved split-payment arrangement with your employer, provider and Lifty. The extra amount does not gain an additional exemption.

Can I apply for an electric scooter?

No. Revenue excludes scooters from the Cycle to Work Scheme.

Do I need to know my provider immediately?

The form offers a not-sure option. Confirm the employer’s required route with HR before proceeding with a purchase.

More help from Richie

• Lifty Connect: Your Digital Garage, Without the Paperwork Hunt
• Meet Lifty Help: Less “Where Do I Click?”, More Getting Moving
• Find My Fix: From “What’s That Noise?” to a Sensible Next Step

Screenshots show the interface inspected for this walkthrough. Prices, stock, records, service availability and interface labels may change. Bike to Work screenshots contain demonstration details; no quote was submitted for this demonstration.