Johnson has seen a slew of gifts come his way since leaving the Downing Street hot seat three months ago - including £37,000 worth of rent free accommodation in a luxury cottage - but a £4,000 bike from President Nechrirvan Barzani is certainly something different.
The bike, which appeared as a donation on the register of Parliamentary members’ interests, comes one year after Johnson refused to pay for a custom bike, worth £1,000, which was given to him by US President Joe Biden.
According to the Daily Mirror, gifts to the Prime Minister become the property of the country if they’re worth more than £140 and they refuse to pay the difference.
Johnson allegedly refused to pay for the bike from Biden, but used it anyway.
The president of Kurdistan visited the UK in April, when Johnson was still PM. Cabinet Office records don’t mention any details of gifts being exchanged between the two leaders, so we decided to figure out for ourselves what £4,000 in the second hand market could have landed the president.
PINARELLO F10 DOGMA CARBON ROAD BIKE (£4,000)
(Image credit: eBay - emmamacdonald01)
This one is bang on the price tag that the President of Kurdistan allegedly paid for Johnson’s new wheels… and it’s certainly a beauty.
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“Emmamacdonald01” has shared some brilliant photos of her impressive second hand offering which is a Magma Red, F10 Dogma complete with SRAM ETap Red and a SRAM crankset.
TREK MADONE SL7 ULTEGRA Di2 (£3,995)
(Image credit: eBay - The Second Cycle)
This sleek looking Trek Madone is on offer over at “thesecondcycle.”
Just a fiver under the President of Kurdistan's budget for Bojo. The blue and black fully carbon SL7 has a full Shimano Ultegra R8050 Di groupset, with Fulcrum racing wheels and a comfortable Selle Italia top of the range saddle.
The vendor is also offering a spare Fizik handlebar all included in the price. So that's all for the sort of money your average ex-Prime Minister wouldn’t think twice about dropping on a new commuter.
GIANT TCR ADVANCED PRO (£4,195)
(Image credit: eBay - CharlieCymru)
The rather lovely looking Giant TCR Advanced Pro One, available from “CharlieCymru”, is in a beautifully sleek all black-red colourway. According to the vendor its also just been used a handful of times.
Giant admittedly don’t have quite the Italian sex appeal of a shiny looking Dogma, nevertheless, a bike this good and for a snip of what you would pay brand new certainly looks like it’s worth it.
PINARELLO DOGMA F12 ORANGE (£5,000)
(Image credit: eBay - ktmexc2008)
The bike listed by “ktmexc2008” is on the market for exactly five thousand quid, 25% over the stated £4,000 but maybe Johnson could haggle them down.
It certainly looks worth the money with full Shimano Ultegra Di2 gears.
According to the vendor, the fully carbon bike was purchased from a Pinarello dealer in Kent and has carbon wheels, a tubeless set up and compact chain set. At just four months old, that's not a bad deal for a swanky second hand set up.
For an extra grand over budget to get a Dogma in this colourway, we'd definitely splash the cash.
TREK MADONE SLR (£3,880)
(Image credit: eBay - wikni83)
This tasty looking Madone is available for just short of the president of Kurdistan’s budget. Although with a few extra quid, you could maybe get few upgrades.
According to the vendor, the bike comes with a full Shimano Dura Ace groupset and cranks as well as BB86 ceramic coated bearings.
They are also offering a choice of 50 or 85 Vel Wheels (Sigma Sport's in-house brand) in the £3,380 price tag that you would need to shell out.
ORBEA GAIN M20 2022 (£3,250)
(Image credit: eBay - Cestead)
Basque brand Orbea has a long-standing reputation for quality.
Their road bikes are consistently up there as some of the very best road bikes around, and their e-bikes are no different.
This shiny looking M20 model e-bike is fully carbon fibre and fitted with a compact chainset. The green power mode reportedly gives the vendor between 50-60 miles of power each ride.
That’s certainly one way to eliminate a headwind!
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Tom has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world. As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling.
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