I went to Halfords today to have a good look at the Boardman HT’s.

They look pretty good, but what caught my eye was a Carrera Carbon framed HT reduced to £900 from 980..
Link here:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_518257_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

It looks pretty good – better than the Boardmn IMO, with a similar spec – slightly lower components – x9 instead of x0 etc. Nothing that would particulalry bother me as my old bike had x7.

Is there any reason why I shouldnt get this?

Ta
Alan.

Looks like a steal! Did you test ride it? Bargain!

People will probably look down their noses at you…if you get a Carbon 456 – so go for it!

(Seriously though, they look good value for a comparison:
Carbon 456 – XC build: £1,099.00
Carbon 456: Trail build: £1,199.99)

I’d say get an on-one, much better fork, and from my experience of carrera bikes, the finishing kits tend to be a bit cheap so you may end up spending the difference or more on a replacement bars stem..

Aye, the Kalloy finishing kit is low spec.

Well I’m not at all bothered by the name on it. It looks really good in the flesh. Without the name on it, it could be any decent make, it has a lovely sweeping curvy frame. It felt slightly lighter than the Boardman Pro,even though the specs say it is heavier. The finishing kit is pretty much the same as the Boardman in looks. I’ll be changing the saddle immediately, the bars and other small fittings are fine, and will get upgraded/replaced as required, or when a bargain comes along.

I’ve been back and put a £10 deposit on it, they will save it for 2 weeks, if I dont go back in, they’ll sell it. Sounds good to me, if I change my mind, I’ve only lost a tenner.

Thanks for the replies.
Alan.

It’s a very nice bike, feels fairly old-school racy ie stiff and responsive but a bit brash/overly stiff. There’s a few spec shortfalls though, the similiarly priced boardman HT usually makes more sense but they’re quite clever with it, most of the price shaving is in “personal taste” bits that are most likely to be replaced anyway.