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Have heard a rumour that Carrera frames made by Kona - any one know anything about it? Truth or Lies?
Kona don't have their own frame building factory.
I do know who makes Carrera frames
nope basic catalogue frames, see the same drop outs on loads of cheap frames, ribble are doing a cheap MTB frame that looks like a Carrera one
They're not off the shelf catalogue frames
ok so who does make the Carrera frames then?
CARRERA-PODIUM.IT A big Taiwanese factory who also make frames for quite a few other brands. Sorry that's all i can say
jumpupanddown - Memberthe same drop outs on loads of cheap frames
The dropout's a mass produced seperate part, doesn't tell you anything about the frame (same part appears on some Genesis frames frinstance, such as the Abyss) I doubt they're catalogue frames.
Carrera frames used to be made by Merida, not sure if that's still the case though.
@Houns - take it you are "on the inside" and you would have to kill me if you told me 😉
houns means Specialized
merida
Lets just say i saw the tech drawings for the current range sometime last year 😉
Ribble frame
[img]
Halfords one
[img] 
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Cheap nasty junk any way
the jackson 5
houns is referring to ryan giggs, he's just too scared to name him cos of that super injunction thingy.
jumpupanddown - MemberCheap nasty junk any way
Cobblers.
Merida make* the Carrera Frames, aswell as many others.
*Owns the factory,
jumpupanddown - MemberCheap nasty junk any way
Mince.
Mince as in mince meat....or as in mince pies?
Most bikes you see are made either by Merida or Giant. I think Merida still supply Carerra.
flash is correct..............again 🙄 😀
It's not THAT rare, big man! 😆
ok so how do you add photos to this thread?
[img] add your photo url [/img]
Without the spaces.
Cheers C'pn - cannot get it to work though 🙁
Merida definitely used to make them, I heard a whisper that the arrangement broke down a while back - could be a Chinese whisper though..
I love my Carrera Vanquish.
[img]
HALFORDS.COM Bar the paint job exactly the same as one of the Merida road bikes
[url=
Winter Hack[/url]
[url=
Commuter[/url]
They aren't made by Merida anymore
A shop I was in during the summer told me that Merida make Specialized frames. Not sure if thats true or not and to be honest, I couldn't care less.
I knock them up in my shed
Its a slightly bigger shed than Brants
I had an 09 fury, it was ace. It wasn't a flyweight but I didn't expect it to be, it was a very capable all rounder and the adjustable fork was a real boon. £400 WIN
Brant saw it at a HtN and said 'is that one of the original scandals?' 😀
Sorry that's all i can say
Pft. It's not that big a secret. You make it sound like it's some sort of hush-hush covert operation, probbly to make yourself feel more important. 🙄
Carrera is just a braynd name coming out of some enormous factory complex in Taiwan somewhere. As are most bikes. Merida is the parent company. They just get stickered up into different brands, and sold at various price points and in various markets. Carrera is a brand sold in the UK by Halfords, but the very same bikes, albeit in different colour schemes and branding, are sold all over the World. Often in the equivalent of Halfords type shops. In Spain they are branded as Merida. I know this as I have seen identical frames in the two brands.
Carrera are loads better value for money than a lot of other brands; just as good quality (built in the same factories ffs!), but because they're not a trendy 'niche' brand, they don't command rip-off prices. The fact that Halfords' bike building and 'servicing' is very hit and miss will put off a lot of people, but if you know what you're doing with tools, then they can be utter bargains. Every bit as good as stuff costing twice as much.
PaulD off here rides an old Carrera, and believe me, he will rip most of your legs off on it. 😀
The Boardman bike range is an 'upmarket' Merida brand. Merida also own a chunk of Specialized.
Cheap nasty junk any way
You know absolutely bugger all, don't you? Bless.
Here is a lady who would rip your legs off on a bike ride:
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Shush now Elfinsafety....that kind of talk upsets people around here who like to believe their mega expensive frame came from a super exclusive factory that isnt the same factory putting out bargain Carrerras!
Heh! I know it does. 😀
Truth is, the big companies like Spesh, Trek, Giant, Merida etc are churning out some of the best bikes you can buy. They have huge R+D budgets, sponsor pro race teams worldwide, and have a wealth of experience of designing and building bikes that some of the more 'niche' brands can only dream of.
A V - Brake Vulcan changed my life.
First bike.
Last May.
Thankyou Halfords.
One day when i'm mechanically gifted I'll do something daft with the frame.
Now I have sexy Inbred because I killed Spock.
Wrong, used to be, isn't now.Merida is the parent company.
They used to come out fo the merrida factory, I've got a 2003 Fury that even has merrida forged into the disk mount reinforcement chainstay-seatstay strut bit and the double barrle downtube which was their trademark for a while.
I don't think they do anymore though, the welds look different*? But then again the welds on my Pitch look nothing like the ones on older specializeds? They used to be perfect fish scales now they look a bit cheeper**. They even used to make the merrida/carrera LRS which was a rip off of the original epic.
All the Carrera's I've ridden have been pretty good bikes, handling was spot on, not too steep and not too slack. I know quite a few people who bought £300-£500 models as winter bikes or first bikes for mates as they were cheeper than just buying an SLX groupset!
*just rememberd, it was the "horst link"/FSR issue, they can use it as a UK only brand as it's not patented here, but merrida own (or at least partialy own) Spesh, so refused to build it.
**how a weld looks a has nothing to do with how good it is mechanicaly.
Merida, Giant and Kinesis must make 90% of the alloy mountain bike frames in the world.
Spesh, Trek and Kona frames are made in Taiwanese factories as are more upmarket brands such as Santa Cruz.
Nothing wrong with any of them. The Taiwanese have been building bikes for years and they are the best in the world at it. Made in Taiwan is generally a sign of quality on a frame.
It's badge engineering to the nth degree. A bit like people who'll pay a premium for an Audi A3, but who'll scoff at the thought of owning a Seat Leon.
I've heard nothing but good things about Carrera frames.
Looking at the Ribble frame and Carrera frame pictures posted on page 1 they are similar but not the same. The top tube on the Carrera is much skinnier where it joins to the seat tube.
If you want completely unique frames then you are going to have to be prepared to put your hand in your pocket for a lot more cash. Using some commonality helps keep costs down and also helps keep reliability up as proven joints and sections mean less risk.
eg a rear triangle might be off the shelf but the top and down tubes may be custom specced or pinched from another design.
My Carrera Kraken has got a great frame, it's quite slack and lots of fun with 120mm forks. The welding is good and it seems to have gussets in all the right places (oo-er), and it's been going strong for nearly 3 years.
Hell, the bike cost me just over £300 quid new when I bought it, used it every day for 18 months commuting to work I use it most weekends off road and it's never missed a beat. I taped the decals up as it was to be locked up around town and have left them on - I've had people think it's some kind of niche machine and had a lot of positive comments from strangers who think it's some kind of prototype, haha!
It cost £300 quid!