[Closed] Would you buy a Carrera?

binners your argument is defunct as you became a Intense blingwhore! 😉

Mr Agreeable, to save me spending any more time browsing that link to find out what you're talking about, can you explain?
Ta

Its a fair cop. I bloody love my overpriced American frame 😀

I already have a 456. I didnt say I was getting the Banshee I said it was a good contender 😉

I am probably going to get a Proflex now. Is that brand any better than Carrera? :p

http://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b3s1p8538&rs=gb

http://www.bestbikeproducts.com/products.php?plid=m1b25s1p2029&rs=gb

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=21760

Bored now

I'd see it as £950 wasted though.

I think i've wasted too much effort caring about this. Some people would, some people wouldn't etc etc.

There's a Canadian co called Banshee who were set up by an ex-employee of a larger bike company a few years ago, and have a great reputation for making frames that bridge the gap between bombproof and useable, as well as some niche products like a long travel hardtail 29er and a women's-specific freeride frame. They're still pretty obscure in the UK, due in large part to having to change their name after legal threats from Halfords.

poppa agree. Two trains of thought. Peter Poddy seems to think hes tighter than me which rankles the most. 😆

Do you want me to wheel out my witnesses that can atest to my tightness Peter? 😉

Rich - You do have a choice - buy a "play" bike 2nd hand and buy a bike to commute to work with with the cycle scheme like wot its for...

Re Carrera - not sure I would but probably for snobbery reasons I have to admit. I've seen too many rusting abandoned hulks the weight of a small country in school bike sheds in my youth with "Carrera" just about visible through the blistered paintwork to take the brand seriously any more. Strangely Boardman bikes I don't have the same issue with (don't own one though) - maybe its because the brand only goes down to circa £500 bikes so the brand image is better. They have also been taken seriously enough to get reviewed in a lots mags etc. I must be a marketing man's wet dream!

I once had an interesting discussion with a design engineer working in a different industry with some similarities to the cycling industry. His argument was that the smaller "valued" brands knocking out kit what appears to be more expensive prices often had significant R&D costs to cover which the bigger "copy cat" boys coming in behind and undercutting their prices did not. He also explained how when he worked on designs for volume producers his focus was on fabrication to a cost and when compromises had to be made they were always made on the side of ease of manufacture at the expense of user experience. Working on seemingly similar products for high value clients the emphasis was nearly always the other way so welding up the product just so for a slight improvement in performance might add 3 more processes and increase the cost disproportionately in comparison to performance increase. 2 products that look virtually indistinguishable to the untrained eye could cost markedly different amounts to make - both well designed and both fabricated to similar standards but with differing priorities. I guess it depends what is important to you the consumer as to which you purchase - its all about diminishing returns.

So, to sum up:

We have a bike with a good review, that those who have ridden liked enough to recommend, that is made in the same factory as other 'trendier' brands.
We have a close-up picture of the frame showing that although it's not the best looking bike (Although not as ugly as a Jones or Ibis Mojo....) it's certainly neatly finished.
We know the geometry is decent, and close to the current thinking on a burly AM bike, and the design and tubing is arguably as good as any other manufacturer.
And it's deadly obvious the spec wipes the floor with anything at the same price and some bikes costing nearly twice as much

With the downsides being:

One person says the paint is soft and the bearings aren't too good

And, Hora doesn't like it because it says Carerra on the side..... That fact alone should mean they sell out in a week....

I can see the queues forming at the doors as I speak! 😛

He's as tight as a gnats chuff. As I meet him in the pub I know the opening statement will be "I've left my wallet at home'

I'm not joking either! For the record Hora: this is absolutely and utterly the worst offense that any bloke can ever commit! There. I've said it

And, Hora doesn't like it because it says Carerra on the side

You do know I own a On-one 456 don't you?? 😀

Peter Poddy seems to think hes tighter than me which rankles the most.

Sorry, post cross over.

I [b]AM[/b] the original Pikey Biker. You won't beat me for finding cheap bits, so don't even try.

I recently bought a decent disc wheelset (Shimano hubs and WTB XC rims) for £5, which just needed a new freehub...... But I had a £110 DT Swiss hub I'd had lying around after buying it in a pair of wheels that included a Pro2 front for £40, so they are now on my Inbred.
Last time I replaced the drivetrain on said Inbred I got used rear hub, X7 rear mech, cassette and new chain and 3 chainrings for under £50.

I am Shonkmaster Flex and I rule supreme! 🙂

Peter my shoe laces are designed to relax at the point of crossing over a pub door threshold. At this point I become confused on shoelace retying.

At the bar one pint causes me amnesia about turns.

With the downsides being:

One person says the paint is soft and the bearings aren't too good

Not forgetting that you're buying a too heavy for XC, too light for DH bike that you will probably get sick of hauling round UK trails within a matter of months, and which has even less resale value than a normal full suss frame.

Plus your money is going to people who put nothing back into the sport (do they even sponsor a team?), take ethically dubious steps to protect their market share, and will probably stop making high-end mountain bikes in favour of the next craze a couple of years down the line.

He's as tight as a gnats chuff. As I meet him in the pub I know the opening statement will be "I've left my wallet at home'

PMSL!! Is that really true? I honestly don't remember that as I've met sooooo many people off here....

To be fair, I'm actually very generous with my time, helping people out, favours, giving stuff away, feeding people etc.

But cheap bike kit is a sport to me. When I know what I want, I'll wait MONTHS to get it dirt cheap, or buy stuff and squirrel it away for a rainy day.....
You should see my spares drawer right now...... It's like a tiny little bike shop in there!

I once took a £5 note to the pub on a Thursday evening (in the hope that I'd have one pint and be home early for tea as promised to the missus).

Mate took one look at the fiver that I'd turned up with and made sure this didnt happen.. (binners- you met him that Boxing day in Ambleside- Jason the loud Cumbrian lad).

The next morning I woke up face down on the bedroom carpet full clothed. I asked 'what happened'? Girlfriend said I staggered in and collapsed and refused to move.

soma_rich,

already have a 456? how about getting a road bike with your voucher?

Hora. I've never known you leave the house with more than a fiver. You must owe me the daily output of a small brewery by now

I could pay you back in hardcore gay sex?

We could copy this motion and have post-coital cigarettes?

Not forgetting that you're buying a too heavy for XC, too light for DH bike that you will probably get sick of hauling round UK trails within a matter of months, and which has even less resale value than a normal full suss frame

Rich's last bike was a Kona Coiler. Which he loved and rode like a man posessed, everywhere. Just becasue YOU think that, don't make it true! 🙂

I haven't got sick of my 34.5lb Pitch yet. I just use it where it's appropriate

And as for resale value, I'd bet you could sell the parts off and get a bigger %age back than on most off the shelf bikes.....
And remember, the most he can loose is £950, if he just throws it away.
And a £3000 bike will loose £1000 as soon as you turn the pedals on your first ride! 🙂

Me and Binners working out down the gym
[img] [/img]

Carrera make the best entry level mountain bikes around - this is good, it gets people hooked on our sport, creating consumers and users. How many people buy a Carrera, and then take their bike to halfords to buy their spares, get repairs done, and then in another two years, buys another Carrera?

Not many, probably. More likely, they buy a Carrera, use their LBS, then buy a £1500 Trek or whatever.

Mr Agreeable, I'm off for a blast round Ashton Court on my Carrera! Sorry for not helping on your Trail days, but you know what - I was a bit scared that people would look down on me cos of my bike. I'm disappointed to say that it looks as though I was right.

I was a bit scared that people would look down on me cos of my bike. I'm disappointed to say that it looks as though I was right.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Cutting remark of the month! That made me wince....

Me and binners on holiday in Andalucia 2011
[img] [/img]

Stop it. I feel violated

Mr_A rides a Dawes shonk-wagon most of the time. He wouldn't look down on you for the brand itself, more for what Halfords represent...

...more for what Halfords represent...

Ah, we're getting to the crux are we? I'd love to support my LBS more but since I don't have one without getting on the bike for an hour or so or jumping in the car, Halfords has to do. To be honest I don't [i]usually [/i]need anything in an emergency so most of my stuff comes from CRC/Wiggle etc. If I had a LBS that was local I'm sure I'd be in there spending my money even if it was more expensive than the internet stores.

Question? If Halfords started selling Spesh Pitch's would the Halfords naysayers and brand snobs buy it?

Now that is a good question. I'd like to see some answers to that.

You missed my point and the one Mr_A made pretty clearly I thought.

Mr_A

Plus your money is going to people who put nothing back into the sport (do they even sponsor a team?), take ethically dubious steps to protect their market share, and will probably stop making high-end mountain bikes in favour of the next craze a couple of years down the line.

Same reason I don't really like Cannondale as a company after they trademarked 'Freeride' and started issuing lawyer letters to Rocky Mountain (hence the Fro riders) and others telling them to stop using the term even though it was clearly in general use.

You may or may not agree but it's an ethical stance rather than a snobbish one...

Knew I should have kept my gob shut. 😉

There's at least one bloke who comes out digging with us who rides a Carrera, and fits the "new rider bursting with enthusiasm" box perfectly. I'd never judge someone by the bike they rode (or if I did I'd be ready to swallow my preconceptions very quickly).

But... I will say, if all LBSs in Bristol were Halfords (or CRC), chances are there wouldn't be any trail maintenance. We've had all kinds of support (including financial) from small local businesses but I've yet to hear of Halfords doing something similar anywhere in the UK. They won't even give you an empty bike box from their bins.

If you want a bargain I'd buy stuff second-hand off mates instead.

And Clubber, "shonk-wagon", how dare you. At least it's still in one piece! 😉

Specialized are also into that sort of thing, see www.epicdesignsalaska.com

As if anyone who wants a racey short travel full susser is going to get confused into buying a custom-made frame bag for the Iditabike. Corporate twonkery at its worst...

Question? If Halfords started selling Spesh Pitch's would the Halfords naysayers and brand snobs buy it?

I don't have a local bikeshop just as I don't have a designated local Supermarket, preferred shop for my sweets etc etc.

We live in an age now where we don't have to buy from our local area only. [u]Do you think bikeshops only buy everything they need from their local economy?[/u]

Anyway. I wouldn't buy from Halfords due the consistent level of service I've received in their stores.

I don't own a Specialized bike or frame. My analogy was based on a similar yet time-proven evolution and design of a established and respected bike company.

Not a chain that operates from dust-blown out-of-town shopping parks who principly seems to specialise in tacky aftermarket alloys and chav bits for chav cars. 😆

Go figure- who would you give your hard earned money to?

They won't even give you an empty bike box from their bins.

That's nonsense for starters. Actually, technically it is not: they gave me two. And as for sponsorship, aren't Carrera a sub-brand of Halfords? Halfords very clearly do sponsor a lot of big events (Tour de France anyone?) not to mention sponsoring a World Cup downhill team. Now maybe "grass-roots" support isn't the same as corporate sponsorship, but isn't it all going back into this sport in some way or other?

Maybe I'm lucky in that my Halfords is in the centre of town and not some big warehouse miles away.

Remember as well that post from a few weeks back? Someone wanting advice for setting up an independent bike shop. There were a lot of comments that in terms of bike servicing most of the revenue comes from the considerably lower end of the market. Halfords I would argue both create that and support it. Some of us may not like them but I have heard very few rational arguments as to why.

We live in an age now where we don't have to buy from our local area only

True, but I'm not going to make a big trip to an independent bike shop to buy inner tubes that I can pop down to Halfords for. If the LBS was nearer then it would get more of my custom. I just value convenience as well as price. My stance was never a "support your local economy" one

would people be more likely to buy the banshee if it was a boardman? I'm surprised it isn't, to be honest, you think they'd sell more that way than as carreras?

It'll be interesting to see what halfords do next year instead of GT - just run ownbrand bikes, bring in more Konas, or pull in another major supplier? whilst selling through halfords probably doesn't do the best for brand image, it probably shifts enough units to stop people caring?

eta - halfords is actually my nearest bike shop, at about 150 yards from my house. The next nearest is rayments, that phoned me at 5pm on a Friday, and told me that if I didn't pick my bike up from them before closing (30 mins) they'd charge me for storage (so haven't been back), Freedom, who I asked to put a quote together for a £1000 bike for C2W and never heard back from (so haven't been back) and Sids, who are reasonable, but don't sell much I like, and wouldn't take the C2W voucher I was with

Soma_Rich - you can't take cyclescheme vouchers into halfords, so you can't get a carrera voucher anyway. Halfords only take Halfords C2W vouchers. You might also find that a lot of shops won't take cyclescheme vouchers on anything other than bikes at RRP - as they lose 10% overhead to the scheme runners

I'm not going to buy innertubes from Halfords (they aren't cheap unless you buy their puncture-magnet ownbrand).

Its not 'down the road'. Its an out of two retail-park. Well the ones I've seen are.

Since the advent of the internet we don't have to be a slave to pricing or conversely poorly local run-business's. Our high street is opened up.

The company you work for- do you get all your business from within 1 mile of your doors? (assuming your not retail).

I take shopping on the internet as something different entirely. I buy most of my bikes bits on the internet, but I still enjoy browsing a real bike shop and have been known - on more than one occasion - to buy in a real shop at a higher cost than waiting to get them from Wiggle Reaction. That's not just bikes but everything. I've bought books and CDs in Smiths when I know for a fact that Amazon will have them a lot cheaper. Financially daft I know, but for the very rare times I get to "browse" around town it is nice to spend and come home with a bag of goodies. Halfords fits this model for me too because they are genuinely "down the road" and 10 seconds from a fab chippie.

(EDIT) and back to the OP, they had the best value bike for my missus

Halfords very clearly do sponsor a lot of big events (Tour de France anyone?) not to mention sponsoring a World Cup downhill team.

Halfords sponsor the ITV coverage of the Tour De France - which is supporting ITV, it does nothing for the sport!

Their DH team was unceremoniously disbanded a couple of years back when they decided they were going to close their BikeHut brand. Yes this has happened to quite a few other teams, but it really does represent a minimum level of investment in the sport compared to most other manufacturers. Compare with tiny manufacturers like Dialled Bikes, Ragley or Singular, who sponsor riders and events left right and centre.

Again, for companies like Halfords cycling is a transitory thing, to be cashed in on in the good years and then they'll move on to something else. Will you even be able to get spares for these bikes in a few years' time?

Going back to the bike, yes it's amazing value, and looks like it'll do the job very well. However a 35lb, 7" travel full susser isn't the sort of bike that most UK riders eventually settle on. I have something similar, it's fun to ride, but it really only gets used a handful of times per year. That Carrera is built to service a market rather than a need - it's the equivalent of a package holiday which is all-inclusive, exotic, and cheap as chips, but doesn't actually take you where you want to go.

Halfords sponsor the ITV coverage of the Tour De France - which is supporting ITV, it does nothing for the sport!

I disagree. The sport grows by virtue of the coverage. More people seeing bikes on mainstream telly = more people in shops buying bikes, spares, servicing etc. Some will go to Halfords - maybe even most - and some will go elsewhere. Ultimately the sport grows because money comes into it.

Again, for companies like Halfords cycling is a transitory thing, to be cashed in on in the good years and then they'll move on to something else.

I'm 36 this year and I can't remember a time when Halfords didn't do bikes. Have I got a bad memory?

However it is built to service a market rather than a need - it's the equivalent of a package holiday which is all-inclusive, exotic, and cheap as chips, but doesn't actually take you where you want to go.

Ah, back on the "need" argument. As I see it no one "needs" a £2000/£3000 Spesh/Giant/Santa Cruz etc. Many people "need" an inexpensive bike for transport that they can source and have serviced locally. If the LBS cannot provide it I know somewhere that can. There are also plenty of people on this post who have a Carrera and it most certainly does take them where they want to go - at lower cost.

Mr Agreeable, I fear we may have to agree to disagree 🙂

[i]Again, for companies like Halfords cycling is a transitory thing, to be cashed in on in the good years and then they'll move on to something else. Will you even be able to get spares for these bikes in a few years' time[/i]

Yeah, Halfords. New company in town. 😕
I'd still never buy a bike from them though (unless it was a no choice, cyclescheme purchase).
Call it (brand) snobbery, whatever. I'll admit it! And no, I wouldn't buy a Specialized from Halfords, or from Hargroves, Leisure Lakes, etc etc 🙂

True I wouldn't buy a diamond-encrusted cheap frame from Hinde.

Compare with tiny manufacturers like Dialled Bikes, Ragley or Singular, who sponsor riders and events left right and centre.

no disrespect to the little guys, but think their level of sponsor ship might be a little different to that provided by say Halfords!

Halfords who incidentially sponsor the Tour Series - http://www.tourseries.co.uk/.

Ps Halfords sells 1 in 3 bikes sold in the UK.

Yeah, Halfords. New company in town.

I don't think that Halfords will ever stop selling bikes (or more precisely, [url= http://bicycleshapedobject.wordpress.com/ ]bicycle-shaped objects[/url]), but their interest in the "high end" of the sport seems to ebb and flow pretty readily.

And stilltortoise, if Halfords stopped sponsoring the ITV TdF coverage, would the event stop running?

That Carrera is built to service a market rather than a need

To be fair most bikes in the UK are....

For most cyclists you use a bike to get around, go shopping, go to the pub then nearly everthing in Evans for example is actually unsuitable or overkill...

people do not need a full sus mtb, a carbon tri bike, a bmx etc to just potter around - what they need is a dutch bike or similar...