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

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.

…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 usually 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?

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

soma_rich, what don't you understand?

Are you offended by me?

OMG they're breeding!

To put another angle on it, I spent £2000 or so on my bike which was a hell of a lot of money for a bike in my book (and most definitely the wife's). I most definitely did NOT want a Spesh/Giant/Trek because I wanted to have something different from everyone else. That was just my perception, right or wrong. I didn't realise quite what everyone else was riding at that time. But then that's me all over. I bought Vestax decks when everyone else bought Technics (and regretted it might I add!).

Would I buy a Carrera? Yes.

As for Paul's Cycles, I would much rather buy a Carrera than a Proflex. Has anyone actually ridden a Proflex in the last 20 years? At least lots of us lot and the bike mags have ridden and rated Carreras.

From someone in this post who's owned 2 Carreras…

And in a way I owe everything mountain biking's given me to those 2 supermarket bikes.

Isn't comparing Carrera to "supermarket bikes" exactly the snobbery we're talking about? 😀

Sorry chaps no can do. Enjoy

PS Chris watch the Tangfastics. I've just had a big filling and I blame Haribo 🙁

PS and I have no "LBS" in walking/cycling distance but there is a Halfords in town

Take money out of the equation: Would anyone choose a Carrera over an identically specced Giant, Spesh, or Trek for exactly the same money?

No.

So, basically, all Carrera have going for them is a cheap purchase price. When I buy a bike (or camera/computer/washing machine/car/life partner/etc), I like to look a bit further than just the money.

I think this is a very weak argument. The very point of all this is that Carrera appear to offer much more than just a cheap purchase price. They have good spec components on a reasonable frame. I bought my wife a Fury that was £350 or so. Whilst I fully acknowledge it is unlikely to be as good a frame as a Spesh, the equivalently spec'd Spesh was £200 – £300 more!

There are leaders and followers in this industry. Spesh, Giant et al spend millions in R & D and that is reflected in the price. The imitators – Carrera – will always be cheaper, but "cheaper" can still be "better value".

As for Halfords, their Boardman and Carrera bikes appear to offer pound-for-pound better value than a lot of the brands in the LBSs. The myth is that Halfords offer worse service, but there are plenty of posts on STW that testify to that not always being the case.

Not a Halfords love in – my bike came from an LBS and I could have got something just as good but cheaper – but I think there should be some balance to this argument.

If you can do a pretty large article on rock climbing

I thought that article was a bit short! As a bit of a climber I was looking forward to reading it but it didn't really go anywhere. I want longer articles in ST. That's what makes made it different from the others I read

Urgh! Not quite sure who's taking the michael out of who.

When I happened upon Singletrack a few years back I LOVED the fact it wasn't weighed down by reviews – techy or not – and I LOVED the travel articles. I'd "done" the other mags, reading endless reviews to eventually settle on my "dream bike" and all I wanted was to read about riding and not how my dream bike was now "old hat".

Roll on a couple of years and it is still my fave but for me a combination of MBUK and ST would suit me best. What MBUK does well is cover the scene and the personalities which I find more interesting than the latest suspension technology. Whilst I will never in a million years compete in the downhill World Cup or Slopestyle, I like to read that actually our GB boys and girls are pretty bloomin' good. MBUK is the mag I read to get me hyped up for Fort William each year for example.

On the downside MBUK is as guilty as any of rehashing old articles. If I can offer some constructive criticism to anyone listening from STW towers, ST is getting a little bit like that. For example Mike Ferrentino seems to be saying the same thing every few issues, but using different words. The travel articles are also either too short when contributed or too heavily edited. What I really appreciated about ST is that the travel articles spanned a few pages and had a bit more depth than most other mags. They've got much shallower and shorter.

So, not sure if my opinion will make any difference, but thought I'd say my piece. I hope – if read – this is taken as constructive criticism, but if you do take offence I'd love to come up and see what you do/have a ride/have a drink 😉

My rule – from albeit limited experience – is that good suspension is better than no suspension but no suspension is better than bad suspension. For £100 – unless you get a 2nd hand bargain in the classifieds – you're not going to get a good suspension fork.

I love my carbon fork. It's made a super light responsive fully rigid that's ace for ragging around locally. The trails that my full susser made a bit too easy are now fun again. That's not to say I don't enjoy hairing down rocky stuff on the fully tho' 😀

I'm no car buff but I've had an Octavia. Massive boot space, but the stereo was poo.

Seriously though, I had no complaints but mine was a 1.9 diesel so not really a fair comparison. I've owned Mondeos and Civics since which are both more fun to drive and have more umph. Again, diesels, so probably not helping you very much 😉

When did you last watch Raiders in SD on a big telly? ACE film, but you can spot quite a few less than convincing sets without needing HD and a big telly.

If you're not bothered about the bar end bit of the Ergons, check out Spesh's copy. Under a tenner.

My what? H-A-I-R. What's that then?

Head over the bath. No 1 or 2 on clippers. Rzzzz. Done

Wonder if that kid on the push-along bike can do that yet..

Give him a couple more months

Ace! I like the fact there were some tumbles on stuff "mortals" might attempt as well as the parp-inducing drops and jumps

Do you measure those ladder drops as the height of the ladder or to "touchdown"? If the latter I have done 6 feet. Yay! 😀

Saw one of these in the flesh the other day. Very tasty

On one of my cards it wouldn't even accept my passward that was 100% correct

Interesting. Maybe this is what is happening to me too.

I just don't get it. If someone steals my card details and then gets stopped in their tracks by this feeble added security, the easiest thing to do is go spending on a site that doesn't need it. as with most stuff like this, unless it is universal adoption, it has such limited use

The film will be distributed by Bounty Films, a company who in the past have only distributed homosexually themed films[24] such as The Big Gay Musical.

😯

Polaris something or other. I think Polaris make some of the most under-rated great value kit out there.

I take the same amount of crap on the mtb as I do on road, apart from a shock pump sometimes.

On the road bike I don't bother with first aid kit, spare brakes (pads), map, food, hat, spare jumper… Must be because I'm a fair weather roadie 😆

p.s you don't "really" need discs as my wheels lock up with canti's. Modulation is what you need not full on power as the actual ground contact point is small so easy to lock up.

the problem with rim brakes is that the loss in power in the wet and mud is massive, not to mention what goes wrong if the wheel goes out of true, both likely if doing cyclocross. I'm sure lots of CXers will come on and say they us v brakes or whatever without issue, but my experiences with v brakes and mud is that they are rubbish.

My cantis on my road bike are plenty powerful, but I don't ride in the mud and rain on my road bike

this is why I like riding my road bike. Not so much crap to carry around with me and what I do take fits in a bottle cage and a tiny saddle bag. Personally I don't like too much rubbish stuffed into jersey pockets either

I find the Evos are not as good a fit as the Straits. Whatever you do, try them on before parting with your cash

Spesh Hard Rock
Biopace chainrings
Shark fin chain stay protector
Bright yellow toe straps
Panaracer Smokes
Big Mt Zefal pump that peeped out the top of my rucksac
Ron Hill Tracksters 😯

I always wanted one of those little triangular frame bags and a "height rite" or whatever they were called.

Still got the Spesh, doing a permanent tour of duty at the in laws in Spain. No, the Smokes are no longer present

{EDIT}…and Chapel Gate was eminently easier to ride 😆

This is a great looking bike in the flesh and good value too. I think Chipps reviewed it a few issues back. I want one

{EDIT{ but it is singlespeed so may be a niche too far for you 😉

Aldi had some recently. Seriously. Cheap too

if the dog is under close control tho?

Ooh, I feel a slight twist in the argument coming up. Can a dog owner ever be 100% confident their dog is under close control at all times? Someone up this page somewhere has already said no. Children mauled by dogs who are "…always well behaved, honest your honour" would say no too. Mmm, me thinks I may have made too big a twist in the argument. I'm off

Is it me or are some people missing the point (or maybe I've just invented my own point now – wouldn't be the first time)?

As far I know there is nothing stopping a dog/walker/horse going on a man-made "trail centre" trail, just a few signs suggesting they perhaps shouldn't. Would all the "live-and-let-live" types on this post feel the same if you went down to GT/Cannock/Afan/Whinlatter this weekend and found the local stables out for a ride on Ned and his chums? Neigh, I think not (sorry, I'll get my coat)

No one is daft enough to think we can remove all risks from riding at trail centres. Ice, mud, other bikers, deer, pheasants are all the kind of thing we would be annoyed at hitting but can hardly complain about it (well, maybe bikers!). We – as dog owners – have the power to keep dogs off them tho'. The debate is, should we?

I think some people need to relax a little bit and realise that the trails weren't put in for their exclusive enjoyment

Isn't that exactly the argument that crops up on here time and time again? I.e. trail centre trails maybe should be for our exclusive enjoyment, whilst we share the bridleways, BOATS etc

We all expect other bikers on a bike trail, we don't all expect dogs.

I don't see the problem? You see the well trained dog is leaving his beer alone.

I love the internet. There's a picture to be found for every occasion
😆

I have zero problem with a well trained dog under control no matter where it is.

Anywhere? I assume you are not being literal. I can think of many places I never want to see a dog no matter how well trained it is. Sat on my head right now for example

Too many dog owners who assume everyone loves their dog as much they do.

I hate dogs licking me or jumping up 'only saying hello and being friendly'. I get particularly cross if they do it to my kids who naturally being little folk can get frightened or their clothes dirty from paw prints and slobber.

I'm sick to death of the dog mess on the public spaces round here too.

Given a chance I would see a law that ALL dogs in public places are on a lead.

There are a large minority of dog owners who are selfish and love their dogs so much they are blind to the reality that they can be a nuisance.

Rant over

I quite like dogs and I don't generally mind them jumping up at me, but I still agree with most of this. When a human jumps all over you "just being friendly" it's called molestation, is it not?