Carrera Bikes On Offer

[Elton]

Some here may recall that I lost a shed-load of weight a while back, partly through cycling, and now maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to stay that way.

 

My next step is to start cycling 'properly' My old bruiser of a mountain bike was fine for what I wanted, which was to get out, sweat a bit and get some fresh air in my lungs. Now, my desires have changed somewhat - I want to cycle more, I want to cycle further and I want to cycle further.

 

A couple of my friends are knowledgeable cyclists. One of them uses a bike that costs over £2,500, but my budget wasn't quite that large! The other is an ex-pro racer and builds bikes for a living, so he knows a bit

 

With my budget, he advised me to get a Carrera TDF. This is the one I just reserved - http://www.f1sh.es/Carrera - and I went for the option of the Shimano SPD-SL PDR 540 pedals.

 

They are usually £500 and if you read around the subject, they compare well against more expensive bikes, even at that price. With £170 off this weekend, I decided to take the plunge!

 

It's quite scary when you start looking at bike reviews - £500 doesn't even feature on the radar of many review websites. £1000 is considered a 'cheap' bike'

 

I'm really looking forward to getting out and about on it now and putting a few miles on it I've spoken to a few fitness trainers about what I want to achieve and they have all said that cycling is an excellent way of doing that and, as I enjoy it anyway, I figure I can't lose. Although I've managed to maintain an exercise regime, I find static exercising dull and uninspiring - this is more motivational.

 

Anyone else here into cycling?

[Elton]

Yay! Just rang Halfords and the bloke will have it ready for me today (a day early!)

[Steve Walker]

I've also heard that the Carreras are better than you would expect. I've also heard that getting your mate who builds bikes to look it over might not be a bad idea if the Halfords guys are setting it up for you

[Ken L]

I commute by bike and agree that they are hardly value for money.

Sadly, although I'm quite likely to need a new toy this summer, I'd shake a road bike to pieces on my routes so have to go down the hybrid route.

 

Just as a little point of interest, a basic brand new adults bike from Hero in India is now £25 and a Hero Honda (Honda are forced to operate in partnership with an Indian company) 110cc scooter is £630 on the road.

Certainly puts the UK price of a basic bicycle into context.

[snakey1]

I cycle to and from work 5 days a week (about 13miles a day) and then throw in a trip or two on the weekends (depending on weather) the longest of which I did last year was 85 miles (I hope to break the ton this year). I used to use a carrera vulcan mountain bike which I recently sold to buy a full suss bike. As far as I know carrera frames used to be made by merida but whether they still are I'm unsure.

[Elton]

Here she is:

 

 

Ended up speaking to a random stranger in the car park for 30-minutes after this photo was taken. A guy called Matt had parked next to me - fellow Land Rover enthusiast and, it turns out, an angler!

[Steve Walker]

How does it ride, Elton? Is it a lot lighter than your mountain bike?

[Elton]

How does it ride, Elton? Is it a lot lighter than your mountain bike?

 

It's a lot lighter than my old mountain bike, but as it peed it down with rain all weekend, I can't answer the other part of your question yet!

[Elton]

Test ride went without any hiccups!

 

Steve - definitely faster, but just like cars, the compromise is comfort. Flat bit of road = fine, but hit a bumpy bit and you get the full effect

 

I haven't cycled over winter and need to get my fitness back up to a decent level - one of my mates has suggested doing the Norwich 50 with him in May!

[Steve Walker]

"I were right about that saddle, though"

 

Youtube Video ->

 

Padded shorts or a gel seat!

 

We've been thinking about getting road bikes, but I think for now we will just put some more road orientated tyres on the mountain bikes - although we aren't exactly chucking them down mountains or mud-plugging, we do spend a lot more time on paths and tracks than on tarmac.