First Road Bike

[Cachao]

Okay, I'm new to proper cycling, I justs did about 700 miles touring in the last couple of weeks (all broken up)and that's absolutely it. So, I'm looking to buy a racing bike to get into cycling,. (If anyone's wondering I did the touring on my dad's old Dawes Discovery 601)

So, my limit is about £110 ($170) and at the moment I'm looking at second hand Carrera Valour or Virtuoso but that fact they come from halford's sounds very dodgy to me so I'm quite cautious about it. "Racing bike for £110? Easy!" I hear you say, but here's the catch: I want one with those fancy gear changing brakes instead of levers on the frame.

Also, if anyone has any experience with the Carrera brand it would be great to hear from you.

Thanks

[CREPELLO]

So, my limit is about £110 ($170) and at the moment I'm looking at second hand Carrera Valour

Wow, a new racing bike for £110! Errr.... no can do, for that price! I notice that you quote dolllars, so I wonder where you are? Carrera?: well, that's the Halfords cheaper brand, so I shouldn't expect the most from it.

[CREPELLO]

So, my limit is about £110 ($170) and at the moment I'm looking at second hand Carrera Valour

Wow, a new racing bike for £110! Errr.... no can do, for that price! I notice that you quote dolllars, so I wonder where you are? Carrera?: well, that's the Halfords cheaper brand, so I shouldn't expect the most from it.

[glueman]

The cheapest 'fancy gear changing brakes' are Sora at £135 - bike not included.
I think you're looking at Plan B.

[Slidingpillar]

Second hand bikes in our local Scout group auctions can be a bargain. Everyone my way wants new!

[songsforpolarbears]

Second hand bikes in our local Scout group auctions can be a bargain. Everyone my way wants new!

Nice! I should look out for scout group auctions! Are the public welcome?

[al_yrpal]

I had a Carrera Kraken MTB. It was a great bike and tremendous value for money. I rode it hard off road for a year, and then toured the Outer Hebrides on it (with smooth tyres and the forks locked out).

I now have a Carrera Subway 2 commuter bike that I tour on. Its a great bike, and once again fantastic value for money. I did change the saddle, tyres, pedals and grips and added mudguards, but it was still a bargain.

Apparently Carrera frames are made in the same factory as other quality brands (Trek, Giant or somesuch?). You can look at the components to see what they are, they are no different to what is fitted to other more expensive quality brands.

The only possible black mark is that its from Halfords. This attracts withering comment from bike snobs, most of whom wouldn't know a quality bike component if it was dropped on them from a great height - because its the 'name' that matters to them more than the reality.

Halfords staff are sometimes not very capable, but this shouldn't matter if you are buying second hand.

I have no reason to think that their road bikes are any different.

A review: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... r-07-16709

Al

[Russell160]

I've had a Carrera Valour, picked it up for £34 on ebay, needed a new bottom bracket: £15. Great entry level road bike for £50 with Sti's: thats the brake lever/gear changer combined thingy. I think if you keep an eye on ebay or gumtree you could probably achieve your target. For quality it's easy to sneer at halfords but overall it was pretty reliable and robust and got me into proper cycling for llittle money. I'm just fettling it for my son to take to university on the grounds no one will want to nick it. If someone offered me a £100 I would consider myself flattered.
Also try bumblebeeauctions. police stolen property site.

[songsforpolarbears]

Thanks! I'm thinking of buying my first road bike too, but I don't want to spend much to begin with either. I've never used drop handlebars before.

[DavidT]

The comments regarding £110 being rather low are spot on. Sounds like a price for nothing more than a "bike shaped object", al least if new!

However, to be fair to Carrera - the Halfords own brand, I think they have a reputation for being reasonable value for money. Halfords do source from some good suppliers for their own brands. For example I think their locks are from Abus, and their roof racks from Thule. As for buying a bike from Halfords generally, well judging by previous discussions on here, that is a Postcode lottery. Some are good, some are bad - It depends on the mechanic the store have employed - Rather like any bike shop?

[willem jongman]

This is just not enough for anything decent. You will regret it. You do much better to buy secondhand and get a nice older high quality steel bike from the early eighties or so. Be careful about wheel size, however. In those days 27 inch wheels (i.e. 630 mm diameter) were still very common. Nowadays road bikes have 28 inch / 700 c/ 622 mm diameter wheels (and yes, 28 inch is smaller than 27). With luck, it will also have brakes with longer arms (57 mm drop rather than the modern 49mm) which will allow you to fit wider and more comfortable tyres. There are real bargains to be had.
Willem