carrera tdf??

[carrera25]

was looking for some opinions on the Carrera tdf road bike! I have been pondering over the move from mountain bike to a road bike for quite a while now and have been offered one of these in almost off the shelf condition for only £150 which is really cheap in comparison to other people selling their tdf bikes!!!

have did some reading up and only really concerned if the gears are any good as I do a lot of uphill on my daily commute. but any other advice would be appreciated!!! cheers

 

[vickster]

What gearing does it have?

If the price looks really good, make sure you confirm the provenance of the bike (ask to see a receipt)

 

[carrera25]

em it's the standard set u get with the bike......16 speed shimano with RD-2300 rear mech

 

[the snail]

tdf is a decent cheap bike, but the gearing is a bit high - they come with a standard double rather than a compact double which gives lower gears more like a triple. If you are moving from a MTB and riding hilly routes, I think you will find the gearing too high. Your options would be to fit a larger cassette, or a compact chainset.

 

[carrera25]

do you mean that i'll struggle to get uphill as the gears won't go low enough to like im used to on a MTB? I only stay on the top set of gears at all times on my MTB (21-29) and have no problems on the commute??
and fitting new components to the bike to make it work is something I really don't want to do!! this is a tester road bike to see if I want to make the step over to road bikes.....would like to buy a sepcialized but donlt want to fork out and realise it aint for me!

 

[vickster]

The wrong bike may well have the opposite effect though and put you off road bikes for no good reason other than you bought the wrong road bike

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

Can't go wrong for £150. I have one which I use for my winter trainer; a touch heavy for a road bike and, yes, the gearing is too high (on hills that I climb in the top ring on my summer bike, I'm sometimes in the lowest gear on the Carrera.)

Brakes work fine, shifter's ditto and once up to speed on the flat it seems to cruise along quite nicely.

Biggest plus I would say is it's fairly relaxed geometry and ease of handling; it's comfortable, stable and easy to control. Ideal for your purpose I should have thought.

 

[biggs682]

@carrera25 at £150 its worth a punt , ask seller if you could have a test ride that took in your normal commute

 

[IncoherentJeff]

If it's in like new condition as you say & it's your size I'd go for it. According to Strava my bothers ridden 3,983 miles on his now & it was thanks to his review of it I chose to buy a Carrera Virtuoso (similar).
Here's the BikeRadar review... http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-carrera-tdf-ltd-road-bike-11-44902/

 

[carrera25]

@carrera25 at £150 its worth a punt , ask seller if you could have a test ride that took in your normal commute

will be having a little test ride when I go to view and giving it the once over...but from what I can tell it's been ridden like twice and the guy just wants rid of it!!

 

[cyberknight]

As said at £150 assuming it fits and is in good nick its worth a punt, stick a wider range cassette if need be then your good to go.

 

[carrera25]

Can't go wrong for £150. I have one which I use for my winter trainer; a touch heavy for a road bike and, yes, the gearing is too high (on hills that I climb in the top ring on my summer bike, I'm sometimes in the lowest gear on the Carrera.)

Brakes work fine, shifter's ditto and once up to speed on the flat it seems to cruise along quite nicely.

Biggest plus I would say is it's fairly relaxed geometry and ease of handling; it's comfortable, stable and easy to control. Ideal for your purpose I should have thought.

yeah this bike is goin to be a 'getting used to road bikes' bike and see how it fits.......and for £150 I can sell it on pretty quick if it aint for me!! hearing mre good than bad for this bike which is encouraging!!!

 

[carrera25]

What gearing does it have?

If the price looks really good, make sure you confirm the provenance of the bike (ask to see a receipt)

yeah got the receipt and still under the 6 months warranty so looks legitimate

 

[carrera25]

If it's in like new condition as you say & it's your size I'd go for it. According to Strava my bothers ridden 3,983 miles on his now & it was thanks to his review of it I chose to buy a Carrera Virtuoso (similar).
Here's the BikeRadar review... http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-carrera-tdf-ltd-road-bike-11-44902/

hey that's just one of many reviews I read today....but always better to have a talk to you guys and get some hands on feedback!! still more good than bad from what I can see so pretty happy....goin to pick it up at 8pm!! can't wait to see it

 

[Kies]

My neighbour had one - he went from a beginner to someone that could drop me within a year. All on his tdf. Good no nonsense bikes for testing the waters