carrera virtuoso

[cyberknight]

Hi

Need some help. I am stuck between 3 bikes to choose from.
They Are
Claud-Butler-Criterium-2012 at £350
Triban 3 at £300
Carrera virtuoso race limited edition at £350

This is my first road bike! Do bout 6 miles as day

Triban 3 , best spec for the money as it has a carbon fork and the same groupset as the virtuoso.

 

[colin w]

nice looking bike i was looking at the carrera virtuoso and the triban 3 [btwin] and to the eye the carrera looks far more pleasing to the eye,but did see an artical putting decathlons btwin triban 3 way out in front or there other bikes that were more expensive [it was on page 58 of august edition of cycling active]

 

[colin w]

I have a Carrera Virtuoso that I purchased in April 2010 (the black and blue version). After around 3,000 miles, I need to replace the bottom bracket. With the right tools I've managed to remove the crank arms, lock ring and left (non-drive) cup, but the right (drive-side) cup won't budge. I'm just wondering whether I'm trying to turn it the wrong way. The left cup unscrews anticlockwise, and the bike maintenance book I have (Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance) suggests that the right cup should unscrew clockwise. Can anyone confirm whether this is the case or not?

(I should point out that, after many years of cycling and basic bike maintenance, this is the first time I've had to replace a bottom bracket, so please excuse the relative "newbie" question!)

hi mate yes its correct the right cup does screw to the clockwise position have fun please remember once you get bottom bracket out clean everything and re grease everything so next time its a lot easyer to remove and reinstall if ballbearings are pitted or in bad shape replace them also better keeping left side ball bearings apart from right hand ones and return them to the same side they came from dont worry about them falling out the grease will hold them in place,hope this helps mate...colin.

 

[Jamie_m_]

I've always taken the view that Halfords "sale" prices more accuratly represent the real price of their products so I happily handed over £350 last weekend. I added £50 worth of accessories to hit £400 and get an additional £40 discount giving me the whole package for £360.

There may be better bikes out there but I have a relatively fast bike for my daily commute that fits my needs/wants better than anything else I could find at Decathalon, CycleSurgery, Evans or a couple of independants within my budget.

 

[johnnyh]

I was asked about my Virtuoso as I commuted home on it yesterday, and came to the conclusion that for an all round bike and not the "Sunday Best" it was a good use of £250 when I bought it.
OK I replaced the saddle, seat post and bits as they wore out but then it has covered several thousand miles and never let me down.

If I trashed it I would certainly buy another for the winter/commuter duties it carries out, just a case of waiting for the "sale" or "offers" that Halfords use to make their products prices a little more in keeping with reality

 

[cyclinglegend]

terrible price im buying mine for 200 on ebay 2nd hand because its my first road bike so just getting the feel for it but its only got 20miles on the clock so thinkin its a good price am i right?