Carrera Zelos

[Stevec047]

I have a Carrera virtuoso it's around 4 years old and to be honest yes it's a weighty bike but it's more than capable of doing a fine job.

Maintenance wise it's like any other bike. Keep it clean look after the chain etc and it will be fine.

Over the past year I have upgraded (on a budget) a few bits such as new wheels, faster rolling tires, brake pads, cables and recently switched from an 11-28 to a 11-32 cassette, all of which has made the bike feel quicker and a lot smoother to ride.

The front forks are heavy but I have taken these off to clean them up before and the weight of the frame and components on there own is surprisingly light. Loose the heavy seat post and look to replace the stem and bars with lighter options plus the addition of a alloy fork and I reckon you could be looking at a reasonably light bike.

Even though the components are from the bottom end of the range with carefull maintenence I find they shift smoothly and quickly. Brakes well texktro duel pivots are ok bit the 105 set ups do offer a better feel and grab when pelting down a steep hill with a 90 deg left at the end!!

You get what you pay for and at the lower end of the budget I do truly belive that the carrea range of bikes are great value and perfect for newcomers to the cycling world.

 

[Cycleops]

You are right, budget bikes can be great value and upgrading key components can pay dividends. Unfortunately I have to say there is only so much gilding you can do to a turd. I'd always advocate spending a bit more in the first place, nobody ever regretted buying quality and as you say having good brakes is one thing you do not want to compromise on.

We haven't heard back from our friend, I wonder how his shouting match with Halfords went.

 

[Widge]

Hi I've got a carrera zelos personally its halfords sold me wrong size and its heavy not a smooth ride wish I'd never got it worst bike I've ever bought it about fast as a snail on steroids its rubbish and should b scrapped

I'm having trouble with this comment - sorry...........

I cannot understand why the OP didn't do the most basic research into what size might suit him best? Google is your friend. Halfords are in the business of selling bikes but not really experts on what you SHOULD be buying.....the internet knoe this and can help sort it out. Secondly...all the 'Carrera' bikes I've seen and inspected have not been 'bad' bikes FOR THE MONEY! At £250-£300 pounds they are pretty much par for the course. I got a better bike for the same money by using google-fu. Everyone can do this. Also-people can ask advice here BEFORE purchase if they yearn for a 2nd opinion. Carreras can be upgraded if there is something you don't like. That's what we 'budget' buyers accept and do. They are cheap-not perfect. Even the next rung down (Think 'Viking') can be turned into jolly spanky bikes with a bit of nounce. You can't blame Halfords for selling you a cheap bike at a cheap price?

I just get the feeling that the buyer/op hoped for something better without putting in the effort...but don't want to sound too harsh. There is nothing wrong with yer average Carreara in the greater scheme of things...but you could always have done better?



w

 

[DRM]

I too have a Carrera Zelos which I bought as a "suck it & see" excersise to see how I got on with road riding, now as this thing cost me £260 new, I was a little unsure what to do with it when I got my carbon Giant Defy, there are some bad points with the Carrera, which I decided to tackle, the saddle was awful, the stem was a little too long, the tyres were uncomfortable, so all these parts were over time swapped with decent quality parts, when on clearance at Chain Reaction & Wiggle, so it now has Michelin Lithion 2 25mm tyres, Selle Italia Nekkar saddle, Deda Elementi 90mm stem & seatpost, Cinelli cork gel bar tape, mudguards, a Lezyne saddle bag & mini pump,so now it's my winter bike, yes it's heavy, but these mods have made a cheap bike more useable & comfortable, the 14 speed tourney groupset is a bit clunky compared to the Tiagra on my Giant, but works well & changes gear when you want it to, financially it's probably not worth updating, but I have enjoyed the fact that it's something that I have built up, and will replace other parts with better as they wear out.
I also fitted some Wellgo clipless pedals (Look Keo compatible) to match my current setup on the Giant.