Halfords Virtuoso Road Bike

[eevvee]

Halfords are offering their Virtuoso Road Bike at £379.99 - a £170 price drop over normal selling price (if there is such a thing). A further 10% discount would make it £340.

is this a good price for the bike - around half the price of the also sold by Halfords Boardman Team Road bike Or put another way is the Boardman twice the bike the Virtuoso is?

I have a Boardman Hybrid Team and would like to give a road bike a try once we get into the spring months - at £340 the Virtuoso sounds appealing especially with a limited budget.

 

[Get In The Van]

Triban 3 is 40 notes cheaper even with the 10% discount added to the Halfords price, check out the masses of threads on here praising the bike.
I've not had a look at the new Boardmans up close, his range seem decent though and usually a better spec than most arounf the same price. all depends on your budget.

 

[cyberknight]

The virtuoso are a good entry level bike but the permanently "discounted" price is about what they are worth, i have ridden mine many thousands of miles and i still enjoy the ride and even use it on winter club runs and commuting.
If i was looking to spend £300 or so on a road bike then as always on CC i would recommend the triban 3 from decathlon which has similar equipment but has a carbon fork to absorb the road buzz.
Boardman have introduced an entry level road sport at £500 which has a better frame, same groupset and better wheels and looks to be very good bike for the money alhtough it has a cromoly fork it should not put you off to much as a good bike set up should not make that much difference

 

[fossala]

I'm going to be devils advocate here. I had the bike and used it to commute 20miles a day. It just didn't hold up. Chain stretched in 2 weeks, I constantly had problems with the bottom bracket creaking and coming loose and the headset became "gritty" all in the month I had it. Nearly forgot, the tires bulged on both of them, looked like they where going to explode. After all this I ended up getting my money back as I felt it was not fit for purpose. Halfords appologiesed and said all the problems where a one off. I can't see how this could be the case, how could I be the only person that had all them problems happen. Maybe unlucky to get them all, but don't think they are that uncommon to get one or 2.

 

[Sittingduck]

I'm going to be devils advocate here. I had the bike and used it to commute 20miles a day. It just didn't hold up. Chain stretched in 2 weeks, I constantly had problems with the bottom bracket creaking and coming loose and the headset became "gritty" all in the month I had it. Nearly forgot, the tires bulged on both of them, looked like they where going to explode. After all this I ended up getting my money back as I felt it was not fit for purpose. Halfords appologiesed and said all the problems where a one off. I can't see how this could be the case, how could I be the only person that had all them problems happen. Maybe unlucky to get them all, but don't think they are that uncommon to get one or 2.

Did you have Halfords build the bike for you?

 

[DCLane]

Like others I've had a Virtuoso - mine was older but still took everything I threw at it last winter.

This winter I've got a Raleigh Airlite 100 - which is probably worse than the Virtuoso (I won it, so can't complain).

Like others have suggested, if there's a Decathlon near you - have a look at the Triban 3. The Virtuoso's OK as an entry level bike, but the Triban 3's better since you get a carbon fork rather than the steel one on the Virtuoso.

 

[fossala]

Did you have Halfords build the bike for you?

Nope, my next door built it for me. I didn't know anything about bikes a year ago, but he did.

 

[Sittingduck]

Nope, my next door built it for me. I didn't know anything about bikes a year ago, but he did.

I see. Sounds a bit odd - would have half expected issues if Halfords did the build

FWIW - I would probably go for a Boardman, for a cpl of hundred quid extra. The Carerra is meant to be an ok bike but as others have said, only comes with a steel fork.

 

[Cycleops]

Nothing wrong with steel forks but the general concensus seems to favour the Triban 3 which looks better value.

 

[Sittingduck]

They are ok, yes but the additional weight is going to do the OP no favours. For less money, surely the Triban 3 is a no-brainer?!

 

[jowwy]

They are ok, yes but the additional weight is going to do the OP no favours. For less money, surely the Triban 3 is a no-brainer?!

Its only a no-brainer if you have a decathlon store close by tho. If not the carrera looks a gd bike.

 

[Norry1]

I have a Virtuoso which has been a good winter bike. Wheels could be better - and needed re-trueing a couple of times.

I'll be selling mine soon if you want an even cheaper steed (and if it fits)

 

[Hip Priest]

I've done somewhere in the region of 2500 miles on my Virtuoso, including an imperial century. My advice for those considering one would be as follows:

1) Wait 'til it drops to £300
2) Pay your LBS to set it up (unless you've got the skills to DIY)
3) Immediately upgrade the tyres (I used Continential Ultra Sport)

In time, you can upgrade other things. I've got a new headset, SPD-SL pedals and better bar tape.

If you do the above then it's a good bike for the money. I'm sure when I eventually upgrade to a £1k road bike then the Virt will feel like a tank by comparison, but I've loved almost every mile I've spent on it.

I've not ridden a Triban 3, but that too looks excellent value.

 

[paul04]

I've done around a 1000 miles on my Virtuoso bike, not had a problem with it. Only thing I have done to the bike is fit SPD-SL pedals

 

[eevvee]

Thank you to all who commented.

It seems that in the main Virtuoso riders are happy with their bike and some have ridden over a 1,000 miles - with some changes; pedals, tyres etc. Which does seem the norm for any bike purchase. a suggestion is to wait until the bike is on sale at £300 or less.

The Triban 3 has a large number of supporters and is competitively priced just below £300.

I am certainly a lot closer to Halfords stores - for my next purchase I would want to try for size rather than purchase through websites. I would say though before I bought the Boardman Hybrid Team (hardly used and bought throu gumtree) I visited different Halfords stores and tried a few bikes for size and different stores recommended different sizes - which for a beginner is very confusing.
If over the next couple of months Halfords have the Boardman Race Team on angood offer I might be tempted to go that way.