Is my bike a POS?

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StuartB

New Member
I have just been watching the watchdog filmof BSO and I specifically went to a local respected bike shop (Been around longer than I have been alive ie 30 plus years) to avoid crap that Halfords et all sell.

They sold me a Merida SUB40 "Sports utility bike". Now it weights an absolute tonne, steel frame etc. It's too late to take it back but my entire journey at present will only one long hill. Hmm, says me. Is there anything (short of borrowing the wifes Merida tourer) that I can do to make it more efficient. I am not saying the bike is not right, mearly that I have to put more effort in, to get the same amount of forward propulsion out or put simply a tourer may have been a better idea!

Cheers

Stu
 

Mark_Robson

Senior Member
I have two Carrera bikes and they are far from crap. :ohmy:
Now I'm going to have a little sulk. ;)
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
Change the tyres to slicks if it came with Knobblies. The resitance of a mountain bike tyre will slow you quite a lot so if you plan riding on the road new tyres as a good place to start. If you can lock the suspension forks do that to. The suspension will absorb some of the energy you are trying to put down.
Some of the bikes from Halfords are fine it is the mechanical expertise of some of the staff that has been called into question.
 

RedBike

New Member
Location
Beside the road
This one?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4258604843828669011#

Its a budget mountain bike. Even if you were to spend £3000 on a mountain bike it would still be crap on the roads. On the other side of the coin. Even if you were to spend £3000 on a road bike it would never be any good off-road. It all depends on what you want the bike for.

Slick tyres would be a cost effective upgrade (for road use) but if you want real performance on tarmac then I would avoid upgrading that bike and start saving for a proper road bike instead.
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
If you are staying on roads then probably a tourer may have been better, but there's nothing wrong with that bike.

I commuted for a good while on a bike with a slightly lower spec. What I did find was slick tyres and pumping tyres right up will make the most difference.

Found a spec sheet for one - [link]

If it's that one it's a 6061 Aluminium frame. The real weight is probably the fork.

Up side of commuting on a MTB is that you can have some fun with it at the weekend ;)
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Mark_Robson said:
I have two Carrera bikes and they are far from crap. ;)

+1 same here.

Bike for the job you need them for i say, for the few days i rode a carbon fork roady with a lower spoke count wheel i found it to lightly built for the commuting i do with panniers ,tools etc.

as some one has said until you can swap it, lock the front forks and get some slicks on it.
Then add panniers,gaurds,lights,airzound and a good 10-15 llbs of stuff to make it a real commuter (sorry could not resist:biggrin:)
 
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