CValkoinen
Member
Hi
I've been commuting to work for a good 5 years but recently had my bike stolen
Anyway, I was lucky enough to have it insured and they've paid out so time to choose a new bike. Until now I had been riding a Carrera Subway 2 from Halfords that had done many years (and about 6000 miles) good service. The same model still exists but the spec has changed a lot. The mechanical disc brakes have been replaced with hydraulics; it's now a 24 speed instead of the 16 on my old one (although I can't be sure on the ratios of the old one); and the tyres are very definitely a lot chunkier. Also it's about £80 more than what I paid 5 years ago - and currently going up in price in the lead up to Xmas.
Reading around the forum the Carrera Subway 2 is fairly good if you can get past the Halfords setup but here's a few questions that would help me choose. Can anyone compare the ride on the older and newer models? Also, is that upgrade to hydraulic disc brakes any good? Are they easier/harder to maintain and are they more effective in braking?
However, as good as the Carrera has been for me I don't want to rule out looking at other models and although I'm not a fan of the ride position of a drop bar road bike, I do fancy something a bit more at the sporty end of the hybrid range. I never do anything off-road and I like the idea of something that can get me around town a bit faster for less effort. One of the options that stands out is the Eastway FB4.0 - currently £50 less than Carrera Subway 2. Has anyone here had any experience with it? The only professional reviews I can find report that it's quite fast and built for reliability but they also cite very poor ride quality. Then again I'd rather hear from someone that's had it for a while instead of just riding it for an afternoon to write a review.
Here's a link to the bike: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/eastway-fb40-sora-2015/
Also does anyone else have experience/advice about sport hybrids/flat bar road bikes that they can share? Given that I have a load of accessories to buy and security to beef up I have to keep my budget limited to around the £350 mark but could stretch a bit more for something if it's fantastic value (that probably doesn't exist this close to Christmas though).
Finally a thank you for reading this far and any help you can offer.
I've been commuting to work for a good 5 years but recently had my bike stolen
Anyway, I was lucky enough to have it insured and they've paid out so time to choose a new bike. Until now I had been riding a Carrera Subway 2 from Halfords that had done many years (and about 6000 miles) good service. The same model still exists but the spec has changed a lot. The mechanical disc brakes have been replaced with hydraulics; it's now a 24 speed instead of the 16 on my old one (although I can't be sure on the ratios of the old one); and the tyres are very definitely a lot chunkier. Also it's about £80 more than what I paid 5 years ago - and currently going up in price in the lead up to Xmas.
Reading around the forum the Carrera Subway 2 is fairly good if you can get past the Halfords setup but here's a few questions that would help me choose. Can anyone compare the ride on the older and newer models? Also, is that upgrade to hydraulic disc brakes any good? Are they easier/harder to maintain and are they more effective in braking?
However, as good as the Carrera has been for me I don't want to rule out looking at other models and although I'm not a fan of the ride position of a drop bar road bike, I do fancy something a bit more at the sporty end of the hybrid range. I never do anything off-road and I like the idea of something that can get me around town a bit faster for less effort. One of the options that stands out is the Eastway FB4.0 - currently £50 less than Carrera Subway 2. Has anyone here had any experience with it? The only professional reviews I can find report that it's quite fast and built for reliability but they also cite very poor ride quality. Then again I'd rather hear from someone that's had it for a while instead of just riding it for an afternoon to write a review.
Here's a link to the bike: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/eastway-fb40-sora-2015/
Also does anyone else have experience/advice about sport hybrids/flat bar road bikes that they can share? Given that I have a load of accessories to buy and security to beef up I have to keep my budget limited to around the £350 mark but could stretch a bit more for something if it's fantastic value (that probably doesn't exist this close to Christmas though).
Finally a thank you for reading this far and any help you can offer.
