Times Change, Tastes Change

[mpemburn]

The Brooks saddle says it all - !
But having said that, I've never been a fan of alu frames. Having owned one ( a Giant TCR ) and not liking the handling or performance, I've stuck to chromoly ever since. All bike designs / materials / components have their place with someone. Now my two 'principle' bikes both have British made Reynolds 531 frames with the youngest one being nearly thirty years old - !

I had a Brooks on my ~’75 Raleigh Super Course—my first “serious” bike.

I haven’t ridden steel in probably 35 years. That’s when I got married, moved to Baltimore, and stopped riding for a long time. I bought my aluminum-framed Cannondale MTB when somebody nabbed my Richard Sachs out of my basement in the mid ‘90s. I have no complaints about the ride, and I’ve used it both on and off road. I do dearly love my carbon framed bikes, though.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I haven’t got a clue whether my child hood bikes were Shimano, Campy, SRAM drivetrain or something else entirely. I’d just ride them and the only things I remember replacing were tyres.

 

[mpemburn]

Nice looking bike.

Here in the UK, Carrera don't have a particularly good name, because they are effectively Halfords own-brand (though better quality than Apollo, another own-brand of theirs).

But AIUI, in the rest of the world, they have a much better reputation. I'm not sure whether the Halfords ones are low-end ones only made for the UK market, or whether they are actually better than might be expected from them.

I did some Gooling around, and it looks like Halfords (a.k.a., “Hellfrauds”) is not the place to buy your bike! The complaints seem to centered on the components they use, though.

We have a dealer here (https://carrerabicycle.com/) located not far from where I live, though mine was purchased as used fame from a fellow in California via eBay. $900, and in pristine condition.

 

[mpemburn]

I haven’t got a clue whether my child hood bikes were Shimano, Campy, SRAM drivetrain or something else entirely. I’d just ride them and the only things I remember replacing were tyres.

A lot of the bikes from my early days had Simplex “Delrin” derailleurs. These were awful! Fragile plastic, and finicky to adust. Most of the bikes I worked on during my stint as a mechanic in the mid-70s featured these.

 

[mpemburn]

Found a picture of that Raleigh Super Course. I had the Emerald Green version. I loved that bike!
https://www.kurtkaminer.com/1975raleighcat_us_09_lg.jpg

 

[Alex321]

I did some Gooling around, and it looks like Halfords (a.k.a., “Hellfrauds”) is not the place to buy your bike! The complaints seem to centered on the components they use, though.

It does depend rather on both the particular brand/model of bike and on how good the staff happen to be in your local Halfords.

My previous bike was a Boardman hybrid bought from there, and apart from the fact that bottom brackets only seemed to last about 1500 miles, I really had no complaints with it, particularly for what it cost.

But you do have to remember, they are not primarily a cycle shop, they are a motoring shop which also sells bikes and components/accessories.

 

[Reynard]

I did some Gooling around, and it looks like Halfords (a.k.a., “Hellfrauds”) is not the place to buy your bike! The complaints seem to centered on the components they use, though.

We have a dealer here (https://carrerabicycle.com/) located not far from where I live, though mine was purchased as used fame from a fellow in California via eBay. $900, and in pristine condition.

The service in Halfords tends to be hit-and-miss, but two of my five bikes are from there - one bought new, one bought S/H from a fellow CycleChatter. Although being a somewhat undertall lady, I ride junior frames, and both my Wiggins bikes are solid mid-to-upper price range for such. They come in above the Carrera bikes in their range.

My other three bikes are steel, though admittedly two of them are in bits.

 

[DRM]

I'm pretty sure you are right. The font used in the name on the downtube is certainly different, and on the pages about Carrera on the Halfords site, there is no mention of Italian, though they do fudge the question of whether it is their own brand by saying it is sold exclusively through them in the UK.

Looking it up, it seems the Carrera bike brand in Italy was originally created for the race team, who were sponsored by Carrera Jeans.

The Italian Carrera bikes are not allowed to be sold in the UK, due to confusion with the Carrera brand name owned by Halfrauds as I understand it , the only thing they have in common is the name, Marco Pantani was in the Carrera Jeans team, here he is astride an Italian Carrera

 

[raleighnut]

My experience with Campy gear is limited to that of about 45 years ago. I’d never heard of Shimano back then. My first encounter with it was the cheap but serviceable groupset on my Cannondale MTB. It still works quite well, in fact.

Ah Campagnolo

you certainly know when it has changed gear............................kerchunk clang

 

[simongt]

Campag vs. Shimano. The GLWs Bianchi Sanremo can fully Campag equipped when she bought it in 2000. More recently, we saw a Bianchi with full Shimano. It seemed so wrong, but if Campag have lost the plot to Shimano - ?

 

[GuyBoden]

The Italian Carrera bikes are not allowed to be sold in the UK, due to confusion with the Carrera brand name owned by Halfrauds as I understand it , the only thing they have in common is the name, Marco Pantani was in the Carrera Jeans team, here he is astride an Italian Carrera
View attachment 623012

Yes, Carrera had a good pro cycling team in the late 1980's, which included Steven Roche. Nothing to do with Halfords.

 

[DRM]

Yes, Carrera had a good pro cycling team in the late 1980's, which included Steven Roche. Nothing to do with Halfords.
View attachment 623097

Those are really classy looking bikes

 

[simongt]

Pedestrians have always had priority at junctions.

Those are really classy looking bikes

Chromoly frames - nuff said - !

 

[derrick]

A lot of the bikes from my early days had Simplex “Delrin” derailleurs. These were awful! Fragile plastic, and finicky to adust. Most of the bikes I worked on during my stint as a mechanic in the mid-70s featured these. View attachment 622967

I remember having a bike with Benelux gears. https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/cyclo_benelux_super_60_derailleur_1st_style.html

 

[kayakerles]

A lot of the bikes from my early days had Simplex “Delrin” derailleurs. These were awful! Fragile plastic, and finicky to adust. Most of the bikes I worked on during my stint as a mechanic in the mid-70s featured these. View attachment 622967

MP, Getting my first 10-speed in NYC in the 60’s, my first bike was a Peugeot U08, with the red-labeled Simplex derailleur. It was a crappy component, but the bike overall, with chrome dipped forks and a Brooks saddle gave me so much riding joy back in the day. The Mafac brakes even managed to keep me alive down many a steep hill. Even the plastic and flimsy metal covered downtube shifters even functioned and never broke. Good times, good memories. Cost my dad $120US.