Upgrade advice needed for carrera subway 2

[david davies]

I have a Carrera subway 2 bike and its all original spec. I have read that the tyres are the best cheap part to upgrade to get more grip or less drag etc. The problem is the tires on the bike now are size 26 x 1.6. I cannot find tires with this sizing hardly anywhere in the UK. I cannot even find the original Innova 26 x 1.6 that are on there now. Two I found with that size are ( Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 26 X 1.60 Folding Tyre ) and ( Continental Sport Contact 26 x 1.6" )
Would either of these be a decent upgrade or are there others out there ?

 

[Manonabike]

I have a Carrera Subway 2 too and I have made lots of upgrades. I still got the tyres but I use them only in the summer months. In the winder I use some 26 x 2.0 with plenty of grip.

Upgrades are:
Saddle for a Brooks Flyer.
Stem - probably the best upgrade I made so far.
Wheels - got two good hand made Mavic wheels.
Crankset - upgraded the crankset as the old one broke.
Pedals - for SPD Shimano pedals - old pedals were poor.

Very happy with the bike now. Fine for what I need.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

There are plenty of tyres that would do the job. Try searching for 26x1.5 or 26x1.75 which are more common sizes. You have a reasonable amount of flexibility with bike tyres and the new ones you pick do not have to be exactly the same width as long as they are for the correct wheel diameter.

Personally I'm running 26x1.75 Conti TourRides on my converted rigid mountain bike, which I like a lot but there is plenty of choice out there.

Schwalbe and Continental both do very good tyres so I'd be happy to recommend either of those.

 

[david davies]

Thank guys, I had no idea that the width could be 1.5, 1.75 or 2 also.
What stem did you put on it Manonabike ? I was thinking of that upgrade at some point also.

 

[Manonabike]

Thank guys, I had no idea that the width could be 1.5, 1.75 or 2 also.
What stem did you put on it Manonabike ? I was thinking of that upgrade at some point also.

I put one of these. The clamp size is 25.4mm. The old stem is the worst I've seen.

This is how mine looks now.....

 

[david davies]

I put one of these. The clamp size is 25.4mm. The old stem is the worst I've seen.

This is how mine looks now.....

Thanks for the pic, looks good with the bull bars too. I will have to get me a set of them as well because I am in Wales countryside and there are proper killer hill climbs here. Do you know what model they are please ?

 

[Manonabike]

Thanks for the pic, looks good with the bull bars too. I will have to get me a set of them as well because I am in Wales countryside and there are proper killer hill climbs here. Do you know what model they are please ?

They are only bar ends but they do the job very well.

 

[danoffroad]

I have a Carrera Subway 2 too and I have made lots of upgrades. I still got the tyres but I use them only in the summer months. In the winder I use some 26 x 2.0 with plenty of grip.

Upgrades are:
Saddle for a Brooks Flyer.
Stem - probably the best upgrade I made so far.
Wheels - got two good hand made Mavic wheels.
Crankset - upgraded the crankset as the old one broke.
Pedals - for SPD Shimano pedals - old pedals were poor.

Very happy with the bike now. Fine for what I need.

You couldn't help me with this issue manonabike could you please ?
The seat on my Carrera Subway 2 became all lose and now it won't sit tight in the seats hole. I've enclosed some photos for guidance. There's a washer at the bottom of the hole and the metal thing in the hole that moves up and down that I can't get out, where the stem fits in.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Mod Note:
@danoffroad welcome to CC!
Please note you are responding to an old thread from 2012.
Manonabike hasn't logged in since 2015.

 

[danoffroad]

Mod Note:
@danoffroad welcome to CC!
Please note you are responding to an old thread from 2012.
Manonabike hasn't logged in since 2015.

Oh lol

 

[danoffroad]

Oh lol

Can you help then ?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Can you help then ?

I can't, I'm a forum mod, not a mechanic lol.
But I will move your post to the mechanics section, where it will gain more views.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@danoffroad here is your new thread in the mechanics section.

 

[alicat]

And the OP hasn't been seen since the day they started that thread 11.5 years ago....

 

[danoffroad]

I can't, I'm a forum mod, not a mechanic lol.
But I will move your post to the mechanics section, where it will gain more views.

Oh thanks alot