Who Actually Makes Carrera??

[sleuthey]

OK there are cons and pros about buying from Halfords but thats been discussed in the other threads!

So who actually makes Carrera and are they any good?

Looking on other forums there are mixed views.....

Halfords?? Carrera?? Strongman?? Meridia?? Raleigh??

The Subway has had a good review at Bikeradar.com but some say the Derraliers and Brakes fail every five minutes.

Anyone have any views on these bikes??

Thanks!

 

[vernon]

OK there are cons and pros about buying from Halfords but thats been discussed in the other threads!

So who actually makes Carrera and are they any good?

Looking on other forums there are mixed views.....

Halfords?? Carrera?? Strongman?? Meridia?? Raleigh??

The Subway has had a good review at Bikeradar.com but some say the Derraliers and Brakes fail every five minutes.

Anyone have any views on these bikes??

Thanks!

Meridia have made the bikes in the past. Not to sure about the present. The Carerra range seem to be popular with bike thieves as I have lost four to them: 2 x Krakens a Subway and one other whose name I can''t recall.

I dispute the fragility accusations about the bikes as they have withstood my sons' abuse and neglect. There were no mechanical breakdowns and the only maintainance was the replacement of brake pads as they wore out and the repair of punctures.

I have not seen any adverse reviews of the Carerra range in any of the cycling comics. The street/town, hybrid. MTB and road bikes have all received positive reviews.

Although Halfords get knocked for poor service etc, it hasn't been my experience when purchasing from two of the Leeds brances. It has to be rememeberde that poor service is more likely to be reported upon than satisfacory service and this is likely to distort the perception of the quality of service that actually exists.

I have no connectio with Halfords other than being a satisfied purchaser of several examples of the Carerra bike range

 

[col]

Iv had a carrera vulcan for a good few years now,the breaks are good,and the gears have been very good,considering they are bottom of the range,its also a surprisingly light bike,im very happy with mine,and i was also happy with halfords where i bought it.

 

[kyuss]

I had a Carrera Banshee (the early hardtail version) and it was a decent bike. The cheap RST suspension forks went a bit spongy after a while but I never had any major problems with it. In fact I can't remember even replacing the chain in the 7 years I had it. The frame broke last year though, most likely caused by a seatpost that was too short which put too much pressure on the seat tube/top tube weld. It is missed.

 

[John the Monkey]

Carrreras rigid framed town/city bikes (the subway range) get great reviews, and from what I've seen seem pretty good.

Where the whole thing becomes a bit of a lottery is in the Halfords end of the experience. Get the guy who knows about bikes, and actually cares about setting it up properly (and knows how to) and you're laughing. Get the lad who wishes he was selling alloys or car stereos downstairs, and your purchase (and post purchase) experience will be less happy.

For preference, I'd buy from a good local bike shop (LBS) instead. If that's not possible, you'll probably still be ok as long as you know enough about bikes to spot a poor set up and/or fix what they may get wrong.

 

[ianrauk]

I have had a Carrera subway 1 for hack bike for a couple of years now.
Nowt wrong with it, a very well made bike imvho.
Brakes and gears are fine.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

My twin daughters have an S1 each, I believe the frames are still made by Merida, the bikes are a year old, and apart from the usual shakedown niggles they have been fine, mind you they look after them.

 

[goo_mason]

I've no idea who makes them, but my Carrera Vulcan did two years of happy commuting with no problems other than the usual wear'n'tear (chain / chainrings / casette). It's sitting in the room beside me, awaiting the arrival of the harsher days of winter when the road bike will be given a well-deserved rest !

Still in great nick too; a brush'n'wipe-down and re-lube every week kept it in tip-top condition.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

my carrera virtuoso (as was) was fine out of the box, got lucky with a decent mechanic setting it up, who has moved on to a proper lbs. between the frame (on the summer bike) and the components (now on the winter bike), i've yet to replace anything other than consumables or for upgrade.

mine's a merida frame, but i believe that they no longer make the carrera bikes. if a carrera is a few years old and made of 6061 T6 (heat treated) alu, it will be a merida. the current range is all in 7005 alu.

 

[PoiSon]

The Carerra range seem to be popular with bike thieves as I have lost four to them: 2 x Krakens a Subway and one other whose name I can''t recall.

True that. My kraken '08 was stolen the other day when it was locked up with a pretty hefty lock. There were about 20 bikes there, half of which weren't locked up and they still went for mine...

From my experience they're really nice bikes to ride and fairly easy to maintain. However, seriously never let a Halford's mechanic touch your bike! I got mine out of the shop and within about 10 seconds took it back again. They'd managed to set up the gears so badly that when you tried to go to the third cog it threw the chain straight off. The seat also fell off 2 days later...

My kraken '08's wheel also got a fairly hefty dent in it recently and I don't remember having done anything to warrant that kind of damage to it.

Apart from that no real complaints with the bike. Paint job isn't anywhere near the quality I had on my previous saracen though and expect it to scratch easily. But for the savings I don't mind this and am looking at buying another one with the insurance money.

 

[stoatsngroats]

my carrera virtuoso was fine out of the box, if a carrera is a few years old and made of 6061 T6 (heat treated) alu, it will be a merida.

Mine too, fantastic bike, been a good few miles, no probs, I'd be more than happy to buy Carrera again...(No link with halfords/carrera - other than being an extremely happy user..

 

[ianrauk]

+1

Nothing wrong with the brakes or gears. It's a fine bike.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

Mine too, fantastic bike, been a good few miles, no probs, I'd be more than happy to buy Carrera again...(No link with halfords/carrera - other than being an extremely happy user..

i'm glad they're doing steel forks now, mine had alu ones which were not so good. a nice carbon fork sorted that.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

I cannot confirm this...But I'm confident that this was asked on the old C+ some time back and someone suggested that Carerra frames are made by Merida.

 

[colin w]

i have the carerra subway limited edition hybrid fantastic bike gears easy and smooth brakes great too can recomend there bikes infact also looking to buy the carrera virtuoso road bike .....col.