[Closed] Would you buy a Carrera?

Yup. In fact I did do. A Subway One.

I rode a Banshee the other night actually. Forks were a bit crap (Not looked after) but the bike itself was great.

I note that the description on their site says it's suitable for extreme trail riding. I only do Xtreme so it wouldn't work for me I'm afraid.

Probably buy the Tour bike for a beginner road user but £200 more gets a spesh allez etc.

They are cheap, they feel cheap but you pay cheap so its not a bad deal, just don't expect it to be top end.

In fact, it was that EXACT model I rode. You won't beat it for the money, not even close.

That does look rather good. 🙂

Or I could support my LBS and spend an extra £300 for a lower spec big brand bike

If you mean Giant/Spesh/Trek, your £300 would also get a suspension system that wasn't an out of date compromise 10 years ago, geometry that works, a warrenty worth more than just the paper it's writen on, and an actual resale value as an entire bike, rather than just the parts.

But you pay your money, you take your choice.

if it had porsche infront of it yea 🙂

Frankenstein, check the spec on that Banshee, go on, have a look.

Elixier R brakes, decent forks and shock, Mavic rims, branded finishing kit, X7 & X9 drivetrain, ex BB crankset, and it's a true 4-bar into the bargain.
The closest you'll get is a new Pitch Pro at £1600.

I've had a Carrera full suss. It was great. And the spec is way higher than equivalent brands. I Bought it second hand, rode it for years, sold it and its still going strong after some serious abuse.

Some people are snobby about the name on the frame. So what!

your £300 would also get a suspension system that wasn't an out of date compromise 10 years ago, geometry that works

Ohh, somebody's a bit sore!

I take it you've ridden one, off road?

Looks good but there are no geometry details. you will have to go in with a tape measure and an angle finder.

get a suspension system that wasn't an out of date compromise 10 years ago

What do you mean?

Big Brand? Like Apollo?
That Banshee is one ugly machine (imo, like)!

Did I see you going past Cams golf club yesterday Rich?

Looks good but there are no geometry details. you will have to go in with a tape measure and an angle finder.

From the quick I had, I can tell you it's not far off my Pitch. Probably a bit higher BB (No bad thing) and a bit shorter, but otherwise a remarkably similar bike.
I'd say it will be fairly close to Rich's last bike, a Coiler to be fair

Dez not me. I don't work in Gosport any-more. Thankfully 😉

TBH I would like to get a Trek EX5 which is a totally different bike. But the spec on the Banshee is swaying me. I am not concerned about the weight as its lighter than my old Coiler which I could haul up most hills 🙂

I retract the out of date suspension system remark. That Carrera is a proper FSR, and as such, it's probably OK.

I've spent some time off road on a Carrera something or another. It looked exactly like a Kona, if that helps. I'm not particularly sore, and I don't mean to be bitchy. I just happen to believe there are much better bikes out there.
High componentry value is [i]not[/i] the same as value for money, if the frame isn't up to the job.

In short, I'd personally rather ride a much lower spec bike that works better. I realise that's unsubstantiated and subjective, so I'm keep my opinions in check.

I did. in 1995. it were a gold/black numer, made by Saracen and equipped with Stx-rc. What a beauty, but it was stolen in 1996.

Fancy components hung on a piece of shit frame are still just fancy components hung on a piece of shit frame.

The Pitch is £1600 new because it's frame is not a piece of shit but actually rather good and as capable of handling the alps as bikes that cost two or even three times as much.

oops, was kind of expecting STW to automatically edit out the swear words!

Fancy components hung on a _________ frame are still just fancy components hung on a __________ frame.

Again, what do you know about the Carerra frame? What's it made out of? How does it ride?
Have you ridden a Pitch and a Banshee back to back? Because I have. (I was on my Pitch that ride) And like I said, it's remarkably similar in intent and feel.

And I'll also tell you that you're just another bike-snob!
🙂

I cant say I am surprised by the snobs coming out. I wouldn't be surprised if the Banshee was made in the same Taiwanese factory as Kona/Spesh frames are....

I like the Pitch, but I also like the Carrera.....

FIGHT!!!!!

I cant say I am surprised by the snobs coming out. I wouldn't be surprised if the Banshee was made in the same Taiwanese factory as Kona/Spesh frames are.

Your probably not far of the reality there.

Get a [url= http://www.barclaycardbreathe.co.uk/offers/1 ]barclaycard breathe[/url] and knock off 10%. ie £855

Rich, seriously, that Carerra is great for the money. The one I rode hadn't been looked after and the forks felt horrid (I'm not a fan of Zocchis, especially after taking Juan's apart the other day...) but apart from that it rode very nicely, and looked built to last and take a hammering. I couldn't tell looking at them, but I've got a suspicion it might even have cartridge bearing hubs too.

It's not light, but those tyres and rims are hefty as hell (321s are very heavy, but silly strong) and I guess the forks are too

Again, what do you know about the Carerra frame? What's it made out of? How does it ride?

it's steep, high bb, short top tube for it's size. it's flexy at the back, the pivots are crap and fall apart, it's heavy as sin and the paint is soft. it either blows through it's travel or doesn't move on small bumps

how do I know? because a mate got one for his son and it's been a disaster (his work did ctw through halfords so he made a great saving but 3 months on he's regretting having even looked at it)

The frame may be (slightly) heavier, and the paintwork may not be as good, but Halfords seem to have someone that understands that a frame with the right geometry and a stiff front end makes for a pretty good bike. Whack a good spec on top of that, no wonder the rest of the industry is moaning about them.

I wonder then, if the main MTB manufacturers couldn't rely so heavily on our brand snobbery, would they try a bit harder on value?

On the other hand, they can't spell "gnarliest" correctly, so I'd take my money elsewhere...try a Boardman!

I'd say go for it but like I_Ache says, check the geometry.

I bought one of [url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_253009_langId_-1_categoryId_165499 ]these[/url] for riding to and from work (budget or what! 😉 ), with the intention of fitting decent cranks and better forks. It was fine on the road (weighed a ton but that didn't bother me) but even with the stock 155mm cranks, taking the 'scenic route' home with that set-up was nigh on impossible as the bottom bracket height was super-low and I was getting pedal strikes every time the suspension bottomed out (to be fair though I realise that's not what a bike in that price range was designed for). It was a cracking little frame though despite the heavy steel rear end - maybe with longer forks it would've done the job. I'm sure they'll have done their homework on the more expensive models. The forks should be fine - if not then they'll be covered under warranty so Windwave will sort them out. I've had a couple of pairs of Marz 55s and they've been super-plush. The first pair I bought from USA so when the rebound damper stopped working (a common problem with 55Rs) it cost me £45 for a replacement as no warranty. The second pair I bought from Merlin UK and they were faultless.

Have a look at winstanleysbikes.co.uk though. They have some pretty good offers on older Konas at the mo'.

I'm not sure about the

Burly Marzocchie 55 ATA Suspension forks

Never heard of Marzocchie

Peter - I think you make excellent points and I whole heartedly agree with them in principle. I was merely saying that good components on a poor frame do not make the frame better. I obviously have no experience of riding the Career but my perception of them right now is that it's likely to be crap.

it's steep

66.5 degrees doesn't seem unduly steep? Anyway, BikeRadar liked it, FWIW:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/banshee-xxx-08-32168

4.5/5

on the subject of Carrera if anyone was looking for a hack bike for commuting / going to pub then these look ace value:

http://tinyurl.com/36h3qsv

£239 in 18 and 20" frames

Take money out of the equation: Would anyone [i]choose[/i] a Carrera over an identically specced Giant, Spesh, or Trek for exactly the same money?

No.

So, basically, all Carrera have going for them is a cheap purchase price. When I buy a bike (or camera/computer/washing machine/car/life partner/etc), I like to look a bit further than just the money.

Not to be confused with [url= http://www.carrera-podium.it/en/bicycles/forza-mtb/15 ]Carrera - proppa ones like[/url]

I obviously have no experience of riding the Career but my perception of them right now is that it's likely to be crap.

lollerskates

PeterPoddy - Member
Frankenstein, check the spec on that Banshee, go on, have a look.

Elixier R brakes, decent forks and shock, Mavic rims, branded finishing kit, X7 & X9 drivetrain, ex BB crankset, and it's a true 4-bar into the bargain.
The closest you'll get is a new Pitch Pro at £1600.

It is a good spec and if you don't mind some upgrades
to certain parts that fall apart, it will still be still
cheaper than £1600. I'd still get a pitch pro just for the
warranty and be able to sell it on easily and bike snob factor.
I personally wouldn't mind a mate buying one and would not
look down on the user or bike myself.

it's steep, high bb, short top tube for it's size.

it's flexy at the back,

the pivots are crap and fall apart,

it's heavy as sin

and the paint is soft.

it either blows through it's travel or doesn't move on small bumps

And remember, (Wild guess) teenagers aren't renoun for looking after their bikes either......

And MOST IMPORTANTLY remember it NOT AN XC BIKE!!!!!!! Lots of people bought Pitches than sold them when they realised they were heavy, lenghty old beasts and a handfull in tight singletrack and a bitch to get uphill

i've just got one of these, it's at home, so if you've got any questions, ask away.

its not that steep (not measured it) - the 17" frame is actually an 18" frame. it pedals well, and is a proper fsr frame.

the crappy one may have been a banshee x rather than a xxx - this has a monarch 3.1 shock so no reason why it'd blow its travel any more than any other similar frame, and enduros seem to do ok

eta : frame weight is 8.3lbs with shock and headset, the frame of mine is in the classifieds, and sold (I believe) - i got it on C2W as a doner bike for a hardtail

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5lab/sets/72157624556800140/

Take money out of the equation: Would anyone choose a Carrera over an identically specced Giant, Spesh, or Trek for exactly the same money?

No.

But that's a non-starter isn't it? The fact remain's it nearly half the price of it's nearest competitor!

And to be fair, in your ideal world, if it rode better, yes I would becasue I'm not a bike snob! 🙂

So, basically, all Carrera have going for them is a cheap purchase price. When I buy a bike (or camera/computer/washing machine/car/life partner/etc), I like to look a bit further than just the money.

No. They have a beter spec too. And lots of dealers. When I buy a bike, the first thing I look at is how much I have to spend, becasue I don't have money to chuck about anymore. I've already downgraded form a Yeti 575 to my Pitch. 🙂

joe@brookscycles - guess you sell them for a living? What long travel full suss fun for a grand then?

I bet if I walked into any of my lbs and asked them that question, they'd tell me it couldn't be done. The better ones might gently laugh, rather than sneer mind. One of them may even try and sell me something else, if they were in a good mood.

I don't get the whole "quality frame" thing. People like on-one have proven that you can make a decent frame for very little money.

All that's needed is decent geometry, decent tubing and a decent build. At worst, you might carry an extra half pound on the frame, but you can afford much better kit.

66.5 degrees doesn't seem unduly steep

Cheers. Pretty slack really then! 0.5 slacker than a Pitch in fact.

It felt a tad steeper to me, like I said, but maybe that was just because it's shorter it felt like that.

EDIT
**slaps forehead**

Pitch HA is quoted for the OE 140mm Pikes. I have 160mm Lyriks on mine. SO I was probably right about the HA comparison on the Banshee 🙂

Take money out of the equation: Would anyone choose a Carrera over an identically specced Giant, Spesh, or Trek for exactly the same money?

No.

So, basically, all Carrera have going for them is a cheap purchase price. When I buy a bike (or camera/computer/washing machine/car/life partner/etc), I like to look a bit further than just the money.

I think this is a very weak argument. The very point of all this is that Carrera appear to offer much more than just a cheap purchase price. They have good spec components on a reasonable frame. I bought my wife a Fury that was £350 or so. Whilst I fully acknowledge it is unlikely to be as good a frame as a Spesh, the equivalently spec'd Spesh was £200 - £300 more!

There are leaders and followers in this industry. Spesh, Giant et al spend millions in R & D and that is reflected in the price. The imitators - Carrera - will always be cheaper, but "cheaper" can still be "better value".

As for Halfords, their Boardman and Carrera bikes appear to offer pound-for-pound better value than a lot of the brands in the LBSs. The myth is that Halfords offer worse service, but there are plenty of posts on STW that testify to that not always being the case.

Not a Halfords love in - my bike came from an LBS and I could have got something just as good but cheaper - but I think there should be some balance to this argument.

Rode a Boardman Team carbon (CTW test ride) and yes it has a nice spec but it did ride nice. Wonder if they'll bring it down in price for £999.
I'd rather support my LBS but there is no product I have seen with a similar spec (Excl planetX) if there was I would be down the LBS in a flash.

PS and I have no "LBS" in walking/cycling distance but there is a Halfords in town

Rode a Boardman Team carbon (CTW test ride) and yes it has a nice spec but it did ride nice. Wonder if they'll bring it down in price for £999.
I'd rather support my LBS but there is no product I have seen with a similar spec (Excl planetX) if there was I would be down the LBS in a flash.

my local halfords told me they could still do the boardman carbon for £999 on C2W if you'd seen it before the price rise put it at £1200

HTH

Erm.... crap frames? They're made by Merida. In the same factories where they make Specialzed. So the specialized are a better built frame.... why exactly?

Better alternatives for roughly the same money???

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b62s1p2444

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b7s1p1953

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b4s1p2265

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b2s1p1504

etc

If the price is right and it has the spec you want then why not?

Paulscycles has gone bust apparently...

Contrary to the 'bike snobs', are there also 'bike anti-snobs', for want of a better phase?

People who deliberately buy unfashionable or low-end kit, just for 'I'm a real rider, not a bike snob' brownie points?

BTW, I ride Yetis, and i'm ****ing proud of that fact.

TheBunk: You come ask me for long travel at £1k, I'd put you on a used Trek Remedy 7, at £700...

are there also 'bike anti-snobs',

I ride bikes and have fun doing so 😉

joe@brookscycles you selling a Remedy at £700???

Paulscycles has gone bust apparently...

Seriously?

I rung them and that's what the guy on the phone said. I have also emailed them...

soma_rich:
Paulscycles has gone bust apparently...

Start up the rumour mill.....website seems all there with no message. Bit naughty if they have gone pop.

Try ringing the number on the website!

I rung them and that's what the guy on the phone said. I have also emailed them...

Hmmm. Liquidation sale hopefully!

Soma_Rich, I don't really want to do trade stuff on a public forum, it's a bit unfair. But in short, yes, we have a used Remedy (large).

Email me on brookscycles@live.co.uk if you're interested.

I couldnt justify keeping the 'goose Teocali after i bought the Patriot frame and On One frames and built them up, but i missed riding a 5 ish inch travel full bouncer, so i bought a proper dog of a frame and built it up with good spares, XT mechs / shifters, Raceface cranks, raceface stem / bars, pace forks etc.
Its a diamond back S10. Ferkin love it!
On Darts here
[img] [/img]

Yes.

My Dad got a Carrera XC Titan and he reckons it's brilliant.

The Carrera brand not longer puts me or him of getting another.

Recommended.

This:

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/19987/Kona_Stinky_Six_Bike_2009

Most of the Carreras are made by the 'Kind Bicycle Corp.', who make Kona, Saracen (!) and a raft of other brands frames. Merida and Halfords had a falling out when merida decided to import direct into the UK, in fact the guy who was the head honcho of Merida UK when it was set up was an ex Halfords head office bloke.

In my experience (including 7 years in Halfords management from'01, mostly in Bikehuts) Carrera bikes offer excellent value as an overall package. The frame won't be the best for the price, the spec won't be either but you'll struggle to match them for value. Remember, Halfords are buying for their whole bike catalogue, there buying power in the far east is pretty big, their margins are a bit healthier than some especially when you take into consideration the lack of middle men.

My wife refuses to be 'upgraded' away from her Carrera branded wsd Merida LRS, she loves it to bits and after 6 years of regular use including Apline trips, it is still on all it's origional bearings and working perfectly.

So what you guys posting the on-sale bikes are saying is that you would have to get ~1/3 discount on other brands bikes before they are competitive with the Carrera?

Basically.. Yeah.

The Wife had a Carrera Kraken HT before i built her the On One, and the thing was simply awesome around trail centres, on a par with my hand built very expensive Merlin i had at the time....
All mid level components on the Kraken, x5 groupset suntour forks, wtb wheels with conti gravity 2.3's etc but it all just came together beautifully.

Some of the comments in this thread are priceless I know magazine reviews aren't the be-all and end-all but Carrera (and Boardman) consistently test out at the top of their particular trees. There's a standard mindset that goes "inexpensive bikes with great parts MUST have a rubbish frame", it happens with everything. Teocali frames must be rubbish, Boardman frames must be rubbish... Not because there's any reason to think it's true, but just because it's the only part that remains open to criticism.

Would I buy one? Yes I did, twice, once in 1991 and once in 2008 😉 And in a way I owe everything mountain biking's given me to those 2 supermarket bikes. My Kraken was basic but superb value, perfectly capable of most black routes, and when I replaced the frame with a Scandal I was pretty disappointed to find that there was very little difference despite replacing my "rubbish" frame with a quality named one.

That Stinky is going to weigh around 40lb though probably!

I'd consider a Carrera if funds were tight. Some people can't afford to be snobbish. Would probably go secondhand instead though.

Had my Fury about 5 years now. Done thousands of miles, weekend epics and commute off road daily. Upgraded most things over the years but the frame is still solid. Geometry may not be to your taste of course but to imply the frames are badly made is misleading.

Overall quite heavy but they are a certain price point. You will struggle to get the level of components for the money elsewhere, I did months of research. You'll quickly notice where they save money, poor bottom bracket, cranks etc but shifter / mechs x7 / x9 and uturn 302 forks.

Did someone mention out of date suspension systems? Should I ditch my Orange?

I've got a Carrera Vengeance. It has a pretty bog standard hardtail frame. The parts on it are not super fancy, but for £300, it works, and will ride down stuff without breaking.

So what you guys posting the on-sale bikes are saying is that you would have to get ~1/3 discount on other brands bikes before they are competitive with the Carrera?

At the point I bought it for £300, the 2nd hand bikes that were on here for £300 were things with a much lower component spec, and very similar frames (and mostly quite a bit heavier, despite the 2.3" tyres and chunky rims on the carrera). I originally intended to buy 2nd hand, just because I prefer to go 2nd hand generally, but I wasn't willing to pay extra to get a 2nd hand bike with a lower spec. I think looking at the name brands, you'd be talking almost 50% off before they start to get similar.

The downside of the carrera is that you do have to check all the bolts, set up the gears etc. yourself as they are put together by monkeys, but I think that is probably worth doing for a saving of hundreds of pounds.

Joe

Isn't the Banshee the one where the tyre hits the seatube when it bottoms out?

Anyway, expensive bits, low price= cheap frame. Less R&D, bought out of a taiwanese catalogue, cheaper bearings, substandard back-up. I refuse to believe that frame is a genuine quality article.

MBR chose the Giant Trance X5 over a Halfords bike. It's a great bike with a quality frame and some lower specced bits.

What a lot of nonsense. I got a Fury new for under £500 and it's been great. Rides nicely, frame not heavy[i] for the price[/i] and spec. much better than anything else for the money. I'm planning on selling and replacing with something nicer now that I've got into the whole off road riding thing, but the replacement will cost more than [i]twice as much[/i]. If I needed another bike at that price I'd get another without hesitation. If it does what you want and the price is right I would not let the brand put you off - they seem as good as anything else out there at the same price point...

As pointed out, the Carrera is probably made in the same factory as other fancier brands, so |I'd doubt there is any perceivable difference in quality. Put a 'better' brand name on that frame, and someone would probably rave about it and say it was much better than X etc. Truth is, people will pay a premium for a recognised leading brand, as they do with food and all sorts of other products, because they are fooled by slick marketing into believing that the more expensive brand is better. If you travelled to several different countries where mtbing is popular, you will find that same Banshee frame with different colours/decals and different brands. Halfords merely select parts from bike manufacturers' catalogues, as do many other companies. The 'R+D' guff is often just bullshit. The factories will make subtle changes from one model year to the next, to keep stimulating demand. Ideas are plagiarised from a few smaller innovative manufacturers, but large scale manufacturers will have their own designers testing new stuff too, and keeping an eye on the latest trends. Bikes aren't cutting-edge technology, they are relatively simple machines. The 'difference' is all in your mind.

As someone once said, 'Don't believe the hype'.

I think the carrera banshee is a revolting bike and if you buy it after about 3 months it will be worth 20 maybe 30 quid.

I would buy a frame that suits you and chuck anything you can find on it then upgrade when you can.

That said I didn't even bother reading most of the thread because I don't give a sh1t 😆

ridefree!

Lots of products in the world and lots of bikes in the world come from the same factories.

This is how mass production and capitalism works fundamentally.

These factories can produce various levels of quality from the same production lines based on what the price has to be to the buyer.

Same factory does not equal same quality.

Cheapo bikes usually means you have to upgrade everything including eventually the frame.

Buy a good used frame and upgrade when you can

isnt it a kona frame .

I was under the impression they were cheaper because they used big brands old frames, therefore spending nothing on development, which is where the saving is made - not by skimping on quality?

Wasn't it the carrera dh team that used a rebranded intense a few years ago?

benji_allen - Member

"I was under the impression they were cheaper because they used big brands old frames, therefore spending nothing on development, which is where the saving is made - not by skimping on quality?"

Nah... They do take "inspiration" but the modern Carreras are all standalone designs. No need to look around, they're cheaper because they have good economies of scale, strong and longterm relationships with suppliers, and their own, enormous distribution and retail chain. Basically every cost is reduced at some point. Same reason apples are cheap in Tesco.

Didn't pretty much every DH team use restickered Intenses at some point