Help:Carrera Fury spec, Voodoo Bantu and mad guy at Halfords

Sabot

After reading posts on this forum I went yesterday with clear mind to local Halfords branch in Enfield, London to get Fury for me and Subway bike for my girfriend.
Sales man serving us told me that Voodoo Bantu is much better choice for same price, as he said, with Fury you get 500 quid bike, with Bantu, frame only cost 500 (triple butted?) and is madness to buy Fury having voodoo to choose (btw it has deore mechs). I've looked on this forum and google but can find any review on Bantu bike. Has anyone have heard of them? I started to believe that guy is mad, when it came to my gf bike, he've said that subway is only a road bike and is too fragile for cycling in parks, especially rims. That was strange to me as I know is a hybrid bike, pretty light so ideal for my gf. Having that in mind we spent another half an hour to look for something else and eventually choose Carrera Vulcan. Then guy comes again: this bike is for kids and my gf weighting 9 stones is too heavy for that, simply wheels will break due to lack of some eyes in rims, anywhere she can go is Kraken, or GT something for 260 I guess.

Another thing: Halfords website says Fury has SRAM X7 rear mech when the one on display had SX5 equip. Is halfords playing nasty games? X7 cost 50% more than SX5.

I've put on hold for a while but need to order them tomorrow eve to have it ready for weekend so every piece of info is greatly appreciated. BTW guy said he needs to gas forks and make sure it keeps pressure, thats why it needs few days to build. Is this right?

Thanks in advance and forgive me my English

Richiekona

The guys in Halfords don't really know their bikes. I would buy the Fury. Also the Subway will be able to take some light off road pumishment although it would not take jumps etc.

I usually but bikes from the web and set up myself, although I brought a bike for my son from halfords and they never did set it up correctly.

Richie

omegas

Try another Halfords in your area and you will get a different opinion, some of there stores have people that ride and know what they are talking about, some people working in the Bike Hut have never sat on a bike.

Problem with the Voodoo range is Halfords only start stocking them again a few weeks ago so you don’t get a mass of people talking about them.

The Boardman range has had a lot of good reviews that is sold in Halfords but again has only been on sale a few weeks.

I would go for the Carrera or GT as these makes have a proven history of good bikes for the money.

If your not a hands on person or can not repair most problems yourself I would recommend you purchase from a local bike shop as Halfords are hit and miss with after sales support.

Big n Daft

Well my Fury has X-7 front and rear mechs, if the one in the shop is different to the given spec, take a printout of the webpage in with you and negotiate...they are by law required to supply a product as advertised.

Gas the shocks? No idea what he's on about, there are air shocks, but you can set pressure in these in about 10 seconds flat using a shock pump.

The Subway is more than capable of doing everything you said in your post and of carrying 9.5 stone all day long.

He's having you over from the sounds of it, either that or he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about.

Looking at the spec of the Bantu they give the fork as a Suntour Epicon.

The Fury has a RS Tora 318, far superior imho + it's £50 cheaper from the off, get a kellogs voucher, its another £50 off.

I'd stay well clear of him, perhaps he's on commission for pushing the Voodoo?

Either go to another branch or pick someone else to talk to in that one.

supersonic

Avoid this guy, I wouldnt trust him to make me a sandwich let alone build me a bike. Do halfords read these threads? I hope they are beginning to understand why they are becoming a laughing stock.

Anyway, the bikes are good value, and the Fury uses a fully double butted frame, one of the best at this price.

russ0228

oh man you just mad me just about cry with laughter. it just goes to show what halfords will hire nowadays. i would go back down and tell the wee turd the best part of him ran down his mothers leg. he clearly has absolutely no clue what he is on about. ask him if he even rides a bike. the subway will be just fine btw

Big n Daft

I wonder if they do read them?

As for the bikes, they are both good purchases, ideal for what you want.

The Subway will cope with road, some light trail riding and towpaths, but i wouldnt recommend it for any serious xc.........thats about it.

I personally would go in there, sporting a large deerstalker hat, a huge well waxed handlebar moustache and a leather glove.

Go up to the fella, slap him across the face with the glove and say in a loud, strident voice:

"You sir, know as much about bicycles as fish know about quantum physics. Kindly pack said models for me and never sully my ears with your pathetic mewling again"

Then if he tries to talk about Voodoo this and that, simply use the Dr.Evil shhhhh trick on him.

(The above advice is meant in jest, if you get smacked in the mouth, i bear no responsibility)

Sabot

Thank you all for replies and making my mind clear again, will go for Fury and Subway. About the guy, he looks like last time he rode bike 20 years ago and just eat since then and claims himself a bike expert, have mentioned that he will prepare bikes for 2012 olympic team - saboteur? Have also said that Voodoo is a new brand aquired by Halfords, maybe they have internal orders to increase sales of this brand, dunno. Anyway, I rang other branch and their fury has listed X7 mechs on them so will go there, our guy might argue that the lower number the better, who knows.

As per Subway not taking jumps, my girlfriend can't cycle yet so no worries about that

pw2904

I have a 07 Fury, I've been riding since Feb this year with it and so far I have had no trouble at all, its great to ride and is more or less the same spec as my friends £900 Orange Evolution (think the brakes are different but aside from that its same spec)... I highly recommend it and don't think you can go far wrong with it. Its ideal for leisurely riding or if you want to turn up the heat a bit and go a bit more severe it copes perfectly well...

I did a search on the Bike radar site for Voodoo and it comes up with a Voodoo Bakka for £339.99. Its not the bike you were after but should shed some light on the brand and its history - if you're interested...

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... frame-9921

Stxsas

I will be getting a Fury 07 as currently you are able to save £50, but i think that offer finishes tomorrow. So if you are thinking get in there today and put a deposit down.

Gabber

would said getnelman in Enfield Halfords be somewhat over weight and middle aged? If so, I have dealings with him the past and he refused to sell me a Kona Fire Mountain cos he didn't think it was suitable for me - I tried to explain that it wasn't for me but was a present for my father in law and perfectly adequate for his needs. In the end i just ended up walking out and gettign it from Harlow halfords instead - where they were fully aware of this guy and his sales techniques - this was 3 years ago, so they obviously have no intentions of improving if he is still there!

Thinking about it, he is still there as I had the misfortune of crossing him earlier this year when I wanted a steel tyre lever, on asking if they had any he proceeded to try to sell me some plastic ones as "there is no need to use steel ones" - oh yeah? see how long they'd last trying to get steel bead Kenda Shorttrackers on to Bontrager Race Lite rims! Again gave up and resorted to bottle opener instead

hednesfordxcer

i wouldnt touch the fury with a barge pole, i have one, but problem is halfords so called after care service. plus if anything goes wrong with bike, they'll do anything to avoid refund or replacement. use your local bike shop, avoid halfords

dcp1975

Its all down to aftercare and if they are good at their jobs, not all Halfords stores are this bad, ive got a Carrera Fury with the £50 off and its fine, no problems whatsoever! I would take the Fury anyday with £50 off....its one of the best bikes in this price range plus you can take it back for a six week check up free of charge.....