New Carrera road bike - bust already.

cyclinggirl

My dad jst bought a Carrera from Halfords a week ago, he was just testing it out again today and he did 6 miles, changed gear and the derailleur has smashed, he had to walk home.
I think it is terrible, is that just unlucky or what? I told him to take it back, will they have to fix it or will the offer him a new bike, anyone had any similar experiences with Halfords.

I just bought a mountain bike at the same time, hope mine lasts a bit longer.

Clever Pun

it'll be replaced, might take time though...

maybe with halfords they'll just give him a new bike and strip the parts?

No idea as as to the service as I don't shop there. I guess it's down to the assistant at the time, but I wouldn't bank on a wealth of bike knowledge.

redddraggon

My cheapo halfords road bike has lasted 8 months, just over 2000 miles, 1 bad collosion with a car, 1 less serious collosion with a car, numerous clipless falls, and numerous bodged DIY maintenance attempts. So they aren't bad bikes.

I guess your dad was just unlucky, perhaps the staff at halfords didn't put the bike together correctly - it happens often. They should just replace the broken parts.

Adamskii

Not bad bikes but not exactly renowned for their quality!

cyclinggirl

redddraggon wrote:

My cheapo halfords road bike has lasted 8 months, just over 2000 miles, 1 bad collosion with a car, 1 less serious collosion with a car, numerous clipless falls, and numerous bodged DIY maintenance attempts. So they aren't bad bikes.

I guess your dad was just unlucky, perhaps the staff at halfords didn't put the bike together correctly - it happens often. They should just replace the broken parts.

Yeh, don't think they are that bothered about it being right when it leaves the shop. Think I may have to take mine back for the gears adjusting as they are noisy when I ride and a couple aren't going in. They are supposed to have set it all up correctly, not great service bit that's probably because they are a big chain of shops.

Dad just got back from Halfords, gonna take them a week to fix it :roll: have to order the parts in, guy in the shop says he's never see one break like my dad's did.

robbie the roadie

cyclinggirl wrote:

guy in the shop says he's never see one break like my dad's did.

are people in halfords also part time plumbers

I've only ever bought a couple of emergency bits from halfords, ie brake pads, but even that involved lots of explaining and diagrammes! I don't think the bikes themselves are bad just the people who put them together.

I have no experience of a 'bikehut' halfords but i hope it's far better if they expect people to part with £1400 for the top of the range boardman one!

Anyway back to the point, they should fix that FOC and the fact it takes is week is very poor.

shockedsoshocked

It sound lucky they're repairing it. After the BB on my diamond back I bought from Halfords went after a couple of weeks I was told they couldn't repair it because it was "natural wear and tear". If thats the case the bike could have snapped in two and they probably would have said the same thin :?

redddraggon

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

After the BB on my diamond back I bought from Halfords went after a couple of weeks I was told they couldn't repair it because it was "natural wear and tear".

I hope you didn't accept that? I'd have taken it to the manager and higher. All the halfords bike frames have pretty decent warranties - I think it's two years for an Alu frame and 5 years for a steel frame - they shouldn't fail by natural wear and tear after two weeks.

cyclinggirl

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

It sound lucky they're repairing it. After the BB on my diamond back I bought from Halfords went after a couple of weeks I was told they couldn't repair it because it was "natural wear and tear". If thats the case the bike could have snapped in two and they probably would have said the same thin :?

That's ridiculous, wear and tear after 2 weeks, like Reddragon said, hope you didnt accept that.

giant_man

Sorry I know it's no compenation but cheap bikes are cheap for a reason. Good luck with Halfords btw, they're not bikes shops just car parts places that happen to sell bicycles.

You get what you pay for!

cyclinggirl

giant mancp wrote:

Sorry I know it's no compenation but cheap bikes are cheap for a reason. Good luck with Halfords btw, they're not bikes shops just car parts places that happen to sell bicycles.

You get what you pay for!

I don't think £400 is cheap. :roll:

redddraggon

cyclinggirl wrote:

I don't think £400 is cheap. :roll:

£400 wheels are cheap!

EDIT: Cycling girl - Is the Virtuoso your dad has got? Or is it a higher model?

bombdogs

Got a Carrera Valor 2006 model last May. Had to take it back to halfords 12 times before everything finally got sorted on it. It's still under warranty, so I just made a nusiance of myself every time until it got fixed.

When I picked it up the first time, everythign seemed fine, but after a couple of outings on it the brakehoods were too loose, the rear spokes kept loosings and the gears were all outta sync.

Took it back less than a week after buying it, told them what was up and it was sorted in about four days.

Here's where it gets interesting though. When I picked it up after it had been 'fixed', they had replaced the bog standards wheels with some areo wheelsets but the front tyre had a bulge in it.

Told the young lads about it and all he said was 'oh, it's alrigth to ride'. Told him he was having a laugh and to replace the tyre right away. He ended up pinching two new inner tubes trying to do it and ripped the tyre, so got a nwe set of inner tyres and two continetial gatorskin tyres outta the deal for my trouble - but onyl cos i demanded them for wasting my time.

Needless to say I was back in a few days, the inner tube had been piched by the same young lad, then a few weeks later the bearing cover near the hub on the front wheel kept coming loose.

Took it back and guess what the same young lad said? That's right 'oh, it's alright to ride'. Told him to get the bleedin manager. They had to order some new wheel sets and gave me a £100 shimano front wheel rim to replace the broken one in the meantime.

When back a week later to pick the new set up and the same young lad forgot to ask for my orginal wheels back, so I have got two sets of decent aero-shimano wheels outta the deal.

Since then though, I'd rather spend a few bob in my local bike shop that take it back into the clutches of those spanner monkeys again. Honestly, you cant get the staff these days.

Anyway....... it's a good bike. Mine has more than matches more expesive models of the lads in my club and it's a good, sturdy starter bike when it's put together properly. Think thats the lesson in all this - if you know someone who can put a bike together, buy them a bottle of whisky or something and get it done properly rather than by some idiot on mim wage who hasnt a clue.

Lets face it, we can all follow instructions in a booklet but very few can actually put something together reliably.

Don't forget to visit my blog for more rants and cycling tips only at http://www.bikenut.merseyblogs.co.uk

cyclinggirl

redddraggon wrote:

cyclinggirl wrote:

I don't think £400 is cheap. :roll:

£400 wheels are cheap!

EDIT: Cycling girl - Is the Virtuoso your dad has got? Or is it a higher model?

Think it's the Valour, was slghtly more expensive than the Virtuoso. I love the colour of the Virtuoso, very smart, my dad's is a silvery, grey colour.

grayo59

My halfords apollo "transition" (no snorting at the back!) cost £150 in June '05. In the first week it developed a snicking sound in the BB and it was fixed within an hour of me taking it back (prolly re-greased) but ok ever since.

I still use it as my general purpose bike and other than mixing oil with the crud on the chain I neglect it woefully. (Except the brakes and cables)

It has taken my 14st frame over 4000 miles in the last two and a half years and has needed no work on it at all except new brake blocks.

But I still bought a specialized allez from a LBS last week for dry road work only -(so that's 6 miles home from the shop so far as it hasn't stopped raining since!)

Ruari

Oh dear! Just bought a Carrera Subway 1 (good price and good review off this site) from Halfrauds as my commuter bike! Hopefully the bods do put it together properly, otherwise I will definitely be making my case heard!

meagain

"Not bad bikes but not exactly renowned for their quality!"

Not so sure about that - rather a case of get what you pay for! Certainly the re-badged Meridas from a few years ago were excellent vfm, especially at the top end.

The main problem is the staff. Most know nowt and care less. Just don't let them build it for you if ever buy one!

acorn_user

Sounds like it might have been an adjustment problem. Otherwise, the mech was doubtless a Shimano unit that everyone else uses, and if that fails, it's not exactly Halfords fault, although it is their duty to fix it.

OnTow

About 4 years ago, a guy in the office bought a hybrid from a City (London financial district) based cycle shop.
From his account, about 2 weeks after buying it, the derailleur came off the top, got tangled in the back wheel and mashed wheel and derailleur.
He had to walk the last couple of miles to work, carrying his bike.
To add insult to near-injury, the shop refused to replace the kit unless he paid for it!

neeb

With things like tyres that are on incorrectly or gears that are out of adjustment you're best off learning how to fix them yourself. It's quicker than taking the bike back and you're not required to put your trust in some muppet who doesn't know what they're doing. Of course you shouldn't have to do that with a brand new bike and you have a right to take it back to get fixed.

The gears are likely to go out of adjustment on a new bike quite quickly due to cable stretch and things settling in. Of course a genuinely decent bike shop would probably warn you about that in advance and tell you to bring it back for a tune up after a couple of weeks.

Nuggs

cyclinggirl wrote:

I don't think £400 is cheap. :roll:

You're right, £400 is a lot of money. But when you look at the range of machinery out there and the cost of higher-end top quality bikes - £400 is not a lot to spend on a bike.

Just like £5,000 is a lot of money, but not a lot to spend on a car.

IYSWIM?

Foz72

Regardless of whether 400 quid is cheap or not, it has to be fit for the purpose for which it was sold. A BB that packs up in two weeks is blatantly not.

Get back in there and start waving a copy of the Sale of Goods Act at them. If that doesn't work, take advice from your local trading standards and don't be too scared of the Small Claims process if that's what it comes to.

il_principe

Your Dad should demand his money back, then go to a decent bike shop, get some decent advice and spend his £400. I wouldn't touch Halfords with a sh1tty stick.

Nuggs

Foz72 wrote:

Regardless of whether 400 quid is cheap or not, it has to be fit for the purpose for which it was sold. A BB that packs up in two weeks is blatantly not.

I'd go down the 'satisfactory quality' argument under SoGA...

Bassjunkieuk

I had a BB failure on my MTB I got from Halfords. I was making a creaking noise and then one day there was an almighty crack and it became somewhat harder to pedal!

I phoned up my local Halfords (about 2 miles from my house) and they couldn't look at it as they where fully booked. The next nearest was same story. Eventually I got it booked into the Bromley branch. They had it for about 2 weeks at which point I was getting a little peeved at having to get a bus and tram to work, thus adding about 20-30 minutes to my commute (usually a 2.5 mile ride!)

After much pestering on the phone they agreed to replace the bike with a brand new one, so I got the same model, just from the current year.

My mum brought my second youngest daughters bike from there to and the brake (only has 1 front brake and stabilizers) doesn't seem to effective. It's for a 3 year old but it has mini V-Brakes with pads that seem far to large for the tiny wheels! Just glad she's not DH-ing yet :-)

giant_man

cyclinggirl wrote:

giant mancp wrote:

Sorry I know it's no compenation but cheap bikes are cheap for a reason. Good luck with Halfords btw, they're not bikes shops just car parts places that happen to sell bicycles.

You get what you pay for!

I don't think £400 is cheap. :roll:

Well in the world of bicycles, a complete bike for £400 is very reasonable if you think people on average spend roughly £750-£1000 on a bike. The lower a whole bike, the lower quality components used, and knowing Halfords reputation and quality of service, this is what you find.

Like I said before you get what you pay for.

OnTow

Yeah, I agree - forgot to add that it's not of merchantable quality / not fit for the purpose, if it fails in such a short time.
They're lucky it wasn't worse, otherwise it could have been a personal injury compenstation case at the court.

Whilst the cables will probably stretch over the initial 2 week period, the derailleur should not go out of adjustment, as those adjustment screws work independent of the cable tension. Cable stretch can usually be tuned-out using adjusters on the downtubes or brake levers of most bikes.

Might be worth just checking over the bolts too - I bought an MTB about 10 years ago, and the handlebars fell off! As it happened, I managed to stop in time, but my wife didn't, and she piled in to the back of me. I wished I'd just fallen off and broken something, such was the abuse!
The muppets at the shop had also managed to put the bottom head race on up-side down too, after the parts were moved over to a new frame - the old one having cracked soon after receiving it. Thankfully, they're no longer trading.

cyclinggirl

Well, it's happened again. The bike was fixed and the dodgy part replaced, now the exact same thing has happened again.
My dad was out on it yesterday, luckily wasn't going fast and that was it, the exact thing happened again, same problem.
He took it back to Halfords today and was told by the young lad behind the counter that the manager was'nt in and they would get in touch with him after they had looked into it.

Think my dad asked for his money back or a different bike but they just said they would look into it.
I mean what if he had fallen off and injured himself, it is so dangerous.

He doesn't really like making a fuss but I wouldn't have left the shop until I had got somewhere.

Should he demand his money back? Surely this bike must be very faulty if the same thing has happened twice.

Anonymous

Oh dear I'm getting abit worried hearing all these problems with carrera bikes.

I have a Carrera Vanquish, done about 1000 miles on it so far.

The front part where the forks go thought the thing up to the handle bars came loose, seems to be sorted now and the crank is failing on mine now (Its clicking and I feel it through the pedals), I went to my LBS and he told my Carrera dont exactly use high end parts. I'm hoping mine lasts more time, I mean its got 105 rear mech and tiagra gears and all that.

I was going to return my bike but halfords wont let me, apparently I have had it too long to have it returned now.

One thing that is wrong with my Carrera is the chain set at the front, if thats what the thing the chain goes round on is called, it is bent causing the chain to hit the derailleur allthough not as bad now adjusted the derailleur to compensate for the buckled chain set, think this happened when I crashed allthough I am sure I never fell on that side and it was not that bad.

Also when I went to halfords, first time was for loose spokes, got it back, nothing had changed...., also when I got it back second time, the back brake was stuck on and they never noticed and also the handle bars movement was FAR too stiff, apparently this could cause damage so got my dad to loosen it, certainly not going back to halfords unless they let me return my bike which is unlikely.

cyclinggirl what gears does the bike have? Are they sora?

meagain

"£400 wheels are cheap!"

No, 400 quid wheels are just some supplier having a laugh! At the punter's expense (sic) obviously.

CrookedCucumber

Wether 400 quid is a lot of money for a bike or not, if it does actually _work_ then you simply aren't getting what you paid for. At that price, you are absolutely entitled to expect it to be basically functional. It may not break any speed records, and it may not last ten years, but it shouldn't fall to bits.

In my view it's not at all appropriate to imply that a person who spends `only' 400 quid on a bike must expect it to be no good; as if only a fool would spend so little on a bike.

In any event, I would be insisting on a full refund from Halfords, with the threat of legal action if necessary. The quality of the products and the quality of the service at Halfords is extremely variable. Many people have been quite happy with their purchases, but many have not. Despite what the bike snobs say, you ought to be able to get a basically sound, useable bike from an independent bike shop for £400.