Who makes/ manufactures the Carrera Subway 8 ?

Keiron Curtis

I have had a year of misery commuting on my Subway 8, when it's on the road no problem, but it's been off the road too often. I have a Bikecare Plan with Halfords, so repairs have basically been done for free, but after I pick up the bike, there is always another problem. Everytime the backwheel is removed by their " mechanics ", I'm back the next day because the gears don't work, it is soul destroying. I want to write to the manufacturer to tell them the problems I'm having with the bike. So if anybody can point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful.

Cheers

nicklouse

it is Halfords own brand.

So send it to Halfords.

Jon8a

It will probably be manufactured by a company in Taiwan (it seems all bike frames are made there!).

They won't care about your letter though, if you have issues you should address it to Halfords as they sold the bike and did the work on it.

If you use the bike offroad then expect things to go wrong. Mud, water and lots of banging about is bound to have an adverse effect on finey tuned gears. I normally do a once over on my mountain bike after every ride when I clean it. Normally there will be a wheel to tweak, or screw to turn to adjust the gears.

I would suggest looking at the park tools repair section for guidance as tuning gears is very easy with instructions and they do slip occasionaly and need adjustment. Assuming the cable wasn't altered there are 4 things to alter for a rear mech. The shifter barrel adjuster, the mech barrel adjuster and the high and low screws. Normally one of the barrel adjusters will fix the problem.

alfablue

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Subway, it is a sound bike for the money. There could be the odd component failure, but they are standard, if low cost, components, and could happen on any similarly priced bike. No, the problem is most likely the fact that Halfords "mechanics" assemble or setup the bikes from the boxes and they are (sometimes, not always) clueless. There is no way they should return the bike to you without the gears working. It makes me laugh that Halfords do a Bikecare plan - a lot of them would have trouble caring for themselves! You might get better service taking it to the fishmongers. Sorry, that is overly harsh - there are some Halfords branches with truly excellent mechanics, but these are the minority.

Forget the bikecare plan, take it to a good Local Bike Shop, pay some money and get any component problems diagnosed (there may be none) and get the bike set up properly. It may cost you £50 but you probably will get a year or more use problem free once it is set up properly.

alfablue

Ah, Subway 8, its a hub geared bike, right? I imagine this is more taxing for the "mechanics" to set up. The frames are, I believe, made by Strongman in Taiwan, good, sound cheap far eastern frames (like most bikes), I gather they also supply frames to Edinburgh Cycle Co-op for their Revolution bikes.

The hub is Shimano, I believe. It could be faulty, but I expect it is lack of skill in tweaking it correctly.

But Jon8a is absolutely right, it is nothing to do with the manufacturers, your contract is with the seller, who should supply a bike fit for purpose. They should sort it, but if they are clueless to start with then it may be beyond them. An LBS should sort it all out for you, but it does annoy that the seller gets off the hook - what about trying a different Halfords branch first?

Ultimately, if you want to use strongarm tactics (and why not after a year of hassle), write them a recorded delivery letter (to head office) saying you are not satisfied with the bike or standard of Bikecare service, that you want a full refund, or that you will take the bike to a local bike shop to sort it, and will sue in the small claims court if necessary (very easy to do) to reclaim your costs from Halfords. That'll sort 'em! If they get that and have any sense, they'll put the company's best mechanic on the case.

Keiron Curtis

Thanyou very much for your quick, succinct ans helpful comments, I'd already emailed Halfords, last night, and had an autoreply back stating my concerns would be addressed within 7 days, but I think I'll add a recorded letter to the pot also. I'll try to let you all know of any progress I make.

Cheers

alfablue

Good luck Keiron, cycling shouldn't be like this! Keep us posted.

By the way, you could head your letter "notice prior to action" and give them 7 days from receipt to resolve the issue, or you take the small claims route (you can do it all online using her maj's court service Money Claim Online), though in all the times I have had to write such letters I have always got satisfaction so disappointingly have never used the court. Tell them all the costs you have incurred (including time off work, alternative transport, cost of letters, phone calls and anything else you can think of), and tell them these and the court fee will be added to your claim (which is for a full refund of bike and bikecare costs). Cite consumer legislation that you can find out about at Consumer Direct (they even have letter templates you can use).

il_principe

Forget Halfords. Take it into a decent bike shop and get them to tweak it for you. I agree with others on here, sounds like the mechanics are just a bit useless (big surprise given Halfords' rep)

SBothwell

The gears on a subway 8 are trivial to set up yourself - put it in the right gear and align the coloured marks. I would suggest learning how to do this, since they do need adjusted almost every time the rear wheel has been out. Im pretty sure Sheldonbrown.com will have the answer.

Yes, I would expect my gears to still work at least as well as they did before I put my bike into a shop. But honestly, save yourself some stress and hassle and do it yourself if they don't, it only takes 20 seconds.

What problems have you had with the bike? I have done 3500 miles on mine and only really had a problem with the hub gear, which is attributable to poor QC/design from Shimano (the design fault was addressed in newer versions of the hub), not Halfords.

cycledad2

Keiron Curtis wrote:

I have had a year of misery commuting on my Subway 8, when it's on the road no problem, but it's been off the road too often. I have a Bikecare Plan with Halfords, so repairs have basically been done for free, but after I pick up the bike, there is always another problem. Everytime the backwheel is removed by their " mechanics ", I'm back the next day because the gears don't work, it is soul destroying. I want to write to the manufacturer to tell them the problems I'm having with the bike. So if anybody can point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful.

Cheers

Nexus gears? Piece of piss to align yourslef. I'm the worlds most technically inept person, but even i can align them pefectly. As the man said align the coloured indicators and bobs yoru uncle. The design is sheer genius.

If thats not working it could be the cable sticking somewhere. The carrera hub geared bikes have a good track record as workhorses. I know a coupel of folks who have sworn by them ( i have a friend who rides a carrera nexus 4 speed (thats old) and it works just fine) I suspect its dodgy mechanics

Keiron Curtis

To you Alfablue for the extra info, also to you all Cycledad2, jashburnam and SBothwell, since these problems began I have checked up on the late Sheldon Brown's bike pages, and despite being a regularly failed DIYer, can now align the gears, but why should I ? I now have a beef with Halfords and the fact that their so-called Bikecare Plan is not only a waste of money, but also is costing me more money traipsing back and fall their store. Quite frankly I'm not going to let them get away with it. Sorry don't mean to take it out on you fellow cyclists, once again I thank you.

Cheers

il_principe

Keiron Curtis wrote:

To you Alfablue for the extra info, also to you all Cycledad2, jashburnam and SBothwell, since these problems began I have checked up on the late Sheldon Brown's bike pages, and despite being a regularly failed DIYer, can now align the gears, but why should I ? I now have a beef with Halfords and the fact that their so-called Bikecare Plan is not only a waste of money, but also is costing me more money traipsing back and fall their store. Quite frankly I'm not going to let them get away with it. Sorry don't mean to take it out on you fellow cyclists, once again I thank you.

Cheers

I'm afraid you get what you pay for with Halfrauds. Sounds a bit like the classic Dixons/Comet extended warranty scam to me. But good luck to ya fella, hope you get things sorted.

Keiron Curtis

SBothwell


Do you have a Subway 8 also, I've done over 3200 miles on mine, in the last 12 months, commuting despite all the problems I've had with Halfords. The entire back wheel, hubbed gears included, had to be replaced about 3 months in. I don't think there was a problem with the gears themselves, it was during the time I had 8 punctures in 10 days, all on the back wheel, with no sign of penetration through the tyre, yet the inner tubes were being pierced all over the place. I believe they replaced the wheel, because they couldn't figure what was the cause. The punctures stopped for awhile after that. Overall I have enjoyed the Subway 8, it has done the job I ask of it, it is Halfords that has let me down consistently. How have you fared with yours ?

Juju_uk_68

I all fairness and for the sake of balance, I got a c2w scheme Bianchi from Halford.

I asked for it to be delivered and built to one of their new Bikehut stores, Dorking, who do sell a range of fairly high end racers as well as cummuters and mountain bikes.

And its' been fine since day 1. Set up well. Brakes work well, no clicks buzzes rattles or hums, gears index as well as campag xenon is evr going to w ith a ham fisted rider.

However I have to say that having been into two Bikehut stores, the atmospere and interst from the sales staff was much higher than the Brighton store. Indeed, a friend who is more into cycling than me told me later that the Bikehut in Dorking does have a good rep.

Keiron Curtis

jashburnham
Nice stable of bikes you have there, I'm hoping to upgrade from the Subway 8, later this year, to improve my speed on the commute. I'm afraid I'm not much of a cycle buff, so you'll have to excuse me when I say I've nver heard or seen a Pearson bike before, but I'll be checking them out now on the internet.

Cheers

mattv

I work at Halfords, and until last week ran one of the most successful premium stores in the country. I would recommend you try another branch if you are having problems, as I KNOW that service varies greatly from store to store. Also, dont take the bike in on an evening if you can help it, as the way Halfords works there are often only part-timers in. Subway 8s are GREAT bikes, the hubs are very easy to set up. Set it in 4th gear, and then turn the cable adjuster until its aligning the yellow lines. Try a different store.

Keiron Curtis

Thanks for your comment mattv, I agree with you, staff at Halfords are being much maligned here, and it's not the general rule, it's the fact that their employer fails to give them the opportunity to do a good job.

SBothwell

Keiron Curtis wrote:

SBothwell


Do you have a Subway 8 also, I've done over 3200 miles on mine, in the last 12 months, commuting despite all the problems I've had with Halfords... How have you fared with yours ?

Sorry, only just noticed this.

The bike has been fine. Had a problem in first 3 months with the hub, caused by water ingress into the bearings, which I fixed myself (take apart, replace, regrease with proper grease) for about 10-15 quid. Unfortunately I think this problem actually wore down the hub shell before I noticed it, and it's almost impossible to adjust the hub so there is both no play and no binding. I'm going to rebuild the wheel with a new nexus8 hub (which now have better sealing in the place where mine leaked) - actually I'm planning on building a complete new wheel, hopefully lighter.

Still, got about 4000 miles out of the wheel, and I've replaced both mountain bike and road bike 'original' wheels at lower mileage than that before because the hubs have crapped out. Rest of the bike was fine, and did great for short commutes and shopping trips.

secretsam

Bin halfrauds, go to your LBS, and get Halfrauds to pay the bill

If they don't - small claims

Or get LBS to assess the bike and take Halfrauds to court

It scares me that these monkeys are allowed to look after decent bikes that decent folk have spent decent dosh on...