Is the carrera vaquish any good ????

cookiemonsta

I work for royal mail and have just joined the cycle to work sceme , the only draw back is i got my bike from halfords !!!!!!! The bike itself was a boardman comp 09 hybrid .. I thought what a good bike , i have had it 1 month tomorrow and it has already been back 3 times , yes 3 bloody times ... I took it back yesterday and told them they can stick it up their arse coz i dont want it back ... The manager says as i bought it through a sceme all he can do is either replace the bike or change it .. I oppted for the change and have chosen the carrera vanquish .. Is this a good choice ?? I might let them put it together then take it to a PROFFESIONAL bike shop to give it a once over ....
But believe me as soon as im out of the sceme i will be buying a bike from a Pro shop not a i havnt got a bloody clue halfords ......
Lastly i have been riding for 15 odd years on a mountain bike .. this is my 1st real bike [/b]

sicknote

From what I have seen on here its a good bike but cant you get the Boardman comp road bike instead?
Which has also had real good reviews.

Stuartyboy

CM,

While i cant opt for the Vanquish in terms of advice i whole heartedly agree and can relate with your experiences at Halfords (BikeHut). I mistakenly purchased A Carrera Subway for the missus there and it was back in the shop 3 times in a month. Like you i took it back and fortunately for me i recieved a full refund. Halfords where understanding though to their credit. I wont be buying for the Bikehut again.

ive bought Giant all my life, they are superb. (personal preference though)

I would second the once over by a pro bike shop.. There still aint no substitute for the small bike shops when it comes to buying advie and friendly service!

Good Luck with the Vanquish, as it happens its one of the feature bikes In Cycling Active this month and TBH doesnt get a bad review for the price point. Its got some nice components slapped on it. Shimano rims, Tiagra levers and Sora mechs and not a bad ride. It has it slight downfalls but @ 549.99 and with your C2WS, happy riding!

Regards

Stu

amaferanga

I know Halfords aren't the best when it comes to setting a bike up, but as with a bike you buy from any shop or online even, its just a collection of parts from big manufacturers like Shimano that are bolted to a frame + some wheels. So they may be crap at bolting the bits on and setting the bike up, but any decent bike shop could probably set it right in less than half an hour.

So what exactly was the problem with the bike? Boardman bikes seem to be rated highly and are good value for money. What makes you think that a different bike is going to be set up any better than the Boardman?