Buying Carrera Virago from Halfords

SusanRidpath

Can anyone help?

My husband wants to do a triathlon (a charity thing at work), He has done one previously many moons ago & the bikes where hired & organised by another.

He is eligable to apply for the cycle to work scheme but the bike must be bought from Halfords. He has been checking the Carrea Virago Carbon TT on line, but cannot check it out in person as you have to buy the bike first so Halfords can order one in! Crazy!

Also the bike is available in 55cm or 52cm frame? The youths at Halfords although helpful where not able to explain which 1 would be more suited. My husband is 6ft 1" would he need 55cm?

many thanks Sue Ridpath (My husbands PA)!!!!!

Heckler1974

At least 55cm and I would suggest that may not be big enough (I'm 5' 10 and I ride a 56).

brownbosh

Dont know where you are but halfords hedge end (near southampton) has one out on display.

Heckler1974

It's worth bearing in mind that Halfords can get in other makes they don't stock as part of the Cycle to Work scheme.

warrior4life

I'm 6ft and my grilfriends 5'9 and we bought one of these to share..it would have fitted fine but the bike was a nightmare from day 1.
The rear internal brake cable came lose as the frame wasnt finished properly, also the bolts on the seatpost clamp where rounded off.
We also had issues with the chainset, if we where in the little chainring at the front and a little one at the back the chain rubbed on the inside of the large chainring at the front, we only had use of about 16 gears..

I'm a pretty good bike mechanic and i went through the forums and all i could come up with was the chainset missing a spacer or it was the wrong size. The staff at halfords told us that all road bikes had this problem!!..

We took the bike back in for halfords to sort out and after 1 month they had done nothing so we got our money back...

I wouldnt buy from them again... Planet x have the sl pro tt bike for £999 at the moment and that's a far better deal! http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/aca ... __999.html

GavH

Even the briefest time spent perusing threads with the word HALFORDS in them will show that Halfords staff are not generally skilled mechanics. Some are very good, but generally they are not. You seem to have already come across some who are not so skilled. For a start I'd say that anyone with an ounce of knowledge about bikes would know that a 52cm frame would be too small for someone who is 6'1". The sales staff should have been all over that small fact. The Carrera bikes themselves though are generally of decent quality and certainly offer value for money as do the Boardman range (arguably more so given the higher specs). If you must buy from them, do yourself (or your husband) a favour and take it to your Local Bike Shop (LBS) and get them to give it the once over to make sure it is setup properly and more to the point safely.

rake

when you buy it

warrior4life

I never moved the saddle, halfords told me the threads where stripped when i took it back into them, I bought it in york and took it back into hull... Hull couldnt believe the bad job york had done putting it together.
As for the shifting when i was in the small chainring at the front i could use 5 maybe 6 at the back... Ive been riding road bikes for over 20 yrs and never had this before, 1 maybe 2 un-useable at the most...
I asked at 2 local bike shops and they had never heard of not been able to use this many gears so i checked on the net and found that sometimes bike shops dont build the bikes correctly or the company making the bike runs out of the spec parts so supplies an alternative.
And i dont make a habit of stressing the chain by using big at the front and rear etc, i know how to ride a bike

warrior4life

rake wrote:

when you buy it tell me if the chain rubs in little little gear (which you shouldnt use btw). halfords are correct there. how can you be a good bike mechanic if you dont know that. funny the seat post got stripped threads seeing as you and your gf would be moving it up and down all the time if you shared it. my bike is 20 speed and i only use 13 sometimes 14 gears.this is because a chain cant operate at right angles and the chainline has to be fairly straight. the only downside to halfords is if your buy an upmarket cycle and havent got clue what you are doing. i have and havent had any trouble. 8)

Carrera virago isn't an upmarket bike, I have upmarket road bikes and i can tell you virago is a budget TT bike, it's ok on paper but like most bikes from halfords you never can be sure what your going to get... read the forums on halfords, quality control is severley lacking

rake

. you say 1 maybe 2 AT THE MOST gears unusable on the small chainring.lets be right. shimano say on a 10 speed double stay out of the three small. you must have been doing it wrong for 20 years. il get my coat.

Escargot

We're all different sizes so it's probably best if your husband either goes into the Halfords to try a few frame sizes or pays your local bike shop for a bike fit.

A typical example of this is that Heckler1974 has a 56cm frame but I'm also 5'10" and have a 53cm frame which fits me perfectly (I have slightly shorter legs than *normal*).

I guess if his scheme is through Halfords then you will need to deal with them but they're not all bad. I bough a Carrera from Halfords many years ago and they were fine. The best thing to do (as already suggested above) would be to buy a bike and then to take it to a local bike shop to have checked over (if you feel this is necessary).

Best of luck

YthanPython

For the orignal poster, the Carerra is a generic frame available under several different brands across the UK. If you check out the Dalkiia web site you can find some information on frame sizing. Bear in mind that as a TT frame you may want it a touch smaller than a road frame to get into the best aero position. It comes with a 10cm stem and I'm finding the 52cm frame a shade on the large size and will be fiting a shorter stem (I'm 5' 9" btw).

I bought my one from their website a few months back and to be honest it wasn't ridable out of the box. Both front and back brakes rubbed badly, the rear mech wouldn't shift to the lowest four cogs and the front mech wouldn't shift onto the bigger ring. Whilst I could have sorted this out myself, I took it back to Halfords (repeatedly) until it was right. To their credit they re-ran all of the brake and gear cables when they found they have been crossed inside the top tube and adjusted the front mech position until it ran and changed as sweet as a nut. I can easliy, when in the small chain ring, get the 8 higher sprockets on the casette and the 9th one only causes the slightest amount of rubbing. Seeing as I wouln't normally go anywhere near that sort of chain angle without considering changing up to the big ring, I reckon this is fine.

Yes it is a "budget" TT bike but as Dalkiia were selling the same frameset alone for £699 until recently, a complete bike at Halfords price isn't that bad.

Now if I can only pick off the Carrera name from the bike to save the embarassment of turning up on a Halfords bike

dru

A valid question?

What sort of Triathlon is your Hubby going to be doing? Could be worth getting one of the standard Boardman bikes and just putting aerobars on them, particulalry if your hubby doesn't have the flexibility to get down into position on the TT bike... also factors including distance and course time can affect this. Also if he wants to go out and practising or getting miles on the bike, a more normal bike maybe the better route to go.

Just my 2 cents

Best Regards,

Dru.

briank50

I ordered by bike last week after having to travel 100 mile to look at one at Tamworth. They wouldn't let me ride it out of the shop so had to do some laps around the bike store. Currently they have only 55cm in Uk; I'm told that they will be getting some 52cm in January. I sat on both bikes and at 5'11 the 52cm seemed Ok but I've opted for the 55cm as who knows when and if they will get any 52cm in. I'll probably have to shorten the stem as I felt quite stretched out.

Anonymous

soufianyh wrote:

It's worth bearing in mind that Halfords can get in other makes they don't stock as part of the Cycle to Work scheme.

Where did you dig this thread up from?

Hopefully he/she has the bike by now

giant_man

Dear Susan

Do not go down this path, find a nice local bike shop where advice is given on a more professional level and where the staff actually know what they are on about. Halfords is notoriously bad at giving advice and more importantly, giving good service. Your husband deserves a bike to fit him and not the other way around. He needs to be comfortable when on his triathlon. At over 6' he needs more than a 55cm frame, but bike fitting is beyond Halfords. They are a car accessory chain which happen to sell bicycles. It cannot be this haphazard when choosing a bike.

Hope you find good service and the right bike for your husband.

giant man

on-yer-bike

warrior4life wrote:

We also had issues with the chainset, if we where in the little chainring at the front and a little one at the back the chain rubbed on the inside of the large chainring at the front, we only had use of about 16 gears..

Completely normal. Should never use that gear combo anyway. Think about it – the chain has to cross from inside to outside so the large chain ring is always going to get in the way.

montyburns56

giant man wrote:

They are a car accessory chain which happen to sell bicycles. It cannot be this haphazard when choosing a bike.

Hope you find good service and the right bike for your husband.

giant man

Actually Halfords is a bike retailer that happens to sell car accessories.