Carrera Vengeance Ultimate - good buy or donkey?

1246

Comments

  • Apparently it does but to be honest I could not tell any difference in weight between it and a Fury..... I would doubt if the difference between the two is much
  • Hiya - facing similar dilemma.

    I am really interested to find out what your thoughts are now youve owned the bike for a while, and what feedback you got on the spec vs the kraken.

    Its now 2nd day 2011 - Carrera Kraken £329, and Vengance Ultimate £319.

    The Vengance Ultimate:
    Rockshox Tora TK fork, Shimano (bottom of the range) Alvio gears and Shimano disk brakes

    The Kraken
    Suntour XCR forks Shram x5 gears Tekro disc brakes 1kg lighter


    What is the difference between these bikes - is it only components?

    Previously I was considering the Kraken vs the Fury, and the main difference was that the Fury has Air (vs coil) suspension and Avid Juicy brakes.

    Quite Honestly I cant see myself going up to £550 for the Fury on a sale price, just for the bottom of the range air sprung forks, vs a reasonable coil fork. and Better brakes.


    Following the range the 2009 Kraken did not have the seat down tube to cross tube support, which the Fury (and now Kraken 2010 & Vengance) do have.
    Given the costs of manufacturing I am willing to wager that all three frames are now the same, and its only components that are different.

    Anyone know any different? and which bike to go for the Kraken or the Vengance Ultimate?

    For what its worth my 11 year old MTB bike (no suspension Giant steel frame) has Shimano deore and I have never really liked them, so am really swaying towards Shram gears.


    P.S. I really like the White colour scheme, In know it doesnt make any difference, but I just do.
  • nearly lost the end of my finger setting one of these up the other day. stuck my left hand in a spinning rotr. blood everywhere and in the accident book.
    Am i strange in that i actually ENJOY going up hills? Yes, yes i am.


    PS: Full - Sussers are for SOFTIES AND BIG GIRLS
  • I would say that the finish on the fury is better than the vengeance...the frames are different....the fury cross section is round rather than a skewed pentagon shape on the vengeance, also some of the welds have been smoothed.
  • Having had a vengeance ultimate which I was very happy with (but it got nicked) and replaced it with a fury, I can say that that the fury is better, lighter and a more fun bike to ride, you do notice the weight difference and fork quality off road.

    Thats said, the vengeance, is a fanatastic bike for the money
  • hey folks , just got my vengeance ultimate today and its superp especially when i got it in sale at £319. the brakes are good , forks are very good and gearing is good . I had my bike assembled by halfords as was worryied i made a mop of the build , and their build quality was fine with me . EXCEPT 1 thing . When the wheels spin , it sounds like something is rubbing against something but its not constant its everytime the wheel makes a full turn then it makes this noise , any ideas on how to fix it people???
  • Drayk
    Drayk Posts: 45
    connar626 wrote:
    hey folks , just got my vengeance ultimate today and its superp especially when i got it in sale at £319. the brakes are good , forks are very good and gearing is good . I had my bike assembled by halfords as was worryied i made a mop of the build , and their build quality was fine with me . EXCEPT 1 thing . When the wheels spin , it sounds like something is rubbing against something but its not constant its everytime the wheel makes a full turn then it makes this noise , any ideas on how to fix it people???

    I had the same problem with mine, but it was simple. check that theres no stickers on the disk brakes.
    Carrera Vengeance Ultimate
  • ok mate i appreciate your help but this isnt the case , it sounds like the pads but im not sure ???
  • eggey17
    eggey17 Posts: 39
    connar626 wrote:
    ok mate i appreciate your help but this isnt the case , it sounds like the pads but im not sure ???
    brakes pads mite just need bedding in
  • or very slightly untrue discs. not a massive issue, its really rare that new discs are perfectly true so you can ask halfords to true them, or grab an adjustable spanner and have a go.
  • ok mate cheers :D how would i go about doing that ? just a good few stops??
  • ok mate cheers :D how would i go about doing that ? just a good few stops??
  • ok mate cheers :D how would i go about doing that ? just a good few stops??
  • aw okay mate thanks very much for the help i think its untrue discs as its only when it hits a certain part of the disc it makes the noice , will take it off and see what like , thnaks alot :)
  • omegas
    omegas Posts: 970
    First thing you need to do is bed the brakes in and generate some heat to the disk rotor, then realign the calliper if needed. I would ride for a few days then and see how true the rotor is .
  • I notice that the Vengeance has remained at the same price today, although many of the other Carrera's have jumped up again..... Halfords pricing at it's finest :(
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Though what they have done, is found all their Idrives up the back of a warehouse and smacked out the Idrive 6 at a third off. That's a lot of bike for a grand...
    Uncompromising extremist
  • Philz0r
    Philz0r Posts: 56
    for anyone else looking on here, I have tora's on my bike and they're fantastic starter forks. abit squishy and noisy but for £125 a bargin.
    t00t
  • Got mine today too - £319! Happy early birthday to me!
    Same issue with truing the front brake calliper, reading so many peoples experiences I went over every nut and bolt - I happy that most of it was right, a few loose. Quite amusing to see the bell upside down...
    Once removed from the handle bars where do i mount the front reflector?
    Wheels are heavy, and evidently the frame is different to the Fury. Apparently the 6061 is more rigid, whereas the 7075 is more springy. (and perhaps the 7075 is lighter too.)

    Really its allot of bike for your money, but the Fork "lock" doesnt - it just stiffens it allot, the Fury's and Krakens Suntour locked completely, Rock Shox just applies more pressure, or am I missing something?

    The brakes are great, considerably better than the Tekro hydro blah... they actually have a difference between on and off.
    The chain is utter garbage, and is going to be replaced before it even looks at a salted road and turns red.
    Thought the Shimano Alvio stuff is really plasticky, parts of both deraileur's look like mechano... but the gear change action is much improved on my 11 year old Deore (even when it was new)! This is no where near as good as SRAM 5 whoever said it was.
    This is something that will be changed eventaully, but to X9's
    Have Specialized fat boy's to see how much zip it has once things get less hairy on the roads (will eventually invest in complete set of wheels - any hints).

    Really happy though. :D

    My upgrades to complete SRAM x9 drivechain (£478) will wait a while. and by then I will probably want full suspension.
    Cant believe the Boardman Comp full suspension weighs less but is double the price.
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    The brakes are great, considerably better than the Tekro hydro blah... they actually have a difference between on and off.

    That's one criticism you can't really point at Tektro Aurigas, they're great breaks. And no wonder, they're a Shimano rip-off :lol: I've had XT on one bike and now got Formula Oro K24s on 2, but today I was out on the rigid with its Tektros and they're no letdown.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • Philz0r
    Philz0r Posts: 56
    yea rock shox tora's and recons and a few others dont do full lock out, they leave that little bit of play on purpose for when you go over bumps.

    personally that tiny bit of play doesn't bother me but i know people who have flipped out because of it. up to you really.
    t00t
  • re the Tora's... Flipping out errrrr now!

    Rode a buddies bike (Kraken) with the Tekro Hydraulic's and they really had very little difference between locked and free, perhaps it was my white knuckle death grip, and I should use delicate flowery touches to the brake?
    At this point I was thinking that I would prefer cable disc brakes as I (the one in charge, not the fluid) could determine the amount of pressure

    But I found these to offer a much wider range of braking pressure. This was of course my purely subjective observation from the stand point of a Motorcyclists opinion when it comes to experience with disc brakes. As a cyclist, only ever used V brakes other than these two, i dont count the test ride on the Fury with its Juicy 3's as experience
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    I can't believe I spelled brakes "breaks" :oops: Servicing and condition has a lot to do with how brakes perform, just like with motorbike brakes the pistons and lever pivots can gunge up and cause a loss of subtlety- you end up using enough power to overcome the stickiness, which means when you do get a reaction it's really OTT.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • I built my Vengeance today... (not actually setup the brakes, gears etc. yet).

    Very please so far.... it's such a handsome looking bike and is completely unmarked apart from a small scratch on the handlebar (this will be hidden by my phone/GPS mount anyway.

    As I say I haven't checked the brakes etc. and not even ridden it.... spinning the crank I did think the front dérailleur needed a sizable push with my thumb to change... the bike I tried in the shop seem to have a more "snappy" click change.

    Did any owners have to make many adjustments to their gearing and brakes having built it themselves?
  • Drayk
    Drayk Posts: 45
    I got mine built by halfords, they did i really good job to be honest.
    No problems as yet...


    How many of us have got a vengeance ultimate then??
    Carrera Vengeance Ultimate
  • omegas
    omegas Posts: 970
    busterdan wrote:
    Did any owners have to make many adjustments to their gearing and brakes having built it themselves?
    You will probably will have to make some small adjustments now and when the gear cables stretch a bit in a few weeks you will have to just fine tune.
  • fearnsy
    fearnsy Posts: 278
    Getting one this saturday :D
    Trek 930 singletrack 06-08
    Pinnacle Peak 2.0 08-10
    Carrera Vengeance Ultimate 11-
  • yeh i had no problems with halfords build either except the gears , it slipped when it got into 9th gear but thats ok with a little tweaking it was fine .I have had no problems with the bike as yet and have done a few miles on it so far along my local coastal paths :D am very happy with her and shes a real looker , and as with the forks not completely locking out , i think this is a good thing because that way the little bumps are absorbed by the little bit of movement .

    But overall this bikes mintt :D:D:D
  • fearnsy
    fearnsy Posts: 278
    Can any of you owners give me a hand with sizing? For anyone who has a Lizard skin protector on it. what size would it need, super jumbo?
    What length is the stem and handlebar diameter?
    What size is the seatpost?
    Thanks
    Trek 930 singletrack 06-08
    Pinnacle Peak 2.0 08-10
    Carrera Vengeance Ultimate 11-
  • lovepasty wrote:
    Having had a vengeance ultimate which I was very happy with (but it got nicked) and replaced it with a fury, I can say that that the fury is better, lighter and a more fun bike to ride, you do notice the weight difference and fork quality off road.

    Thats said, the vengeance, is a fanatastic bike for the money
    as above, when you start using it on proper techincal, rocky trails you really notice the better damping on the forks. The forks on the fury alone cost £200! Also if you're quite a lightweight (like me) or a heavyweight then it makes a differnce having an air fork as it allows you to set the froks correctly for your weight. If i had a coil fork then I wouldn't be able to make the most of it at all, or I would have to buy a lighter coil. I'm going to get the wheels checked and some more tension on the spokes though as I've already buckled the rear wheel on the fury after the 2nd proper ride.