Carrera Subway Ltd - worth it?

timbstoke

First post - please be nice :-)

I haven't ridden for a while, and looking to get back into it again. I've always been a budget rider - previous bike was a Kona Lana'I (2005 I think) which suited me fine until some toerag nicked it earlier this year.

Use will be primarily commuting, with off road rarely being anything tougher than canal towpaths.

Halfords currently have the Carrera Subway Limited Edition reduced from £449 to £199 (although it spent the last 3 months at £279). For the spec, this seems a pretty decent price, and within my budget. Spec is:

Approximate Weight (KG): 13.05
Brake Type: Mechanical Disc
Chainset: Shimano FC-M311
Forks: Chromoly fork
Frame: Lightweight 6061 aluminium
Frame Colour: Dark Grey
Frame Size: 17-18
Front Brake: Shimano mechanical disc brake BR-M416
Front Mech: Shimano M310
Gear Shifters: Shimano ST-EF50
Gears: 21+
Gender: Mens
Handle Bars: Alloy low rise
Headset: Semi Integrated
Number of Gears: 21
Pedals: Wellgo Alloy Black
Rear Brake: Shimano mechanical disc brake BR-M416
Rear Mech: Shimano RD-M360
Rims: Double wall alloy rims
Saddle: Carrera
Exact Frame Size: 18" (I'll probably go for 18" since that's what my Kona was and that worked, but I might opt for the 20" once I've sat on it)

Does this seem respectable for the price?

rockmonkeysc

£199 is the absolute most that bike would be worth, the full price is a bit of a joke!
Bit heavy for a bike that doesn't even have suspension. Very basic components.

specialized hardrock

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65499#dtab

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

could your budget not stretch to one of these there very good specs for the money i just bought the carrera vengeance ultimate got it for a special price of £280 lot of value for for your money

Freshfunkmeister

I would say that £200 is a pretty good price for that bike but there always tons of these exact bikes popping up on ebay at half that. You don't sound like you need any suspension judging from where you'll be riding and frankly I don't think you'll be needing 21 gears either so I'd advise a flat barred twin chainring road bike instead of a hybrid.

timbstoke

Thanks all,

I've had a look at the alternatives, and although the Vengeance Ultimate is definitely a better buy for the money, I don't think I can justify the additional outlay for the kind of riding I'm buying it for. I've been having a look on eBay etc, but the downside there is that I have about £100 worth of high street vouchers to get used up - Halfords take them, local bike shops don't, and I don't particularly have anything else to spend them on so I might as well use them towards a bike, which equates to a fairly noticable discount.

I've popped in Halfords during lunch to have a look, and it's a very nice looking bike. I'm going to keep looking for a day or two and see what else is about just in case, but at the moment, it's probably the most likely choice.

cooldad

Decent bike, more than enough for your needs, and if it's going to be about £100 cash with your vouchers, good deal.
Just don't get bitten by the bug, or you'll be wanting a multi £000 state of the art MTB soon.
You have been warned.

mattv

Subways are awesome value for money.The LTD is half way from the 1 to the 2 (21speed but with the discs of the subway 2). Frames are ok, if a little heavy, but very durable. I worked at Halfords for 5 years and probably 90% of the customers there would have been better off on a Subway! A good do-it-all bike.

Oshkosh

Just curious. Did you end up buying this Subway. I've only just seen this post now, as it happens I bought a 2010 Subway Ltd back then. I've had a few other bikes as well since then, but nothing is as good as the Subway. I call it my Oshkosh, sometimes use it for pulling a trailer or loading with panniers. I find the gear ratio fantastic for pulling up any hill, and the Shimano mechanical brakes are excellent compared with others I've used. The larger front disc also has less chance of overheating on long descents. I used softer saddles in the beginning, and only a year later I was able to use the skinny Carrera original one, now it's the best. Maybe one day I'll get a Brooks saddle though. It's done about 2000 miles now in the last two years, and is now due for the first new set of brake pads. The chain had to be replaced about six months ago, at 1500 miles.

cooldad

You might wait a long time for a reply - the OP hasn't been back since the last post - 2 years ago,