carrera crossfire 2 or subway 2 from halfords

postiepaul3

Hi there, I'm a newbie here and to the cycling world, but I have decided to cycle to work for health and financial reasons, (get rid of one car and save some pounds and lose some pounds)
So I'm participating in the cycle to work scheme and will have a voucher for £300.
I have reserved a carrera crossway 2 at Halfords for £279.99 this was done last week and the bike has since gone up to £339.99 (strange) it said it was previously £349.99 but any way the £279.99 price is secure as I reserved this upon waiting for vouchers. But the subway 2 is now cheaper than the crossway 2 at £299.99 this was more expensive than the crossway 2 last week. So the big question is do i stick with the crossfire 2 at £279.99 or go for the subway 2 at £299.99????
Which is the best bike spec ect...
btw I intend using my bike on red ways ( flat pathways mainly) in Milton Keynes for approx 3 and a half miles each way.
Thanks in advance for all help for me! The novice cyclist.
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Drysuitdiver

dunno but take it to a decent bike shop when you get it so they can check its set up properly.

mudcow007

Drysuitdiver wrote:

dunno but take it to a decent bike shop when you get it so they can check its set up properly.

+1

my nephew bought a bike from Halfords, rode it home and came of it 300 yards down the road, they hadnt tightened the stem (thing that attaches handle bars to the bike) so when he turned the bars, the handlebars turned but the bike carried on going.

he wasnt a happy chappy

i cant find the two models you mention on the site. Are they old stock?

postiepaul3

HI mudcow007,
the bikes are on the hybrid section of halfords web site they were on the web site as of last night. 09/03/11. both bikes were at different prices of last weel the crossfire was cheaper than the subway 2, now it's the other way round. But i'm not sure how old these models are :?:

UndercoverElephant

Go for the subway, the crossfire has front suspension which is great if you're on a mountain, but completely unnecessary and energy-sapping on the road.

clarkey cat

if the roads are mainly flat have you thought about a single speed? less bits to go wrong and more fun to ride?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

you could use the other £100 on lights, helmet, rack etc...

mudcow007

postiepaul3 wrote:

HI mudcow007,
the bikes are on the hybrid section of halfords web site they were on the web site as of last night. 09/03/11. both bikes were at different prices of last weel the crossfire was cheaper than the subway 2, now it's the other way round. But i'm not sure how old these models are :?:

Doh!

sorry was only looking at their "mountain bikes"

well the crossfire has 700c wheels which some people prefer over "normal" 26" wheels. the crossfire also has a suspension seatpost and suspension forks. these both add weight an can waste a bit of your pedalling energy

i would probably personally go for the Subway if i was given the choice. rigid forks, disc brakes and personally prefer the colour

Dalton

Before moving on to a road bike, I had a Subway 2. Which I used to commute to work on (6.5 miles each way, various surfaces).

It was more than up to the task. It is fairly light, very strong and comfortable.

Unless you are lucky and purchase from a decent Halfrauds, it may be a good idea to have the set-up checked!

Sailorchick

I've got a subway 1. Its about 3 years old and still going strong, only thing thats been replaced on it is brake pads and one tyre (I manage to explode one somehow which put a massive hole in the side wall).

Its a good robust bike, takes the potholes well and takes panniers/guards easily. The subway would definitely be fine on the redways. Typically when I lived in MK I didn't have a bike, now I have a reasonably hilly journey I cycle.

Salsa

The Crossfire as said has 700c wheels & the Subways 26", the Crossfire has a more upright comfortable set up & the Subways slightly more stretched out. When I worked at Halford's Crossfires were generally bought by older people because of the more comfortable, upright but less efficient position, & the Subways by people using them for short commutes.
The Subways are excellent bikes with better components than the Crossfires, so I would go for one of those, I would personally take the Subway 1 over the Subway 2 as I was never too impressed by the Tektro cable disks.
If you wanted a faster 700c bike then the flat bar road bike (Gryphon) is very nice & the same sort of price.

Don't believe all the hype that some people put out that no one at Halford's knows what they're doing, I built 5-10+ bikes a day for a few years whilst working there. You don't think I learnt anything about building bikes after building literally 1000's of them? I had a PDI system locked down, I checked every nut & bolt, stretched the cables, trued the wheels, & generally treated each bike as if it was my own.
I can't speak for every store, but the store I worked at had systems in place to make sure bikes were only built by employees who had proven experience in building bikes. I'm not saying we never had any problems but if we did we would do everything possible to sort it to the customers satisfaction.

If your worried about the setup on your bike then I suggest going in a couple of times during a week day & talking to the full time bike hut employees. Try & find one who knows what they are talking about & explain that you have heard story's about setup issues. If they seem confident then ask if they can be the one to build your bike or make sure that the best employee can build your bike.