relacement biek bits

wilsonga

I own a Carrera Virtuoso (16 speed) bought from Halfords through my companies bike to work scheme 15 months ago. I have now worn out the front chain rings and need a new chain, cassette and front chain rings.
Can anyone recommend what replacement bits I should go for? The fact that I bought a Carrera Virtuoso is a clue to my ‘2 kids and little spare cash’ lifestyle. Is there anything half decent I could buy on a limited budget?

Schobiedoo

I'm not familiar with the model, but you're going to be limited by the shifters as they'll be designed for an 8 speed bike, so with the cassette and chain you'll need an 8 speed model. I'd imagine that if you buy from a LBS then you'll be looking at a Tiagra cassette at a minimum (I think they go as low as 8 speed), but you may be able to find Sora or lower.

With the front chainring you'll have to see if you can find a replacement ring that suits your crankset model which could be difficult. The Bolt Circle Diameter will need to match as well as the number of bolts (4 or 5). If you're after a new crankset then you'll need to know what type of bottom bracket you have (e.g square, splined, etc).

Hope that helps.

night_porter

Any cheap road based compact chainset should be okay as long as it has the same fitting to the bottom bracket. Could be square or octalink you need to remove a crank to find out unless someone knows what it is?

As you have mostly 16 speed 2200 groupset try this:

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... n=pid16483

Bear in mind you will need some special tools to fit it.

Alternatively go back to Halfords who should be able to supply the "Pro Wheel Gloria Compact chainset" that is already fitted to your bike according to their website.

cougie

Worn them out ? How many miles have you done ?


Chains do wear - thats true and if you dont replace them then they accelerate wear on the other parts. Also if you dont clean it - that doesnt help.

I just swap chains and my cassette and chainrings last indefinitely.

Do you have any photos of the wear ?

wilsonga

thanks for the comments. I've done about 2000 miles in 15 months commuting which is probably fair use as I used it throughout the (Scottish) winter.

I've ordered Shimano Tiagra Cassette 8 Speed HG50 - 12-25 for £14 from Chain Reaction cycles so need a chain (heard KMC) and front chainset to suit.

Don't think the front chainset was much use so probably need new chain set rather than getting replacement gloria chain rings.

Would the tiagra chainset I've bought work with the chainset you suggested -

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... inset.html?

Thanks,

Graham

night_porter

Even a Scottish winter should not have worn out your chainrings especially only 2,000 miles, have you thought of asking a local bike shop to check if it needs replacing? Sheldon Brown's website says an 8 speed chain should last 7,000 miles so the chainset should last a couple of chains.

Check the pictures of worn chainrings in this link http://www.diaryofamountainbiker.co.uk/chainsuck.php

Does your chainring show the same amount of wear?

In answer to your question - Yes, all Shimano 8 speed ROAD based gear will work together. But as I said before make sure it will fit onto the bottom bracket okay because the shaft might be different.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Shimano mtb stuff will also work apart from the front mechs (because of a different cable pull ratio) but if you stick to the road stuff you will be okay.