Trek 2500D, Norco Storm 6.1 or Carrera Centos?

pw981

Hi all,

I'm looking to get my first bike, but I'm unsure which one to go for? My budget is £300-£350, and I'd mainly be using it for leisure, commuting 6 miles and maybe some light off road use.

I appreciate that a mtb may not suit the above purposes but with my budget I can't afford a hybrid!

I know, next to nothing about bikes, the Trek and Norco would be from Evans, the Carrera from Halfords.

Any advice please?

Thanks

Phil

supersonic

Do you have links to the exact bike so we know we are looking at the same things?

pw981

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/nor ... e-ec031689

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec030258

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

I do have a Raleigh Activator II in the garage which I haven't touched for 10+ years, but I feel I should really get a replacement!

I don't really want to spend a lot on a bike, as it will only be for occasional use, and I don't know what the future will hold, it may end up in the garage gathering dust after a year. I don't need all the bells and whistles, just a bike which is of decent quality for the price range of £300-£350.

Hope this helps

Thanks

supersonic

I'd discount the Trek for it's rather lowly gear set, the Norco and Carrera get better sets.

One thing is for sure that the Carrera Centos was never worth £600, Halfords are way off with the pricing here. £330 is on the ball for it, it does have the best fork (just) - I'd try it and the Norco for size.

warpcow

Maybe take a look at the Carrera Subway at Halfords, or the cheaper Vitus city-bikes on chainreaction, too. They're somewhere between hybrids and MTBs, but nice and simple and practical. I'm sure there are other brands too (Decathlon maybe?), but I have friends with the 2 I mentioned, and they're very happy with them.

pw981

Typical Halfrauds ey?

The only thing I'm worried about when going to try the bikes for size, is the fact that I'm assuming no matter what bike I try, it will feel 'weird' because I haven't been bike riding for such a long time?

pw981

Speaking of Halfords, I don't know but for some reason I'd rather go to Evans?

Jon434

So is the btwin a better spec and value than the Carreras centos ?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-53 ... 68118.html

nitro124

Bikes are all about personal choice. Would you want to base your preferences on the specs of the bike, or the looks of the bike. All bikes have Aluminium frames so all of them are light, all feature disk brakes which is a plus for breaking standards, and all bikes feature 21-21+ gears of the thumb and finger variety which is great for efficient and smooth gear changing. The only difference is the forks and the maximum travel. with the bikes mentioned, the travel goes from 80mm travel to 120mm travel. higher the travel, more absorption the forks can take. If you ride quite a bit off road or rough terrains, higher travel forks are best. The bike that one of the guys has suggested from decathlon has something a little bit different. It features lock out forks which means you can change the dampening from soft (rough terrain) to hard (smooth terrain like roads) so you have the adaptability for any type of riding terrain. For specs wise, the one from decathlon is the best, but for the appearance wise, I personally think that the Cerrera Centos is the best (been looking at that bike myself which is how I stumbled upon this post) and has very good specs for it's price. I hope this helps.

cooldad

nitro124 wrote:

Bikes are all about personal choice. Would you want to base your preferences on the specs of the bike, or the looks of the bike. All bikes have Aluminium frames so all of them are light, all feature disk brakes which is a plus for breaking standards, and all bikes feature 21-21+ gears of the thumb and finger variety which is great for efficient and smooth gear changing. The only difference is the forks and the maximum travel. with the bikes mentioned, the travel goes from 80mm travel to 120mm travel. higher the travel, more absorption the forks can take. If you ride quite a bit off road or rough terrains, higher travel forks are best. The bike that one of the guys has suggested from decathlon has something a little bit different. It features lock out forks which means you can change the dampening from soft (rough terrain) to hard (smooth terrain like roads) so you have the adaptability for any type of riding terrain. For specs wise, the one from decathlon is the best, but for the appearance wise, I personally think that the Cerrera Centos is the best (been looking at that bike myself which is how I stumbled upon this post) and has very good specs for it's price. I hope this helps.

Er kind of maybe in some instances possibly sometimes potentially or not as the case may be.