Just Saying Hi!

Rusty_Dan86

Hi,

I've just registered recently so thought i'd say hi!

I've just bought myself a middle of the road mountain bike from Halfords - Carrera Kraken 2011/12. I read a lot of reviews on the bike first and it seems get a good rating so i decided to take the plunge. I've got friends in the police force that use them too on the beat and they had nothing but good things to say!



I'll be honest I've not been on a bike for about 12-14 years and i wanted something fairly cheap to start with that wouldn't fall apart on light/medium trails and that would last me a good while. Also something with the scope to upgrade parts if i want to. Have to say so far i love it, great budget ride with fairly decent kit.

Despite some bad reviews I've read I've had really great service from the bike tech at Halfords although he does ride himself which helps i guess.

My overall goal i think is to get back into riding and then eventually start a custom build project, something i can really invest some time in and money of course that will give me a great end ride.

Look forward to chatting with all.

Cheers,

Dan

cooldad

Looks good, get some decent pedals, get rid of the reflectors and pie dish and you're all set.

Rusty_Dan86

Cheers, i think it will do for now anyways!

Do you recommend any decent pedals, i'm pretty new to all this stuff? Don't want to spend too much as it's still a budget bike.

FunBus

Most people rate Wellgo MG1's, you can pick them up for less than £30 in a few places. Other than that, just replace stuff as and when you want to/it breaks.

....oh and yes, reflectors and bell are a big no no.

Rusty_Dan86

haha cheers, consider them removed - don't want to look too much like a noob!

I'll check out those pedals, yea i think i'll probably just upgrade as i go.

Rusty_Dan86

Just checked out the Wellgo's on ebay - Nice pedals plus they do them in white to match my bike - Winner!

FunBus

Enjoy

EH_Rob

I've got some in white. They don't stay that way for long.

andhr

EH_Rob wrote:

I've got some in white. They don't stay that way for long.

+1 - 50 miles in my cases, they're now silver (aka scratched), brown (dirty) and a bit white.

The Rookie

If you've still got the crappy bit of plastic behind the gears on the back wheel, get rid of that newbie flag as well (it's brittle and just snaps off).

Rusty_Dan86

I was having a proper look over the bike the other day - it seems i have Wellgo pedals as standard, albeit budget ones! - Will probably still replace them but they're ok for now! - Yea the crappy gear guard has cracked already, will remove it just haven't got round to it yet. It's done a good 20miles now and the brakes feel like they've bed in, had to true the rear disc as it was rubbing a bit. Seems fine now!

JayKay3000

M8 has that bike. Seems pretty good on the trails. It did take some bedding in and the forks are a little rubbish we noticed the lockout did not fully lock and the tires are more middle of the road. There was more squish that I like, but I'm not sure he had it set right. Overall it's a good little bike. If it makes you smile then it's doing its job.

DMR V8 are the best budget flat pedals in my opinion. Spd pedals are great for the future, like the shimano m520s as long as you grease the moving parts every so often else they will squeak.

Hope you keep using it and the custom project sounds like a great idea in the future.

I notice that most halfords bike mechanics seem to ride, it's almost like a pre-requisite of the job (I doubt it is), but I've had good service most of the time and their advice is often spot on. In our town one of the halfords mechanics used to work in the spec/trek lbs. The work is not as good in that lbs now so bonus for the halfords team.

cooldad

DMRV8's are expensive and not great - better off with Wellgo's (who make DMR anyway).

ElliesDad

A mate of mine has recommended that I change my stock pedals to Nukeproof Electrons, £27.99 from Chain Reaction.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=60114

bartimaeus

I'd go for the CarbonCycles version of the Nanos... now available in many colours including blue and pink. £34.

benpinnick

Rusty_Dan86 wrote:

I was having a proper look over the bike the other day - it seems i have Wellgo pedals as standard, albeit budget ones! - Will probably still replace them but they're ok for now! - Yea the crappy gear guard has cracked already, will remove it just haven't got round to it yet. It's done a good 20miles now and the brakes feel like they've bed in, had to true the rear disc as it was rubbing a bit. Seems fine now!

You must replace those pedals. They will kill you if not ruin your rides. They are literally only on there so the bike is complete. Trust me on this.

Rusty_Dan86

JayKay3000 wrote:

M8 has that bike. Seems pretty good on the trails. It did take some bedding in and the forks are a little rubbish we noticed the lockout did not fully lock and the tires are more middle of the road. There was more squish that I like, but I'm not sure he had it set right. Overall it's a good little bike. If it makes you smile then it's doing its job.

DMR V8 are the best budget flat pedals in my opinion. Spd pedals are great for the future, like the shimano m520s as long as you grease the moving parts every so often else they will squeak.

Hope you keep using it and the custom project sounds like a great idea in the future.

I notice that most halfords bike mechanics seem to ride, it's almost like a pre-requisite of the job (I doubt it is), but I've had good service most of the time and their advice is often spot on. In our town one of the halfords mechanics used to work in the spec/trek lbs. The work is not as good in that lbs now so bonus for the halfords team.

Went to my lbs this weekend for a little advice and for a quick look over my bike. Turns out a few things needed sorting. First bit of advice they gave me was to never set foot in halfords again for advice or servicing. I kind of expected this though. They said unless you need something replacing on the warranty its not worth wasting my time with them.

They immediately put my bike onto a stand, trued up discs front and back and tightened a few components all of which they did for nothing - i guess they want me to come back again which is cool because they were very knowledgeable and very helpful.

I got home and like a kid with a new toy i decided to go do a couple of miles on the bike. Runs like a dream now and seems to handle better even though they made just a few tweaks to it.

Off up to the Lakes next week so i'm going to head to Whinlatter and test her out properly on some trails. (not many decent ones around Northampton)

I will replace the pedals soon and i think i will make this bike a bit of a project over time, i love the frame so may just update parts and components around it.

felix.london

You want to slowly start getting some tools together. Start with a set of allen keys. Plenty of good resources online when it comes to bike maintenance. Park Tools is great.

You really want to give the bike a quick check before each ride

The key really is to just maintain the bike as you go rather than haul it into the LBS a couple of times a year for a 'service' - Learning to index your gears for example will take you 20mins to learn.

...oh and change those pedals!

Rusty_Dan86

felix.london wrote:

You want to slowly start getting some tools together. Start with a set of allen keys. Plenty of good resources online when it comes to bike maintenance. Park Tools is great.

You really want to give the bike a quick check before each ride

The key really is to just maintain the bike as you go rather than haul it into the LBS a couple of times a year for a 'service' - Learning to index your gears for example will take you 20mins to learn.

...oh and change those pedals!

Thanks dude, i really appreciate all the advice being new to all of this!

I got myself a bike multi-tool the other day which i found to be brilliant, has everything i need to adjust/change bits and bobs. I've been following some of the instructional posts on here with regard to gears/shocks etc. As i say i'm new to all of this and want to be able to maintain my bike myself ideally.

My lbs have been really helpful, i think because i feel like i've been fobbed off by Halfords in the 4 weeks i've had the bike i wanted to get a more professional look over it, make sure it was built correctly and things are as they should be.

Thankfully they said it's a really great bike, strong frame etc. They adjusted loads of things though which really made me question 'the build bike service' at halfords or the throw it together service as i'll now label it. It's nice knowing i have that support there if i need it.

I'm slowly getting there though and i know i'll soon be able to set my bike up exactly how i want it.

The Rookie

Rusty_Dan86 wrote:

I love the frame so may just update parts and components around it.

Check the link in my sig to see what you can do with a Carrera!

As for the comments about halfords...well some are good, and some are bad, but most of the things you say the LBS did won't have been done by halfords, they have a PDI sheet they have to complete, the rest is as built in Taiwan.

Rusty_Dan86

Yea i had a look when i spotted that link in your sig. Looks ace, some really nice upgrades.

I've been looking at a new rim set to start with, how have you got on with the crossrides?

Rusty_Dan86

Bartimaeus wrote:

I'd go for the CarbonCycles version of the Nanos... now available in many colours including blue and pink. £34.

These look cool, i like them in orange, would compliment my bike nicely!