First road bike Carrera Virtuoso possibly

Fil6914

Well I've just been to have a look first hand at this road bike, to me it looks very nice and shiny, sixteen gears seat handlebars etc but how the hell do you ride on those ever so thin tyres/ wheels ??? Surely you get punctures every time you go out on a ride ?
Being use to my mtb tyres these really look thin and I think I would struggle to get away with them, cornering etc, it must take a lot of confidence to ride one of these and any speed, I could see myself getting off at every corner and walk till it was straight road ahead

Phil

c-mac

I came from a mtb to a road bike recently. Although all I was using the mtb for was commuting. I agree, the tyres are a lot thinner but after a few rides you'll get used to it. It is so much quicker than my mtb. I bought a triban 3 which is a entry level road bike, the thing took me a while to get used to was changing gear.

No punctures yet although the farthest I've been is 27 miles. Lucky, as all I had with me was £20 and my phone.

Anonymous

Might feel a bit jittery for a short while due to narrow bars, but as for ride you just have to avoid the potholes that you are used to riding over on your MTB.
There are some drains that could eat your wheel too and no bumping up kerbs unless you are very skilled at bunny hops lol.
It's 30% off right now isn't it?
Guessing you are not a BC member or else I think you get another 10% off, but not sure if it applies to sale stuff?

Fil6914

I've just joined BC as the guy at Halfords said I could have another 10% off the web price which is very good. I've not convinced the boss I need a road bike yet though

cookeeemonster

just remember to change the tyres for some more puncture resistant ones if you're using for commuting on not very good roads. My brothers Carrera (think its a Virtuoso) puntured twice (both tyres) on the first proper trip we took.

Even bikes twice the price compromise on tyre quality (my £830 bianchi came with £11 tyres), so you should always factor that in when buying a new bike.

We favour durano pluses in a 25 size...search the forum the the one million tyre threads if you want more choice

And dont worry about the skinny tyres, they are perfectly fine and you wont be skidding off them any time soon due to them being thin!!

cyberknight

Nowt wrong with the carrera for the price, i ride the last model virtuoso and apart from consumables like tyres.brakes,chains, cassettes and a bottom bracket which will wear on any bike mine has done over 10,000 miles in pretty much all weather except snow on 23 mm tyres and it has been reliable and a fun ride.I use gator skins as its what i am used to but as mentioned there are plenty of good tyres choices.
You will quickly get used to how the bike handles and if you ever get on a flat bar bike afterwards it will feel just as odd .
I still use it for commuting and winter riding with the club and i have even done the midland monster sportive on it a couple of years ago and it coped fine and the only thing letting it down was the legs .
Sure more expensive bikes have more gears and are a bit lighter and even have a carbon fork but you will still have the same range of gears albeit with a little more gap between each gear , in reality unless your racing and need to stay on top of your optimum leg rpm your not going to notice and 8 speed kit lasts longer as the chains are thicker than 10 speed.
carbon forks are nice but a good bike set up and maybe padded bar tape can make a lot of difference.
As for bike weight you are the heaviest part of the equation and its a lot easier to lose 4-5 pounds yourself rather than spend say £1000 bike for the same effect.

s800byj

They are looking good, with money being as tight as it is now, is it worth the extra $500 - $700 on one of the giant or felt brands?
I would love to jump from my hybrid el- cheapo to a proper road bike but just cannot go to the prices that these manufacturers are charging straight off.
If I was to get a few thousand miles under my saddle then I could justify it, but with a 1 mile commute daily and a 10-20 mile recreational ride at the weekends would it be wiser to start off basic?
Scooby

s800byj

Also check out this threat, my money is on the Triban now
viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12911314

pariskartas

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40090&t=12910972&p=18208408&hilit=virtuoso#p18208408

Dom McCormack

Hi. This is my first ever 'reply' on here (just thought I'd mention it).

So I bought a Carrera TDF in Jan from Halfords as my first ever road bike. It was on offer at £299. I've noticed recently that the Virtuoso is now on offer and can only think its a great deal. I love my TDF, the gearing is smooth and the ride is great for a newbie like me. The speed is fantastic seat very comfortable (wearing DHB Vaion Roubaix padded bibs). I'm now up to a regular sunday ride of 45 miles plus and its great, so the Virtuoso, with its better spec, naturally will be the same - and arguably looks a bit better too.

The only thing I've changed is the tyres... almost straight away. Even the guy at Halfords agreed with the research I'd done that the stock tyres weren't the best. So now I've got the Lugano striped ones with added protective coloured strips which are available at a very reasonable entry level price.

For the price, I'd thoroughly recommend the Virtuoso for a beginner.

Fil6914

Thanks again for all your imput guys. I've been back in three times now for other bits and keep going over and drooling on the bike lol

Dom that is good feedback, I know there not the best bikes in the world but I'm never going to take this road racing seriously so don't see the point of spending mega bucks on a bike that won't make me any better a rider so I'm happy with my choice with a few tweaks, peddles and tyres,

Phil

Fil6914

Just wondering if halfords do any special deals over Easter I may be lucky and get it even cheaper

Phil

duncanjohnston66

just got one at xmas great buy a lot of bike for what you pay so far so good good gearing comfortable ride