Cararra Virtuoso

carbineacs

I've been riding this bike for nearly a year now, and it's really made me enjoy road riding. I love the speed and being able to pile in the miles.

I took my Carerra Virtuoso (2012 model) to my local bike shop for a fitting, as I was getting some aches and pains. I said I know it's not an expensive bike, but it will do for now. He replied with 'No it's not a good bike at all!'

I'm wondering, why is it not a good bike? It seems ok to me! However I have replaced the tyres and saddle, and put a shorter stem on it.

Don't get me wrong, I know the benefits of a good mountain bike. I have a Whyte 29C as my mountain bike. The weight difference and it being a 29r made a massive difference to my performance, and it made me enjoy riding off road more.

But would I see the same difference from upgrading from my £400 Virtuoso to a £2000 Pinarello? I'm interested to know 'why' I'm being told the Virtuoso is a bad bike! Was he just trying to put the seeds of doubt in my head to sell me a new bike, or is it that bad? In another post, I was toying with buying a Dolan Profissio. However I didn't buy it, as I really couldn't feel or see much of a performance difference between it, and my Carerra. Yeah the gears shift nicer, but that's not worth £1000 is it?!

Elfed

The guy in the bike shop could do with a bit more tact, it's people like that who put people off using the LBS.
Go somewhere else and if you do upgrade, use another shop.

navrig2

'No it's not a good bike at all!'

Doesn't necessarily mean it's a BAD bike. It's a budget bike which does what you want it to. Ignore him.

zx6man

Navrig2 wrote:

'No it's not a good bike at all!'

Doesn't necessarily mean it's a BAD bike. It's a budget bike which does what you want it to. Ignore him.

+1

rolf_f

If a customer is happy with what they have, and they aren't proposing something that makes poor sense (eg you weren't asking about putting a £500 wheelset on the bike) then the dealer shouldn't be trying to make you feel dissatisfied with what you have.

Yes, if you do long rides and lots of miles, you will feel better for having a lighter bike but you'll probably know when the time comes for an upgrade without having to have a LBS tell you.

w00dster

So apart from the salesman being a dick, in answer to your question, yes there is a significant difference between a £2k pinarello and your bike. The difference will be noticable in performance and weight. But that is exactly why you spent more on a mtb, strange you can't see how this also applies in the road world?
Forget the make as thus can be contentious. But for the extra money you will be getting a better lighter frame, certain manufacturers spend a lot of time and effort in making the frames more aerodynamic, stiffer and providing high levels of agile handling.
You will get a better lighter groupset. Probably better wheels. Probably a lighter stem.

As Rolf says, you will appreciate the difference when putting in lots of hilly miles. That said, if youre happy with your bike and it meets your needs, thats cool, keep enjoying it and ride safe.

carbineacs

W00dster, I only say that as by my logic, on the mountain bike I'm slamming on the brakes for tight corners and having to accelerate hard again. From what I know about physics, that's where weight vs acceleration helps. And of course having to spin the wheels back up to speed again. But with a road bike, I'm not that fussed on acceleration (or am I..?), just keeping a good average speed? I've even thought about heavier wheels having more of a flywheel effect to help up hills! Maybe not! However the mountain bike I was on before I moved to the Whyte was 15kg, and the Whyte is 10. something. So that's a huge difference. I think the Virtuoso is around the same weight. I'm not saying I'm right on that, I'm just stating what I think I've figured out!

Thanks for the replies all. Maybe once I'm averaging 20mph+ then it's time for Carbon bike with zipp wheels :-) Until then, I will keep trying on my 'Not good' Carrera! And yeah, time to move shops I think. He also wouldn't refund me for a 90mm stem that was in fact a 100, even though he said if it's wrong I could bring it back. Annoying. At least I got a credit note though.

carbineacs

oxoman wrote:

I ride a Dawes Giro which i was given which has a lower spec than the Carrera i also have a Moda Bolero, one costs new £280 and the other was just over £1000 as it was built to my spec, i enjoy riding both bikes enjoy slightly faster times on the Moda as its lighter. The gears shift easier on the Moda, however i enjoy riding both. I rode my eldest sons Virtuoso for a while and it rode ok. I have to agree with several opinions above, but remember its no good having a 2k bike if the engine pedalling is no good it doesn't make it go any faster than a £250 bike. Remember the old saying all the gear and no idea same goes with performance side as well. I see loads of people turn up at Sportives and various other rides on carbon bikes that give it large and then run out of steam after an hour to be overtaken by someone on a bike that's probably 20 yrs plus. Enjoy what you have, upgrade it if you want. Decent wheels would make a difference and it also might be worth thinking about a bikefit. Whatever bike you get a bikefit on, you should get a set of measurements that you can use if you replace the Carrera. Finally find a better bike shop.

Lol, yeah that would be me. Probably a good reason for me NOT to upgrade! I don't want to be one of those people..

Thanks

crannman

had my cararra virtuoso for a year i have come back to road bikes after a long lay off im 54 yrs old i ride when ever i can i go on rides around 20mile or so yes i could have spent more but im happy with it i dont care what other people think its my bike paid for and it does what i want it to do i have changed the tyres after wearing orininal ones out if i win lottery i may buy something else

Doris Day

Regarding your aches and pains. Do you still have them? Is the bike the right size and has the
setup been checked?

carbineacs

Doris Day wrote:

Regarding your aches and pains. Do you still have them? Is the bike the right size and has the
setup been checked?

Since I changed my shoes and stem, it's made a huge difference. I'm yet to do a 40mile+ ride on the current stem but I think it's a lot better so far.

simon_masterson

Bikes get far worse. If it handles poorly and has components that don't work, I might consider using that term. Your Carrera is a very decent bike; in years past your entry level machine would have a frame that wobbled on the climbs, steel rims and dysfunctional brakes.

To a certain extent this is subjective anyway, depending on what you want from the bike. I'm guessing that a lo pro in 653 with two disc wheels and a lowest gear of 55x21 probably isn't all that nice for a Sunday afternoon, but that doesn't make it a bad bike.