Carrera Road Bike at Halfords, any good?

[patmahe]

Medium
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

Large
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/p...

What do we think of these as a beginners road bike, I'll be trying both for size but I'm wondering which experienced cyclists would recommend, the medium or large? I'm 5 11' with a 30-31 inch inside leg. Anything else I should look out for as its my first road bike purchase, seems a good price though.

I'm thinking of getting the medium one myself.

Edited by patmahe on Saturday 3rd July 18:03

[anonymous-user]

the tdff is a good bike and should be more than adequate for a new roadie. nohting on its is particualr high tech or high end but its all reliable and sturdy stuff.

[Roman]

As per a very similar recent thread, Raleigh Airlite 100 from Rutland cycles for £299 0r a little mor fully assmbled & delivered. Search for link on google or eBay - excellent buy

[Magic919]

I'd have thought the large would be a better fit given your height.

[Zebrs]

My OH has a Carerra road bike, and is reasonably satisfied with it. The spec isn't great, nor is it particularly light. With hindsight I wonder if it wil turn out to be a bit of a false economy as we're already thinking about replacing it and it's not 2 years old yet. Could have been better off going for a low end Trek or Specialized. If you're going to stick with cycling, could be worth spending a bit more to get started.

[tonym911]

Did a bit of research on bikes before getting son a used Specialized, and general opinion seemed to be that the Carreras are good bikes, the Halfords stigma keeps the prices down (esp 2nd hand) but the hardware is well thought of.

[waughie]

oh its a carrera now is it?! when i used to sell them 2 years ago they were badged as apollos!

[AnotherClarkey]

Carrera bikes can be a good bet, usually much the cheapest way to get any given set of components. The frames can be decent too if you choose carefully.

My favourite bike ever was a mid '90's Carrera Quattro XT. Full Deore XT and a Girvin Flexstem for about £200 less than anything else at the time and a frame made by Saracen before they became st. Somebody else liked it too because they stole it from my hallway. bds.