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Hi all,
This is my first post on here.
Over the weekend I did a 35 mile charity ride
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/cycleride
I didn't have a bike other than a very cheap mountain bike from when I was a young teen which was in a state of disrepair. I also thought I needed a Hybrid as it was such a long ride for a newbie like myself and the ride was part roads and part canal paths.
I was hoping to get a discount so was looking at the Pinnacle Lithium and Specialised from Evans for about £400. However, being a doctor in the UK even the cycle to work scheme was messed up for me. So my budget dropped.
I then went to Halfords and bought the Carrera Parva Women's Hybrid for £180, size small (I'm about 154cm height).
On the day of the ride, the bike seemed really good, other than the seat being a bit uncomfortable and generally the bike being really bumpy and uncomfortable when going over some cobbled paths, which I thought to be expected since there's no suspension.
However, at about 20 miles the chain fell off as soon as I was changing to lower gears on our second hill, took about ten minutes to fix it and it got stuck a couple of times whilst trying to fix it (though admittedly I don't remember when I last had to fix a chain).
At about 30 miles I got a puncture in the front tyre, we tried to fix it but it would keep deflating after about a mile of riding, that might have been because it was raining and the cement and patches wouldn't hold on the inner tube.
At about the same time, I started to get shooting electric shock pains up my hands and fingers if I bent my wrists back. The handlebars are described as flat but they sit sloped downwards 40 degrees in the part closest to the rider.
Also, I was struggling to press the lever with my thumb to shift up gears on the left (Altus, Shimano), it was too hard and painful, so gave up trying to use third gear.
All in all, a painful experience, but triumphant for finishing.
Now, I did a 37 mile charity ride last year on a rented Hybrid, which I really liked (am trying to find the name of the bike from our group) and NONE of this happened.
This leads me to question the bike. Admittedly I did less training this year and maybe I was just lucky last year with the puncture and chain aspect. Also, maybe I could have raised the seat a bit further this year to be on tip toes to the ground. And maybe the handlebars on the Carerra were a bit further away than last year's hybrid, which may not have helped. But, it just seems like too much to happen. I've seen a lot of very positive reviews on the Carerra online and so I thought I'd ask you guys for your expertise opinions.
Many thanks
It's the Carrera.
Well done for doing your charity ride, but for £180 I suspect you'd be better off buying a 2nd hand bike.
I have no experience of £180 bikes from Halfords.
Well, training is key.
Chain comes off if gears not quite adjusted properly.
Tyres puncture - normal - you need spare tubes not a patch kit. Carry a patch kit as an emergency and patch at home - two tubes should suffice.
As for sore hands/arms etc, it's both lack of training and possibly not enough time to ensure the bike is the right size and fit.
The only fault of the bike is the mechanics not sorting the gears properly.
Sounds mostly like setup issues, barring the puncture, which is just bad luck, but hard to say for sure. The bar thing sounds weird, though. They should curve back towards you, maybe slightly upwards.
At about the same time, I started to get shooting electric shock pains up my hands and fingers if I bent my wrists back. The handlebars are described as flat but they sit sloped downwards 40 degrees in the part closest to the rider.
Flat bars just refers to the fact they have only one bend in them, riser bars have an S bend in them on each side so the grip portion sits higher than the stem (anything from 5mm to 50mm+).
As a sort of starting position, loosen the stem bolts clamping the bar so it rotates freely, sit on the bike and with straight arms lean back to the bars come to a natural position (bending up a bit). Tighten the stem bolts at that. You don't ride in that position (it would give sore elbows!), but it always seems to work for me when guessing where the bars should be to start, it's about 30deg above horizontal.
Then adjust the ergonomic grips so the wedge bit is supporting your palm but you're not putting too much weight on it (about 20deg below horizontal)
Then adjust the angle of the brake levers so they're about 20deg below horizontal, the idea is that when braking your wrists are slightly bent back so your weight pushes through the bars or slightly behind which encourages you to lean back, not trying to rotate your hand either way around the grip.
The above is only a guide to get it 'about right', from there you can make small adjustments every few miles to get it comfortable.
The shooting electric shock sensation you describe is trapping/inflaming your ulnar nerve. And is probably why shifting gear became painful.
^^ I think the advice from thisisnotaspoon will sort out the comfort issues. Punctures a usually a matter of bad luck and the gears sound like the front mech needs adjusting by a competent mechanic.
Well done for finishing it. Carrera bikes aren't bad for the price, but Halfords can be hit or miss on whether it's set up properly. There's a high chance it was assembled by a 16 year old with a checklist and minimal training. That may be the reason behind the chain and shifting issues, and it sounds like the bars were in a weird position.
Puncture could just be bad luck, maybe the tyres were under inflated or just not very tough (as cheap bikes usually have cheap tyres). It's best to carry a spare tube if you can rather than relying on patches.
Halfords should offer a free 6 week check with their bikes so I'd ask them to help with the adjustment issues first.
Thank you all so much for your kind words and very helpful advice.
I had been contemplating whether to return the bike and get a better one in the future (though didn't know if they'd accept the return plus felt bad coz already used it long distance).
Hopefully with these adjustments and seeing what Halfords can do it might help. And more training and inner tubes next time!
I used to work at halfords and sell this bike, it's not that bad in terms of quality but the set up was probably not the best and riding position is very uncomfortable and is more suited to commuting than anything else. Personally you were sold the wrong bike. With your height a Carrera Vengeance 26" wheel Mountain bike would have been better, with lower pressure tyres and suspension it makes for a comfy ride and is more controllable off road. You say you rode a Hybird before and loved it well The Carrera Crossfire 3 is great bike, I have one and love it and ride it every where.
Try taking the bike back and ask for a refund or a FREE UPGRADE the more you complain the better the outcome at Halfords From my experience anyway.
iI was recently looking at the Carrera Parva as a potential purchase for my girlfriend.
It struck me as quite a sensible ,no frills bike.
It seemed much better for having a simple rigid
fork than some of the clunky cheap suspension forks that some hybrids have and looked quite good value to me.
Certainly good enough to get started on.
The Pinnacle hybrids would perform better but are twice the price.
It’s amazing the difference a few tweaks to saddle and handlebar position can make to comfort.
I’d get it properly set up then give it another go.
35 miles is a reasonable distance too if you haven’t ridden much and there’s a certain amount of conditioning that you acquire by riding more which will also help.
Carrera bikes are great value. I bought a virtuoso as my first road bike. Did many sportives on it without any issues. Wouldn't touch an Apollo mind.
Hi, well done BTW, that is a decent ride on any bike!
I would go back to Halfords and get them to sort the chain/gears issue. Then I would get a friend or colleague who is knowledgeable about bikes to help set it up. Just the saddle height can make a huge difference.
The other thing I would consider is to spend a bit on tyres and grips.
Stay away from any type of suspension bike unless you spend a load it will be really heavy and pretty rubbish.
Edit- just looked at the bike, I think it’s a great choice.
The 40 egree drop on the bars sounds wired though. Do your bars not look like this ...
thats the image from Halfords for the bike you bought.
Well done for finishing your ride. May I suggest that you google how to set your seat height, it makes an enormous difference to both power and comfort in my experience and it sounds as though yours may have been rather low.
OP, just wanted to say welcome to the forum and well done on completing the charity ride!
As others have said, with a little setup etc your bike is perfectly capable of your requirements. 👍
Carry on enjoying this great hobby!
Tyres puncture – normal – you need spare tubes not a patch kit. Carry a patch kit as an emergency and patch at home – two tubes should suffice
You can ignore this advice though. A patch kit is perfectly adequate.
A patch kit is perfectly adequate.
But a spare tube is much quicker and more reliable. There’s nothing worse than trying to patch a tube in the pouring rain.
(I never carry a repair kit. I can’t remember ever waiting for one of my riding group to patch a tube, rather than replace the tube. Repairs are always done at leisure at home. In the dry.)
If you are a doctor in the UK get a blue light card, big discounts at halfords and evans and basically everywhere.
If you intend to continue cycling take that bike back and spend another £400 odd minimum I'd suggest. Someone will be along in a minute my advice is rubbish but the number of people on here who would buy a new bike for £180 is minimal. Everything about that bike will be budget value and will fall apart before long if you ride it regularly.
Kind of agree with Jekkyl, but I think money would be better spent on a second hand, higher value bike.
And I don't believe punctures are always down to "luck" - more usually crap tyres.
Everything about that bike will be budget value and will fall apart before long if you ride it regularly.
Don't really agree with this at all. For the money, it doesn't look a bad bike. Carrera and B'twin are go-to brands when on a budget because you tend to get something pretty sensible with a decent spec (relatively speaking). My main mountain bike is a Carrera that cost me £400 10 years ago. Only thing that's been replaced are service items (tyres, drivetrain...)
A cheaper bike will generally be heavier, and some of the components (gears for example) may not operate as well as the more expensive stuff, but they'll often last just as well.
The chain dropping will be a setup issue (not unusual at Halfords). Take it back and ask them to set it up properly (they usually ask you take them back for a service after 6 weeks or something anyway, I think?).
Cheap tyres can puncture more easily than others. But there are a lot of quite expensive bikes that come with cheap tyres to keep costs down. So that's a worthwhile upgrade if you don't want to spend a lot of time with the tyre levers out. Especially in the rain. Often you get something stuck in the tyre, so you need to have a good check of the inside of the tyre before putting the tube back in again. If you use those self-adhesive patches too, I can tell you my own success rate is not high. Best to carry a spare tube if you want a quick fix, and proper puncture repair kit for backup.
Gear changes will not be as slick on cheap components, but even the cheap stuff tends to be pretty good these days, so I'd ask them to look at that too, as it may well be a setup issue. If Halfords are no help, take it to an independent shop and ask them to take a look.
The bike fit is something else, but I do think without regular riding, some amount of discomfort can be normal. A few changes to the bike could improve comfort immensely though.
If you wanted to double, or triple your budget. You could get a nicer bike. Quadruple it and you'll get something pretty slick if you shop around. After that any gains will be marginal at best. But your bike should get the job done reliably and comfortably, I would say. After you've bought new tyres... (though you were probably quite unlucky to be fair)
Well done.