First road bike...embarrassing?

[ianrauk]

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Nothing wrong with a 2012 Carrera Virtuoso, bought mine back in 2012 and still using it. Complemented it with a touring bike and a vintage town bike for shopping but it's still my road bike 5 years and a few thousand miles later. It's overdue some TLC to be honest!

The 50-34 double is great for the flats of the Fylde & Norfolk but can make the hills of the Lakes or Peak District more of a challenge if your used to a mountain bike.

Does yours have the same paint job as mine or do you have the Olympic limited edition version?

Looks a nice bike that...

 

[Dec66]

If you're feeling people are being sniffy about Halfords jobbies... This is my Apollo TDF (as the Carrera TDF used to be called, before they introduced the "Carrera" branding). She's 12 years old, she cost me all of £250 new, she took me on my first L2B with no worries whatsoever, and the above picture was taken in France, where we shared a little adventure around Artois a few weeks back.

She popped a spoke the other day, so I just bought her two new wheels as a thank you for her 12 years of loyalty, despite my dalliances with my Mongoose Crossway 350 Hybrid, my B'Twin Triban 500SE and my Cube Peloton.

Enjoy your cycling, and enjoy your bike; anyone being sniffy about your bike on a car forum is just being a nobber.

 

[johnnyb47]

View attachment 362418
If you're feeling people are being sniffy about Halfords jobbies... This is my Apollo TDF (as the Carrera TDF used to be called, before they introduced the "Carrera" branding). She's 12 years old, she cost me all of £250 new, she took me on my first L2B with no worries whatsoever, and the above picture was taken in France, where we shared a little adventure around Artois a few weeks back.

She popped a spoke the other day, so I just bought her two new wheels as a thank you for her 12 years of loyalty, despite my dalliances with my Mongoose Crossway 350 Hybrid, my B'Twin Triban 500SE and my Cube Peloton.

Enjoy your cycling, and enjoy your bike; anyone being sniffy about your bike on a car forum is just being a nobber.

Brilliant post. Well said buddy

 

[johnnyb47]

It doesn't matter what bike you have. It may be a £3000 state of the art bike or a Raleigh shopper , cycling is one of those things that caters for all kinds of budgets and goals that you want to achieve. That's what makes cycling such a diverse sport/ lesiure / mode of transport for the millions of us on planet earth.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Just at our local bike co-op today. A true cross section of bicycles and cyclists. Gives me hope for humanity, even on this side of the auld pond.

 

[SirDickieBird]

It's the white and blue version (as seen above by the waterside).

I'll take back any concerns - think I was influenced by a few haters on other forums....

Thanks...

 

[Alan O]

I'll take back any concerns - think I was influenced by a few haters on other forums....

You do get a bit of snobbery in various corners of the Internet, but I haven't really seen any here - you can ride any old wreck (I know, I do) and you'll get support

(And yours is, as many have said, a pretty decent bike)

 

[gaijintendo]

I am of the opinion that the base Triban 100 is probably sufficient for 90% of all cycling in the UK. It could certainly get me to work. I could probably squeeze 100 miles out of one.
But we have freedom of choice, and can spend what we like. I like steel bikes, I wanted disc brakes, so I dropped a bit more.

 

[cyberknight]

View attachment 362418
If you're feeling people are being sniffy about Halfords jobbies... This is my Apollo TDF (as the Carrera TDF used to be called, before they introduced the "Carrera" branding). She's 12 years old, she cost me all of £250 new, she took me on my first L2B with no worries whatsoever, and the above picture was taken in France, where we shared a little adventure around Artois a few weeks back.

She popped a spoke the other day, so I just bought her two new wheels as a thank you for her 12 years of loyalty, despite my dalliances with my Mongoose Crossway 350 Hybrid, my B'Twin Triban 500SE and my Cube Peloton.

Enjoy your cycling, and enjoy your bike; anyone being sniffy about your bike on a car forum is just being a nobber.

Indeed , and on club rides you will generally get people who know as a rule is the legs not the bike and they appreciate what you can do or try to do .The club i ride with i have one of the cheapest bikes there as most are on bikes that cost 2-3 times more , i have seen them turn up for reliabilty rides where the winter bikes is about £3k, its only my lack of time to train thats really holding me back in any meaningful measurable way .

 

[johnnyb47]

With some people though ,you will always get some sort of negative remark about your trusty stead. On the opposite end of the scale , I got a sarcastic comment just the other week about my bike. I entered a classic bike race ( pre 84/83) I can't remember which ,but one guy in the race had to make a flippant comment that my derraileur was new and not in keeping with the race rules. I just laughed in his face and made a point about his new tyres and bar tape. It was a charity fun ride/ride at the end of the day.
You will always get the odd person who will look down there nose at you.
99.9% of cyclists though are a decent bunch who are just happy to see others out and about enjoying what they do.

 

[GuyBoden]

 

[dfthe1]

Here's my trusty Carrera. I use it for commuting, shopping, riding with the kids (with a child seat on the bike), long rides, short rides, 100mile sportives...

If anyone's been looking down on me they haven't made it obvious.

 

[KnackeredBike]

Without sounding like a broken record this is my Carrera, as the username suggests it has had next to no maintenance over tens of thousands of miles and still happily plods on. Only once has it failed to get me to my destination, and only one puncture on two sets of Gatorskins.

In the picture it is towing a big old lawnmower en route to some cycle path clearance.

Bikes are like cars in a lot of ways, you can spend a lot of money on one but to be honest the cheap ones go in the same direction at pretty much the same speed, often with fewer repair bills. Bikes for me are amazingly utilitarian objects, with no "fat" to trim they will get you from A to B for no money but a lot of fun. Ride the bike as much as you can and it will reward you back.

 

[bigjim]

That Carrera Zelos looks like a steal at the moment for £220. I quite like the colour as well.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-zelos-mens-road-bike

 

[NorthernDave]

That Carrera Zelos looks like a steal at the moment for £220. I quite like the colour as well.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-zelos-mens-road-bike

For British Cycling members, the price drops to under £200...that really is a deal.