Thursday, 7 June 2012

The Carrera TDF Reviewed


The Carrera TDF is a 11.7 kg aluminum frame road bike. Not light by racing standards but by far the lightest bike I’ve ever owned. I bought it last September in Halfords in Cavan. I read a lot of advise online about not buying from Halfords but I found the service in the Cavan store first class and the bike was assembled perfectly.

The Carrera TDF
I’ve done almost 3000 km on it so far and I really like this bike. It’s a sporty bike built for performance rather than comfort. The 23 tyres do not cushion the rough country back roads I ride on as well as my hybrid bike, and the aluminum frame does not flex and absorb vibrations like a steel frame does, so I would not like to spend a long day on this bike. I mainly use it for Sunday morning group rides with a local cycling club and for that it's perfect.

I have two minor complaints, the pedals and the tyres it is sold with are both poor quality. I replaced the pedals with Wellgo Platform LU945 from Chainreaction cycles which I got at the excellent sale price of €7.56. And I replaced the tyres with a set of Continental Ultra Gator Skin tyres €32.99 each from Halfords. Apart from this all the components have held up well.

If you want to race this bike is too heavy, but for group rides and as an entry level road bike it's ideal. This is as cheap a road bike as you can buy, but if minded it will give good service. The bike has eyelets which will allow a rear rack and mudguards to be fitted so it would make an ideal light commuter machine.

All in all, the Carrera TDF is good value for money and an ideal low cost introduction to the world of road bikes. Available from Halfords right now for €429.99.

Brakes: Calliper
Frame: Aluminum
Front Mech: Shimano FD-A050
Gear Shifters: Shimano ST-2300
Handle Bars: Drop
Headset: Semi integrated
Gears: 16
Pedals: Road pedals with toe clips
Rear Mech: Shimano RD-2300
Saddle: Carrera
Seatpost: Alloy 350mm x 27.2
Suspension: Rigid
Tyre size: 23c
Tyres: Kenda road tyre
Wheel size: 700c
Chainset: Shimano FCA050 52/39 / Prowheel
Forks: Hi-Tensile Straight Blade
Stem: Alloy
Approximate Weight (KG): 11.7
Cassette: 12-26T

The Carrera TDF from Halfords

Continental Ultra Gator Skin Bike Tyre - 700c x 23c Tyres

Wellgo Platform LU945 Pedals

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2 comments:

  1. Unknown10 February 2013 at 01:20

    Hey man,

    Thanks for the details posted above. I agree the pedals supplied with it are not the best, and had then changed to the conventional ones.

    I bought this bike today and am a noive when it comes to road biking, and plan to do small but regular trips on it for exercise with a view to working towards joining a cycling club.

    Would you recommend any particular saddle? I find the one supplied quite hard.

    I called into a local (waterford) bike shop as research and the gentleman told me that this bike was not a good choice to buy (I feel he was mostly giving me the salesman speil..).... but did a sping out to dunmore east and and back again to waterford city without any major hassle. the gears were a little slow to respond, but I hope to fit that with a little WD$) oro the like

    Any advice for me??

    Many thanks for your help

    Pádraig

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  2. irishwildeye10 February 2013 at 13:23

    Padraig
    Not sure about the best saddle, I still use the one it came with. You could change it for a wider saddle like on a hybrid bike. I like a hard saddle myself. If you have the money and want a really good saddle Brooks is the top brand, but they are pricey and need to be kept dry.

    I have done about 5000 km on it now and it's still running well. My main advise is to mind the bike, don't leave it out in the rain and handle it with care when changing gear, for example. The components are not top class but will give long service if handled with care.

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