On the plus side, my son fell about laughing - he thought it was the funniest advert he'd seen in a long time.
Sounds like a good source of bits for the next creation. Hi-ten steel is remarkably forgiving stuff for a bodger like me. Then again, it has plenty of experience (at being forgiven).
Their staff might not be very competent (though I've tended to find them pretty helpful - a couple of free wheel nuts when I lost one, for example), but not all the bikes are [censored]. For the price, the Carrera Subway range are pretty decent - I used one for commuting 5 miles each way a day for a couple of years, and prior to that had a Carrera Vulcan (old model without suspension) with road tyres for a good few years for a similar purpose, only getting rid of the latter when I wrote it off fairly spectacularly in a nasty crash that really should have resulted in me being dead or at least in hospital.
Neil Williams said the following on 10/11/2006 09:23:
Quoted message said:
For the price, the Carrera Subway range are pretty decent
I would query the "for the price" bit. I've ridden a Carrera Subway (not mine), and it wasn't a bad bike, especially once I set up the brakes and gears so they worked! (apparently the gears never worked properly - the owner thought that's just how they were. Hmmm...)
I just bought a better bike for less money later on. ("Better" by various magazine reviews, website reviews, comparison tables etc, not just my own opinion.)
I would query the "for the price" bit. I've ridden a Carrera Subway (not mine), and it wasn't a bad bike, especially once I set up the brakes and gears so they worked! (apparently the gears never worked properly - the owner thought that's just how they were. Hmmm...)
I hope he was astounded at how well it worked afterwards. I wonder what would happen if those of us who have friends with BSOs and badly set up bikes were to take them out for a ride on a well set up machine. Do you think they would be upset at realising how bad their metal monsters were, or would they be pleased at the revelation?
I would query the "for the price" bit. I've ridden a Carrera Subway (not mine), and it wasn't a bad bike, especially once I set up the brakes and gears so they worked! (apparently the gears never worked properly - the owner thought that's just how they were. Hmmm...)
I hope he was astounded at how well it worked afterwards. I wonder what would happen if those of us who have friends with BSOs and badly set up bikes were to take them out for a ride on a well set up machine. Do you think they would be upset at realising how bad their metal monsters were, or would they be pleased at the revelation?
Just coming into Bicester last Saturday I heard a BSO being cycled long before I actually saw it. Loud metal against metal scraping noises and the odd clang and ping.
The rider, on the pavement natch, seemed to be putting in an awful lot of work just to get it to go at a very slow speed. If I'd had the time (I was 85km into a 213km Audax) I would have stopped and offered to help tune the infernal thing.
-Alex
P.S. Hello to Mr Kahn who I met briefly at various points in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
I hope he was astounded at how well it worked afterwards.
I think so - it was his father that brought the bike into work for me to look at. Dad seemed impressed at least!
Quoted message said:
Do you think they would be upset at realising how bad their metal monsters were, or would they be pleased at the revelation?
Years ago I seemed to be a sort of free bike repair shop for my mates and the local kids, some of whom had BSOs. They always seemed to think that their crappy bike was suddenly a good bike, and went away pleased! There were limits though - a Raleigh Mustang will always be a Raleigh Mustang :-)
Paul Boyd <usenet.dont.work@plusnet.?.invalid> whizzed past me shouting
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Do you think they would be upset at realising how bad their metal monsters were, or would they be pleased at the revelation?
Years ago I seemed to be a sort of free bike repair shop for my mates and the local kids, some of whom had BSOs. They always seemed to think that their crappy bike was suddenly a good bike, and went away pleased! There were limits though - a Raleigh Mustang will always be a Raleigh Mustang :-)
My Subway 8 will always be a street bike, but it's been quite a good one since I fixed Halfords' well-meaning attempt to put it together.
