Halfords

In news:[email hidden],
JonC <[email hidden]> expounded sagaciously:

Quoted message said:

From a newbie, are any of Halfords bikes worth considering for off
road use ,Or should I look elsewhere ??
Budget about £300.
Anyone with experience of their products ?

I have a Halford's Apollo 10 speed touring bike.
It is well worth keeping off the road, the further off, the better.
During my first few years with it, something dropped off or came loose every
50 miles or so. The wobble that I had observed on the chain rings from day
one turned out to due to a collapsed bearing cage which I discovered on day
700 or so, too late to prevent disabling wear to the BB cones. The recurring
rubbing of the front tyre on the inside of the mud-guard turned out to be
due to the front forks cracking and breaking. Fortunately, they gave a
"lifetime" guarantee (who's?) on frame and forks, and despite keeping the
bike for 3 weeks in an attempt to find equally crappy forks, they were
forced to replace them with decent, even quite nice, ones. I have now
upgraded it to 15 speed, and fitted various bits that don't come loose on a
short ride, and it's really not too bad.
Moral: You are what your observers judge you to be. So keep hid.

--
Morton Burner

Alternative Bunsen

Quoted message said:

From a newbie, are any of Halfords bikes worth considering for off road

use

Quoted message said:

,Or should I look elsewhere ??
Budget about £300.
Anyone with experience of their products ?

Yes,

I have a Carrera Kraken SE and have found it to be a reliable workhorse. It
has basic suspension forks, Tektro disc brakes and Shimano Deore derraileurs
front and back. I do all of my own maintainance and I replaced the front
chainset in less than a year because I wore out the granny ring and it could
not be replaced separately. I paid £369 for mine at Easter last year and I
believe that the price has dropped since then. There is also the Carrera
Kraken which has 24 gears as opposed to 27 and it's a further £30 or so
cheaper still.

Last week I went riding with a colleague who has a Halfords Apollo mountain
bike with 'full suspension'. After an abortive rendezvous with her at
Marsden, I had to meet up with her at Holmfirts as she could not lift her
bike onto the bike rack mounted on her car boot. I was a bit sceptical
about her claims to punydom but she certainly had a point - her bike weighed
a ton I couldn't have made a heavier frame if I'd used depleted uranium. To
her credit, she forced a pretty brisk pace through some off road trails with
loose surfaces but ran out of steam on some rubbly climbs. The bike clearly
works though I would not recommend it as it has low spec components and I am
not sure that the components would last long.

The Carrera has had good write ups in Cycling Plus. You need to be aware
that at £300 you are buying in at the bottom end of the range of adequate
bikes. You might also want to consider the Ridgeback range of bikes
particularly the Adventure. You would then probably have some change left
out of your £300.

JonC said:

From a newbie, are any of Halfords bikes worth considering for off road use
,Or should I look elsewhere ??
Budget about £300.
Anyone with experience of their products ?

The Carrera bikes get good reviews and they carry some quality name brands in
some stores. The preparation and set up is variable and usually poor though.

Tony

"JonC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

From a newbie, are any of Halfords bikes worth considering for off road

use

Quoted message said:

,Or should I look elsewhere ??
Budget about £300.
Anyone with experience of their products ?

Go to your local bike shop and TALK to them.
I bet they'll fit you up with a better bike, and lower all round cost. Also,
if you use the local bloke, he might still be there in 2 years time to help
you sort it out again.

Cheers
John

"Wirral John" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"JonC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

From a newbie, are any of Halfords bikes worth considering for off road

use

Quoted message said:

,Or should I look elsewhere ??
Budget about £300.
Anyone with experience of their products ?

Go to your local bike shop and TALK to them.
I bet they'll fit you up with a better bike, and lower all round cost.

Also,

Quoted message said:

if you use the local bloke, he might still be there in 2 years time to

help

Quoted message said:

you sort it out again.

Cheers
John

Thankyou all for your advice..........J.