Carrera Subway 8 (again)

Zog The Undeniable said:

We got the 18" version yesterday, and here are a few impressions for
those who are interested:

So you went for the hub gear version, after all, then.

Quoted message said:

- The hub has very little discernible drag in any gear. Unbelievably,
it's the "premium" version, same as on the £1100 Cannondale 50/50 -
"Cycle" pointed this out. This means less weight and more ball bearings
to replace plain bushes.

Quoted message said:

- Gear shifting is pretty much like an old Sturmey-Archer 3-speed; best
if you stop pedalling. No gear makes any significant noise when riding.

I find it seems to change OK, no matter whether you're pedalling or
not.

Quoted message said:

- 5th gear (from 8) is direct drive, in theory as efficient as a track
bike. If you're not spending most time in this gear on the flat it may
be time for a new freewheel; it would be a little high for me. The
chainring is also removable.

- The roller brakes (f or r) do feel exactly like a loose headset if the
bike is rocked while stationary. At the same time the levers can be
pulled right back to the bars when the brakes are adjusted for minimal
drag.

Damn. I hadn't realised they were *meant* to be like that. Before I
did my first ride, I mucked around with the brakes until they were
well clear of the bars. Probably been riding around with the brakes
half on!

Quoted message said:

However, on the move they develop a more solid feel with no
backlash and are more powerful than V-brakes. Those cooling fins are
only loosely attached unless the brakes are actually applied. I think
they're faux-discs really.

- The bike is about 30lb, comparing it to my Nomad.

- The front brake will foul SKS mudguards that use two stays. I will
either use P-clips or the lo-rider bosses.

I'll be fitting guards soon; is it practical to use lowrider bosses
for this?

Quoted message said:

- Rear wheel removal, and chain tensioning, is made difficult by the
reaction arm bolted round the chainstay. This needs a 5mm allen key and
a 10mm spanner to remove.

Confession: I still haven't managed to get the back wheel off.

Quoted message said:

- The (suspension) seatpost had no grease on it at all. Worth
correcting if you buy one. The stem is an Aheadstem so seizing
shouldn't be a problem.

- The kevlar-belted tyres are a claimed maximum 65psi. They don't
really look like the claimed 1.9" wide to me. Valves are Schrader. I
suspect the tyres are rather heavy and 26 x 1.3 S-Licks would be an
obvious, and equally puncture-resistant, upgrade.

- The bike rides quite neutrally with no particular handling quirks, and
is fine out of the saddle. It's really quite nice, and my wife likes it
which is the important thing as she will be riding it.

- Everything is very, very, matt black - even the spokes. Greasy
fingermarks will show!

My daughter thought it looked 'rather scary'. Which it does; entirely
matt black and somewhat insectile. Even the spokes and rims are black.

When I start using it as the utility hack I bought it as, it'll be
covered in as much hi-viz tape as I can fit on it. Just a tad nervous
about being seen these days.

Quoted message said:

- Cranks are 170mm.

- (A)Headset is a Cane Creek.

- Bars are quite narrow - maybe just on the 18" frame, I don't know.

- There is the normal selection of 5mm threaded bosses for mudguards,
lo-riders and a 4-point rack. However, see the comment above about the
front brake.

- All in all, it's a lot of bike for £350.

I think so. Particularly when I could have paid £1100 for a
Cannondale.

in message <[email hidden]>, [Not

Responding (') said:

Zog The Undeniable said:

- All in all, it's a lot of bike for £350.

I think so. Particularly when I could have paid £1100 for a
Cannondale.

Yes, but if you'd paid £1100 for a Cannondale, you'd have a Cannondale.

Mine cost £1700 and as far as I'm concerned is excellent value for
money.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; IE 3 is dead, but Netscape 4 still shambles about the earth,
;; wreaking a horrific vengeance upon the living
;; anonymous

Zog The Undeniable said:

We got the 18" version yesterday, and here are a few impressions for
those who are interested:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

- All in all, it's a lot of bike for £350.

Somewhat jealous as my Scott with a 7 speed hub cost £450 last
year. And it's off the road at the minute with a broken shifter. It
seems that an ordinary 7 speed shifter doesn't just drop in and
replace it as it makes expensive grinding sounds in most gears and
doesn't seem to adjust properly.

Road in on the mountain bike today, but I can't make a habit of that
as thieving scum may notice.

A

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 09:05:03 GMT, Simon Brooke <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, [Not

Responding (') said:

Zog The Undeniable said:

- All in all, it's a lot of bike for £350.

I think so. Particularly when I could have paid £1100 for a
Cannondale.

Quoted message said:

Yes, but if you'd paid £1100 for a Cannondale, you'd have a Cannondale.

Yes, but I paid £330 for a Carerra and have a Carrera. I'm happy.

And do I need it to be a Cannondale in order to meet my requirement
for a low maintenance, utilitarian hack?

What would a Cannondale do that this Halford's bike can't. Bearing in
mind that it'll be ridden by me so will proceed at a sedate pace
regardless of the factory it emerged from.

You're one of the last people I'd suspect of brand worship, Simon.

Quoted message said:

Mine cost £1700 and as far as I'm concerned is excellent value for
money.

But do you feel happy leaving it parked at stations overnight?

Don't get me wrong; I'm not knocking spending money on good bikes.
When I'm fully up and running the chances are that I'll get a weekend
fun bike; a Rohloff equipped Rotor, Thorn or Cannondale. It's just
that to do so now would be simply wasteful.

[Not Responding]:

Quoted message said:

But do you feel happy leaving it parked at stations overnight?

I wouldn't feel happy leaving a £50 bike parked at a station overnight - not
if I wanted to be able to ride it the next day.

Quoted message said:

Don't get me wrong; I'm not knocking spending money on good bikes.
When I'm fully up and running the chances are that I'll get a weekend
fun bike; a Rohloff equipped Rotor, Thorn or Cannondale. It's just
that to do so now would be simply wasteful.

I know what you mean. I really want a Proper Road Bike - I could happily get
by with a second-hand bike but even that would be stretching my budget at
the moment (unless I was really lucky with a bargain sold for less than what
it's worth).

d.

Simon Brooke said:

Yes, but if you'd paid £1100 for a Cannondale, you'd have a Cannondale.

Mine cost £1700 and as far as I'm concerned is excellent value for
money.

My Cannondale cost £750, reduced from £1250 and I was still done ;-)

in message <[email hidden]>, [Not

Responding (') said:

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 09:05:03 GMT, Simon Brooke <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, [Not

Responding (') said:

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 19:45:12 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
<[email hidden]> wrote:
>
>- All in all, it's a lot of bike for £350.

I think so. Particularly when I could have paid £1100 for a
Cannondale.

Quoted message said:

Yes, but if you'd paid £1100 for a Cannondale, you'd have a
Cannondale.

Yes, but I paid £330 for a Carerra and have a Carrera. I'm happy.

And do I need it to be a Cannondale in order to meet my requirement
for a low maintenance, utilitarian hack?

What would a Cannondale do that this Halford's bike can't. Bearing in
mind that it'll be ridden by me so will proceed at a sedate pace
regardless of the factory it emerged from.

You're one of the last people I'd suspect of brand worship, Simon.

You overrate me, then. There are some things I covet just because I feel
they represent a commitment to truly elegant technology. I think that
Cannondales are, on the whole, engineers' bicycles. Obviously there are
some bikes within the range which are not very special, but both in
their mountain bikes (Lefty forks in particular, the ridiculously light
Scalpels) and their road bikes (road-oriented suspension; and again,
bikes which are remarkably light without sacrificing either strength or
function) demonstrate a commitment to innovative design and a
preparedness to think outside the box that I don't see in any other
mainstream manufacturer today. And the quality of the welding makes the
welds on other very expensive aluminium frames look like pigeon [censored].

However, my remark above was essentially throw away and intended more in
jest than in earnest. As you say, Halfords bikes are often more than
adequately fit for their purpose, and in my life I've certainly ridden
more miles on Apollos than on any other brand. And you're perfectly
right that anything with 'CANNONDALE' written on it is a thief magnet.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

my other car is #<Subr-Car: #5d480>
;; This joke is not funny in emacs.

in message <[email hidden]>, [Not

Responding (') said:

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 09:05:03 GMT, Simon Brooke <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, [Not

Responding (') said:

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 19:45:12 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
<[email hidden]> wrote:
>
>- All in all, it's a lot of bike for £350.

I think so. Particularly when I could have paid £1100 for a
Cannondale.

Quoted message said:

Yes, but if you'd paid £1100 for a Cannondale, you'd have a
Cannondale.

Yes, but I paid £330 for a Carerra and have a Carrera. I'm happy.

And do I need it to be a Cannondale in order to meet my requirement
for a low maintenance, utilitarian hack?

What would a Cannondale do that this Halford's bike can't. Bearing in
mind that it'll be ridden by me so will proceed at a sedate pace
regardless of the factory it emerged from.

You're one of the last people I'd suspect of brand worship, Simon.

You overrate me, then. There are some things I covet just because I feel
they represent a commitment to truly elegant technology. I think that
Cannondales are, on the whole, engineers' bicycles. Obviously there are
some bikes within the range which are not very special, but both in
their mountain bikes (Lefty forks in particular, the ridiculously light
Scalpels) and their road bikes (road-oriented suspension; and again,
bikes which are remarkably light without sacrificing either strength or
function) demonstrate a commitment to innovative design and a
preparedness to think outside the box that I don't see in any other
mainstream manufacturer today. And the quality of the welding makes the
welds on other very expensive aluminium frames look like pigeon [censored].

However, my remark above was essentially throw away and intended more in
jest than in earnest. As you say, Halfords bikes are often more than
adequately fit for their purpose, and in my life I've certainly ridden
more miles on Apollos than on any other brand. It's also worth pointing
out that my road bike is a twelve-year-old Raleigh Record Sprint - so
neither new, nor even excellent of its period.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

my other car is #<Subr-Car: #5d480>
;; This joke is not funny in emacs.