who makes Carrera?

Believe that they are made by Merida (see thread in Bike cafe)

cyclingforums.comt265931 halfords carrera.htmlOpen ↗

ray-ez said:

I heard that Raleigh make Carrera bikes for Halfords (under the name Carrera of course)?

Does anyone know if this is true or not?

Thanks in advance guys,
Ray-ez

Halfords Carrera's are not real Carrera's, they are allowed to use the name but only after several court cases and a legal loophole. The bikes Halfords have are cheap tiawanese [censored] and would come out of the same factories as any other cheap brand. However, the real Carrera's, like Pantani, Gazelli and Chiappuci used are a separate company and are all handmade in Italy. Check out www.carrera-podium.it for the real Carrera bikes.

Batesy said:

Believe that they are made by Merida (see thread in Bike cafe)

cyclingforums.comt265931 halfords carrera.htmlOpen ↗

Yes, they are made by Merida, well at least the frames are...and also, people shouldnt knock them till they have tried them.

They are intended for the leisure market not the professional scene. You get what you pay for.

I thought the dearer ones were quite good personally. Having said that I went there for a tyre and the new ones look a bit [censored].

MichaelB said:

I thought the dearer ones were quite good personally. Having said that I went there for a tyre and the new ones look a bit [censored].

having frames made by Merida doesnt mean they are [censored]...Merida have a range of road and mtb bikes that retail for over £2,000, which according to thier specs are very much race bred bikes, and they were upgraded to XTR, hope etc they would be a lot more expensive...

wiggle.co.ukDefault.aspxOpen ↗

[quote="MountainPro"]having frames made by Merida doesnt mean they are [censored]...Merida have a range of road and mtb bikes that retail for over £2,000, which according to thier specs are very much race bred bikes, and they were upgraded to XTR, hope etc they would be a lot more expensive...

I Can't comment on their mountain bikes because I'm a roadie, but their road bikes ae pretty ordinary, but as you said, you get what you pay for. Their top road models are full carbon fibre, but ask anyone who works in a bike shop, and all carbon isn't the same. In general, taiwanese carbon (like Merida) feels great when new, but after a year of hard riding you can just about turn the frame inside out. Same for any cheap Giants, Treks and most other Taiwanese production bikes (most of them don't even state which company makes their carbon). Whereas you ride a 3yr old Colnago (Carbon by Ferrari) or a Carrera (Carbon made inhouse and by 3M) and they feel as stiff as they did when new. The same pretty much goes for their Magnesium bikes. But then again, if you look at how the Taiwanese bikes have evolved in the last 10 yr, there is a good chance that in the next 10 yrs they may be putting the Italians to shame.

Anyone suggesting that raleigh makes bikes has forgotten that the manufacturing side of Raleigh disappeared some time ago. They merely assemble components imported from far eastern sweatshops now.

The Carrera mountain bikes have been discussed recently on a different foprum. Apparently Merida was the manufacturer - now it's someone else.

FWIW I collected two Carrera bikes from Halfords in boxes marked Made in Vietnam.

I have owned a Carrera Kraken for two and a half years. My only beef with it was the chain set which wore out and suffered chain suck in less than 500 miles. A Deore replacement fettled it.

Acrimony said:

Whereas you ride a 3yr old Colnago (Carbon by Ferrari) or a Carrera (Carbon made inhouse and by 3M) and they feel as stiff as they did when new.

errr, i think you are mistaking Carrera, the Halfords brand with Carrera Italy who make pro race bikes. Different company.

carrera-podium.itcarrera-podium.itOpen ↗ << as ridden in le Tour and the Giro etc. by Cippolini, Pantani etc,.

halfords.comhalfords.comOpen ↗ as ridden in your street by kids

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I got a raleigh metro but Ido not fine it very good . it is my main miens of traspot I got £400 to spend and I am thinking buying a carrera gryphon disk spec lage performance from alfords is it any good can anyone think of a better one for £400

You should be able to get a Carerra Gryphon, new, for cheaper than that (£400). Also, try ebay and Gumtree for second hand bargains!

Im pretty sure the carrera bikes that halfords sell are good quality and have a brilliant ride furthermore im sure that carrera's are built in the uk as every frame has a union jack painted into the frame. Even if it does break, which is unlikely for any bike, "they are pretty simple objects to fix with simple tools" and if you cant you get 6months free servicing and safety check and i think if you part with an extra £5 you can get a extra 6months.

Luke.

Luke Hodgers said:

Im pretty sure the carrera bikes that halfords sell are good quality and have a brilliant ride furthermore im sure that carrera's are built in the uk as every frame has a union jack painted into the frame. Even if it does break, which is unlikely for any bike, "they are pretty simple objects to fix with simple tools" and if you cant you get 6months free servicing and safety check and i think if you part with an extra £5 you can get a extra 6months.
Luke.

The Union Jack certainly does not mean that the bike frame and/or fork were constructed in the UK. Carrera's CF frames are made in the Far East, and I'm almost positive their aluminum frames are also made in the Far East. There's not a thing wrong with that, as the technology and skills required to construct a bike frame and/or fork are available and just as good in the Far East as it is in the UK, the US, Italy, and so on. It can be argued that the skills in the Far East are even better given the volume of CF production that happens there. Please note that of course not all factories in the Far East produce great stuff. Some produce kack, but such is the case anywhere in the World. There are a lot of folks that remember how crappy Lucas electronics were in a lot of the British cars that used them decades ago. And of course, everyone knows that the UK is the only first world nation whose native foods are worse than what people typically eat in Sudan and Ethiopia. The only thing you guys gave to the world (in terms of food) that was of any value was fish and chips.......and Julia Childs, and Madame Childs made her bones by mastering French cooking, not by promoting the food of the Ol' Blighty.

hiya just to add to the comment u pay for what u get i paid a lot of money for my bike 650 pound to be exact tht aint cheap to me it best be the real thing my carrea banshee is a bloody good bike ive put my bike through its paces and its stood up to the battering ive given it and it still wants more the parts aint cheap by now i would have had chipped cogs and tht but i aint its still like new

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Luke Hodgers
Im pretty sure the carrera bikes that halfords sell are good quality and have a brilliant ride furthermore im sure that carrera's are built in the uk as every frame has a union jack painted into the frame. Even if it does break, which is unlikely for any bike, "they are pretty simple objects to fix with simple tools" and if you cant you get 6months free servicing and safety check and i think if you part with an extra £5 you can get a extra 6months.

Luke.

This means that it was assembled in the UK, not built. Somebody has put the wheels, brakes etc on in this country but everything else was made in the worlds workshop, the far east.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by nosussjon
This means that it was assembled in the UK, not built. Somebody has put the wheels, brakes etc on in this country but everything else was made in the worlds workshop, the far east.

Interesting isn't it, the made in country of origin sticker is becoming less and less believable. Things like marketing can also count toward the 'local content' its very dodgy misleading.

Btwin bikes are highly rated.

decathlon.co.uktriban 3 red road bike size 51 id 8274036.htmlOpen ↗

if you buy instore they will swap parts for a discount price.

decathlon.co.ukC 359113 road bikesOpen ↗

decathlon.co.uktriban 500 se road bike black id 8306187.htmlOpen ↗

To be fair, Carreras are not bad quality most major manufacture is indeed done in Taiwan, not because of cheap labour, but because they have the best global supply chain in the world as some of the most advanced R&D production the top-three places of the 2008 Tour de France“. where made in the same factory, That means Carlos Sastre on his Cervélo, Cadel Evans on his Ridley and Bernhard Kohl on his Specialized, we're made in TEn Tech Composites, Bontrager rims, TRek, GIant, Marco Bertoletti (Legend) making superb frames for years has his tubing shipped in from Taiwan, I've been in the Global supply chain for 20years, so trust me when I say most comments are snobbery, they have the worlds most advanced carbon composite engineering which is offered to the big boys with RD&D budgets to entice further investment and future production.. Hope this helps

Totally agree, see further comments below 🙂