Carrera Virtuoso Road Bike

Con41

Carrera Virtuoso Road Bike 2011/2012

Anyone reviewed this bike? Its €530 in Halfords and is in my price range.

I would prefer to buy from my LBS (who know what they're talking about) so comparisons to this bike would be appreciated.

Many thanks

route66

Have a look here for some commentary on the B’Twin Triban 3 which you can get delivered from Decathlon in Belfast for about €400.

The Carrera Virtuoso Road Bike is pretty decent too, but would be heavier than the Triban 3 - partly explained by the Triban 3's carbon forks.

Outside of these 2, I'm not sure if you could get anything decent new for the money. Unless you get a special offer - this is the right time of the year for that - or buy secondhand.

Con41

thanks for the link. I could spend more on a bike (bike to work scheme) but its only for a few 40-50k cycles a week so not sure if its worth spending the full €1000.

Icyseanfitz

got one of these in for a friend, only left in 50 and 52 frame sizes though, great value

route66

Con41 wrote: »

thanks for the link. I could spend more on a bike (bike to work scheme) but its only for a few 40-50k cycles a week so not sure if its worth spending the full €1000.

It's worth it. Maybe something like this: link

Or this: link (now on special offer, so a few quid left over for accessories)

Or maybe add a few quid to the €1K ...

murphyebass

Con41 wrote: »

Carrera Virtuoso Road Bike 2011/2012

Anyone reviewed this bike? Its €530 in Halfords and is in my price range.

I would prefer to buy from my LBS (who know what they're talking about) so comparisons to this bike would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Hi op,

I bought a virtuoso a couple of weeks ago. I'm very pleased with it. Just changed the pedals today on it but everything else is grand IMO a great newbie racer.

Couple of pics below I took about an hour ago.

If you have any questions let me know.

fat bloke

Con41 wrote: »

thanks for the link. I could spend more on a bike (bike to work scheme) but its only for a few 40-50k cycles a week so not sure if its worth spending the full €1000.

"A few 50 - 50k cycles a week" ????? How many?? Like 3??? So maybe 150km cycling every week then, or more? That's a lot of cycling. You would be crazy not to spend at the very least, all of your btw allowance.

Seriously. Take 5 minutes and search the forum here for "Should I buy this 400 euro road bike" or words to that effect.
Then search for "I wish I hadn't wasted my btw scheme on a cheap bike".
Finally, search for "Looking to upgrade my cheap bike" threads which should all be uncannily inside of 6 months or less of the original cheap bike purchase thread.:pac:

Spend the btw scheme allowance now while you have the chance and get a decent bike for the love of God, is my advice to you and thousands before you.:(

triggermortis

I agree 100% with fat bloke

Con41

Fat Bloke you've convinced me (along with a few others). I'm looking at something closer to the 900-1000 euro.

And best of luck murphyebass with the new bike.

murphyebass

Con41 wrote: »

Fat Bloke you've convinced me (along with a few others). I'm looking at something closer to the 900-1000 euro.

And best of luck murphyebass with the new bike.

Cheers, to be fair I spent my btw scheme on a nice mtb so I couldn't spend a grand on a road bike... Maybe look at a boardman? They get decent reviews.
Good luck with your search. Lots of options though.

Surinam

murphyebass wrote: »

Cheers, to be fair I spent my btw scheme on a nice mtb so I couldn't spend a grand on a road bike... Maybe look at a boardman? They get decent reviews.
Good luck with your search. Lots of options though.

I can concur that Boardmans are very good value. I got my SRAM Comp back at the start of July and it has been fantastic since then with ~1000km cycled. It's now back up to €1k unfortunately, I got it for €700 during a one day deal.

You may want to get a local bike shop to look over it once you get it though, it seems that some Halfords stores don't have great mechanics i.e. you may find that something wasn't tightened right during assembly.

Bigus

route66 wrote: »

Have a look here for some commentary on the B’Twin Triban 3 which you can get delivered from Decathlon in Belfast for about €400.

The Carrera Virtuoso Road Bike is pretty decent too, but would be heavier than the Triban 3 - partly explained by the Triban 3's carbon forks.

Outside of these 2, I'm not sure if you could get anything decent new for the money. Unless you get a special offer - this is the right time of the year for that - or buy secondhand.

I went up to Belfast and got triban 3 for my 15 year old 6 ft son , very impressed so far for for 380 euro,

Don't expect any lovin from the staff but the bike seems well made and best of all it's not made in china but the Eu in Romania .

At that money it's more practical for an adolescent lifestyle , but I wouldn't overlook it as a winter trainer or commuter hack.

Icyseanfitz

Bigus wrote: »

I went up to Belfast and got triban 3 for my 15 year old 6 ft son , very impressed so far for for 380 euro,

Don't expect any lovin from the staff but the bike seems well made and best of all it's not made in china but the Eu in Romania .

At that money it's more practical for an adolescent lifestyle , but I wouldn't overlook it as a winter trainer or commuter hack.

to be fair that isnt saying much, the asians are the best bike builders in the world which is why just about every bike is built there

Cee-Jay-Cee

Bigus wrote: »

...the bike seems well made and best of all it's not made in china but the Eu in Romania .
.

That would put me right off it to be honest.

route66

In the August 2012 issue of Cycling Active, they tested the B’Twin Triban 3 against other bikes. In the review they stated that the frame was made in Italy; Romania was not mentioned. I have no way of independently verifying this*.

In any case, does it matter? In the test, the B'Twin beat the other 3 bikes despite it being the cheapest. It looks like it offers unbeatable value for money. If you google for various opinions on the bike, I doubt if you'll find anything bad said about it. Your comment is probably the first negative thing I've seen about the bike, and then it's just based on the country you think it's made in, not on any objective points.

EDIT:
The write-up on the B-Twin: link (PDF file)
*The report says there is a sticker on the seat tube stating it was made in Italy.

Bigus

Ok assembled in Romania, ffs,

I was putting this made in eu as a positive don't forget, and there's a world of difference between Asia and china.

I won't buy Chinese stuff unless it's branded.


Great bike so far for the money the triban 3, even included are front and rear lights(with batteries),pedals, old toe clips and a BELL :eek:all it's short is a bottle holder but the threads are there for a standard bracket.

Even the bar tape is high quality.

Btw all it says on the frame is "designed and engineered in France "

At that money I couldn't care less where in europe its made once it's not Chinese , and I talk from experience from multiple purchases in many industries.

route66

Bigus wrote: »

Ok assembled in Romania, ffs,

I was putting this made in eu as a positive don't forget, and there's a world of difference between Asia and china.

I won't buy Chinese stuff unless it's branded.


Great bike so far for the money the triban 3, even included are front and rear lights(with batteries),pedals, old toe clips and a BELL :eek:all it's short is a bottle holder but the threads are there for a standard bracket.

Even the bar tape is high quality.

Btw all it says on the frame is "designed and engineered in France "

At that money I couldn't care less where in europe its made once it's not Chinese , and I talk from experience from multiple purchases in many industries.

What size did you get for your son as a matter of interest?

Footnote: In the round-up of the review I mentioned above (not in PDF), the guy doing the testing was so impressed with the B'Twin, he was planning to buy one.

Bigus

route66 wrote: »

What size did you get for your son as a matter of interest?

Footnote: In the round-up of the review I mentioned above (not in PDF), the guy doing the testing was so impressed with the B'Twin, he was planning to buy one.

We had to manhandle a junior member of staff over to "size" him which meant pulling out a 56 or 58 and sitting on it then trying a 60 which he felt better on.

There was a bit of urgency because the lad on the phone the day before said they had got 15 in but were selling quick, since the article gave a 92 % rating tribane 3's are selling like hot cakes .

So it took him 20 mins then to adjust up and prepare the bike while we got shorts,
wire lees trip computer 8 function for £19

and I got a full length squasable rain jacket for £ 8 ( nearly the best purchase of the day if the bike wasn't so good)

Btw a BIG THANKS route 66 for the original link to , b twin and decathlon as I hadn't heard about them and was going to go down the second hand route which would have ended up with me shelling out a lot more and wasting time.mplus it's nice to get a present that's new when your 15.

kildare75

I have to say i bought the Carrera Virtuoso from Halfords in Carlow 3 weeks ago.
I'm not a biking expert but i do know a quality product for a great price when i see one (i paid €440 reserved it online..the price changes so keep eye out!) and i have to say im delighted with the bike.
The staff in the store were first class and really knew their stuff...esp Ian who really went out of his way to help with a small problem i had shortly after buying.
I cycle 300km a week and am really loving this machine..its looks great, rides well, and really for a starter bike that will last a few years i cant recommend highly enough.


P.S. change the pedals, as the ones that come with it are crap...but that seems to be the norm nowadays....

Seaneh

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-carrera-virtuoso-09-34691

The bike gets good reviews.

kildare75

Seaneh wrote: »

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-carrera-virtuoso-09-34691

The bike gets good reviews.

yes and rightly so, but thats the older model, but honestly i cant recommend highily enough...and i have no connection whatsoever to Halfords and i would have been dubious about buying from them beforehand having heard horror stories about some of thier bikes, but i found the service and the virtuoso first class, so ill give credit where its due

murphyebass

I got my Virtuoso for €412 euro. I bought it online and then when the lad in Halfords assembled it he chipped the paint slightly so gave me an extra few quid off.
Said chip is under the saddle and now completely covered by a light fixture.
I went for a 60k cycle on Saturday and I have to say I was well impressed by the bike. Got me there and back no hassle at all.
Feels like a well built bike for the money.
We'll see how it goes in the coming weeks/months.
Putting on a set of race blades today, ordered a white set to match the bike. Gonna be fun cleaning them. :rolleyes:

Casey78

Sorry I know this is an old thread but I found it while searching for info on the Virtuoso.
Just wondered those who bought this bike what do this think of it after owning it for a few months?
I am in two minds to go for it or this other Carrera.

Zelos
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_912079_langId_-1_categoryId_212536

Virtuoso
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_810675_langId_-1_categoryId_212536

Not sure if I like the all white of the Virtuoso but would there be much difference between the two bikes?
There is only €40 difference in price.

Seaneh

The Virtuoso has a compact chainset (easier on the hills) and a better groupset (2x8 instead of 2x7).
Besides that I wouldn't imagine there is any difference in the frame, fork or finishing kit.
It's worth the extra €40 anyway.

Casey78

Thanks Seaneh.

MungoMan

For people really serious about cycling, like Mark Cavendish for example

If Mark Cavendish was given a Carerro Virtusso bike from Halfords (without upgrading any components) , would it be possible to win a Giro stage race on it ?

Or would the bike be too heavy, or too slow, or not stiff enough ?

I guess not being able to shift in the drops might be a problem, Mark could upgrade to ..........Tiagra !

mcgratheoin

MungoMan wrote: »

If Mark Cavendish was given a Carerro Virtusso bike from Halfords (without upgrading any components) , would it be possible to win a Giro stage race on it ?

2 things to start with
1. Cav will never win a stage race like the giro - not his thing
2. The GC contenders change the setup on their bikes regularly depending on the stages - mountains, classic style, time trial, flat etc.. so nobody rides an entire stage race on one bike without changing any components

To answer the gist of your question, probably not. It would be akin to asking Rory McIlroy to win the Open with a set of golf clubs out of Argos. At the absolute top top level, the differences between the abilities of the pros is so small that minor improvements in equipment are important. Those extra few kg on a mountain stage, the lack of the correct closely spaced gears etc. would all combine to add too much time to win the overall.
However, if you put a top pro GC rider on a Carrera Virtuoso in the Rás, he'd probably still win comfortably enough. For an idea of the difference in level, look at the crit race Dan Martin won in Dublin a few years ago when he soloed away from the entire An Post team.



**edit**
Just to expand on the weight issue - here are the estimates from the Giro climbing in Stage 14 this year. Nibali weighs 61kg (according to wikipedia) and we can assume his bike weighs in at the minimum 6.8kg. Assuming he has a bottle or two of water, let's call it a total weight of 69kg.

Now, if we stick him on a Virtuoso straight out of Halfords (11.1kg as per bike radar) we're adding 4.5kg onto his weight straight away. This will decrease his power to weight ratio from 5.86W/kg to in and around 5.5W/kg. At 5.62, Caruso gave up a minute to Nibali on this climb, so a rider at 5.5 would lose over a minute on each similar climb over the course of the Giro.


Stage 14, Jafferau (7.25 km, 9.02 %, 654 m)
Mauro Santambrogio ITA / Vini Fantini | 23:05, 18.84 Kph, VAM 1700 m/h, 5.86 W/kg
Vincenzo Nibali -- ITA / Astana

---

| 23:05, 18.84 Kph, VAM 1700 m/h, 5.86 W/kg
Carlos Betancur -- COL / AG2R

---

| 23:14, 18.72 Kph, VAM 1689 m/h, 5.82 W/kg
Samuel Sanchez --- ESP / Euskaltel -- | 23:31, 18.50 Kph, VAM 1669 m/h, 5.75 W/kg
Rigoberto Uran --- COL / Team Sky --- | 23:35, 18.45 Kph, VAM 1664 m/h, 5.73 W/kg
Cadel Evans

---

AUS / BMC

---

| 23:38, 18.41 Kph, VAM 1660 m/h, 5.72 W/kg
Domenico Pozzovivo ITA / AG2R

---

| 23:38, 18.41 Kph, VAM 1660 m/h, 5.72 W/kg
Robert Kiserlovski CRO / RadioShack - | 23:38, 18.41 Kph, VAM 1660 m/h, 5.72 W/kg
Damiano Caruso --- ITA / Cannondale - | 24:03, 18.09 Kph, VAM 1632 m/h, 5.62 W/kg
Rajal Majka

---

POL / Saxo-Tinkoff | 24:04, 18.07 Kph, VAM 1630 m/h, 5.62 W/kg

valleyoftheunos

Casey78 wrote: »

Sorry I know this is an old thread but I found it while searching for info on the Virtuoso.
Just wondered those who bought this bike what do this think of it after owning it for a few months?
I am in two minds to go for it or this other Carrera.

Zelos
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_912079_langId_-1_categoryId_212536

Virtuoso
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_810675_langId_-1_categoryId_212536

Not sure if I like the all white of the Virtuoso but would there be much difference between the two bikes?
There is only €40 difference in price.

I bought a Virtuoso last weekend, picked it ahead of the Zelos mostly because of the gearing and some of the components on the Virtuoso are a slightly higher spec. there is only €40 in the difference so it wasn't a hard choice.

I've only done about 50 or 60 KMs on it since but its comfortable and well feels well put together. I'm happy with my purchase and confident it will be a while before I want to upgrade.

I know lots of people have an aversion to Halford's but the branch I was in was a good experience, the bloke was a cyclist and knew his stuff. The accessories were reasonably priced and it was ready when they said it would be.

Casey78

mcgratheoin wrote: »

2 things to start with


To answer the gist of your question, probably not. It would be akin to asking Rory McIlroy to win the Open with a set of golf clubs out of Argos. At the absolute top top level, the differences between the abilities of the pros is so small that minor improvements in equipment are important. Those extra few kg on a mountain stage, the lack of the correct closely spaced gears etc. would all combine to add too much time to win the overall.
However, if you put a top pro GC rider on a Carrera Virtuoso in the Rás, he'd probably still win comfortably enough. For an idea of the difference in level, look at the crit race Dan Martin won in Dublin a few years ago when he soloed away from the entire An Post team.

Also if you gave me Rory Mcilroy's clubs to play a round of Golf in would I shoot a better score than with the clubs I have?
Doubt it.

I'm not looking to win races,i just want to get fit hence why I don't want to spend a fortune on something.
I also don't want a bottom of the range thing that will break after a week. Spending a few grand though would be ridiculous same as if I spent a few grand on golf clubs,I'll still be a hacker!
Always amazes me how my golf buddies spend a fortune on clubs thinking they will suddenly be scoring a par round when in reality they still end up close to 100.

Casey78

valleyoftheunos wrote: »

I bought a Virtuoso last weekend, picked it ahead of the Zelos mostly because of the gearing and some of the components on the Virtuoso are a slightly higher spec. there is only €40 in the difference so it wasn't a hard choice.

I've only done about 50 or 60 KMs on it since but its comfortable and well feels well put together. I'm happy with my purchase and confident it will be a while before I want to upgrade.

I know lots of people have an aversion to Halford's but the branch I was in was a good experience, the bloke was a cyclist and knew his stuff. The accessories were reasonably priced and it was ready when they said it would be.

Thanks valleyoftheunos that's good to know.
I think I will make the purchase.

MungoMan

mcgratheoin wrote: »

2 things to start with
1. Cav will never win a stage race like the giro - not his thing
[/TABLE]

I meant Cav winning a stage of the Giro, not the GC !!
My english is not that good

Some answers on boards are are good, but your reply was really good, nice to see a bit of science in a reply to back up the bull**** , I mean to back up the facts.