For a month now, more or less, I’ve been shuttling back and forward to work on the my new winter bike, a Carrera Virtuoso from Halfords.
I’ve tagged it ”winter bike” as it’s fully kitted out with lights, mudguards, rack and pannier bags, and takes some getting used to after the lightweight BeOne Storm bike I’ve been riding all spring and summer. It feels so heavy!
Construction of the Carrera was moderately painful. The major grief was fitting the rear pannier rack, as the legs fouled on some lugs on the frame. In the end I had to hacksaw a chunk off the ends of the legs to get them to fit properly. That’s a Halfords pannier rack on a Halfords supplied bike, by the way, and it seems to be a common complaint. I also had to flip the stem upwards, as the steerer tube was (I think) cut very short and the out-of-the-box riding position was too much nose-on-the-wheel. Further, the Halfords own-brand mudguards were a fiddly bugger-and-a-half to fit, are ugly and rattle a lot. I knew I should have bought the Crud Road Racer Mk2 guards. I might yet.
Carrera Virtuoso in Winter Bike mode
More pictures here.
So that was a sweary evening in the garage all right, but I got there, and even did a little pimping with some matching blue bar tape to replace the paper thin tape that was fitted. Seriously, I could feel the cold metal of the bar through the stock tape.
I’ve still to fully dial it in after putting it together, so the riding position is a little uncomfortable, and the 18-speed Tiagra gears need a good going over with the indexing hammer. It’s bearable though, and it’s a matter of another sweary garage evening to iron out the niggles.
Winter is coming, let’s see how the Carrera survives.
What do you do when the ice is on the ground, do you abandon your commute, like me?
Nice bike by the way. I’ve got a Carrera Subway LTD, which I’ve been commuting on since January this year, I’ve got the mudguards, panniers, lights etc., which makes an already heavy bike much heavier.
I’ve learned the hard way that cycling is a bad idea if there’s ice on the road! So yes, if it’s icy I abandon the commute. Rain, wind, even snow are all right, but ice is a big no-no for me.
Best of luck with the bike. I had one for ten months, called it Dorcha (Dark), loved it mightily. It was robbed in Dublin just last Monday night, so is missed. Just one brief bit of advice: Swivel the handlebars slightly until the slight straight section sits perpindicular to where your forearms naturally fall when stretched out. This took me about three attempts, but once I got it right the bike immediately felt MUCH more comfortable.
All the best, and if you should happen to see a navy and black Virtuoso with a Bontrager seat and stem…
I’ve got a bicycle review also and I’ve been looking through some of your posts.
I would just like to know whether you would prefer the Carrera Virtuoso or the BeOne Storm?
I would personally prefer to ride the Carrera bike, but maybe that’s just me.
I too have been riding my carrera virtuoso to work for 18 months, covering approx 2000 miles now.
I have it kitted out like yours (rack, panniers, mudguards, lights)
I ride in all weather (ice too, just take it easier) and the best thing i’ve bought for it was continental gatorskins (not had a pouncture since)
I’ve been through 2 sets of SKS commuter mudguards and both have cracked around the brackets and always been noisy/annoying. looking for a good change – and thinking about cruds– any advice?
I agree what you say about heavy, but it makes me appreciate my carbon Scott so much more when I do get out on it!