Carrera Vulcan - Any good?

[_mjs_]

So I'm after a bicycle for riding to work in an attempt to get more exercise.

I don't know a great deal about engineless bikes but the Carrera Vulcan seems about in my budget and has blingy sounding bits like hydraulic disc brakes and lockout forks.

Can anyone tell me if this bike will be up to the job of getting me to work which is 5 inner city miles each way and will be mostly speeding through alleys, hooning on pavements and cutting through parks.

TLDR; are these bikes worth the £315ish Halfrauds are asking??

www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=810709&categoryId=165499&langId=-1

Thanks,

-Mark
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Previous Bikes: 2006 Honda XR125L > 2003 Yamaha DT125R > 1996 Honda CB500
Current bikes: 1997 Kawasaki ZZR 600 E5 > 2006 Honda Varadero XL125V

[Marcg868]

Very good bikes. But more of a Trail centre bike than for basic pootle about. But if you plan to do some proper mountain biking their a great bike.just heavy due to the forks.

A cheaper but good alternative if your main aim is commuting is the Btwin rockrider from Decathlon at £299 has a better fork, and gears but poorer cable discs.

But disc brakes are cheaper to upgrade than forks.
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JACK, MISS YOU LOADS YOU LEGEND.

[G]

First off; if it's all tarmac stuff, or not particularly bad dirt (ie paths etc), I'd go for a hybrid or road bike personally.

I did the mountain bike on the road thing for ages, but especially if you're commuting, you'll either get there a good chunk faster for the same effort, or a load easier for the same speed.

Definitely go for road tyres if you are stuck on a mountain bike.

A general rule for Halfords is that they set their prices based on discounting, so it may not be a great deal unless it's got something knocked off.

Something like this is still a bit 'mountainbikey' with the front suspension, but has better gear ratios.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/gt-transeo-30-2013/
(My hybrid has a slightly higher top gear, thinner tyres and no suspension - but mine's basically a road bike with wide bars.)

This is more of a mountain bike with road tyres already installed:
https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/10507/trek-3700-disc-hardtail-mountain-bike-2013-sale
Ignore the specification, it's for a different bike.

[The Tot]

They won a few awards for being value entry MTB. The frame is quite heavy - 13kg for a hardtail is about the same as my trek full susser!

But, you get a lot of bang for your buck with the discounted price. Normally, the discount rate on them is about £375 when MBUK or whatever mag reviewed them.

I've got a road bike, hardtail mountain bike and full-suspension bike, and every time, I chose to use the full suspension for my commute to work! Why? it may be 4 miles, but I get a better work out. On the way home, I can attack some bridleways and single track lanes to extend it to 10 miles.

Rubberwise, get yourself some Schwalbe marathon plus if you only intend to use it for road commute - puncture protection will work wonders.

Forks can be replaced. I originally had suntour XCM's on my Trek hardtail before i replaced them with the forks off my full susser (full suser was getting upgraded to fox's).

Specwise, it's a lot better than what you will get from any main brand for that price, i.e. Specialized, Trek, Scott, Cube, Norco etc..

I'd pick the carrera over G's other suggestions! Hydraulic disc brakes > cable/mechanical discs any day!
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[G]

Weight is listed at 14.7kg.
I should point I'd agree on the full suspension thing for mostly dirt riding, though I've done plenty of long mountain bike rides on hard tails - full suspension makes it more comfortable for general riding and means you can hit the downhills (where the real fun is) smoother so faster.

However, for the road, it'll sap your energy.
Which is why the bikes I linked to were 'hybrids'.
You don't "need" hydraulic brakes in town.
Also, I've been told about cases where cheap hydraulic brakes have started to suffer fade, while the cable ones were fine (long steep down hills in Wales.)

This is the hybrid I've got (mine is last year's mode), which is very capable for road use and you get a decent spec for this price.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-scourer-2013/
It'll do many 'bridleways and single track lanes' fine too - see what people do on cyclocross bikes!

And on that, I think for town I'd be tempted to go for a bike with drop bars.

If you want a better workout, you can always take a longer route .

[carlosthejack...]

+1 on the hardtail. Full sus is pointless for anything other than blazing downhill. How about a straight barred road bike?

This is probably way beyond your budget, but there will be plenty lower specced at similar prices that will be a lot lighter than the Carrera, which, incidentally, are cracking bikes for the money, the frames are made in the same factory as Kona and a well upgradeable. My Kraken's had all sorts of tweaks. Shame I've not ridden it for a while...
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DonnyBrago: "I think you may be confusing rain and napalm..." Paulington: "It's not what you ride, it's how you ride it."
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[_mjs_]

So I just tried ordering the Carrera, using the collect and reserve option (no delivery available) but the nearest store with any in stock is 30 miles away.

Halfords = useless bastards
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Previous Bikes: 2006 Honda XR125L > 2003 Yamaha DT125R > 1996 Honda CB500
Current bikes: 1997 Kawasaki ZZR 600 E5 > 2006 Honda Varadero XL125V

[J4mes]

Have you tried your local bike shop to see if they have something similar?

[_mjs_]

I'm going to phone them tomorrow, if I don't get any joy I'll probably get one of the bikes recommended by G.
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Previous Bikes: 2006 Honda XR125L > 2003 Yamaha DT125R > 1996 Honda CB500
Current bikes: 1997 Kawasaki ZZR 600 E5 > 2006 Honda Varadero XL125V

[G]

I would consider what you do want - something like my last link, which I think is most suitable for the riding you describe, is a long way away from the Vulcan.

I'd still seriously consider second hand.
Also, do you have the 'bike to work' scheme where you work?
If you do - use that, it works out a fair bit better generally.
This is the same price as is now showing for me on the Halfords site, but I'd say is a fair bit better bike on the mountain bike side: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/gt-karakoram-30-29er-2013/

[_mjs_]

I quite like the look of that actually... think I've found my plan B
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Previous Bikes: 2006 Honda XR125L > 2003 Yamaha DT125R > 1996 Honda CB500
Current bikes: 1997 Kawasaki ZZR 600 E5 > 2006 Honda Varadero XL125V

[carlosthejack...]

I want a fixie for bobbing about on...
____________________
Responsibility. It's a difficult reality for some. I'm running the 2014 Sheffield Half Marathon on behalf of Bluebell Wood Childrens Hospice. Please sponsor me, even if it's just a quid.
DonnyBrago: "I think you may be confusing rain and napalm..." Paulington: "It's not what you ride, it's how you ride it."
Current rides: '05 VFR800 VTEC, '57 Mondeo 1.8 TDCi #58LEGEND

[Baffler186]

I had a Vulcan a few years ago, paid £280 in the sale, at least I think it was, it was definitely a Carrera. Only had cable discs but they were awesome, I put that bike through a lot of stress (Moorland riding, gravel tracks, shallow rivers, jumps etc) and it only let me down once when the crank sheared off. Also the gear cables needed adjusting more than I would have liked, but that's easy enough to do.

I then started doing a lot more road riding so I put road tyres on. It made a little difference but not much - and I found it rather uncomfortable for 20 miles +. However, for a 5 mile commute it will be fine with road tyres on. I commute sometimes on a road bike now which is faster but it horses for courses, any rough terrain and my roadie would be fooked.

You probably won't be disappointed if you bought it - just check everything is set up properly and don't be mean with the maintenance. I think the newer models will have better group set than mine did (SRAM X3) so will be better I'd imagine.