Halfords Carrera TDF Review

Not everyone in life has a wallet full of cash to buy their first road bike.  Faced with a tight budget you can either opt for a second hand bike or a new bike from one of the entry level brands.  One of those that fits the budget bike category is the Halfords Carrera TDF.  At time of writing, this bike was on offer at £299 inc VAT, from Halfords stores - that's a really good price.

Carrera TDF Large

Visually the bike stands out, with it's distinctive black and yellow colour scheme on the 6061 Aluminium frame.  What also stands out is the weight of the bike, coming in just shy of 11kg (24Ibs) with the pedals on - no featherweight.  At this point, it's important to remember that this is an inexpensive entry level bike, not a £1000 carbon road bike.

You do know it when out on the road as the bike takes longer to wind up, I ride a carbon bike normally, however if you've got the fitness, you soon overlook it.  The current model has a paint scheme in honour of the Tour de France and there are graphics on the top tube denoting this. 

Tour de France Graphic

One thing that did strike me quickly was the gear ratio set up on the bike.  Sporting a standard 52-38 cassette on the front and 12-26 on the back, means that this bike will prove hard work to push up a hill, particularly with it's overall weight.

Given that a lot of people buying the bike, may well not have ridden much, I thought it more obvious to go with a compact chainset up front (50/34) which would be much more forgiving when you come to an incline.  Long days in the hills will be preserverd for all but the fittest and strongest riders.  Something to consider on the next range perhaps.  If however, all you're doing is riding the flats to work, you will get away with it. 

Shimano 52-38 Chainset

Rear components are Shimano's entry level RD-2300 with ST2300 levers on the bars, so you shouldn't find any major problems with shifting through the 16 gears the bike has on offer.  This means you would click with your thumb to make the gears feel harder and push the lever inwards to go up the gears (make them easier).  This Shimano gearing appears on most entry level bikes.  Being a brand new bike will mean this all gets set-up in store for you.

Shimano 12-26 tooth rear cassette

The wheel set-up is branded, with 700x23c tyres.  The wheels contribute quite a bit to the weight, coming in around 4kg (9Ibs) of the overall bike weight.  This is a combination of the 36 spokes and the material used.  Being an entry-level bike, they may buckle easily, so keep them nicely tuned with a spoke key.

Own brand Carrera wheels with 36 spokes

Braking is supplied by Tektro.  I found the brakes to be fine and was pleased to see cassette mounted pad, which gives you the option to upgrade the pads down the line.  I'd recommend a Swiss Stop brake or Shimano pad, which will increase the braking performance.

Tektro brakes

Riding the Bike

For a new rider, the set-up of the bike will please.  Big front headset, long stem, wide bars, sloping top-tube.  That all adds up to being a comfortable bike to ride to work or to spend longer days in the saddle.  It will give you quite an upright riding position (more commonly now known as a sportive position).

Whipping the bike up to speed takes a bit of effort, primarily due to the weight and gearing.  However, with some base fitness, you shouldn't have any major problems turning the pedals.  I did find myself working noticeably harder than normal to maintain an average speed of around 17mph on the bike.  For the ride to work though, you won't complain.

Thinking of who might buy the bike, I thought there would be six types of potential buyer: -

1. Student market (low cost bike due to risk of theft).
2. First time market (Budget bike, buying new rather than 2nd hand).
3. Ride to work market (low cost bike which will take a bit of a battering).
4. Winter hack (the bike comes with rack and mudguard eyelets).
5. Turbo trainer bike (gearing will be less relevant).
6. Training bike (something heavier to build your strength).

My overall assessment is that this is a good bike for the money.  It's not an all singing all dancing carbon road bike, it's not meant to be.  It's an entry-level budget road bike, delivering a solid bike for under three hundred quid.   At £449, I'd probably say throw another hundred quid on the budget and look around a bit more, however at £299 I think the value is there to be enjoyed, particulary when the bike is set-up and built for you and your first service is included within the price. 

One thing that I thought was a good addition was the eyelets to fit either a set of mudguards or a rack.  Many bikes in the £500 sector don't have these, it's a small detail, but when it comes to winter, you'll be grateful of a set of fitted mudguards - trust me.  

Finally, I think it's great that people can access the sport at this level- to get more people cycling, you need to make pricing accessible and get people out on the roads.  Despite it's name, you're not going to win the Tour de France on it, but you may well rank highly in the Tour de Work or Tour de University. 

Halfords are running a competition to win one of these bikes whilst the Tour De France is on.  You can see it on Facebook here.

Other Pictures.

Rear Drivetrain

View from the Front

Aero Downtube

View from the Cockpit

The Drivetrain