An Apology (of sorts) Carrera

[Amoto65]

Ok folks this is an apology(of sorts) for going on about how good and reliable my Carrera Crossfire was, while i still maintain it was great to ride, i now concede it certainly has reliability issues having started to cutout so many times this last week it now has a new home back at Halfords. So now starts the search once again for a suitable ebike or possibly a kit as it certainly did not put me off, hence i was wrong on the Carrera front.

 

[KirstinS]

So, give us your budget, weight and requirements (ie I need to do 5 miles to shop on a sunny day or I need to commute 20 miles round trip in all weather)

Then do tell us if you have a bike to convert. If so then details and picture of forks and bottom bracket

Armed with this the forum will advise muchly!

 

[Amoto65]

Ok, budget about £1000, distance about 30mls round trip, possible bike to convert Boardman hybrid 17" frame.

 

[RobF]

Your Crossfire experience mirrors that of many others - as far as it's possible to judge from what's posted online.

However, I doubt the Crossfire is much worse than many other £1,000 Chinese ebikes.

Buying another one could be seen as the triumph of hope over expectation.

Given your budget, I would be inclined to go the conversion route.

Some of the experienced builders on here should be able to recommend components that, while still being Chinese, have been shown to be the most reliable.

Careful installation should minimize niggly problems with wiring which can occur with mass-produced budget ebikes.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

However, I doubt the Crossfire is much worse than many other £1,000 Chinese ebikes.

Other bikes don't cut out like the Crossfire does. Most of the sub £1000 Chinese bikes are pretty good value and are generally reliable.. You can get problems with any bikes regardless of cost. It's just that the problems are different.

Last week, I fixed a 6 year old (Proteam Cyclamatic clone) that had had a badly done battery re-cell, a 4 year old Freego that had a broken pedal sensor, a very old no-name torque sensor Chinese bike (one of those with the large diameter bottom bracket) that had a wire broken inside the insulation and a 2 year old Kalkhoff that needed a new motor.

Cost for me to fix:
Proteam - a few pence for heatshrink sleeve and solder
Freego - about £3 for a new magnet disc
No name bike - about 50p for a length of 2-core wire
Kalkhoff - about £500 for the exchange motor and shipping.

 

[cyclebuddy]

...it certainly has reliability issues having started to cutout so many times this last week it now has a new home back at Halfords.

I can't help but wonder what Halfords might be doing with all these used but then returned faulty Crossfires?

Are they being fixed up and resold somewhere, being returned to China, or just being junked? Given the comparatively high number of them being returned, you'd think there would be a healthy market for these being fixed and resold as used/second-hand somewhere, but I've never seen any.

 

[redcup1999]

you'd think there would be a healthy market for these being fixed and resold as used/second-hand somewhere, but I've never seen any.

There would be if they could be fixed. However at present that does not appear possible - either you live with the cutouts or you return it. Shame as it is a great bike when working with plenty of torque to get up the hills.

 

[Amoto65]

It was a great bike when it worked, as for the Halfords staff they didnt quibble at all about a refund, which possibly indicates its happening quite a lot, however they did suggest i try the new Carrera Vengeance with the Bafung engine when they get one in this week so maybe they are going to phase the suntour motor bikes out as there isnt much difference between the Vulcan and the Vengeance.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes, it's an interesting problem. They wouldn't want to let them into the market because any issues could get the brand a bad name. It would appear that they have enough faulty ones to be economical to send them back in full containers. Whatever they do, it's a right mess for someone to sort out. Also, it's not doing the Carrera brand, nor Halfords any good to keep selling them in the faulty condition. It doesn't do anything for promoting e-biking either.

 

[Woosh]

I can't help but wonder what Halfords might be doing with all these used but then returned faulty Crossfires?

Are they being fixed up and resold somewhere, being returned to China, or just being junked? Given the comparatively high number of them being returned, you'd think there would be a healthy market for these being fixed and resold as used/second-hand somewhere, but I've never seen any.

some enterprising folk may devise a replacement battery/controller/lcd/pedal sensor to replace the SR one.
I'd buy the job lot for £150 apiece.