Carrera Subway

I had a Carrera Subway 1 Mens Hybrid Bike 09 22" bought for me as a Christmas present in 2009.

I was initially very pleased with this bike - especially as a tall person, the frame size was a good fit.

However in the 10 months since I've owned it, loads of things have gone wrong - I've had to have a new d railleur, a new back wheel, a new gear switch, several spokes on the front wheel (both wheels have lost a lot of spokes.)

All these items failed, and although I ride on it every day, it has only been on gentle trails - and not been abused in any way.

It's a false economy buying a bike in this price range as the build quality has been very poor, I've had to spend well over £100 getting it fixed.

The Subway is a good value bike that performs quite well on roads and tracks. It is quite well suited to going up quite steep hills, although it is a little undergeared at the high speed end. The one I received required assembly and this was very simple. A thousand miles down the line and the only problem I have had is with clunking pedals. This developed a short time after buying the bike and it was resolved under warranty. It does not have mudguards, although there are mounts for those that prefer them.

If you want a bike specifically for high speeds bike, then this might not be the best one to choose. If you want a sturdy, comfortable hybrid bike, then you could do a lot worse.