Thoughts on Carrera Crossfire-E

Earn

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Aug 28, 2015
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Anyone got one of these? I can't find the weight of the bike anywhere or much about the Suntour system. Also reports on Halford's website are very positive but I thought the 36v 9ah battery might be a bit weak.
 

RobF

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Sep 22, 2012
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The battery will be strong enough, but it doesn't have a very big capacity.

Depends how far you want to go on one charge.
 
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Earn

Pedelecer
Aug 28, 2015
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The battery will be strong enough, but it doesn't have a very big capacity.

Depends how far you want to go on one charge.
Thanks for your help. Probably doing about10 miles to start but hoping to join my husband on some of his shorter (30 mile) cycles eventually. I had been looking at the Roodog Chic, which has 10ah battery, but the battery is enormous. Their website says Last generation battery. When I asked eBikes direct they said it meant latest, but based on the size I think it is probably an older generation technology. The benefit of the Carrera is that I have a Halfords close by if there are issues. It also look great and the battery fits neatly on the (ladies) crossbar. Doesn't have a throttle or lights and I need to make sure I can fit a pannier rack for shopping.
 

RobF

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Sep 22, 2012
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Thirty miles from 9ah could be tight - that applies to whatever ebike you buy.

Your weight and fitness is important when going for maximum range.

You don't need to be Laura Trott, but it will help if you are already active even if it's only in a limited way.
 

Earn

Pedelecer
Aug 28, 2015
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Thirty miles from 9ah could be tight - that applies to whatever ebike you buy.

Your weight and fitness is important when going for maximum range.

You don't need to be Laura Trott, but it will help if you are already active even if it's only in a limited way.
Well I am overweight, but do cycle a bit and walk at least 6 miles a day with the dogs, so not a complete sloth :). The Suntour system seems to be well integrated
 

RobF

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Sep 22, 2012
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Cycling a bit and walking six miles a day makes you a lot fitter than many new ebikers.

It means the 9ah battery on the Carrera is far more likely to take you 30 miles, although you will need to use lower assistance levels.

The Carrera is new to the market, so I doubt anyone on here has one yet.

Ebikes at this price point are much of a muchness, so you are right about the advantages of buying locally.

From the pics on the website, it looks like the bike has mounts for a carrier.

But don't worry about that, even if there are none, there are always ways and means.

Lights are easily sorted, lots of clip on LED rechargeables which are bright and last well - allow up to £50 for a good pair.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/carrera-crossfire-e-womens-electric-bike
 

Earn

Pedelecer
Aug 28, 2015
27
4
60
Cycling a bit and walking six miles a day makes you a lot fitter than many new ebikers.

It means the 9ah battery on the Carrera is far more likely to take you 30 miles, although you will need to use lower assistance levels.

The Carrera is new to the market, so I doubt anyone on here has one yet.

Ebikes at this price point are much of a muchness, so you are right about the advantages of buying locally.

From the pics on the website, it looks like the bike has mounts for a carrier.

But don't worry about that, even if there are none, there are always ways and means.

Lights are easily sorted, lots of clip on LED rechargeables which are bright and last well - allow up to £50 for a good pair.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/carrera-crossfire-e-womens-electric-bike
Thank you very much for your help. I didn't realise it was new to the market, which explains why there is not much info on it.
 

anotherkiwi

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Jan 26, 2015
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Anyone got one of these? I can't find the weight of the bike anywhere or much about the Suntour system. Also reports on Halford's website are very positive but I thought the 36v 9ah battery might be a bit weak.
Very nice looking bike. I would say 20 kg tops for the weight, without rack and mudguards. The Suntour fork is one of the entry level trekking forks with manual lock out.
 

Yamdude

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Sep 20, 2013
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I fitted an 8fun kit, with a 9a/h bottle battery to a Carrera Crossfire. Never fitted the pedelec and just use the thumb throttle as & when i need it, which is a lot of the time. I get about 30 miles from the battery, but i notice the power dropping off after about 15/20 miles. It may well be better mileage just using pedelec, i'll have to fit mine one day and see what difference it makes.
The Carrera Crossfire's are pretty sturdy bikes and mine takes everything i throw at it and nothing has broken.
The Crossfire is 14.5 kilos.... so probably about 21/22 kilos with the kit.
The Crossfire E is a nice looking bike and of course you have easy returns and repair with a Halfords being local.
If you take out a british cycling membership you get a discount at Halfords, 10 or 15 %, cant remember which, but the discount should be a lot more than the membership cost.
 

Benjahmin

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Nov 10, 2014
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I fitted an ezee kit to a Carrera crossfire 3. Bike started at 15.5Kg (it had 24 gears) and ended up at 28\Kg after fitting kit, panniers, lock, waterbottle, mudguards, stand and lights. The bike itself feels great, responsive and the quickfire gear change is good. Disc brakes took a some fettling as Halfords hadn't set them right but work well.
Don't know the system fitted to the Carrera e, but I would think that 9Ah is a bit small. There's nothing worse than battery anxiety when you're miles from home and thinking of having to pedal a heavy dead lump home against the wind. (Have you noticed how there always seems to be a head wind when cycling?:rolleyes:) Overall I'd say the basic bike is nice enough and can be had for £255, so I'd look at that and look at kits with a bigger battery.
DSCF2964.JPG
 

Nealh

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Aug 7, 2014
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As with the thread 'First Bike' the op was looking at the same bike and had doubts about the 9ah battery, take a look at the similar spec'd Woosh Karoo cheaper and stronger batteries. But depends how tall you are.
Sorry Earn re- read your post the Carrera is more suitable for you being a unisex style or as I call it a ladies model, little known about the Suntour hub motor on this forum Flec or Trex may be able to shed more light !!!
 
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RobF

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Sep 22, 2012
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As with the thread 'First Bike' the op was looking at the same bike and had doubts about the 9ah battery, take a look at the similar spec'd Woosh Karoo cheaper and stronger batteries. But depends how tall you are.
Sorry Earn re- read your post the Carrera is more suitable for you being a unisex style or as I call it a ladies model, little known about the Suntour hub motor on this forum Flec or Trex may be able to shed more light !!!
As kiwi said upthread, Suntour is the forks.

It's not clear from web spec what motor the bike has.
 

Nealh

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Ah maybe I misinterpreted the bike details the hub looks to be 120mm.
It does say the 8 sp Suntour system will help you up the hills which implies its the hub drive as it mentions the forks separately but this can be any Chinese re -branded hub which Cyclotek do using the MXUS.
 
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Emo Rider

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Jan 10, 2014
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I saw this bike recently at Halfords. I started asking some technical questions of the bike department staff and it was a deer in the headlights moment. One went out back and came out with a training advisory pamphlet and handed it to me to read. Not a confidence building exercise I can assure you.
 
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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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Ah maybe I misinterpreted the bike details the hub looks to be 120mm.
It does say the 8 sp Suntour system will help you up the hills which implies its the hub drive as it mentions the forks separately but this can be any Chinese re -branded hub which Cyclotek do using the MXUS.
Ah, the 'detailed specs' for the bike do give the motor and battery as Suntour, so it looks like it is.
 

Earn

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Aug 28, 2015
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Had a shot of one last night and really liked it. Gearing on flat, with no assist, was much better than anything I have tried.
 

Earn

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Aug 28, 2015
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Ok, I am now the proud owner of a Carrera Crosfire E. Only played on it today but it is so much fun. Turns out although spec'd as 9ah, the battery is in fact 11ah, as it says on sutour web site.

So now it is all sorted I can come clean with my story. I had researched e bikes and settled on the Roodog Chic. They had none in stock and I had several very pleasant exchanges with Roodog themselves. I decided to wait until they had some shipped in. I had to buy the bike through Halfords as they run my company cycle to work scheme. The use middleman e bikes direct to source Roodog bikes. I spoke to them a couple of times too. Both Roodog and e bikes direct were very helpful. Eventually after about a month the bike was in stock and I ordered it. It arrived at Halfords with no paperwork so they couldn't contact me. No worries. After a couple of weeks I called to ask if they had it and they said yes. The bike came ready built. I picked it up and was really chuffed as it looked great in white. Took it out for a shot and the chain came off almost immediately. Used the handy throttle to get home assuming it just needed set up properly. On inspection the derailleur plastic housing was broken and the limit stops were damaged. No sign of a knock, scratches etc so assumed it had been a knocked whilst packaged in transit. Annoying but probably fixable. Then went to remove the battery. Nope, the top pannier rack was digging in to the battery and it was impossible to move. This didn't look like damage but like it had been built wrongly in the factory with the battery in situ. Had enough and took it back to Halfords who refunded me and I bought the Carrera. Lucky escape I think, though the guy at Roodog was very nice, but I am afraid I didn't want to have to wait another two weeks and still potentially have issues. I ordered the Carrera on Friday night and picked it up lunchtime today with everything I chose fitted. Great service and I love the bike. Happy ending :)
 

Nealh

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Aug 7, 2014
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Good to hear Earn, 11ah sound s a bit better it should be a sensible buy keep us informed.
 
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