Hi everyone.
I recently moved house to within a decent distance to be able to commute on my bike. It's only 6km a day total.
I have this Carrera Kraken. No idea of the year.
I've not ridden it in a long time. Here are some of the issues
Creaking squeaking from down by the pedals. I did some reading – Bottom Bracket & cranks?
Gears are slipping/they clank and jump – new chain and cassette with adjustment?
I'm a total novice at this – so I was looking for advice on what parts I should get etc. I like the idea of approaching this as a project and having a go myself.
I want to make it mechanically sound – then "nice to haves"
So I was wondering if you guys would be so kind as to advise me on suitable
Cranks
Bottom Bracket
Running gear/chain/cassette etc
Then nice to haves
Maybe fit paniers, mudguards and lights that look like the sun
Any advice would be great fully received.
by rich32g
4 Comments
Slick tires.
Full coverage fenders.
Rear pannier rack.
Ortlieb panniers. Rhinowalk is a good alternative if cost is a factor.
A comfortable seat.
Squeaks and creaks are notoriously difficult to locate and fix. Sounds resonate travel through the frame and often appear to come from somewhere other than the true source. The best place to start is to clean and properly lube everything you can. Odds are good you’ll fix the noise issue that way.
For the rest of your maintenance questions, I can’t recommend Park Tool’s videos and website enough. They will walk you through every step of the process with high quality productions that clearly highlight what to focus on, what to do, and common mistakes. RJ the Bike Guy is another good resource, especially if you’re on a budget or need to improvise tools instead of buying specialized bike tools.
A beat down Carrera is bordering on an uneconomical repair if you’re having to buy more than one or two replacement parts brand-new.
If you live in/near a city, look for a bike kitchen. They’ll help you fix all the issues you mentioned and probably also let you raid their 2nd hand parts bin at a low cost.
Alternative suggestion: fix what you can and run it into the ground. Riding this one for the next couple months will give you the benefit of experiencing bike commuting, so you’ll understand if its something you want to keep on doing, and perhaps help determine if its worthwhile to invest in a more suitable bike. That’s not to say the Carrera can’t handle a commute – it will just fine – but there are more appropriate bikes for the job out there.
A more typical road bike, something with a rigid fork and skinnier tyres, will suit road commuting much better than your Carrera. Will also likely take mudguards and panniers a whole lot easier. You’ll be able to find something decent 2nd hand for under £200 no problem. If your budget could stretch beyond that, you could find something very nice indeed. Worth noting, however, I absolutely love my disc brakes for winter riding in the UK, something your Carrera already has the benefit of.
Assuming the Carrera is mechanically sound and is given a wash, its an easy £50+ marketplace sale. Plus the money you’d save on replacement parts. All cash that could be put towards another bike.
However, I will always advocate riding the bike you have. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!
I’d change out the tires for something smoother (and probably a bit less wide), fix the mechanicals that you can, and add mudguards and lights pretty much right away. Paniers certainly are nice to have too.
>lights that look like the sun
Lights are not safer if they are too bright in the eyes of other road users. You want a high quality light that lights up the road well, but doesn’t dazzle oncoming road users.