To restore? Carrera Krakatoa Evolution

[Cip]

Hello everyone! First post on this forum.

I have a Carrera Krakatoa Evolution mountain bike, which I found abandoned at the house I moved to, three years ago. I am using it since then and now I was thinking of custom restoring the bike, including to do a complete re-paint job (in white). It is mostly in its original condition, though quite worn out and with a lot of scratches (it was not great when I found it either), the wheels (one was stolen) and the back derailleur were replaced.

Now, I have noticed this bike is quite popular and there are a few people who are still looking for this bike. I am wondering if repainting it would reduce its value (if it has any), along with the replacement of some parts? What should I do with it?

Any opinions? Thank you.

 

[mynchiboy]

Re:

Welcome to the forum. It's good to see that you've resurrected a bike that somebody else left to waste and you're making good use of it

TBH the bike itself is pretty low end and was more or less at the bottom of the Carrera range, from memory it's from around 1992. For this reason it's probably not worth throwing too much cash at it, personally I would focus on making the bike 100% mechanically and not worry too much about spending money on a repaint which will not make any real difference to the value.

A good clean up and service will make a big difference and there's plenty of free/cheap spares that will crop up on here that will help you along. I will have a q/r front wheel available soonish (no name hub, araya rim) once I start my latest project that you can have for free/postage depending on where you're at if it helps.It will then be a great cheap commuter that will soldier on for a few more years yet..

 

[doctorstewie]

Welcome! Pull up a saddle.
Mynchi is ALMOST right about the Krakatoa's position in the range and bang on for the year: it's the 92 model. When the Carrera range started the Krakatoa was the base model at around 300 quid, but by 92 there was the Kashmir ( Reynolds 500 with 200gs ) and the Katalyst ( Hi Ten joke Estay design with 100gs bits and a handlebar designed to make cyclists weep ) beneath it at 249 for the Kashmir and 229 for the Katalyst. The Krakatoa Evo sold from anywhere between 250 and 350 quid depending which part of the year you wanted to buy one.
I have an MBUK review knocking about for this very model if you want a scan of it?
As for painting it: fill your boots, though good basic bikes they aren't particularly sought after by collectors: mostly people who had one back in the day, and you won't be ruining a classic. ( also the paint on the 92 models wasn't great, the earlier Black and yellow splatter ones had fantastic paint with laquer over the decals and was hard to scratch or chip. The metallic red chipped faster than a chef in a fish shop. )
The reason I know all this is I worked for Halfords from 90 to 94 as a bike dept supervisor / mechanic, and I took a real interest in everything we sold. Even the really awful stuff, based on a "Know your enemy" strategy. The Krakatoa was a bike I sold a truckload of because I liked it.
The next year's model after this was Tange cro mo with even worse paint in a silver / purple design a bit like a Dynatech.
That's a nice little project you have there. Mynchi's advice is good, and his offer of a wheel is brilliant. Go for it, it rides nicely.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

I'd say no.
Some Carreras were better spec & worthy of some love, but just my opinion, the components & frame are too low-rent to bother with. These were nicely painted however.

 

[Kona-Ian]

My mate had the black and yellow one BITD.

 

[ljamesb]

Re:

I was trawling eBay yesterday for interesting bikes and remembered seeing this Carrera Krakatoa.

No bids so far. Maybe you could offer the guy £25 via a message and you could end up with an entire set of original spare parts to choose from. Then just put whatever is leftover on the for sale section. Just a thought .