Becoming a roadie

[micky]

G'day

Been lurking for a bit now but not really had much to say. I have decided
since i'm spending the bulk of my time riding my mtb on the road I want to
buy my first (for 15+ years) road bike. I plan to start off with some small
~30km rides around home then build up to some more serious work up in the
hills / along the beach.

I have set myself a budget of $1500 and am not sure what to go with. A few
of the lbs have specials on the giant ocr/tcr ranges right now. I can get
an ocr1 for approx $1300 or a tcr2 for approx $1500. These come with mostly
105 running gear and seem ok. Can anyone offer experiences good or bad with
these bikes ? Or maybe something else to look at in the price range ?

cheers

micky

[Parbs]

"micky" wrote in message ...
> G'day
>
> Been lurking for a bit now but not really had much to say. I have decided
> since i'm spending the bulk of my time riding my mtb on the road I want to
> buy my first (for 15+ years) road bike. I plan to start off with some small
> ~30km rides around home then build up to some more serious work up in the
> hills / along the beach.
>
> I have set myself a budget of $1500 and am not sure what to go with. A few
> of the lbs have specials on the giant ocr/tcr ranges right now. I can get
> an ocr1 for approx $1300 or a tcr2 for approx $1500. These come with mostly
> 105 running gear and seem ok. Can anyone offer experiences good or bad with
> these bikes ? Or maybe something else to look at in the price range ?
>
> cheers
>
> micky
>

I have (or possibly had, but that's another story) an OCR-1 and I'm pretty happy with it. Reasonable level of components, brakes
don't seem great compared to the V-brakes on my mt bikes but did improve with new pads.

It doesn't have much soul, but it is only a road bike ;-)

Parbs

[dave]

micky wrote:
> G'day
>
> Been lurking for a bit now but not really had much to say. I have decided
> since i'm spending the bulk of my time riding my mtb on the road I want to
> buy my first (for 15+ years) road bike. I plan to start off with some small
> ~30km rides around home then build up to some more serious work up in the
> hills / along the beach.
>
> I have set myself a budget of $1500 and am not sure what to go with. A few
> of the lbs have specials on the giant ocr/tcr ranges right now. I can get
> an ocr1 for approx $1300 or a tcr2 for approx $1500. These come with mostly
> 105 running gear and seem ok. Can anyone offer experiences good or bad with
> these bikes ? Or maybe something else to look at in the price range ?
>
> cheers
>
> micky
>
>
>
>
>
I have a TCR1 and its been great. They are a really decent buy in
terms of bang for buck. The issues with em are that the compact design
doesn;t suit everyone , that they are pretty twitchy and that the build
quality (as opposed to the component quality) can be crap. All not as
big an issue on the newer ones. THe shimano wheels on last years model
were amazingly heavy (the price you pay for less spokes I guess :)

Dave

[flyingdutch]

dave Wrote:
>
>
> or just to confuse you, :D ...
>
> http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/category154_1.htm
> (inc pedals too)
>
> (altho personally i'd lean to the TCR

--
flyingdutch

[Marc Bishop]

Just bought an OCR Zero for $1650 ... love it ... it is also my foray into
becoming a roadie

Aside from the cranks being Shimano .. waht is the differenve between the
TCR and OCR range?


"micky" > wrote in message
u...
> G'day
>
> Been lurking for a bit now but not really had much to say. I have decided
> since i'm spending the bulk of my time riding my mtb on the road I want to
> buy my first (for 15+ years) road bike. I plan to start off with some
> small ~30km rides around home then build up to some more serious work up
> in the hills / along the beach.
>
> I have set myself a budget of $1500 and am not sure what to go with. A
> few of the lbs have specials on the giant ocr/tcr ranges right now. I can
> get an ocr1 for approx $1300 or a tcr2 for approx $1500. These come with
> mostly 105 running gear and seem ok. Can anyone offer experiences good or
> bad with these bikes ? Or maybe something else to look at in the price
> range ?
>
> cheers
>
> micky
>
>
>
>
>

[flyingdutch]

Marc Bishop Wrote:
> Just bought an OCR Zero for $1650 ... love it ... it is also my fora
> into
> becoming a roadie
>
> Aside from the cranks being Shimano .. waht is the differenve betwee
> the
> TCR and OCR range?
>
>

aint the OCR's Alu-frames and the TCR's Carbonfibre?
(not just the forks which both have??

--
flyingdutch

[Marc Bishop]

My OCR has carbon forks and rear triangle and the TCR's I looked at on the
Web have alloy frames with only carbon forks


"flyingdutch" > wrote in
message ...
>
> Marc Bishop Wrote:
>> Just bought an OCR Zero for $1650 ... love it ... it is also my foray
>> into
>> becoming a roadie
>>
>> Aside from the cranks being Shimano .. waht is the differenve between
>> the
>> TCR and OCR range?
>>
>>
>
> aint the OCR's Alu-frames and the TCR's Carbonfibre?
> (not just the forks which both have??)
>
>
> --
> flyingdutch
>

[dave]

flyingdutch wrote:
> Marc Bishop Wrote:
>
>>Just bought an OCR Zero for $1650 ... love it ... it is also my foray
>>into
>>becoming a roadie
>>
>>Aside from the cranks being Shimano .. waht is the differenve between
>>the
>>TCR and OCR range?
>>
>>
>
>
> aint the OCR's Alu-frames and the TCR's Carbonfibre?
> (not just the forks which both have??)
>
>

No the TCRs have a carbon and a non carbon version.. (Or at least had..
I have the current catalouge somewhere but cant be bothered looking it up.

THe TCR used to have a triple butted frame and a really twitchy
geometry.. The OCRs were double butted, a little more relaxed and
generally a lower specification. I think the difference was not a lot.

Dave

[Marc Bishop]

Look at www.freedommachine.com.au for specs

My OCR has Ultegra parts ... not cranks .. but I added the Ultegra cassette
instead of the standard SRAM

Was pretty happy ... got all that and a computer worth $50 for $1710 from
TOpgear in Templestowe

Tim was bloody brilliant

Will never go to Links in Templestowe again .. they stuffed uyp my fork
service and charged me $100 for my new XTC 1 .... didnt even lube the chain
for the normal service
And tehn were rude about it when I asked!!!!


"dave" > wrote in message
. ..
> flyingdutch wrote:
>> Marc Bishop Wrote:
>>>Just bought an OCR Zero for $1650 ... love it ... it is also my foray
>>>into
>>>becoming a roadie
>>>
>>>Aside from the cranks being Shimano .. waht is the differenve between
>>>the
>>>TCR and OCR range?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> aint the OCR's Alu-frames and the TCR's Carbonfibre?
>> (not just the forks which both have??)
>>
>>
>
> No the TCRs have a carbon and a non carbon version.. (Or at least had.. I
> have the current catalouge somewhere but cant be bothered looking it up.
>
> THe TCR used to have a triple butted frame and a really twitchy geometry..
> The OCRs were double butted, a little more relaxed and generally a lower
> specification. I think the difference was not a lot.
>
> Dave

[Bean Long]

Micky,

I'm in the same frame of mind and have been considering a new roadie for
some time. I've been a strict hybrid commuter for the past 12 years with no
real fitness for roadies, but I just can't hold off much longer!! Since the
birth of our second bub though I haven't had much time to buy... only to
consider my options. I like the look of the Giant TCR and OCR's for price
and components and I must say that the Learsport bikes that Dutch pointed
out are very good on price. Most of their range seems to be kitted out with
Shimano groupsets and they all seem to have Wellgo slipless pedals which I
know nothing about but assume there's a price-saving their somehow(??).
Other machines I've looked at include the Trek and Merida ranges and several
others who's names I've sudden;y forgotten. I'm currently working on the
principle that I would like a reasonable Shimano group set (Sora at least)
and a good, light-weight frame. Anything on top of that for small
increments in price are a bonus (e.g. carbon frorks).

Best of luck and let us know what you end up with.

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

"micky" > wrote in message
u...
> G'day
>
> Been lurking for a bit now but not really had much to say. I have decided
> since i'm spending the bulk of my time riding my mtb on the road I want to
> buy my first (for 15+ years) road bike. I plan to start off with some
small
> ~30km rides around home then build up to some more serious work up in the
> hills / along the beach.
>
> I have set myself a budget of $1500 and am not sure what to go with. A
few
> of the lbs have specials on the giant ocr/tcr ranges right now. I can get
> an ocr1 for approx $1300 or a tcr2 for approx $1500. These come with
mostly
> 105 running gear and seem ok. Can anyone offer experiences good or bad
with
> these bikes ? Or maybe something else to look at in the price range ?
>
> cheers
>
> micky
>
>
>
>
>

[Carl Brewer]

On Sat, 11 Jun 2005 20:04:03 +1000, "micky"
> wrote:

>G'day
>
>Been lurking for a bit now but not really had much to say. I have decided
>since i'm spending the bulk of my time riding my mtb on the road I want to
>buy my first (for 15+ years) road bike. I plan to start off with some small
>~30km rides around home then build up to some more serious work up in the
>hills / along the beach.
>
>I have set myself a budget of $1500 and am not sure what to go with. A few
>of the lbs have specials on the giant ocr/tcr ranges right now. I can get
>an ocr1 for approx $1300 or a tcr2 for approx $1500. These come with mostly
>105 running gear and seem ok. Can anyone offer experiences good or bad with
>these bikes ? Or maybe something else to look at in the price range ?

For $1500 you'll get a good Al alloy frame with CF forks, clipless
pedals and an ordinary seat, and it'll weigh around 10kg. It'll
have 105 mostly. The thing to splash for is the better frame
with the lower end groupset - you'll keep the frame for a
lot longer than the other bits - they'll wear out, the frame should
last a -long- time. The Trek 1400 is around $1500, so is the
raceline something - the raceline's got a better groupset, but a
shonky frame, as an example of the above.

Things to remember - make sure the bike fits - this is a function
of the size of the frame, its geometry and how it's set up by the
bike shop for you when you testride. Testride everything you can.
If the shop won't let you testride, go to another shop. If they won't
fit the bike to you before the testride, go to another shop ... If
they try to sell you floor stock that's not the right size, go to
another shop ... you get the picture? :)

Things to avoid - Shimano wheelsets! Seriously, they're
rubbish, and they break a lot, and they're very
hard to get parts for. Most LBS's will build you a set of
generic wheels - I personally recommend Shimano 105 hubs
with Mavic open pro or DT Swiss RR1.1 rims, but
that's just a preference. Make sure you can get parts for
the wheels easily & quickly - try getting a set of shimano
spokes at the moment in Melbourne if you have
their funky wheels - we've been waiting for 6 weeks for
a mate of mine to get his fixed. Just as well I have lots of
spare wheels.