mmm...Giant or Scott, opinions please

Hi,

I am in the hunt for my first carbon frame, I have narrowed it down to 2 choices:
Scott CR1 w/ 105 + Aksium, or
Giant TCR C2 w/ 105 + Aksium

All I am after is the best frame as groupset and wheels can be upgraded. Both frames have great reviews (stiff, lightweight-approx 950g for 57cm etc), the Scott being the more racier ( I am not racing) and the Giant having a bit more vertical compliance ( I do 80-90km long rides). Although I take this with a grain of salt.....Could owners of each speak up and let me know what the bikes are really like.

Oh, I am about 80kg and 5ft11in if that matters.

Cheers.

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wayno

Best advice is to test ride both and if there is a clear winner, buy it. If they feel much the same, buy the one from the shop that has the best service. Make sure the shop will do a basic fit for free with the purchase, changing stem length and handlebar width etc as necessary.

In terms of "raciness", there are only slight differences in the basic geometry of the two frames, but the sizing is a bit different - you'd probably be on a M/L Giant (57 cm top tube) and a 56 (58 even?) CR1. As 62vette said, you really need to ride both bikes (and possibly both the 56 and 58 cm in the CR1) to get a feel for them. Comfort will probably be more a result of tyre pressure and bike setup than geometry since the differences are small.

I have a 2006 CR1 and previously had an old (~2000) TCR (Alu version) and a 2006 OCR carbon (for ~ 1 week before a car ate it). I didn't have enough time to get a good feel for all the attributes of the carbon Giant, but I am very happy with the ride of the CR1 and would recommend it highly. If I had to buy another frame today, the CR1 would be the first thing I would look for.

I've the Scott

Love it

but, you should test ride them. Whichever feels best. Try and throw in a hill and some twists on your test ride.

Scotty

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

Matches your name right!! I'm not going to say I love Scott!!!

I'm 95% on the Scott CR1 side. There is not a bad word said about it on the on the respectable roadbikereview forum.

I'll put my order in after the Gong Ride, as a reward....one last body battering from my aluminium beast.

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wayno

There's also the 08 Specialized Tarmac Elite which is pretty similar.

Probably a good bike but, very poorly named.

When riding, I prefer to avoid the tarmac.

Scotty

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

I would say the Scott aswell. I absolutely love mine. I don't know if the Giants are the same, but i got a sheet of paper with my bike that lists all the checks they do on the frame before it is shipped out. I didn't know this when i purchased the bike but i thought that was a good touch. good luck with your new bike.

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leestevens@


http://www.riverlandcyclingclub.com/

The Scott CR1 Team is ordered and coming later this week. I will write a review after everything is adjusted and do my first big century ride.

Wheels are an issue though, I have never had Mavics but the 1.9kg Aksium's are a little on the fat side. I'm thinking of American Classic Hurricane or Victory.

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wayno

I run a pair of mavics on my (equipes - so not quite the same as yours) and i must say that as a known spoke breaker i have never had a broken spoke or neeed to have them straightened more than a minor amount so i am very happy with the rims. Although the back wheel did crack under warranty (luckily) and i gather that the company may have had quite a lot of cracked rims last year i am still happy because it makes a difference when you are confident in the wheels and spokes.

Even better option is to build your own.

I've taken to building Open Pro's over Ultegra hubs but, you could substitute your favourites here.

You get the satisfaction of learning a wonderful new skill; your friends will think you amazing and you can be sure that the wheels are build with care and strong.

Scotty

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

If you have the time and the desire

IMHO, factory wheelsets are good enough these days that you can get similar mileage and durabaility from a similarly priced wheel (assuming it has a sensible build!)

Paying retail for decent hubs/rims (even if buying from PBK/ChainReaction/other OS store), and then spokes, nipples etc. comes close to (or exceeds) the cost of many mid ranged factory wheelsets - at least in Australia.

Having said that, it would be nice to be able to sit down and learn to do it one day.

n

That's pretty much the point.

I've ordered the necessary parts for my latest build. Ultegra Hubs, Open Pro, spokes, nipples from the USA. The cost to buy the parts in fact does exceed (slightly) what I could get them out of the box posted from the US.

However, I love building them and I know they are build right.

Last time, I got a set of wheels out of the box, took them apart and rebuilt them.

It's fun to build your own bits.

Scotty

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

****, ****, FAAAARK-EN

Scott CR1 in my size Med won't be available until end of Nov. I had the cash ready for the buy...but...CRAP .. ahhh well.

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wayno

Scott are very nice bike, personally i would steer towards that rather than the giant, but test ride, test ride, test ride