Best value Carbon Road Bike

[willicoco]

I would love to upgrade to a full carbon framed beast but don't want to spend a bomb

I love the ride characteristics of carbon combined with its lightness and bling factor

Wonder what ppl think is best value for around $3K

I am a fan of the OCR composite but seems there is quite a bit of competition against Giant these days

if you can stretch the budget I would certainly like to recommend you to the specialized roubaix comp/elite. I bought one about 2 months ago after searching every nook and cranny in melbourne bike shops. for me it was totally about the frame, parts are parts and depending on what is important to you an upgrade is always an option.
its full carbon and runs a compact crank set which means that hill ascents are a total breeze. with an ultegra rear and 105 running gear its a brilliant way to start your riding days, it should also be epuiped with shimano 560 wheels which are underrated for there abilities and run just sweet as.

bang for bucks I can't go past it

 

[sideshow_bob]

...there is absolutely no 'bling factor' attached to any Giant...especially those to $3K....

Thats a very sweeping statement. A friend I race with just bought a TCR Advanced with the integrated post, ES's, carbon cranks etc etc. Enough bling to make me drool and then some.

-brett

 

[fauxpas]

Check out this ebay listing... Nice opening bid price

Cervelo Soloist Dura Ace Carbon Road Bike 54cm

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Cervelo-Soloist-Dura-Ace-Carbon-Road-Bike-54cm_W0QQitemZ220020161284QQihZ012QQcategoryZ7298QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[artemidorus]

...there is absolutely no 'bling factor' attached to any Giant...especially those to $3K....

Very droll...unfortunately, your statement is belied by the avid interest in Giants clearly expressed through some of the active threads in this forum.

 

[Hitchy]

Very droll...unfortunately, your statement is belied by the avid interest in Giants clearly expressed through some of the active threads in this forum.

...don't confuse 'bling' with blokes interested in el cheapo deals....unless we both have different definitions of 'bling'

 

[Hitchy]

Thats a very sweeping statement. A friend I race with just bought a TCR Advanced with the integrated post, ES's, carbon cranks etc etc. Enough bling to make me drool and then some.

-brett

......yeah?....even my missus looks alright too, if I dress her up in fancy clothes! .....unfortunately, like giants....she's no Elle Mcpherson

 

[willicoco]

Thats a very sweeping statement. A friend I race with just bought a TCR Advanced with the integrated post, ES's, carbon cranks etc etc. Enough bling to make me drool and then some.

-brett

it is indeed ... the thing is that its the only road brand I have spent long term riding having tested, giant/avanti/felt/argon and bianchi before I splurged on my roubaix. previous to this bike I was riding a feltsr91 flat bar to commute to work on but it was just the wrong piece of equipment to go any sort of distance on.

i make no bones about the fact I am completely one eyed about this brand/bike and that i totally enjoy having a hack on this machine. the more i ride it the more bias I get, then again as you already understand it is my opinion only !
go out and try one just for the fun of it and tell us what you think, I don't need bling bro ,my roubaix is just fine.

cheers,


CW

 

[sideshow_bob]

......yeah?....even my missus looks alright too, if I dress her up in fancy clothes! .....unfortunately, like giants....she's no Elle Mcpherson

Each to their own. In my opinion, most of the bling on that particular bike is in the frame. I thought they looked good when the T-Mobile team were riding them through this season, and they look great in the flesh. YMMV.

--brett

 

[Hitchy]

Each to their own. In my opinion, most of the bling on that particular bike is in the frame. I thought they looked good when the T-Mobile team were riding them through this season, and they look great in the flesh. YMMV.

--brett

actually, I gotta admit, the TCR advance is a lot better than some of the other junk Giant have peddled (no pun intended) over the last few years.....but the reason giants have been popularised is the relative cheapness of the 'package' when compared to similar setups by other manufacturers....The 'advance' ain't cheap, so now it needs to be compared on all the 'other' factors that make a great frame...Obviously the association with Tmobile has been beneficial in establishing what a good frame should be....probably working with 'normal' size blokes rather than the midgets that used to inhabit 'Once' has given them more to think about regarding 'stiffness' through the bottom bracket & such. I haven't ridden an 'advance' so can't comment...but have ridden & worked on most of the other giants released up until about 12 mths ago....I wouldn't have one, but as you say...each to there own.

 

[62vette]

Giants like Trek seem to polarise riders' opinions for some reason. They market their products well and have good market share as a result.

One of my cycling mates who is a former trackie and can ride off the front of just about any bunch in a big gear rides Giants exclusively and loves them. He's the kind of guy that frame stiffness matters a lot to. In fact he's found that his Giant carbon hardtail MTB is too rigid and has gone back to riding his Alu MTB on all but fairly smooth MTB rides.

 

[531Aussie]

yeah, I've heard similar stories. Some people say they're ****, but i know a guy who's AT LEAST 110kg, a bit of a sprinter, has raced alu and carbon Giants all his life, reckons they're grouse, and hasn't cracked one of them.

I know another guy who is about 85kg, who busted 3 TCR alu frames. He eventually got sick of replaceing them and bought a Dogma

 

[Thylacine]

Technically Aluminium has to be overbuilt becuase it has no fatigue life. One load cycle you put into it today is one less it can take in it's lifetime.

How many load cycles it will take is so complicated to work out it's insane. So insane in fact that I don't think it's even possible.

That's why one guy can crack them all the time and another never cracks one. It's a **** shoot. Of course, companies do over design them and have a certain acceptable warranty return rate, so that's why it's not really an issue...unless you're one of those guys that keep busting Aluminium bikes, of course.

My sponsored guy has a Giant roadie and it's pretty cool for what it is, fersure. However, speaking of dogma.......there's Custom....and then there's everything else.

If I was a 'Product Manager' I'd care about everything else, but I ain't.

 

[531Aussie]

so, is the Advanced one piece? How long's that been happening?

 

[Thylacine]

No bike on the planet is one piece anything, Nev. They're either 'lugged' or "lugged monocoque" (a serious of monocoque parts bonded together) or have one piece monocoque front sections mated to a multi-piece rear end.

The TCR Advanced in the latest edition of Ride looks like the front is one piece, the seats stays another piece and both chainstays another piece.

That would mean that the rears are the same for all 5 sizes, and for the front's they have 5 seperate moulds.

Hate to think how much they would cost.

 

[531Aussie]

hmmmmmm...I see

 

[62vette]

TCR Advanced has the integrated seat post that you trim down to size and can adjust seat height by about 4cm. Be **** if you got it wrong when you trim it

 

[clack3rz]

I just bought (well it's on hold/lay-by until I can pay the rest off over a month) a Fuji Team 06. It was the 1st bike I looked at and after a month of looking, testing it couldn't be beat (in my opinion anyway).
It is a full carbon frame (C4) with 105 Group Set, Shifters & Brake Levers with exception of the Rear Derailleur being an Ultegra. It has Alex Rims etc, but you can see the full details below:
http://www.fujibikes.com/2006/bikes.asp?id=124#

I paid AU$1800.00 (on sale from AU$2800)

Can't wait to hit the roads on it......

 

[531Aussie]

Gold Cross Cycles were advertsing a carbon DBR for $1700.
Are they only in Victoria?

 

[willicoco]

Gold Cross Cycles were advertsing a carbon DBR for $1700.
Are they only in Victoria?

think it is local to vic only.. but try find the distributer of DBR and see if they have a dealer locator , just had a quick hoon round google as i found it previously but can't remember where it was I found it ..

 

[531Aussie]

think it is local to vic only.. but try find the distributer of DBR and see if they have a dealer locator , just had a quick hoon round google as i found it previously but can't remember where it was I found it ..

thanks, but I'm not looking for one, if that's what you thought
I thought Robalert might be interested.

I'm not sure about the virtue of these really cheap carbon frames. It's a safe bet that they're not as good or reliable as something like a kg486, and if they're not super light (are they?), I don't see the point. I'd probably go for a mid-range alu frame. which is what I recently did: BMC Street Fire, baby!!
Nice