Help Deciding - Kona Zing or Giant OCR-3 Carbon

[paulc13]

I'm looking at my very first road bike at the tender age of 53 after riding a mountain bike for the last four years (average speed of about 23km/h over a few hours, max speed on the flat of about 45 km/h). I've been out with some of my roadie friends and I'm hooked on road biking but can't keep up to them for very long on my mountain bike.

I've visited the dealers, rode and re-rode a large number of bikes meeting the criteria recommended by my friends such as 105 groupo (Trek, Felt, Norco, DeVinci, Felt, ...), and have settled on one of the two following bikes (with the help of some very knowledgeable and experienced biking friends). Both bikes are coming from two very reputable LBS with good reputations for road bike fitting, service and support. I plan on doing recreational and fitness road riding on both flat and hilly terrain. The full carbon OCR-3 is $500 (Canadian dollars) more than the Kona Zing, but the Kona Zing appears to have a better wheelset (Mavic Aksium versus Formula XSR-3) than the OCR-3.

Any suggestions with regards to the two bikes? I like both bikes, however I felt slightly more comfortable on the Kona, but I suspect that's because neither bike was completely fitted to me before the test rides and I got lucky with the Kona. I know that shouldn't be an issue if I purchase, because both shops have good reputations for doing a high quality fit. There's about a 4 to 5 lb weight difference between the two bikes, with the OCR-3 weighing in just over 18 lbs.

I'd really like to hear from those (paricularly beginners) who have purchased a Kona Zing or OCR-3 and are happy with them? I've heard lots of positive comments from people riding OCR-3s but haven't found a single Kona Zing rider online, and I'm wondering whether or not anybody is buying this bike and if not, why not? I realize its the first year for the bike but still, the dealer tells me he can sell just about all of this bike he can get which is why there's no serious discount, however I am worried that there's a reason I can't see anybody online recommending this bike.

Bikes descriptions are:

Kona Zing link
Giant OCR-3 carbon link

Oh yeah, and did I mention that the Giant price is a full $600 under the list price (and yes, its a 2006), while the Zing is $50 under the list price.


Thanks for any help anyone can provide

Paul

 

[Thos]

I don't know anything about Kona, but I have a few friends that ride Giant and they are awesome bikes. In fact, I have been thinking of the Giant that you linked to. I would totally get the Giant.

 

[BillM]

I have an 06 Comp 2 and I love it. Some bike snobs look down on mass manufacturers like Giant but it seems to be a great bike.

I'd ride both though and just see which one feels right for you.

I never bought into the aluminum frame vs. carbon debate.....I didn't believe that you could feel a difference. Then I road an aluminum back to back to a carbon frame. It was an easy choice for me....the carbon was noticeably smoother on even a short test ride...so think what 20 or 30 miles would do.

I don't know anything about the Kona but the Giant is a great bike.

 

[ozelise]

I'm only a few years younger than you and have also ridden MTBs for years, including enduros. I wanted a road bike for the occasional tours and training. Settled on the OCR Composite with Ultegra groupset and Ksyrium Elite wheels after riding many bikes, but not the Kona (BM, Trek, Cannondale and Specialized). The OCR geometry suits MTBers, and I felt right at home from the start.

 

[paulc13]

Thanks to all of you for your great advice - the responses have been a big help and have definitely leaned me towards the OCR-3.

In searching the web tonight though I think I discovered why the composite OCR-3 is available at such as big discount from MSRP (33%). It appears that Giant has dropped the OCR line of bikes for 2007 and replaced them with the SCR line of bikes. If you check out their web site, you can see that their product list has already been updated in the UK to remove the OCR bikes and replace them with the SCR ones (although neither the Canadian nor the U.S. web sites have been similarly updated as far as I can tell).

link to U.K. SCR bikes

I guess I'll have to call my dealer tomorrow and find out what the SCR-3 is going to sell for in Canada and whether or not it will be available this year, since some of the other 2007 Giant models are already being sold in the U.K.

Just when I was ready to go out and buy the OCR-3 the decision gets a little bit more confusing

 

[mgkaplan]

I have an OCR C3. The frame is awesome. Great geometry and great carbon. I like it so much that I have just upgraded it to full Dura Ace.

 

[ozelise]

The SCR frames are the same as the OCR composite

 

[rudymexico]

Go with the GIANT, you can upgrade components later

 

[BillM]

Thanks to all of you for your great advice - the responses have been a big help and have definitely leaned me towards the OCR-3.

In searching the web tonight though I think I discovered why the composite OCR-3 is available at such as big discount from MSRP (33%). It appears that Giant has dropped the OCR line of bikes for 2007 and replaced them with the SCR line of bikes. If you check out their web site, you can see that their product list has already been updated in the UK to remove the OCR bikes and replace them with the SCR ones (although neither the Canadian nor the U.S. web sites have been similarly updated as far as I can tell).

link to U.K. SCR bikes

I guess I'll have to call my dealer tomorrow and find out what the SCR-3 is going to sell for in Canada and whether or not it will be available this year, since some of the other 2007 Giant models are already being sold in the U.K.

Just when I was ready to go out and buy the OCR-3 the decision gets a little bit more confusing

I thought I read somewhere that overseas the SCR was an OCR...just with a different name. ??

 

[paulc13]

I thought I read somewhere that overseas the SCR was an OCR...just with a different name. ??

According to the following UK bike shop article, the SCR replaces the OCR.

Article Link

And the OCR no longer appears on the Giant UK web site and in its place is the SCR.

At first glance the SCR-C3 appears to have a higher end wheelset than the OCR-C3. Not sure yet whether or not there are any differences to the geometry - according to some UK sites I've read, the SCR line has some additional women friendly models.

All of this is just a theory on my part, with the main reason for my initial search trying to understand the reason behind the 33% discount from the MSRP of the OCR-C3.

 

[BillM]

According to the following UK bike shop article, the SCR replaces the OCR.

Article Link

And the OCR no longer appears on the Giant UK web site and in its place is the SCR.

At first glance the SCR-C3 appears to have a higher end wheelset than the OCR-C3. Not sure yet whether or not there are any differences to the geometry - according to some UK sites I've read, the SCR line has some additional women friendly models.

All of this is just a theory on my part, with the main reason for my initial search trying to understand the reason behind the 33% discount from the MSRP of the OCR-C3.

The OCR is still on the USA website....I can not say positively but I would expect the SCR is simply the overseas version of the OCR. As for the discount the bike shops here are marking the 06 models down here too to clear room for the 07 models. My wife just bought a Giant OCR Comp Unlimted for 1300 bucks when its MSRP is 1900 USD.

Great deals can be had this time of year.....but it's like that most years. I don't think you'll go wrong with SCR or OCR.

 

[paulc13]

... My wife just bought a Giant OCR Comp Unlimted for 1300 bucks when its MSRP is 1900 USD.

Great deals can be had this time of year.....but it's like that most years. I don't think you'll go wrong with SCR or OCR.

I agree 200% after doing my research- today I ordered an OCR-3 composite for $1700 when its MSRP is $2400 (all in Canadian dollars).

I'm pretty sure that the SCR is a new model (one of the dealers I had talked to told me that it was being officially announced in Canada in 2 weeks), but based on OzElise's posting that there's no significant difference between the two bikes I couldn't see any point in waiting any longer to make up my mind - based on my own test rides and everyone here's recommendations the OCR-3 is a great bike and I should be out there riding it as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread for helping me on my quest for my very first road bike

 

[BillM]

Enjoy.

 

[Thos]

Be sure to post pics when you get it!