Specialized or Giant ???

FWIW- I was looking at the TCR3 and, for whatever reason, got lulled into thinking that the Giant frameset was not as good as a Trek (Lance envy?). The frameset on the TCR just looks awkward to me (compact). Will ride one jof each tomorrow and see for myself just what the diff is.

I'm also riding a 25 yr old frame and looking for an upgrade...never considered Specialized...will be interested to see who chimes in...

i ride a specialized allez triple and i love it. why dont you stick with raleigh though?

Bottom line is you should forget about make of the bike. Determine what type of bike you need and a budget. Select similar price-range bikes according to budget, ride them ALL.
The one that fits you best and you're confortable with is your new bike.

Asian Allez said:

i ride a specialized allez triple and i love it. why dont you stick with raleigh though?

My Raleigh has never let me down. I think its about an '84 model. I think it was the one U.S. used in the Olympics that year. It has some sticker on it. When I bought it, it had been store for years and looked like new. The tires were dry rotted. So, new tires and it has been good so far.

I also looked at a Trek 5200. Nice bike.

For me, money is not that big a deal. I'm not rich, but I can afford a nicer bike. I've been preparing my wife. She'd let me buy anything as long as I shut up about the bikes.

I want a good quality,fast bike. And it might sound stupid, but I want a bike that looks good also.

I just don't want to buy a bike and then want to upgrade 3 months later.

Although is't not about the brand so much there is an undeniable emotional factor in choosing between brands. Carbon is sexy, so Giant, being such a huge company, can put carbon into their mid and even low range bikes now. It's amazing how much prices have dropped since the early days. Do give both bikes a good try. Do make sure the bike shop guy pays attention to your fit, as well. Too many bike shops don't bother to make sure a person is well-fit as they do not necessarily have trained people serving their customers. Good shopping.

I'm in the market for a new bike myself as my bike was recently stolen. Unfortunately is was a $6000 full custom carbon fiber bike.

Ride, ride, ride. Narrow it down to 2 or 3 bikes you like looking at and test ride the hell out of them. Giant, Trek, Specialized...they all make great products and it really comes down to fit/comfort and the kind of riding you do. I'm fortunate that I've got friends with every kind of bike out there so I rode everything before I bought my Tarmac Comp.

The real biases you see on these forums are based on subjective and one-off experiences. "My bottom bracket broke and @#$#@ wouldn't return my calls!" That's the exception. Statistically speaking, they are all very reliable and typically these companies back up their warranties.

I can't emphasize enough that the most important factor is how you feel on the bike. If you feel great, and love the ride, then you'll ride it. If you think it looks cool, but your back or your neck hurts after 2 miles, you'll end up trying to get 70% back on ebay.

I too vote for "pick the bike that fits after a test ride or two."

I'm currently on a brand new Trek. It was between that and a Specialized. The deciding factor? The Trek fit me better; I felt more comfortable on it.

Truth be told I was hoping the Trek would win out anyway, because I know the brand better and was in love with the color, but would have happily taken the Specialized had it been a better fit.

Don't ride for brand, don't ride for color. Ride for what fits and what is most comfortable.

Tim.

I'm very impressed with my Giant TCR2 - it's inexpensive as far as carbons go, and it's a great frame. The compact geometry makes it stiff and light, and there are no drawbacks to the compact frame that i know of. The one and only problem is that you are limited with respect to the sizes you can get. I'm 5'11", and the medium that i have feels a tad on the small size, yet I know the Large size is way too big (tried riding one).

My buddy has an allez, and it's a good bike, but heavy. Also, the aluminum ride is a lot harsher.

So, I'd say go for the TCR. By the way, I was checking out a tarmac in the store the other day, and noticed that it was WAY more flexible than my TCR.

alxra said:

Ride, ride, ride. Narrow it down to 2 or 3 bikes you like looking at and test ride the hell out of them. Giant, Trek, Specialized...they all make great products and it really comes down to fit/comfort and the kind of riding you do. I'm fortunate that I've got friends with every kind of bike out there so I rode everything before I bought my Tarmac Comp.

The real biases you see on these forums are based on subjective and one-off experiences. "My bottom bracket broke and @#$#@ wouldn't return my calls!" That's the exception. Statistically speaking, they are all very reliable and typically these companies back up their warranties.

I can't emphasize enough that the most important factor is how you feel on the bike. If you feel great, and love the ride, then you'll ride it. If you think it looks cool, but your back or your neck hurts after 2 miles, you'll end up trying to get 70% back on ebay.

Well said first post 😉 , and I agree -

dont get caught up in all that cycling mumbo-jumbo marketing jibber-jabber....... thats really all it is- informative yes, but sometimes too much info is bad , and it can be hard to filter out the useful info. from the bad !

At the end of the day, it is all about proper fit on the bike , whether its steel,carbon, ti. , etc. ........ and a bro deal surely does not hurt either 🙂

WINGNUTT said:

I'm very impressed with my Giant TCR2 - it's inexpensive as far as carbons go, and it's a great frame. The compact geometry makes it stiff and light, and there are no drawbacks to the compact frame that i know of. The one and only problem is that you are limited with respect to the sizes you can get. I'm 5'11", and the medium that i have feels a tad on the small size, yet I know the Large size is way too big (tried riding one).

My buddy has an allez, and it's a good bike, but heavy. Also, the aluminum ride is a lot harsher.

So, I'd say go for the TCR. By the way, I was checking out a tarmac in the store the other day, and noticed that it was WAY more flexible than my TCR.

Wingnutt - I also have a TCR 2 and think it is great. The Allez and TCR were in the last three on my short list, and in the end I found the TCR simply had a nicer (less harsh) ride. Both are nice bikes and I would have been quite happy with the Allez, but I am very happy with the Giant. Ride them both before you decide.

WINGNUTT said:

By the way, I was checking out a tarmac in the store the other day, and noticed that it was WAY more flexible than my TCR.

This is great! If the flex is THAT noticeable simply by "checking it out at the store", then you could surely provide some more detail to it's flex qualities. What part of bike was "way more flexible"? Can you quantify that it was "way more flexible" in terms of cm's or even mm's, or some other standard of measurment? I mean, you did come to this conclusion after scientific, objective testing, right?

Maybe you could provide "way more evidence".

This is exactly why I say go ride the bikes because you will get all kinds of half-baked, unsubstantiated statements floating around on these forums, and you'll be sorry if you base your decision on this misinformation.

Thanks there for the smart-alecky response. 🙄 Actually I use a technique that a lot of people use to test the flexibility of a frame. It's really not rocket science - just stand next to the bike, clamp both brakes down, and apply pressure to the pedal. It's VERY easy to see exactly how flexible the frame is under heavy cranking by looking down at the bottom bracket while you apply and release pressure to the pedal. There is NO WAY you can judge flex with this kind of accuracy by riding the bike.

So, if you think you can feel the flex by riding around the parking lot, then by all means go for it. But I guarantee you the method I use is 10 times as accurate as riding the bike and going by feel - that's like saying "go ride the bike to see if it feels more aerodynamic" - it just doesn't work like that.

So, please make sure you know WTF you are talking about before making another one of your stupid sarcastic responses - you are not the king of cycling advice just because you think it's wise to ride the bike around the block - no [censored] dumbass. If you go and do the test I described on ANY bike, you will see exactly how easy it is to judge the flexibility of a frame.

alxra said:

This is great! If the flex is THAT noticeable simply by "checking it out at the store", then you could surely provide some more detail to it's flex qualities. What part of bike was "way more flexible"? Can you quantify that it was "way more flexible" in terms of cm's or even mm's, or some other standard of measurment? I mean, you did come to this conclusion after scientific, objective testing, right?

Maybe you could provide "way more evidence".

This is exactly why I say go ride the bikes because you will get all kinds of half-baked, unsubstantiated statements floating around on these forums, and you'll be sorry if you base your decision on this misinformation.

WINGNUTT said:

Thanks there for the smart-alecky response. 🙄 .

I'm sorry I made you cry wingnutts. Because your testing was done in a controlled lab environment and consisted of unbiased double-blind comparisons, I must retract my "smart-alecky" comments. From now on everyone seeking advice regarding new bike shopping should use your tried-and-true method of bike evaluation. As a matter of fact, there should be no riding at all, but only the completely moronic act of standing on every bike in the shop and applying the brake while balancing on the front wheel with a cucumber sticking out of their colon. This testing you've developed should be generally accepted in every high tech industry from bicycling to automobiles and defense. I bow in your presence as well as the presence of the cucumber sticking out of your colon as you test your bikes and make your educated decisions within the confines of the bike shop.

How old are you?

alxra said:

I'm sorry I made you cry wingnutts. Because your testing was done in a controlled lab environment and consisted of unbiased double-blind comparisons, I must retract my "smart-alecky" comments. From now on everyone seeking advice regarding new bike shopping should use your tried-and-true method of bike evaluation. As a matter of fact, there should be no riding at all, but only the completely moronic act of standing on every bike in the shop and applying the brake while balancing on the front wheel with a cucumber sticking out of their colon. This testing you've developed should be generally accepted in every high tech industry from bicycling to automobiles and defense. I bow in your presence as well as the presence of the cucumber sticking out of your colon as you test your bikes and make your educated decisions within the confines of the bike shop.

WINGNUTT said:

How old are you?

Old enough to make educated purchase decisions with my well-earned dollars. How old are you?

Old enough to know when to stop wasting my time talking to an asstart. Welcome to my ignore list.

alxra said:

Old enough to make educated purchase decisions with my well-earned dollars. How old are you?

WINGNUTT said:

Welcome to my ignore list.

Ignorance is bliss.

Baldbeefman, sorry for the digression. But I can only take so many outlandish and unfounded claims before I've got to call them on the carpet. Speaking from a rational perspective, you will never know how well you spent your money until you've spent some reasonable time on the bikes you are considering. Doing unicycle tricks while juggling bowling balls and chainsaws in the bikeshop will only get you kicked out.

alxra said:

I'm sorry I made you cry wingnutts. Because your testing was done in a controlled lab environment and consisted of unbiased double-blind comparisons, I must retract my "smart-alecky" comments. From now on everyone seeking advice regarding new bike shopping should use your tried-and-true method of bike evaluation. As a matter of fact, there should be no riding at all, but only the completely moronic act of standing on every bike in the shop and applying the brake while balancing on the front wheel with a cucumber sticking out of their colon. This testing you've developed should be generally accepted in every high tech industry from bicycling to automobiles and defense. I bow in your presence as well as the presence of the cucumber sticking out of your colon as you test your bikes and make your educated decisions within the confines of the bike shop.

Alxtra. I see you're from Dallas. You maybe are on Death Row?

that would explain alot. Its too bad, because you might benefit from getting some fresh air.

pm7771 said:

You maybe are on Death Row?.

Peter, you're right, I probably did get a bit caustic in my defense. I'll back off if it pleases the majority.

BTW, it's not so bad down here. We actually have sunlight past 4pm after August!