Giant Bicycle Inc. 2001 TCR 1

Price Paid:  $1200.00 at Olde towne Bicycles

Favorite Ride:
Giant TCR 1

Bike Setup:
Dura-ace, rolf propel pro wheels, AX-lightness saddle, and Chris king h-set

Summary:
This is one of the greatest road bikes i have ever owned. i work at a Trek/Klein dealership, and have ridden pretty much everything out there. this bike stands up and dishes it out in bucketloads.

Strengths:
Solid-as-hell frame thats still ultralight. great feel, keeps you in touch with the road like nobodys buisness. Ultegra compnents. Aero fork/seat post. Compact frame just feels like it wants to go fast. great for the serous rider or racer. super ride (i have taken this bike up to 78.5 miles per hour and it feels like it is slicing through not only the wind but time itself!! And the bike just looks awesome.

Weaknesses:
VERY few. The frame is aluminum, so it is stiff, even though this one is less so than many. the stock wheels (mavic Cosmic), theyre great but its a good plan to sell em and get a better set, (i.e. the name Mavic is the big selling point, not the quality.)

Similar Products Used:
trek 2300/5200. Klein Q-carbon. C'dale. Kestrel. colnago....

Price Paid:  $250.00 at EBay

Favorite Ride:
RAMROD

Bike Setup:
Giant TCR 1 frame (2001), Bontrager Race Lite wheel set, Ultegra Triple groupo, Easton E90 bars, Wayless Al stem.

Summary:
I bought this frame on Ebay and built from there. I had read good things about Giant TCR frames and I?m a cheap bast*rd, so I thought it would be a good match. Can?t say enough good things about this frame. Great on hills and FAST. I have broken frames from other manufacturers before, but never a Giant. This is my 3rd Giant frame (others are MTB). It is nice to not see other bikes like mine on the trail. (You can?t swing a dead cat around Seattle without hitting a Trek, Cannondale).

Strengths:
Fast, light, cheap! Carbon post is great. I have Easton E90 bars, which take all the harshness out of the ride up front. Some complain about the whole fork recall issue. I?ve folded forks before, and I lived to write this review. If I wanted an absolutely SAFE road bike, I would ride my Mountain bike. Silly rabbit! Tricks are for kids!

Weaknesses:
Headset is a bit of an issue. Others have complained in earlier reviews. Not really a problem for me. Lube it or loose it.

Price Paid:  $1100.00 at Mainly Bikes

Favorite Ride:
Manayunk Wall and Media.

Bike Setup:
Easton carbon seatpost, Vetta 77 computers, Spartacus Velocity 20 strokes wheels and Velocity hubs.

Summary:
Well, I think I got a good deal with my bike. Paid $1100 and I got Ultegra groups and Carbon forks. I was about to get a brand new 2003 OCR2 for $820, but that I realised it is better to spend $300 bucks to get a Tour-de-france frame.

Strengths:
Absoloutely remarkable, all my efforts transfer to the bike. I can feel it when I hit the hills.

Weaknesses:
Well, I changed the seatpost to Easton Carbon... which is fantastic.. way better than the OCR series. I makes the ride easily and smoothly. So far no complains

Similar Products Used:
Trek 1200, Giant Runkon, some italian's bikes from my friends.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at eBay

Favorite Ride:
The Hill Route

Bike Setup:
Mix of Campagnolo parts.

Summary:
It's a great criterium frame. Quick accelerations matched by stable cornering at high speed. Others have commented on uncomfortable rear end but I find the cumulative road shock in the rear triangle to be no worse than my carbon Giant CFR or steel Bianchi Veloce. I can, though, feel substantial road shock through the front end.

The TCRs are a very good value, particularly for a performance frame. Someone I read called it a perfect crit bike. It performs very well and the price is low enough that if you break it you can just go out and buy another.

Strengths:
Light, quick to accelerate, corners well at speed.

Weaknesses:
Front end gives too much road shock. Steering is twitchy at low speeds.

Similar Products Used:
Bianchi Veloce, Giant CFR Team

Price Paid:  $700.00 at JE James

Favorite Ride:
Surrey Hills

Bike Setup:
Standard club racing stuf:
Athena gears and brakes (due to be upgraded to chorus)
Chorus hubs & ca

Summary:
I only got the frame and built the bike out of components from my old bike.
I go this with the Carbon aero seatpost and the Cane Creek integral headset
The frame is brilliant... maybe the fork rake is a bit longer than I'm used to, giving it the feel more of a real endurance steed taking corners a bit more leisurely.

I have ridden it hassle free for a long time, but there have been a few niggles which have caused enormous trouble to rectify, so this has closed my view of the bike a bit. However, I still give it good marks overall.

The integral headset causes a lot of problems (See weaknesses) and it is for this reason that I lowered the overall rating.

I also had problems with the saddle rail clamp on the seat post. The original one just wouldn't tighten enough. I eventually got a replacement, which was an older used model, whcih worked fine.

Strengths:
Superlight, responsive frame at an incredible price.

Weaknesses:
Stickers/transfers are a bit tacky..
Integral headset is a nightmare piece of engineering... never seems to fit... I read another review in which Giant admitted that someone had got the clearances wrong.... The headset also has no seals so is open to the weather, so it eventually gave up the ghost.... don't even get me started on how long it took me to track down a replacment!!! To their benefit, though, Can Creek did eventually send me a free replacement.

I also had problems with the rear gear hanger. The replacable gear hanger is in fact thicker than the frame, so, as I found out, the frame bends rather than the gear hanger.. I crossed my fingers and tweaked it back, but this is a VERY dodgy thing to do with Alu frames!

Similar Products Used:
Custom built and off-the-peg steel frames.
Aluminium MTB's and Cyclo cross frames