Giant Bicycle Inc. TCR Composite 3

Price Paid:  $1300.00 at Chain Gang, Redding,

Model Year:
2006

Bike Setup:
Stock except:
Shimano WH-500 wheels
Shimano R700 crankset
Ultegra rear derailleur
105 brakes
105 12-27 rear cluster
Selle Italia Prolink saddle
Look Keo pedals

Summary:
Four months after purchasing an '07 Felt F75, I found myself back in the market for a bike due to the excessive drivetrain noise and clunky feel of the ride. I drove three hours to visit a Giant dealer with a better selection that the one in my town, and was rewarded by finding an '06 TCR on sale. I'd never ridden full carbon - my Felt has carbon forks, stays, and seat post - what a difference in stepping up to full carbon! I notice no less acceleration response with the carbon compared to aluminum, as I was told can happen. The Giant climbs lighter and easier and has much more responsive handling, which does make it feel twitchier descending at speeds over 40mph.
Overall the bike is very smooth and quiet. I also like the fact that input=instant output. I haven't had the bike long enough to make this my final review (will update), but my initial impression is VERY good. The Xero wheels, generic brakes, and Truvativ crank are the only reasons for a 4 star rating; the bike set up as I have it easily adds the elusive 5th star!

Strengths:
Carbon for under $2000!! Very nice compact geometry - I went down a frame size while keeping the same feel. 105/ultegra drivetrain is nice; kind of weird they'd go with an Ultegra front and 105 rear (most setups upgrade rear 1st). I threw my Ultegra rear on for a complete Ultegra drivetrain except the 105 brifters, which are just fine. Stoked on a race-ready machine for the price!!

Weaknesses:
Of course, the wheels...the stock setup felt a little heavy, almost entirely due to the Xeros. I put on the Shimano's that came on my F75, and that made a HUGE difference. The Xeros are tanks. They also have excessive flex and the paired spoke design is garbage that looks cool - upgrade them. I had the shop swap the Truvativ cranks for Shimano R700's, which greatly improved the ride. The Truvativs felt cheap (they are) and almost "toy-like" - hard to explain. Generic brakes - swapped out with my 105's.

Similar Products Used:
Felt F75; countless steelies.

Price Paid:  $1800.00 at local bike shop

Model Year:
2003

Favorite Ride:
Red River Rally

Bike Setup:
Neuvation R28 Aero wheels, stock Ultegra components.

Summary:
The Giant carbon racing frames are fast. They climb and sprint really well and absorb some road vibration. I started out with the 2004 TCR Comp2, Ultegra except for the 16-spoke Shimano wheels I replaced. Top tube cracked on top edge near seat cluster for no reason. Replaced frame was 2003 Team Once edition, close to same color. That lighter frame cracked in middle of top tube. Replaced with blue 2006 Comp3 frame. Anybody want to buy a Team Once jersey? Buddy's Giant cracked near front of top tube. Cost me 85 bucks and more than a month of prime riding season to get frame replaced this time.

Strengths:
Speed, light weight, good handling, some vibration damping, good value component package.

Weaknesses:
Defective frames, particularly top edge of top tube. Shape of top tube changed and maybe improved for 2007.

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale R500

Price Paid:  $0.00

Model Year:
2006

Summary:
This is not so much a rating on the bicycle. This post is to inform everyone that Giant TCR 0,1,2, and 3 carbon frames are not the same. Or, if they are the same, that the 950 gram/ 2.09 Lbs. frame weight is grossly off. I recently bought a Giant TCR 3 on sale from a local bike shop in the bay area. I thought I was getting a smoking deal on the frame + parts (I only wanted the frame). I had read forums on line that said, “all the TCR carbon frames were the same”. One bike store had listed on their home page that “all the TCR carbon frames were the same. The sales person at the store agreed with this information as well. Needless to say I was super stoked about my new 2.1 Lbs. frame + parts for about $1000. As soon as I got home I completely disassembled the bike, even removing the inserts for the head set. When I put fame on the scale, I was shocked. The frame weighed 1196 grams/ 2.63 Lbs. That is 246 grams/ 0.54 Lbs. more than I was expecting. Ok not quite, I thought the frame would bee about 1000 grams and not 950. You never get the claimed weight. So either the TCR 0 and TCR 3 are not the same frame, or the claimed frame weight of the TCR carbon line up is grossly off the 950 gram/ 2.09 mark.

FYI- the size of the frame I bought was Medium.

Price Paid:  $1100.00 at LBS

Model Year:
2006

Favorite Ride:
Ann Arbor-Dexter-Chelsea loop

Bike Setup:
Easton Circuit Wheels, FSA 130mm stem, Cateye Micro Wireless Computer, Selle Italia Flite Gel saddle, Panaracer Stradius Elite tires, everything else is stock.

Summary:
I wanted to wait for a while before I wrote a review on this bike--after 2,000+ miles I feel confident in my opinions now on the Giant TCR Comp 3. I love this bike! It's the first carbon-framed bike I've owned and it was worth spending the extra money to get carbon over aluminum. I got a great end-of-season deal last fall from my local LBS and picked up this bike for $1,100 (most retailers wanted $1,500-1,800), which was just a bit more than I've spent on other aluminum bikes. I thought the carbon craze might be a bit of hype, but the ride quality is clearly superior. Bumps that would get rattled through an aluminum frame with a CHUNK-CHUNK have now turned into a small click-click instead on the carbon frame. I even had enough money left over to make some nice upgrades, such as swapping out the mediocre, heavy stock wheels with some lighter Easton Circuits and swapped the stock saddle with a Selle Italia Flite. I originally bought a ML frame but after a couple of weeks I thought it felt just a bit big from what I was used to. At 5'10" I was right in between Giant's sizes and the shop I bought from was nice enough to let me exchange for a Medium frame. I have shorter legs and a longer torso, so swapping out the stock 110mm stem with a 130mm stem worked wonders for my bike fit. The geometry is great on the bike and it's agile as well. It's very comfortable on my longer training rides, which are usually 40-60 miles of hammering with a group. I also think the 50-36 chainring setup works well. I thought I might need to switch out to a 53-39 setup but I think I like the 50-36 better, less need to drop to the smaller ring. I would recommend this bike to anyone wanting to get a solid race-ready bike without spending a fortune.

Strengths:
Carbon Frame same as that used on higher-end Giant composite models.
Blue-Black is a nice color scheme.
Shimano 105 10-speed components are rock solid.
TruVativ Elita 50-36 chainrings work better than expected.

Weaknesses:
Brakes--they are cheap quality and don't provide great stopping power--I've almost run into the back of guys in our group with better brakes on their bikes when slowing to a stop.
Wheels--the stock wheels were heavy and I didn't care for the sparse-spoke design.
Tires--the stock Michelin Dynamic tires were heavy, but at least they didn't puncture for the couple of months I used them.

Similar Products Used:
2004 Trek 1000
2004 Giant OCR2
2005 Specialized Allez Elite

Price Paid:  $1500.00 at CycleSport of Doyles

Model Year:
2006

Favorite Ride:
www.cbbikeclub.org

Bike Setup:
Stock.
Exceptions: TruVativ Rouleur crank, Ultegra breakes.

Summary:
HI,
I consider myself a newbie. Riding with a club for over a year. Bought the bike stock July 06 and put on 1500 miles by Dec. My LBS did a great job fitting the bike and I think that made the world of difference.(Thanks Kirk/Paul&Eric)Started at over 230 Lbs., now 195 Lbs. The bike is as comfortable as an old pair of jeans.
A month after purchase the crank broke. My LBS contacted TruVativ and they overnighted a replacement. There was good and bad. The good: upgraded me to a TruVativ Ruoleur crank. The bad: it was not a compact crank. It has worked out great. I do miss the lower gear on some Bucks County PA roads. Has forced me to work harder and now I love to climb.

I just replaced the breaks with Ultegra and what a great improvement. It would be nice to have TCRs with all matching components. I am shopping for wheels and may replace the saddle.

Strengths:
Great value for a carbon frame.

Weaknesses:
Breakes.

Similar Products Used:
Scott