Giant Bicycle Inc. OCR Touring

Price Paid:  $1250.00 at West Bicycles, Knoxv

Favorite Ride:
Backroads & Byways

Bike Setup:
I have added: Thorn Resistant Tubes (when purchased new), Old Man Mountain Front/Rear Racks, BROOKS of England Leather Saddle (highly-recommended), Design-Profile (addon) Aero-Bars, Planet Bike nighttime headlight, along with misc reflectors/tape as I ride a lot after dusk. I also picked up a spare set of wheel/tires (700x23) so I could quickly changeover to such, when riding with friends on their roadbikes over longer distances for the duration of the day.(thinner/higher-psi tires = less rolling resistance, but a harsher ride)

Summary:
I have owned the Giant OCR Tour bike for over a year now and am well pleased with it. I can say I have had ZERO problems with it (never been back in the shop since purchase), and to date it's served me very well. Weighing 170# now, typically I ride maybe 1,000mi year just to stay in good physical condition. Most of my riding has been on paved (but rough) backroads and the bike's been a dream to ride (comfortable, reliable & efficient) without so much as a flat ever occurring to date. It's not the lightest or fastest, but then neither am I. I just wanted a good/dependable bike I could throw a leg over and pedal without any problems/concerns and that's exactly what I've found in the GIANT OCR Touring model.

Strengths:
Low maintenance requirements (have oiled the chain and that's about it) would have to top the list. The 105 Shifters work flawlessly and I love the Disc-Brakes, which are simple/fast/easy to adjust if ever need be. I also like the flexibility of the stock stem, since it can be raised/lowered so far and provide a good degree of (back) comfort. This bike is a few inches longer (than a typical OCR) and I like the added stability it offers over shorter roadbikes.(i.e. not 'twichy' at all) Oh yeah, and I 'like' the extra spoke-holder!(on a touring bike, especially)

Weaknesses:
Luggage racks won't fit this bike, not even Giant's own! No great problem, after some research & talking with GIANT I was referred to Old Man Mountian in CA for such.

Similar Products Used:
Started on a Huffy, next a Softride Hybrid, now a Giant.

Price Paid:  $800.00 at Ray Willis in Wester

Favorite Ride:
Bluff Pt

Bike Setup:
Stock

Summary:
This is my first quality (>Walmart) road bike and I love it! Have put in several hundred miles a month and it has done great. The only problem was with the brakes, but that was quickly fixed at the local bike shop.

Strengths:
Great price for the quality items. The 105s are great and I feel like the bike is solid enough for my riding to work and hitting some frequest bad surfaces.

Weaknesses:
I don't care for the spoke holder. (some day I may like it...)

Similar Products Used:
tested some trek and giant road bikes

Price Paid:  $950.00

Bike Setup:
stock, except for replaced discs

Summary:
I got the bike last november and since then it has proven to be a great ride when not broken. This bike has a lot of sometimes useful yet often frustrating extra gadgets, but its a solid bike underneath all the bells and whistles. Im a heavy rider (200 lbs) and have jsut ridden 1100 miles across Alaska (Anchorage to Juneau) fully loaded. The very fact the bike survived this ride is a testament to its strength. Overall, a solid bike with some obnoxious quirks it would be better without.

Strengths:
When working, the disc brakes, solid alluminum frame, tough, solid wheels, holds weight well, shimano 105's were great, shifters not levers, therefore good

Weaknesses:
weak stock discs, uncomfortable seat, internal wiring hard to repair, spoke holder is just an embarassing addition

Similar Products Used:
tested trek 520, cannondale t800, bianchi volpe

Price Paid:  $950.00 at Gears Bike Shop

Bike Setup:
Stock except for a 12-27 cassette; different stem; replaced the saddle; changed the tires to 28MM from the 32MM that came with the bike.

Summary:
Purchase pricw was $1400 CDN approx $950 US. Taxes extra

The bike is a great ride when it isn’t in the shop being repaired. I have ridden almost 2000 KM so far this year. Unfortunately only about 60% of it was on the OCR Touring. The remainder was on my old bike because the Giant was in the shop. To date I have had both shifters and the free hub fail. I suffered with a very anoying clicking noise from the bottom bracket that was finally fixed when I stopped at a bike shop on Martha's Vineyard while on a tour when my second shifter failed. I have had several spokes break requiring the rear wheel to be rebuilt with DT Champion spokes. At the time of writing the wheel is in the shop being tied and soldered to try to prevent further spoke breakage.

I do not treat the bike badly. I am 56 years old so I am not jumping curbs or anything. I ride to work and go on supported tours with my wife. In fairness I am a heavy rider but that is why I purchased a touring bike. If it is designed to allow for fully loaded touring I should be able to ride the bike to work and on tours without a load. I fact I was assured the bike would be strong enough for me when I bought it. I have ridden a MTB for the past 3 years with a far fewer problems.

I should say that Gears has been very good about warranty repairs but they are a 2 hour drive from my home so I have paid for a lot of the repairs myself.

Strengths:
The bike was easy to adjust to my riding style. I was not sure I would like the drop bars but once I found a stem with a shorter arm and a higher adjustment angle I was able to find just the right riding position. In spite of the road gearing it climbs better than my MTB. I did replace the 12 – 25 cassette with a 12 – 27 to help me on the hills

I very much like the stopping power of the Avid Mechanical Disk Brakes. They were the feature that convinced me to buy the bike. I tested a Cannondale T800 and the brakes on it scared me. The disks are easy to modulate as give equivalent performance to my MTB brakes. You do need to learn how to adjust them. If the rotors are not true the can be noisy. I “dial in” the brakes as part of my regular maintenance routine. It keeps them quiet and working well.

Weaknesses:
Giant needs to re-think a couple of things. The standard road gearing is not well suited to loaded touring. If they are going to go with a 30/42/52 on the front there needs to be something larger than a 25 on the back. In fact a MTB cassette and derailleur would be useful.

The wheels are weak. My original spokes were brittle. When they broke they did so at the nipples. A touring bike with disk brakes needs more than 32 spokes on the wheels.

The failure of the 105 shifters was a big surprise. Based on discussion with several bike shop owners this is a rare occurrence

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
A bought this bike about a month ago and overall, I love it! It's well suited for the city, I can ride fast and not worry about bad road. The riding position is very comfy and boy... does that bike look great? I got my share of bad luck with that bike though. My Shimano 105 broke the 2nd day I got it. The lower wheel just split open, bad tuning I guest. I slightly twist my rear wheel in the 1st week. I didn't jump sidewalk or cliffs but I wasn't as carefull as with my other roadbikes (those are DEORE Montain bike inspired wheels). My rear disk brake is also quite noisy. The bad sound of twisted car disk brakes. I had them checked but they're all right, must be a normal sound... Cross my finger that these problems will stop after the "roding" period

Strengths:
Disk Break are strong.. very strong. Riding position is perfect. Perfect bike for urban races in thight, crowded streets. Superb design

Weaknesses:
Wheels are not as solid as they look. brakes are noisy. Shimano 105 seems to be fragile. Maybe I'm too fat for this bike