Giant Bicycle Inc. TCR Composite 1

Price Paid:  $1800.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Sunny, no wind

Bike Setup:
TCR1 composite
Bontrager Racelite
Ultegra

Summary:
Simply the best bike I've ridden in 10 years. First of all, for the money you can't really go wrong with this bike. My bike, set up with ultegra and other middle/upper range components, weighs 17lbs. If I wanted to I could easily get 15lbs. or less. Furthermore, the bike is very stiff. I'm a fairly strong 165lb. rider and do not notice any flex. However, the carbon does it's job and takes the edge off any bumps in the road. The bike also handles very good. It's agile without being twitchy. In fact, it's the easiest bike I've had to ride no-handed. There are a few things about this bike that people may want to consider before buying. First, the chainstays are very short. So short in fact that if any debris sticks to the rear tire it may scratch the seat tube. Also, this may hinder tire selection. Next, the compact design make it so the bar is very low. You may want to use a +degree stem with this bike. Lastly, the seat post is a pain to dial in. I'm not sure why but I just couldn't get it where I wanted it. So I sold the post. Really, all this stuff is minor. The bike is really great and I'm very happy.

Strengths:
Light, Compliant, agile.

Weaknesses:
Seat post is mickey mouse.
Compact design leaves bar too low for some.

Similar Products Used:
Trek 5200

Price Paid:  $0.00

Favorite Ride:
June Lake to Mammoth

Bike Setup:
TCR Composite 1 with Mavic SSC SL's.

Summary:
Exceeded my expectations. I went from a 1970's Raleigh fixed gear track bike to the TCR Composite 1. Unbelievable stiffness, responsiveness, stability and comfort. With stem adjustment I was able to get a great fit. I am 5'10.5 with 33 inch inseam and the medium worked great.

Strengths:
Quality, stiffness, vibration damping, handling.

Weaknesses:
Cosmetics

Similar Products Used:
Trek, Klein, Specialized, Merckx

Price Paid:  $9.00 at 9

Favorite Ride:
outside

Bike Setup:
03 tcr 1 composite frame & fork, american classic 350 wheels, campy record/chorus mix, fsa team issue carbon crank, fsa isis ti bb, cane creek single pivot brakes, itm millenium bar/stem, performance mg/ti pedals, titec carbon post, serfas terazzo saddle

Summary:
rode a trek oclv before this, the tcr is lighter and quicker, I'm 6'2' 185 lbs. and the large fits me great, compact geometry is actually better I think, frame really weighs what they claim as opposed to other bike companies which lie horribly about weight, my bike is 16.1 lbs total, it's a great bike, I recommend it highly

Strengths:
see above

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
trek oclv bikes

Price Paid:  $0.00 at eBay

Favorite Ride:
anything hilly

Bike Setup:
2003 Team Once Composite (a beautiful frame), Full Dura Ace 9 speed except cranks (FSA Carbon Pro Team issue and FSA BB)

Summary:
I bought this bike practically new on eBay and it's my first venture into carbon and I have not been disappointed in the least. In fact, this bike has by far exceeded my expectations even after reading the fantastic reviews on it here before buying (so I already had high expectations). The bike just wills you on and is so much fun to ride that you just want to keep going. Uphills are unbelievable, the bike just goes, leaping forward. I'm able to ascend quicker b/c I can throw it in a slightly bigger gear and still pedal with the same cadence I had with my prior bike. On hilly undulating terrain, the bike floats, cruising over hills. I noticed my recovery time is better also which helps my stamina obviously. On flats, the bike is responsive and really goes. The frame is plenty stiff with no flex at all but is so smooth over bumbs. FYI, I'm 5'10 and 140 pounds so flex really never was a problem for me anyway. There really is no comparision with my former aluminum frame and this beast. Go get this bike, you will not regret it.

Strengths:
Light, fast, floats up hill, super inexpensive for the quality. I think someone once said, "light, cheap, strong, pick any two". Well, with this bike, you can have all three.

Weaknesses:
None that I can think of. The sizing of the frames makes it ultra important you get fit right for the bike though.

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale R1000

Price Paid:  $1700.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
my bike

Bike Setup:
'03 tcr comp 1, med. frame, #4 seatpost (330mm), full ultegra, cinelli solida 44, s.i. flite trans am, mavic cosmos, look pp206

Summary:
a beautiful bike, the exposed carbon fiber is so impressive . extremely light, fast, smooth, comfortable and stable. i look forward to every ride. it is amazingly comfortable on longer rides. im 5'11" and giant's sizing guidelines are right on, see their website. mine came with a #3 seatpost and my dimensions require a #4 (not a problem thanks to ebay). my first serious road bike, i dont think there is any better for the money. i spent a month reviewing and comparing before purchase and this particular bike just jumped out above the rest in every aspect. im very pleased with this bike and proud to own it. i recommend it without reservation.

Strengths:
weight (lack thereof), appearance, fit and finish, build quality, comfort, stability

Weaknesses:
carbon fiber spacers from headset to stem are not dead-on exactly identical in diameter to each other. it took me 20 minutes of scrutinous examination to discover this single flaw.

Similar Products Used:
cannondale, fuji