First Commute on the New Bike

[John the Monkey]

Dithered a bit about whether to take my brand new SCR2 on the commute today, but in the end swapped the lights etc over and decided to just do it.

My word is it quick compared to the old bike. I left the house a bit late, and was pretty much resigned to getting the later train, yet somehow managed to arrive on time The STI shifters make a huge difference too, with me far more likely to be in the right gear at the right time than I ever was on my old bike - very glad I plumped for the Tiagra ones in the end, as I reckon Sora would have driven me mad (I ride from the drops a lot).

Most important of all, perhaps, the whole experience left me with quite a large grin on my face, despite an unplanned deflation event 8 miles in (a flint, by the looks of things). I am well pleased all round - hopefully that feeling lasts a while before the urge to buy new wheels etc sets in

 

[davidtq]

Ive never once regretted getting my SCR for commuting, comfortable, reliable, smooth, fast, efficient with my limited leg power etc etc.

 

[beanzontoast]

I am still waiting to get my road bike. [sobs] Other things have necessitated the money being spent on them instead. The joys of commuting avec an SCR (or Specialized Allez - my preference) must wait a while longer.

But I can still dream...

 

[Keith Oates]

The mornings and evenings will now be the highlight of your days JTM, enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tynan]

Waiting for a cheque in the post for £500, scrounge the other £200 off the lady wife and off to the bike shop I go for a Tricross Sport, cannot wait

the faithful old junker is on it's last legs, no back brakes, buckled/warped back wheel, bearings in the front wheel shot, gears shifting two at a time, determined not to spend a penny on it, it's gone a few months longer than I'd hoped

 

[4F]

Waiting for a cheque in the post for £500, scrounge the other £200 off the lady wife and off to the bike shop I go for a Tricross Sport, cannot wait

Tynan, there's a few mixed reviews on this bike for example this chap was not the best pleased:-

"This should be the perfect jack-of-all-trades. I won't go into details as there is enough info on the web already.
It rides well, but put the brakes on in wet conditions and you're in for a shock. First, the canti brakes have almost zero stopping power, and second, they induce massive juddering in the carbon forks. I've had the forks changed and the judder still occurs. According to my dealer this behaviour is to be expected in the larger frame sizes (58cm +). Not surprisingly, I'm asking for my money back"

 

[GrahamG]

Did it come with 26mm Kenda Tires? My girlfriend's SCR3 did and we had two punctures on the first journey out - change them ASAP!

 

[Tynan]

Tynan, there's a few mixed reviews on this bike for example this chap was not the best pleased:-

"This should be the perfect jack-of-all-trades. I won't go into details as there is enough info on the web already.
It rides well, but put the brakes on in wet conditions and you're in for a shock. First, the canti brakes have almost zero stopping power, and second, they induce massive juddering in the carbon forks. I've had the forks changed and the judder still occurs. According to my dealer this behaviour is to be expected in the larger frame sizes (58cm +). Not surprisingly, I'm asking for my money back"

yes, thank Fat Fella, I've read a million posts about this, the problem is cured by fitting V brakes apparently, for all the people changing the forks, and apparently the problem is with larger sizes pre 2007, the later models have it fixed apparently, possibly because they have V brakes fitted already

either way I'm having V brakes fitted and I'm going to take it out for a test on a long downhill and stick the front brake on hard, if it's dodgy then then I'l get the Vapour thingy

toe clip possibly too

those minor concerns to be checked apart it looks ideal for me, a bit of noodling in Epping Forest might be nice too, ghastly potholes and crap roads the rest of the time, carting a ton of pannier

 

[4F]

I does look a nice bike so I hope everything is sorted out by the time you are ready to hand the cash over.

 

[fossyant]

Well done John, it's frightening the difference a decent bike can make. Does Tiagra have the double shifter, rather than the shifter and button (sorry not an STI expert)

Also Tiagra is a real nice groupset - should last a fair bit - look after the nice shiney new bike.

 

[John the Monkey]

Cheers everyone.

Waiting for a cheque in the post for £500, scrounge the other £200 off the lady wife and off to the bike shop I go for a Tricross Sport, cannot wait

I'd be very interested in your impressions of it - I'm still pondering a cross bike as a future purchase (possibly if work ever get the bike2work scheme in) to replace the hybrid I use for towpaths etc.

Did it come with 26mm Kenda Tires? My girlfriend's SCR3 did and we had two punctures on the first journey out - change them ASAP!

Thanks for the tip Graham - I reckon I'll get some new ones ordered on that basis (I've heard a couple of other people complain about the UDE resistance of the Kenda tyres).

Well done John, it's frightening the difference a decent bike can make. Does Tiagra have the double shifter, rather than the shifter and button (sorry not an STI expert)

Lighter wheels and frame, plus easier to change gear (so I'm more likely to be in the right one) is the key, I think. I checked the calibration of my Sigma bike computer after my first ride, as I thought I couldn't possibly be that much quicker

Tiagra is a double shifter - I ride from the drops 90% of the time, so it made sense to go for that over Sora, I think (Ergo style, but the thumb button can only be reached from the hoods).

Also Tiagra is a real nice groupset - should last a fair bit - look after the nice shiney new bike.

Queue lots of posts in Know How...

Paul (Green) from the shop gave me some tips on keeping it in good nick when I picked it up, so I reckon I'll be alright.

 

[Tynan]

Be assured that you'll be sick of me yattling on about it once I've got it, gawd know when, I'm so short of time at the moment it's really not funny

 

[Maz]

JohnTM, when you say STI shifters, are you talking about those that you nudge inwards towards the centreline of the bike to change gear? (excuse my ignorance on th e terminology). Also, what was your old bike? A hybrid?

As much as I love my Sirrus, I'd love to get a road bike some time in the future.

 

[cupoftea]

What do people think about the Kona dew's, I know they've not got drop bars but they have got disks which is something I'm looking for as I'm sick of replacing wheels every 18 months or so?

 

[goo_mason]

Good to hear that the SCR2 is a nice bike - got my heart set on one on this year's Bike To Work scheme.

I'm going to have to checkout all of those "which tyre ?" threads now though, since I love my SM+ tyres on the MTB and want a similarly bomb-proof set on the future SCR2..