Giant CRS options?

[sagefly]

Guys, I 've been reading through the various threads and learnt a lot from them. I'm looking for a replacement to my Giant Expression bike that was nicked. I like the ride and the feel of the bike and as such have been concntrating on Giant models.

I sort of narowed it down to the replacment being the CRS 2.0 model that seems to be a good compromise for me in terms of quality of components etc and I like the bike.

What I was hoping was to get some opinions of riders who have the bike and how they are getting on with it? Other options from different manufacturers, I imagine that Trek, Scott, Specialised, etc all have a similar range of bike and was wondering if any of them "stood" out in terms of quality or if in they were all in the same ballpark and it came down to persoanl choice.

My riding is about 120-150 per week a mixture of commuting, pedalling about and a longish ride on a weekend. Nearly always on roads but also towpaths some minor bridel ways etc.

Anything that really stands out as a go to bike or is the Giant a good compromise for all of these things. The way I fell I may well be looking for a "real" road bike in the summer.

Thanks very much in advance

Greg

 

[accountantpete]

Re the options -Trek,Scott etc - aluminium frames have been around for a long time now and the major names know what they are doing so it's more a case of the price rather than the name which will indicate quality.

If I was you I'd get a cheap 531 framed road bike with friction gear shifting,see if you get on with drops and if you do convert the 531 to flats for off-roading and get a new road bike.

 

[sagefly]

Pete,

Thanks for the reply,

I'm am almost totally new to this so can I just check.

All the decent manufcaturers make decent frames, the cost of the frame is an indicator of quality. The difference between various price points is the quality of components. i.e there will be very little difference in a trek vs scott at £400 given the same quality components?

Is a 531 frame a "racing bike" frame or a hybrid frame?

I've really enjoyed riding the past couple of months on a Giant Expression before it was nicked and though that as a replacement a "better" quality Giant was the way to go.

If I get on with the CRS I may well look at buying a proper road bike etc.

Hope that this thought process makes a bit of sense and thanks again for the trouble that you took answering my question.

 

[Muddyfox]

Sagefly ... another option is

If you enjoy riding the hybrid with the flat bars and more upright riding position ? then a flat bar road bike might be worth considering ... i ride a Cannondale Synapse flat bar road bike and with the larger tyres that i have on mine it'l cope with everything that you've mentioned that you like to do on your CRS and they are very light which in turn makes it a fast ride with good handling characteristics

My Flat Bar Road Bike

Simon

 

[accountantpete]

Pete,

Thanks for the reply,

I'm am almost totally new to this so can I just check.

All the decent manufcaturers make decent frames, the cost of the frame is an indicator of quality. The difference between various price points is the quality of components. i.e there will be very little difference in a trek vs scott at £400 given the same quality components?

Is a 531 frame a "racing bike" frame or a hybrid frame?

Re the first - yes they will be roughly the same except for differences in geometry -some will have slightly longer top-tubes or higher bottom brackets etc so ideally you need to sit on a couple to make sure they suit you. But from a performance perspective they will be roughly the same.

Please note that there are also "top-end" frame makers - like Pinarello, Cervelo, Ridley etc etc. which make much more expensive frames.

Sorry - the 531 refers to Reynolds 531 which were the light steel frames used 1940-1980's before aluminium came along - this is a typical example
on eBay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Raleigh-Road-...ZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item2eaa5e1195

 

[sagefly]

Pete,

Thanks very much for your second reply.

The contsruct you own bike is down the track some way, both in terms of ability to make it and space to do it in. I need to go on a bike maintenance course etc still.

Your answer about the manufcaturers specs and frames is exactly what I was looking to get straight in my head.

The cannondale looks good but I have Giant "brainwash" at present. That will change one day!

Thanks very much again.

Greg

 

[Muddyfox]

I have Giant "brainwash" at present. That will change one day!

Thanks very much again.

Greg

Giant do the FCR which is the same as my Cannondale

Before i bought the Cannondale i was seriously tempted with the Giant Escape range

Good luck with your choice and whatever you buy ... enjoy your cycling

Simon

 

[sagefly]

Jakes dad,

Thanks for that I am now back in confusion, FCR or CRS or ???

One thing is I will kepp enjoying the riding.

Thanks

 

[MacB]

FCR(thought this range was now called Rapid) is Giants version of a flat bar road bike, CRS is a hybrid, the big differences are around frame fittings. The hybrids will have v-brakes and should have mountings for racks and mudguards, they will also have better clearance for bigger tyres. The FCR will have road caliper brakes so the brake levers will be flat bar ones designed to pull the correct amount of cable. V-brakes require about double the cable pull of all other brake types. The FCR will have less clearance for tyres and may/may not be able to accept guards and rack.

As for ride and handling, I'd say very little difference, I have the CRS Alliance which I use as a weekend bike. It's got 23mm tyres, aero looking wheels, frame is more carbon than aluminium, the drop outs are 130mm for road hubs, and it weighs 22lbs. But it has the versatility to accept bigger tyres and all the other stuff. this is the 2008 model and the wheels are 622-14 rims, 622 is the diameter, also known as 700c and 14 the inner width in mm's. This inner width dictates the size of tyre that can be put on, it looks like newer models have chunkier wheels.

Stripped down the flat bar road or hybrid will perform in a very similar manner. The hybrid will have more versatility for adding on bits but the FCR would be a much easier coversion to drop bars, if you ever planned that.

 

[sagefly]

Guys,

Thanks for all of your really helpful information. It has cleared up a lot of questions I had and would have had.

The CRS is the option I am going down at present and if the road bug bites i will cross that bridge then.

I'm thinking of riding to Paris and Brighton from London this year and will undoubtedly have more questions.

If I can help with anything, uncycling, I will do my best. I am a contributor by nature on the other forums for other hobbies and will look to get up to speed on bikes to contribute to this one.

Thanks again.

 

[AdamBlade]

I've got the CRS 3.0 which has served me well for the last 12 months and I don't intend on changing it. I might add another bike at some point but it does everything I want it to at the moment.

 

[Muddyfox]

it does everything I want it to at the moment.

I think thats the key really

I used to use my mountain bike with slicks on and thoroughly enjoyed pottering around the countryside on it and then i thought i needed to go lighter and faster etc etc but the truth is whilst my flat bar road bike is very light and fast compared to the MTB ... the MTB was alot more versatile, a jack of all trades but master of none type thing

Simon

 

[modabike]

hi! new here. I have a few questions and I hope I'll help other people as well. Sorry for my bad english.

@jakes dad

I'm very interested in your configuration. My plan was to buy a trek 7.3 fx as I thought have larger tires. So I can use it in towpaths and bridel ways (summer only)

What is the exact size of your tires?

thanks!