Fifty Plus (50+) - Garage door pics

OK its Blue- Hard luck.

Just taken the Giant out for its shake down and this is different. Only 5 miles but the brakes and gears work and thanks to measuring- the seat feels as though it is set up right. Not really fair as no hills or slopes to check out with but it feels OK. Can't say superb as I have Boreas to compare it to. Up against the OCR it is in a different league. Had 3 nights to look at and set up. It appears that the bike is taller than Boreas and it is due to a higher bottom bracket height.I could feel the difference and Although the gearing is slightly different- I won't know or feel any difference till I try a hill.

Jumping from Boreas to the TCR and I can feel no difference on seating and bar position. Could initially but changing the Fi-zic saddle to my San Marco Aero and there is no difference. Butt to bar length feels the same but the bars are 1" higher. Haven't adjusted out the Spacers yet but that may be done. Initial impression is that it does not feel as "Solid" as Boreas, feels a bit lighter when pedalling but that is an illusion. Got the scales out again and Boreas is 15lbs and 1/2 oz and the TCR is 16lbs and 3 ozs. Bit of weight loss to come on the TCR- but that may all be in the wheels. When I was at the LBS on wednesday PM while the bike was being built up I changed a few parts from Standard. Didn't like the look or feel of the Giant wheels so got a deal to upgrade to Mavic Aksiums. Not the best wheel about but I have the Hand builts if I do not like them and then the Aksiums can go as the Foul weather wheels for both bikes. Also changed the bars and stem when building up as the Giant ones felt different to Boreas. Couldn't get the same make but these feel the same. Also changed silly little things like the cables to stainless steel and all the Bolts to Stainless from Chromed- Less rust to come in the future. The other important change was to the Crankset. Gone compact again for our hills as I reckon to take in a few steep inclines at some point. Especially if it climbs as good as it looks.

Just as a comparison- I have put the OCR there to get a pic of the same and weighed that aswell. Not a heavy bike at 19 1/2 lbs but it definitely rides differently. That extra weight and the lower grade components have meant that I am spoiled with Boreas. Do I need two bikes? Probably not but Boreas is too good a bike to put out in the foul weather we are having. May seem to be extravagant to use a good bike as a hacker but I do not relish the thought of a major rebuild onthe drivetrain after a couple of wet and dirty rides on Boreas- So I have gone and bought a bike that hopefully will give the same ride- but unfortunately has virtually the same gear set up

So Can't get out till tomorrow for the test ride and if I polish it any more- I will need sunglasses just to look at it. So hopefully a few pics to come tomorrow and a future choice on which bike to take up on them thar hills.

The new bike looks pretty good. Taking measurements of a bike that fits good and keeping them in a notebook somewhere is a good practice as it makes fitting a new bike so much easier.

My heart is still with Boreas though. I keep expecting it to start to unfold into a Transformer...:)

Looks good. It will probably hold you over until you decide to go for a titanium main ride and demote the Boreas to "beater". ;)

I'm curious to know if you feel a difference on rough roads. You do have rough, pot-holed roads, don't you?

I like the color of the new bike and I like the carbon as well, but I think you have to add a steel bike to your fleet.

I'm curious to know if you feel a difference on rough roads. You do have rough, pot-holed roads, don't you?

We do but not on the shake down ride. Dare say I will find a few broken roads tomorrow to find out.

You have really "come a long way" Stapfam. Not a single picture of a MTB in front of the garage door here!! Not that there is any wrong with that..........

You have really "come a long way" Stapfam. Not a single picture of a MTB in front of the garage door here!! Not that there is any wrong with that..........

Are you suggesting that Stap also rides on MTBs? :D

Looks like a sweet ride. Congrats.

They all look good in front of the blue door.

I'm glad to see you chose black for the tape and saddle. I've seen many of the new bikes with white and just don't like it.

You have really "come a long way" Stapfam. Not a single picture of a MTB in front of the garage door here!! Not that there is any wrong with that..........

Small garages over here.

And I was given a choice of colour and type of tape for the bars. White is out for me- Working in the Motor trade I ooze Black grease fom hands and clothing. One choice I nearly went for was the C.F. look. Wasn't as comfortable so went with the Known and tested Cork impregnated Stuff.

You know, I test rode a carbon TCR C3 last fall. Spent some time setting it up as it was the highest end bike I've ever ridden and I wanted to give it a fair shake. I know it is a very good bike and my LBS highly recommends it.

That said, it was the most uncomfortable bike ride that I've ever taken. After I mounted it, the guy assisting me said that my position was good, but I couldn't believe how unstable I felt. I rode for around 8-10 minutes before my hands, shoulders, lower back, and butt were hurting so bad that I had to quit. Walked it the last block back to the LBS.

I was so sore from that ride that I felt it the entire afternoon (rode it over my lunch hour) and couldn't ride my own bike that night.

It was a beautiful bike, but was more of a torture device to me. The bars were so low, putting so much pressure on my hands & shoulders, and the seat was so thin and hard. I know these can be adjusted, but it was a good experience for me. Up to that point, I had only ridden comfort-oriented road bikes like the Trek Pilot and Giant OCR. This taught me not to wander out of the comfort category.

You know, I test rode a carbon TCR last fall. ---------------


That said, it was the most uncomfortable bike ride that I've ever taken. After I mounted it, the guy assisting me said that my position was good, but I couldn't believe how unstable I felt. I rode for around 8-10 minutes before my hands, shoulders, lower back, and butt were hurting so bad that I had to quit. Walked it the last block back to the LBS.


It was a beautiful bike, but was more of a torture device to me. The bars were so low, putting so much pressure on my hands & shoulders, and the seat was so thin and hard. I know these can be adjusted, but it was a good experience for me. Up to that point, I had only ridden comfort-oriented road bikes like the Trek Pilot and Giant OCR. This taught me not to wander out of the comfort category.

Have to admit that I have tried a couple of other CF bikes and I was not enamoured with the rides. One was so flexible that I could see- and feel- the frame twisting. A couple of others did not give me a feel to the bike at all. I was not looking for CF at all when I test rode the shop owners TCR. He is the same size as me so it is just adjustment of the saddle height and away. Have to put up with his low bars but I could tell straight away that this was a bike worth having. One thing all the CF frames did have in common is that they take road shock away from the rider. Not that Boreas causes me any road shock to the body- but CF is like riding with suspension. Only problem is- some suspension works and some doesn't.