camshaft

Hey guys,
looking to get a road bike that I can start with and hopefully get into some mild racing at my college. I'm pretty sure I've narrowed my choices down to these two. I've only had a chance to ride the Fuji, and I liked it, but it's the only road bike I've ridden so I can't compare. I'll get a chance to ride the OCR this Friday to see how that feels. Here's what I'm wondering though, if they both happen to feel comfortable, which would you go with? They both have a Tiagra group.

Thanks,
Austin

shinomaster

dear Austin,

Which fuji and Ocr? If you are young and thinking of racing you might do better on a giant TCR. The Ocr is more of a comfort frame. Fuji makes some sweet race bikes too. I would ride them both and pick which ever feels best!

Good luck

camshaft

Hey Shinomaster,
I'm looking at the OCR2 and the Fuji Newest. I know the TCR is much better suited for racing but I can't spend that much on a bike yet. That's why I'm looking at th other two. Since they're both 2003, I can get the OCR2 for $550, and the Newest for $600. I'm just not sure which would be better suited for entry-level racing though. I know also that the Giant is about 2 lbs heavier.

Austin

Bulldozer

My criteria would be (in order):

1. What fits best
2. Parts spec
3. Looks
4. Weight

nesdog

Did you ride the OCR? I tested the Trek 1200 and the OCR2. I ordered the OCR2 for pickup next weekend. It was an awesome ride and I came away totally impressed with the handling and fit. Can't wait to get out on that thing, a major upgrade from my 30+ year old 10 speed!!

Sheldon

camshaft

I just rode it this weekend, but I ended up choosing the Fuji. I had one heck of a time trying to pick though. I liked them both alot. I ended up going with the Fuji for some minor reasons.

1. my shoulder width fit the width of the Fuji bars better (the giant ones were a little too wide)
2. the fuji comes with road pedals whereas the OCR2 comes with mountain bike pedals. I asked the guy at the shop why and he said it's because the mountain bike shoes are more like real shoes so you can wear them a little around after you get off the bike.
3. the tires that came with the Fuji were slightly narrower
4. the giant fit well, but that pivoting handle bar stem didn't fit me that well. With the handles tilted up for upright riding they were nice, but when you tilt them down low like for a race they extended too far over the front for me.
5. I like the saddle on the giant alot more though, so I'm just going to replace the Fuji saddle with a similar one
6. last (and least actually), I thought the Fuji looked better.

All of this was just personal preference though, and I'm sure you'll be happy with the OCR2 (I would be). Did you get a 2003 OCR2? My LBS was the only one in the area that could still get me one, and they were offering a great deal - $550 US. The Fuji was $600.

Austin

Gargoola

Personally I'd go with the fuji, I now giant makes some awesome bikes, but i reckon that the lower end bikes don't carry through with some of the benefits of their top line racers and should do. Fuji has certainly got a reputation for making some truly nice racers. And i think their bikes in what ever price you look at are more geared towards preformance rather than comfort. So i would go for the fuji

Cheers
Andrew

nesdog

Hi Austin,

Sounds like you made a good choice. I haven't picked up the bike yet. I will be doing that next Monday. I'm not looking for a racing bike so it fits me well. My criteria were for performance and fit but at a recreational level so I don't mind some of the items you quoted.

I'm buying the 2004 model so the prices are a bit higher, with the list price about $850.

camshaft

Nice choice. The 2004 was out of my price range though. But the wheels are nicer, they added a composite front fork, and a 105 rear derailler, some nice stuff. Now if I had my choice between the 2003 Fuji I got or the 2004 OCR2 I might have leaned towards the OCR2.

Austin