Originally Posted by nesdog

Tested the CR1 this afternoon. I was on the way home from work on my bike and stopped in to the shop I normally do weekend rides with. I tested the Scott on my local route including one hill.

I had to ride a 52 as a 54 was not in stock. I wasn't super concerned about this because in my initial round of test rides, I'm just trying to get some feel for the different bikes and can make allowances for the lack of fit, as long as everything is close. Once I zero in on candidates, I'll be much more thoughtful on this.

First impression of the Scott upon hitting the street: Wow! The darn thing was alive. Had an instant smile on my face. I can't explain what it was, because the bars were not correctly set up for me, nor the saddle and the 105 shifters were a bit tough to grab. Yet, there was something!

Compared to the Giant Defy Advanced, the CR1 wasn't quite as smooth. It chattered a bit on the pavement but was fine on bumps that my OCR2 would pound on. The Defy felt more muffled to me and stiff. However everything is a jump up from the OCR. The Scott climbed well. It is definitely going on my serious list.