Got it- Why I am still not certain but My LBS Talked me into it.

A Giant SCR3. Did not like the OCR range and the TCR's were out of my price range. The SCR is a Road/Race model but this is not a very high spec- in fact the cheapest in the range but it will do me to see if I like the feel of road rash. I haven't even checked the tyre pressures on this yet- but They had several in stock
Its the smallest frame a 42. Tried a 46 that seemed enormous and the 44 may have been OK but when I sat on the 42- Arm length- stretch and fit felt completely natural- Lots of adjustments to do- Bar stem will be flipped to give me an inch or so bar height- pedals will be changed to my spare set of SPD's and the saddle position will take some sorting- But There it is.
Ashamed to say it but I am now a Roadie. (Well sometimes)

For spec of the bike see--

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/uk/030...07&model=10347

Hey, being a roadie a bit is not bad. Nice bike. You'll love the cassette. It's gives good range and is very smooth in shifting without killing cadences.

Welcome to the bright side.

I wonder how it will do on those Downs and mud?

Congratulations. I applaud your "multi-dimensional" approach to bicycling. What's next - a unicycle?

That's a nice looking bike stapfam. Now you can begin to mix it up, one day off in the woods, the next streaking along the motorway!

Dang, Stap....I am shocked! (pleasantly so). It seems that in the past you have been ahem, less than charitable towards road bikes so this is just great. I'm a hard core roadie but last winter I was talked into a MTB and rode it a lot during the cold weather here. I loved it (although I cant imagine how you manage that tandem on difficult terrain ) I suffered a pulled muscle a couple of weeks ago and had to cut back on my road riding but during the healing I would get out my MTB and just ride around the neighborhood. Then when I finally got back on my road bike, it was such a joy to feel the distance covered for each turn of the cranks. I hope you revel in that as much as I do.

Kudos for taking the plunge! Now you've two worlds to conquer. Hopefully road rash won't be part of the terriority you end up exploring. Enjoy the new ride!

You're the man Stap! You've probably already got legs on you like a bull elk, and now with that road bike you'll be flying past all the local hot-shots. Take your time getting to know it and it'll get in your blood. The old down-tube shifters are cool and so retro, but the new stuff shifts alot smoother and keeps your hands where you need them. What kind of saddle is that on there? We'll be trying to talk you into a Brooks Professional before long I bet...

Its a San Marco so it's worth a try but with the hills round here- I can't see much seated riding- One of the reasons I wanted a triple.
Long time since I did a Road ride on a Road bike- Last time was around 95 when I did the London to Brighton Nightmare. 56 miles with 30,000 other idiots trying to knock you off your bike. Took 4 hours and only one hill on the ride. A few slopes but only one hill. Incidentally- I'll try to get out there on the day to show you the quality of idiot on the ride. ( Yes I did say thirty thousand other riders- And I will not be riding with them)

Eventually you'll want to change the derailleurs and STI to Ultegra or better yet, DuraAce. But you won't have to do that for a couple of years at least.

Just between you and I - the aluminum frames are better anyway.

Splendid steed built for speed - while I've ranted about the 'one bike rule', I will confess to distinct pangs of jealousy about your venture to the dark/bright/other side...best wishes to satisfying miles of pleasurable riding.

Now to upset some of you- I got a road bike to help me train for my mountain biking. Although I do go out on the Tandem midweek- My co-rider will shortly run into a period when he is not available. To go offroad on your own is not a good idea. Too much risk of accidents and being stranded. However- If I have a road bike- I can get out for 2 or 3 evenings a week, may even find some other lost souls out there that want a riding partner. On top of that- there are some road rides coming up that I normally do on the Mountain bike with just a change to slicks. I feel that if I Want to keep up with some of you on the forum- and appreciate what you are going on about- I will have to do a century or two on a bike that is more suited. Then on top of that- I might actually be able to ride my age in a morning this year- instead of it taking, most of the day.

On the one bike side- I ride offroad on a Tandem. Whenever My co-rider cannot come out to play- I still want to ride and that Tandem is heavy with only one set of legs to propell it along. Hence I have the Bianchi as a second bike. Now the only problem is- How do I build an extension to the new bike shed?

Never thought I'd see the day that stapfam would buy a brand new road bike (for any reason!). I'm going to mark my calendar because this is a Very Unusual Day!

Good luck, have fun, and add a second story to the shed. You can put the Bianchi in the new attic.

Your bike shed came out to be pretty nice, but what is all that stuff in what appears to be plastic bags.

Congrats, Stepfam! You are now officially a roadie. Nice bike!

Steve

Thats the hardcore for the concrete that is going be the hardstanding for washing the bikes down, working on the bikes and just standing them on to look at. Still a lot of work to straighten out the shed but the garden is looking fine after all the disruption of building the shed- Had to get that sorted out to keep the wife off my back. (See attachment of the garden today.)

Had the first ride and the set up of the bike is almost there. Only 5 miles or so and a bit of noise from the front derailler so a bit of adjustment necessary. These skinny tyres need suspension on a few of the broken roads round here but glad I went for a triple. Some of the hills are going to need it. Possibly the bars have to be raised a bit and the San Marco saddle seems to be Fine. Rode fine but it is different- mainly on the lack of suspension but I can get used to that (A set of knobbles at 50psi might work as a final resort).

First ride will be on wednesday as I could do with another piece of pie and a coffee. 25 miles should show if the legs are going to work and the neck is not going to ache.

The landscape architect admires your garden - how lovely to live in a country with the cottage garden tradition, charming garden/bike sheds, perennials spilling over the edge of the walks...how far are you from Sissinghurst?

The landscape architect admires your garden - how lovely to live in a country with the cottage garden tradition, charming garden/bike sheds, perennials spilling over the edge of the walks...are you far from Sissinghurst?

Only about 30 miles- but remember that we have a problem in the South East of UK. We are officially in drought conditions. With the amount of rain we had In May I can't believe it but the garden is set up with no rain in mind.

Hopefully- so too is the summer riding.

stapfam - Enjoyed the additional pic of your garden. It is truly beautiful.
With a hard surface for working and cleaning bikes you will have a real "dream" yard.

I hope you enjoy your new bike even a fraction as much as you enjoy your tandem. I agree with the others that you'll be flying by folks on this road bike. As you well know, it's really nice having options to ride.

Giant really seems to be coming on with offering a wide array of models to suit everyone. They certainly have focused in getting the price right as well.

Many thanks to all of you for your encouragement, but I think that road riding will be the means to the end of Fitness training for the mountain bike, although I am looking at a few local randonnees to see how much quicker they will be on a road bike.

Giant certainly have got their act together on road bikes as barring the odd top end or custom built bike in the area, Most of them are Giants- with a smatterring of Bianchi. Suppose that is whats happens when the local GOOD shop is a Giant agent.

On the price- we seem to pay a levy on bikes imported to the UK that is a bit large. My Cannondale MT is around $2000 in the US--We pay £2100. With the exchange rate at around $1.85 to the £, you can see we pay over here. This Giant SCR3 is £450 retail in the UK which translates to around £800. Just out of interest- what would it have cost me in the US? Incidentally I got a good discount so it is immaterial.

Now back to the gardening- I am a keen gardener of many years standing by the way, Still got a lot to do, but the bike shed and bikes have priority for the rest of the Summer.

Congrats on the new bike, even if is just a "trainer" for mountain biking. I look forward to hearing a few ride reports.

Rides ok. Small letters at present because it is so strange. Tweaked a couple of things tonight and put a 20mm longer bar stem on it. Only did a short ride- but what a difference- 20mm!!!! thats all. Have to get back to the shop to get a black one to match the bike though as aesthetically, it dont look right in silver- What am I saying??? Haven't ridden it much yet and I am worrying about what it looks like. Can remember the Bianchi mountain bike first time out and couldn't care less about what that looked like. Most of the time it would be covered in mud so why bother.

Am I turning into one of those riders that won't go out in the rain in case I get the bike Dirty?

No, you don't worry about that. You worry when you have to wipe down your bike after a ride, and rewax it so it's all spiffy.