Ek053690

I'm looking to purchase this bike for $500 in NJ. Dura ace components and mavic wheels. I can't post pictures here being a new user but condition looks very good. What do you think of the price and if it's worth buying. I am also wondering if it fits 25mm tires. Thank you for your advice.

SpedFast

Welcome to the forums. There are Bike Blue book sites on the internet if you don't get any joy here. Just remember, condition is everything. Good luck.

cb400bill

Pic Assist - Picture by Ek053690 | 33437960 | (bikeforums.net)

veganbikes

Does the bike fit? If it doesn't it is not worth it ever. Do you like the bike, does it feel good, shift nicely, all of that? If not it is not worth it. Is the frame damaged in anyway? If so it is not worth it. You have to look at it and tell us what you think.

It is an older modern bike with older modern components. Maybe it is worth it maybe not. I would personally pass but I am not a big Giant fan and Mavic wheels do nothing for me to own. They look cool but I would never want to own them unless I had a stash of their spokes which vary from wheel to wheel. It is not a bad bike obviously it has Dura-Ace and other good components it was a fine bike back then but just not for me.

Russ Roth

Yes its worth it, as already mentioned, if it fits. I'd check for chain stretch so see if you're looking at repairs right from the beginning. The 10sp Dura Ace this came with is a nice, smooth shifting, and reliable components group. Although 11 and 12 speeds are nice, 10sp isn't really lacking for much, and 10sp DA isn't slowing you down. The wheels aren't that special and weren't very high end at their time but still smooth and reliable. If something goes wrong with them nice 10sp road wheels are plentiful thanks to all new standards. Wouldn't want to guarantee anything but I don't recall many bikes from the early 2000s being unable to handle 25c, though sometimes I feel like 25c tires at the time were slightly narrower than they are today. Plenty couldn't handle bigger but 25c was a fairly common road size by 2006.

tFUnK

I had that frame and ran 28mm tires (mounted on skinny rims of that era), no problem.

$500 for a carbon bike from that era sounds about right, assuming no damage, good condition, good fit, etc.

icemilkcoffee 

The Giant TCR was (is?) their top of the line road racing bike. This one has the top of the line Dura Ace groupset. The Mavic Ksyrium wheels, although not tubeless, has the closed rim bed which means you never have to worry about rim tape and associated problems. It's also 11 sp ready like all Mavic wheels with HG cassette hubs.
$500 is a very decent price for this bike.

Dave Mayer

Wow: if that was my size, despite already having too many road bikes, I'd buy it in a minute. This is a team-level bike; very light and fast.

Apart from the price It has several advantages over an equivalent 2024 bike, the most important of which is lower weight, without the unnecessary ballast of disc brakes, which comes with extra frame and fork reinforcements and sluggish heavy wheels.

The Dura-Ace 7800 gruppo is about the best Shimano ever made, in terms of performance and weight. When Shimano later put the shift cables under the bar wrap for style reasons, thereby introducing tight bends and cable friction, shifting suffered. The latest stuff still not quite up to 7800 standards in terms of shifting crispness and precision. 10 speed consumables such as cassettes and chains are far cheaper and easier to find than 12-speed stuff, and on the bike you won't notice the presence of a couple of superfluous extra cogs.

External cable routing: thank goodness. Notice all 2024 high-end bikes with fully integrated cables? Avoid, as formerly trivial maintenance tasks such as changing a stem or the yearly task of replacing shift housing and cables is converted to a frustrating 3 hour adventure. Taking this to a shop will cost you $300, a couple of trips and a days of waiting. Or 2 weeks, this time of year.

Mavic wheels: I've been riding on these heavily for the last couple of years and have become a convert. Replacing a spoke is expensive misery, but this is the same now for all prebuilt high-end wheels. At least with Mavic, you can find the spokes.

In terms of absolute performance on pavement, this bike is outright better than anything you can buy in 2024 - at any price.

georges1

definitely a worthy bike to buy