Bill1227

What is the weight of a medium size ? 25 pounds?

Yep, I agree that is The Bike Specialized should have built the Crosstrail into (rather than the cheap,junk $60 pogo,urban suspension fork and limited tire clearance)
Pretty much what I had been turning my Crosstrail into

Well done Giant ! The right gears,tires,carbon fork,post,nice frame,riser bars,etc........great racks for "when if or ever".

just blew Specialized CT's and Trek DS's away !

I want one

FrozenBiker 

I don't know the actual weight, but it didn't feel sluggish at all. And it is a very comfortable bike to ride.

Bill1227

* I would greatly appreciate posting actual weights of the Giant ToughRoad along with frame size and what is included in the weight example - with peddles, with bottle cages etc.

* Back in this thread someone else asked and one reply said " I think mine is 28 pounds". If so, that seems quite portly to me for a rigid carbon fork 29'er and yet it may well be the case , as it appears by the available racks front and rear versions, it is built for fully loaded touring (front , rear panniers +++). So the wheels, frame etc. may be quite stout.

* By weight comparison similar here is my Size Large Frame 2013 Specialized Crosstrail which I have modified to my liking very similar to what Giant has done with the ToughRoad but, perhaps a little upscale with my aftermarket extras that saved some weight.
Mine is 25#'s on a bike shop scale with peddles, size large frame and wearing a triple crankset. Changes I made include - fork to Carbon origin 8, peddles,wheels to Boyd Altimount, saddle,peddles, tires to Specialized Renegade 1.8" (46mm),cut 1/2" off each end of the riser bars,flipped stem, larger Spesh body geometry grips, Spesh Ned's bar ends.

* PS - I love the multi use concept of this type Bicycle. Basically a rigid touring 29er MTB. I feel they are THE Most Versatile , enjoyable bikes and that Specialized,Trek and many others Really Blew it by allowing the cheap $65 , Super Heavy, Spring , Low Travel, SA Suspension Fork and skinny 38 tires on these type bikes to save a buck (these cheap forks actually cost less than a decent rigid ). The suspension fork company most have a hell of a sales rep

My modified Spesh Crosstrail - size large 25#'s with peddles


kudos to Giant,Kona and others for getting it right......

gsa103

I'll have to weigh mine at some point, but 28 lbs has got to be the weight with racks, etc. I've got the SLR 2, which doesn't have that, it feels more like lower ~23 lbs. You could certainly get lighter, but that's mainly component choices.

I've had mine a while now. No regrets on it. I'm still debating if I want to upgrade the brakes to get the one-finger lever shape, but the brakes are still flawless. Overall, I lose ~3 mph commuting compared with my road bike, but that's not too surprising, considering that the comparison is a ~16lb carbon bike with 23mm race tires. The nice part is that I can just bomb off curbs and through dirt, instead of picking lines carefully on the road bike.

ColonelSanders

If you replaced the stock tyres on the Toughroad with Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 40mm tyres, that 3 mph would likely shrink by at least 1 mph.

Bill1227

Thanks but, you really have to put it on a bike shop scale or Park Tool equivalent for decent accuracy. hopefully someone will. Personally as it is built as/for a fully loaded touring bike, the more I think about it the more I doubt the 28 #'s (if actual) would include the racks. Even with carbon fork the wheels, entire bike is built for a full load = front and rear pannier racks.
Example : my Crosstrail above with a aftermarket Origin 8 Carbon Fork, very light 495G Renegade tires, after market Boyd hand built wheels, etc. is 25 #'s with pedals in a size large frame and a Crosstrail is not built for fully loaded touring. Rather light touring. I would be Really,surprised if the Tough Road was "23 pounds".............I bet its 28 pounds with out any racks or anything else but peddles.

ColonelSanders

Someone on these forums weighed a stock Toughroad SLR 2 with a Digital Bike Scale and it came out to being 25.5lbs for a Large size(if my memory serves me correctly).

badger1

Twenty-five pounds or so for the SLR2, w/o racks or pedals, sounds about right. I haven't weighted the bikes, but I've looked closely at a Medium SLR1, with racks and a Medium SLR2 at my LBS. My guess would be that the SLR1 sits around the 24 pound mark, if that, with racks -- would be a bit less without. My Sirrus is 19.4 pounds w/pedals (LBS Park digital scale); the Toughroad SLR1 with stock tires and racks sits between it and my older, lightened Giant Rainier (26.1 pounds, LBS Park digital scale).

In any event, I doubt that either Toughroad model is close to 28 pounds. For what they are they are lightish bikes; most of that is down to the very light frame (Giant's SLR aluminum) and carbon fork. The stock wheels and tires are boat anchors; easily fixed.

Metieval

what is up with the Sizing?

My 29er Talon is Medium and 18"



Size Head Angle Seat Angle Top Tube Reach Head Tube Stack Chain Stay Wheel Base Standover Height
M/18 70.5 72.5 23.5 n/a 4.5 n/a 17.6 42.6 29.5

Now the Toughroad
M/19 71.5 73 23.4 41.1 5.9 60.1 17.7 42.4 32.2




I really like what Giant did here. However, used hardtails are dime a dozen. Rigid forks are relatively cheap. I'd rather run a 38-42c tire anyways. If the bike is mostly for the road/gravel, with some offroad use then a flatbar Tiagra 2x10 group makes way more sense.

Maybe it is time to build..... Then there is also a 2015 DB Haanjo flatbar is SORA equipped available and $589 right now. BB5 sucks, however TRP spyre/spyke are the better mech brakes anyways. Along with mech being desirable in a year round commute bike.
So $170 + $589 = $759 Haanjo vs ToughRoad $829 (LBS price)

I don't know anything about DB frames though. I do know Giant frames are efficient. Which good stiff frames are priceless in my opinion.

Love Giant and I love the idea of the Toughroad, I am just not sold on it (yet). It doesn't help that all the LBS couldn't move revolts/anyroads. So I seriously doubt they will order and stock this toughroad. :'( I also loved the Anyroad, and Revolt, yet after riding them I wasn't happy with them. The Idea was great, yet Giant missed the mark in making it efficient. They should have just modified the Defy frame to fit 50c tires and called it a day.

Just rambling..... Someone sell me on a Toughroad. Especially, When I currently have a Trek Crossrip. All of this is because I want flatbar, and a slightly higher BB.

FrozenBiker 

You got that right. The factory store in Boston is the only place to see one in this area.
The local shops consider it a "niche bike", and won't stock it.

That's a tough one. What type of terrain/riding would you want it for?
I've been riding paved bikepaths for years on a Raleigh hibrid, and more recently,
found a new passion for unpaved paths. Some of those have trails into the woods.
This bike should handle it with ease. And it's very comfortable to ride. I test rode a
Trek FX 7.4, 7.3, 7.2, Sirrus Elite, Sirrus Sport, Canondale Quick4, Giant Escape 1,
Trek DS, and Specialized Crosstail. They were all fine in their own way, but the
Toughroad was the only one that called out to me. YRMV

Metieval

Terrain, would be mostly pavement. Most rides would be 15 miles, a break, and 15 miles home. Or 5 miles out, 5 miles back with very small break or hours. Once in a while I might push it to a 25 ish out, break and then 25 ish back. However, If I ride to family farm then I have grass, open fields, trails in the woods. Wider tires for me means cush and rolling resistance, nothing more. Cush makes the rolling resistance worth it, however I ran all sorts of off road on 28c slicks. Pick your lines, shift your weight, and yes some of this was snow covered tree roots also. LOL possible, but tire cush is so awesome in comparison.
After riding a good fork, I won't ever do a cheap fork again, ever! Nor will I do Al. forks, carbon or steel is good.
I have other bikes, so this new bike becomes a I'll get there when I get there bike, often with a small backpack, Flat bars because flat bars in town or with family are much more fun. Town is all relative though, sometimes town is very fun with my drop bar freewheel singlespeed.

What draws me to the Toughroad vs other rigid fitness-hybrid bikes is the ability for wide tires. In general I'd run My 40c Clement MSO's or get the new 36c tubeless MSO's. Oh 28c slicks are better in snow though than the Clement MSO's, trust me!!
The FX isn't happening ever! the geo is awkward for me, It doesn't feel sporty, it doesn't make me smile when I ride it. Specialized won't see my money, call it principle. That leaves Cannondale quick, Fuji absolute, DB Haanjo, Omni strada trail, a handful of other flat bar wider tire bikes.

I suppose the Sales pitch I am looking for on the Toughroad is why I would want it rather than building a Rigid hardtail 29er.

1. It looks awesome! (yes I am materialistic like that lol)
2. ??

cons

1: components on the 2 are terrible, and the 1, is geared for trail use only.
2: sizing is very weird! 32" standover with a 30" book inseam 90% kills the reason for wanting a flatbar fun bike.

I guess that last line was the noose that killed any chance of a sale.

I hope Giant reads this..... Maybe I'll buy another Talon 29er for road use.

DorkDisk

This bike will make a great choice for someone looking for a vintage feeling bike without having to find and fix up an old bike, or someone who wants old school geometry with newer technology in geometry, brakes, and material technology. The other advantage is bosses for racks, fenders, etc that MTBs shed decades ago. If you're into building up your own rigs, there isn't much too look at. I do wish manufacturers still sold bare frames

Heres a quick and dirty mockup next to my 95 cannondale showing the similarities and the upward sloping top tube. FYI the dale is sub 21lbs (23.1 stock).





Fully rigid MTBs died out in the mainstream about 1996, its nice to see another one being produced by a large brand regardless of the label they put on it without having to go used, BYO, or "custom." MTB-like hybrids with massive tire clearance were few and far between, the advantage of this one is that it promises to be lighter than most previous "hybrid" offerings, although they don't actually have light builds

Metieval

nice mock up!

that explains the tall standover heights.

based on that mock up, It is probably safe to say that this Toughroad will ride like a rigid MTB, but feel like a Hybrid with its longer head tube.

It is almost temping to find an older Trek 750 Multitrack bike also...

DorkDisk

I'm always on the lookout for a cheap one. Many 720s but very few higher end ones for sub 100 in my size

ColonelSanders

I take it the wheels on the Toughroad are the standard 9mm hollow axle on the front and 10mm hollow axle(with quick release) on the rear?

prj71

Specialized already makes that which you speak of. They have been since 2013. Aluminum frame and carbon fork. Sold as single speed but can be converted to geared. 22-23 lbs. It was called Carve when it first came out but has been renamed Crave now.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bi...e-sl-29/106470

NormanF

Marin Bicycles has the Marin Muirwoods.

Its basically a rigid 29er built for urban riding. I have one and one can upgrade the stock 700 X 42 to 700 X 52 or 29 X 2.0 for all-round riding.

A great rig!

acdc2704

I love this bike the more I ride it the more I love it. I can averaged 15 mph on the paved rail trail and 13 mph on hard packed trail. I am getting ready to swap out the stock tire with some 700x 38c knobby tires and I added bar ends. If you want something different than your normal gravel grinder check this out.

D1andonlyDman

They are all similar. The one that called out to me was a pristine mint condition 2006 Schwinn Super Sport GS, which is very much the same type of bike as those, with the key points being: flat bar and upright riding position, wide range gearing, canti brakes, clearance for wide tires and fenders, and a carbon fork, all in a 23.5 lb (medium size) bike.

Only difference was, that pristine, mint condition used Schwinn set me back $100 on Craigslist yesterday. And if I could have gotten a Specialized Sirrus Sport in similar shape for the same $100, it would have been that one that called out to me. Since it was actually a very pleasant experience renting a Sirrus on Maui last year that even made me aware of the benefits of this type of bike in the first place.

prj71

So you can use these tires on the stock rim that comes on the bike?

Seriously thinking of ditching my Crosstrail for this bike. If it's just a tire swap, this bike can be used for road and gravel rides.

ColonelSanders

The rim is 19mm internally wide on the stock wheel.

acdc2704

Yes, standard 700 C tires fit on the rim. I put the 38's rolling resistance has been much better, of course I lost a little comfort.

HCB

Any Toughroad owner considering putting on a small travel (50mm) suspension fork on their bikes? I'm really enjoying my bike and have been going off road more than I expected. Rock Shox makes a 50mm travel Paragon suspension fork that has me curious. Its also only $250, or less on sale.
What do you think?

Osprey379

Hi, I am new to the forum. I purchased a Toughroad SLR2 last week, and so far am very impressed. I am thinking of upgrading the groupset (not brakes) and grips. Does anybody have any recommendations? It is about 10 years since owning a bike so I am a bit out of the loop on what is worthwhile doing. Thanks in advance.

andrei_r

You mean SLX