anaerobic1

Hi folks

New member with a 2016 toughroad slr2. Since all my riding is on pavement I found a great tire...a 29" Schwalbe Marathon Supreme. Great ride, handling and tire life...expensive but well worth it.

Since I cannot post a URL, yet....you will need to google it for specs, etc.

Machoman121

Toughroad.jpg

FM1178

Sharp bike. Always liked the color scheme of the SLR2.

Justinitus

My Toughroad 0 came stock with the Giant Sycamore S 29x2.0 tyres. So far, they've proved to be pretty decent both on tarmac and on gravel/towpath but they hum quite a bit on the road. I like the cushy feel of the wide tyre but wanted something with a lower profile tread for a bit more road bias, but not slick. I opted for a pair of Schwalbe Thunder Burt 29x2.1 at a great price from Ribble. They arrived today.

Weight wise, the Sycamores came in at 714g each whilst the Thunder Burts weigh 531g - a saving of 183g per tyre. A friend calculated this as an approximate saving of 1100g in rotational weight for the two tyres. Relevant, but not sure how much...! Was pleased to see Giant fitted lightweight inner tubes as standard too, they weighed 145g each, so carried these over.

Had a quick 3 mile spin along the road and through the park and there is a noticeable improvement in responsiveness, comfort and noise. Much quieter. Weighing 102kg (224lbs or in old skool 16 stone) I run the back tyre at 50psi and the front at 45psi - letting a bit more out if the going gets rough. Running the Burts at the same pressures they immediately felt more comfortable - not sure if it's because they're a folding tyre and the Sycamore was a wire bead. Dunno...They're much easier to get on/off the rim though! But so far, I'm happy I made the move.

Bike (med frame) now weighs 9.85kg.

Machoman121

I've lowered my handlebar of the SLR2 by reversing the stem and also moving it down a few spacers on the steerers. I think it made for a better handling bike - it also feels racier with more weight up front rather than behind.

If anything it made the SLR2 looked even better....a bit more macho.

coominya

Interesting... Can you stand up safely over the bars now, even going downhill? Is it not too twitchy at speed? Does it do sharp corners well at speed? Many design factors combine to make a bike safe, it might be wise to check out the performance of that mod before you need to in an emergency

Machoman121

All good - i'm no novice. The stem was lowered by a few spacers only.

Update:
With more weight at the front on the lowered front I've noted more bite in the front when taking corners.

Noctilux.95

My 2016 Toughroad. Awesome commuter bike!

Machoman121

wow - i noted quite a few 'upgrades' - carbon handlebar, single chainring in front, shorter stem (most obvious!)...... care to share why you made the changes - just wanting to learn from others.

BookFinder 

Posting to subscribe - 'cause I can't find a "subscribe" button on the iPad...

VR88

Hey all

New member here. Firstly, thank you for this thread - It helped me decide that this was a bike I really wanted to try! I ended up getting a good price on a 2017 SLR 2 yesterday, so couldn't refuse

In an ideal world, I'd love to make a few minor upgrades:

Grips: I've actually just ordered some Ergon GP3s
Tyres: My commute is mostly paved, so thinking something thinner - what do you recommend?
Wheels: I'd love to actually get a second set that I can put the above mentioned thinner tyres on and keep the fatter ones for weekends. What's cheap but decent? I'm not too heavy at 70kg.
Rack: Anyone using a Topeak?
Fenders: Maybe at some point - any recommendations?

Anyways, glad to be part of this community and thanks again for making my choice easy!

Noctilux.95

Honestly the changes were made mostly for aesthetic reason, nothing more. The bike does ride better with smoother shifting and better wheels, of course.

cdmta

Are you able to elaborate on your setup? Love the lights and am wondering on your upgrades to components.
Thanks!

Noctilux.95

Sure.

Drivetrain- Shimano XT 1x11 with 34 front chainring and 11-42 cassette. Brakes upgraded to XT Ice Tech 180mm F, and 160mm R, Rotors
Wheelset- Stans No-Tube Arch EX 29" with Specialized S-Works 1.95" XC Tubeless tires
Handelbar- Race Face Carbon
Stem- Spank Oozey 50mm
Saddle- Selle Italia SL
Peddles- Spank Spoons
Grips- Odi
Lights- Serfas dual front lights ($11 each on Ebay) and Serfas rear light
Rear Rack- Giant brand

dson78

Bike is looking sharp.

cdmta

Thanks for the info

HerrKaLeun

I don't think the tires have huge rolling resistance. Not sure about your area, but here MUPs have frost-heaving, gravel etc. Also bike lanes on roads (and roads themselves) often are bad. Maybe not bad for cars, but definitely bad for bikes. Especially since the edge of the road is even worse. I'm happy every time to have the 50 mm tires.

Read this and other sources on how wider tire with less pressure can be better in real life.

And changing wheels all the time gets old soon. Maybe ride along your paths and roads and pay very good attention to the surface.

I got Planet bike Fenders on mine.

HerrKaLeun

I like the front rotor increase to 180 mm. Definitely plan the same once the old one wears out.

I like the tubeless wheels. Did you buy new rims for other reason? I mean did you try the "ghetto" tubeless setups like adding rim tape, sealant etc.? I'm asking because for my next tires I also like to go tubeless, but don't want to buy all new wheels. Although that would be great.

But I wonder why you went to a 1x setup? Do you often spin out with the 34T-11T? I just wonder since I rarely use the rear 11T cog, but some downhills I'm glad I have it with my 42T front chainring (I have the SLR 1 with 2x10).
Don't get me wrong, I really like 1x concept (converted a 3x9 to 1x9 on a different bike and love it), but would be afraid to lose the range since i on occasion use the lowest and highest gear (and even if for 1%).

prj71

Wide range cassettes are starting to almost eliminate the need for 2x or 3x on bikes of this type which occasionally see gravel, light off-road and pavement.

I have a 32 chainring with 11-42 cassette on my Niner Air 9. Did a gravel race with it a couple of weeks ago and was easily able to maintain 18-20 mph on the paved sections of the race.

jase33

I have a 42T chain ring with an 11-42 cassette no my DS4 and it's perfect for me. The bike came with a 2x10 setup but I noticed I never shifted from the large chain ring so I got rid of the second ring.

Machoman121

For me - i like my 3 ring front chain ring setup - that was the only reason why i chose the SLR 2. I wanted a bike that'll go anywhere and pretty much any reasonable ride-able ascent.

ColonelSanders

Whilst I have been very critical in the past that Shimano didn't give hybrid users anything to be happy about in terms of their most recent 11 speed mountain bike cranks, the range of their 11 speed cassettes are exactly what I wanted.


I can see myself running a 10 speed 40T crank on an 11 speed drivetrain with a 11-46 cassette, in the next 12 or so months.

jase33

When I changed the drive train on my bike I used a 36T with an 11-46 cassette and it had trouble shifting into the largest cog with a medium cage RD. No matter what I tried the best I could get it to do was grind the jockey wheel before moving the chain up. I dropped it down to an 11-42 and the issue was solved. These were all XT parts. I will be curious to know how you make out if/when you do this. I have since swapped the chain ring to a 42T and have been riding sweet ever since. Fast on pavement, plenty of room to adjust for dirt/gravel/grass and anything grade 10% or less is easy enough to climb even on long inclines.

ColonelSanders

When I get around to do this, I will definitely start a thread on it, documenting the steps and outcomes I achieved.

prj71

Do some gear ratio math on your 3 chainrings and cassette and you will discover that you have a lot of overlap and that a wide range cassette and 1x will do the same thing.

Still haven't figured out why this model hasn't made it the US yet...

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/toughroad-slr-0

Can US dealers get Australia bike offerings?