As a recreational rider, I'm pretty satisfied with my Giant OCR3 frame. I've been bit with the cycling bug pretty badly as I've already upgraded most of the components and wheelset over time. Only things that have remained stock are the cranks and bottom bracket.

Would it be worth it for me to upgrade from this frame to a Cannondale Six13 Team frameset? The stock cranks and bottom bracket are included in unused condition. I'd be going from full aluminum frame to mix of aluminum/carbon frame and alum crankset to bb30 carbon fiber crankset (I'm assuming this counts as a significant benefit). The cost to me would be less than $700.

I would say, no.

I personally am not a one to upgrade for the sake of upgrading. I say this also because you say you are a 'recreational rider'. I don't think you will see the $700 worth of form and function from the new frame alone.

Better to hold on to what you have, since you say you are satisfied with your current frame. If your looking for a new frame for all your upgraded components you are better off saving up some dough and buying something brand new and saving your old bike for crappy weather and pretty much beating up.

However, If you make a load of cash and $700 isn't more than a weeks worth of entertainment then go for it. But in that case you might as well be shelling out more money for something new

Unless you are unhappy with the fit and feel of the old frame keep riding what you have. I'm with sowe34, don't upgrade just to upgrade.

The Cannondale would be a more aggressive frame compared to the OCR - is that what you want? You may find the OCR more comfortable for the type of riding that you do.

Also, is the stock crank on the OCR a triple? May want to consider a compact or 53 - 39. You can buy an Ultegra (6600) crank and BB for under $200 if you shop around. You would notice the weight savings.

If you can afford it why not. Your Giant frame will be worth something on Ebay and the new set-up will hold its value well. Only you can judge the return on your $.

After going through a number of bikes which I was unsatisfied with and finally finding one that I am happy with, I don't plan on changing much on my bike until the thing is dead or extremely outdated. YMMV

I've gotten the cycling bug pretty bad too and have been looking to upgrade my bike as well. But what I really realized is that I don't need a new bike (especially because I love my current bike).

I really just need more time to go out and ride.

Just got my trek 1.5(triple) a month ago and already thinking upgrades, FAIL!!! But hey the metallic lime is pretty sweet xD

I am looking for more aggressive. At the time of purchase of the OCR, I had no idea what different geometries meant.

Yes, the OCR is currently a triple. The crankset on the Cannondale is a 53-39. If I'm going to spend $200, I'd rather add it in towards the cost of the Cannondale frame that includes an unused crankset. What kind of weight savings do you guess I'd get from the OCR/Truvativ triple crank to the Cannondale/carbon double crank?

Reading bikeforums.net predisposes you to never be satisfied with your bike.

I too have an ocr3 and once felt the urge to upgrade. After some time on these boards and consideration of the parts costs, I decided I would get better satisfaction from having more bikes.

The ocr3 makes a great commuter, I am currently upgrading my lemond

I have gone through this same delima. I bought a used bike. I upgraded the saddle, the wheels, the handlebars, the crank and front and rear dr and bottles cages. Then, I upgraded the frame because the frame I had didn't fit me as good as it could have. The seat post, brakes, shifters and cassette is all that is left of the original bike. It was fun to do but expensive. I can not cost justify it but I love the bike now. It will probably be years before I do anything to the bike again and I will never replace the frame.

However, the new Campy 11 speed groupo has been calling my name but I am trying ignore it.

I would use the $700 and pickup a used bike as a backup. Have you ever had your bike in the shop? Then you know the importance of having a second bike. Get one that is more aggressive so you can switch back and forth as the desire hits you. I picked up a 2007 CAAD 8 with full Dura Ace for $900 in excellent condition. Definitely a more aggressive ride than my carbon Synapse.

I can not give you a number , but when I replace the stock triple on my OCR with a compact a couple of years ago the bike felt significantly lighter. Like mercator, the OCR is now my commuter/rain bike. I eventually did a carbon build and, while the OCR was nice, you just can not compare the ride to full carbon. Keep that in mind, as you do realize that you will feel the need to go FULL carbon at some point

That is just crazy talk.

You could buy something like a Cannondale Six Carbon 6 (after saving lots of cash) with the not so fantastic Tiagra and take your good components on the Giant and put it on the Cannondale frame, and you can then put the Tiagra on your Giant and make it a bad weather bike.

then no, it's not "worth it". ride more, obsess over equipment less. BB30 won't make you any faster.

R700 Ultegra level Shimano Compact crank @ jensonusa.com with Ultegra 6700 BB for $100 shipped

this is gonna be long winded, so bear with me.

i basically did just that, except i bought a new bike. right now i have a 2006 OCR 3 (bought in September of 06) and previously demoed 2007 Six13 Team 2 (bought in June of 09). if the new bike makes you want to ride it more, then go for it. i'm certainly getting a lot more out of my new bike. the OCR had 1000 miles max when i bought the six13, yet i put in 2500 miles on the six13 in six months.

as for increase in speed, on a normal ride, my speed maybe picked up 0.5mph, and that's probably a huge dose of placebo. it's a little different on hills, though, although not by much. the stock ocr3 is about 23lbs with pedals and my six13 is about 18 lbs with pedals.

real question is what you want to do with your bike. if recreational riding is all you want, then the OCR3 should suffice. lighter wheels and components could potentially bring the ocr down to 17-18lbs, and it could be done with some judicious scavenging on ebay and should be doable for <$1000. the aggressive geometry won't matter except when you need very responsive handling (read, taking a crit corner at 20+ mph or descending at high speed). if you want to race, then i'd go with a frame that is cheap enough so that you won't cry over it should you crash and damage it. as many have mentioned, the caad 9 is a good choice. just get a 9-7 and sell all the parts.

one last thing. don't know if you had a bike fit when you got the ocr; i certainly didn't. it happens that the stem and handlebar weren't even optimal for me. it didn't matter for short rides, but the bike actually became painful on rides >90min. so if i were you, i'd try to get a bike fit, too, with the new frame. many manufacturers don't give sizing of stems and handlebars of their bikes, but Felt does. You should consult the sizing of a similar sized Felt bike (the F series would be comparable) to get an idea of what stems & handlebars you need

edit: sorry, didn't initially realize that you did most of the upgrading.

A better upgrade would be the SystemSix BB30 frameset...now THAT would be well worth it!

If you want to upgrade and you've got the cash, go for it. If not, I wouldn't do it.