Scott CR1 Team alternatives

Latino

Hi All

I'm looking to upgrade my current road bike, and relegate my ride to be a training/winter bike. So far I've been looking at the Scott CR1 Team, as every review I read claims that the frame is top notch. Many claim it's very stiff and can be unconfortable for long rides, but it can't be any worse than my current aluminium ride, which I've found OK so far. I'm also not a big powerful rider, so I don't see the need for a Ti frame

I'm looking for something to do sportives and some long Sunday rides on. My priority is to get a good frame, so I'm quite happy with 105 in there. I can upgrade the components later on as and when I require. I will probably fit my Reynolds Alta Race wheels on it, which I've found excellent so far, so nice wheels are not at the top of the list either. Looking to spend around £1600, but willing to go as far as £2000 if the bike is nice enough.

What other choices are there that would fit those requirements? Any recommendations?

Cheers

Kléber

There are so many options here. One thing, with good value for money, look at the Canyon frames from Germany. Great value and they have had very decent reviews.

Everyone else will have their opinions, it's a big market. Make sure the position and geometry work for you.

Johno68

I got myself a Bottechia Octavia, absolutely fantastic.

and more importantly it's not a Trek, Giant, Scot, Canno...

I just wish I had the legs to ride it more.

John

passout

If you want carbon then the focus cayo and ribble carbon are both good affordable bikes. If you go steel then I'd look at Salsa cycles. Dave Hind also has some excellent frames in steel, alu, alu/carbon and pure carbon.

Latino

Had a quick look at the Canyon frames, look good so far, although slightly heavier than the CR1 advertised weight. I'm not sure if they include the fork in their weight. Looks very interesting though, and to make it even better, I quite like the idea of building my own bike. More research needed on Canyon

I'll have to look at the Bottechia. never heard of them though

Passout, thanks for the input. I'm after carbon this time, so I'm not considering steel. I have a Focus bike, but I'm not impressed with it. It's an aluminium frame (Variado) but I've noticed that when I put the power down, the frame gives me too much flex, and I'm not a big rider! I have considered the local brands (Planet X, Ribble...), but I cannot find good objective information on them, and I really want to make sure the frame is top notch here. Hence why I was leaning towards Scott CR1, as it has an excellent reputation.

Keep the suggestions coming guys (and gals

Down the Road

Time Edge racer is he best vlue I have seen of the more niche brands.

Fitted standard with £100 seat pin and a £160 Full Carbon Stem. Complete bikes were from £2000 might be cheaper if you shop around. Why such good value Frame Module (frame fork post and Stem) £1400

fluff.

If just the stiffness of the cr1 is putting you off I'd still consider it, I have the even stiffer scandium tubed scott with cr1 geometry and I've never thought it was too stiff after an all day ride, tyre pressure/ width, seatpost material, saddle position and so on will have a a bigger impact on your comfort imo.

Latino

Actually, I consider the stiffness of the CR1 its most attractive point, together with the low weight . I was stating that it can't be any more unconfortable than my current aluminum frame, and I find that one OK for long sportives, so a CR1 should be fine.

I simply want to know what other options are there that would suit my needs, to make sure I'm buying the best bike for me that I can

That Canyon F10 frame does look like a very good alternative. Seems to weight just as much as the CR1 Pro frame, according to http://weightweenies.starbike.com/listi ... nufacturer.

I'll have to see how much I would have to pay to build the full bike, taking into account that I would prefer to build it, as it means I can put the components I want, and that I don't need to buy wheels

I'll add Time to the list, have to do some googling when I get a minute . Thanks "Down The Road"

fluff.

Ah, my mistake sorry. Suggest you see if you can get a test ride on a CR1 then Though you may not want to test ride any others, after cornering at 40mph like you're on rails

Latino

Yeah, I've heard that. But I would quite like to test at least two bikes on the same day before I make a decission. Right now I won't have anything to compare the CR1 to, other than my current Focus, and it's bound to be miles better than that.

Now I wish I could also test a Canyon :roll:

craiguk

I have to say that I love the look of the CR1 and I've heard alot of good reports. However you should be aware that the frame isn't fitted with a dedicated rear mech hanger and that the rear mech interfaces directly with the frame. A guy in our club had an incident with his rear mech which left the right rear dropout being ripped from the frame. This left the frame in a right old state.

One would expect that Scott being a good company may offer some sort of warranty support as he was the original buyer of this £1500 masterpiece. Unfortunately they didn't want to know and he was left with a broken frame which wouldn't be repaired or replaced by Scott. According to him if you search the net there are stories of others who have suffered the same problem.

Ever thought of a Spesh Tarmac? They are lovely frames and from what I hear have great warranty support.

Latino

Actually, I totally forgot to mention that before. The lack of a replaceable rear mech dropout is the one thing that really puts me off the CR1, big time. I want this bike to be my events/worship bike for the next three years at least, and the prospect of having the frame easily ruined in a crash doesn't really appeal

I haven't looked at the Spesh Tarmacs at all. To the list too, but weren't they over my budget?

I tell you, the more I look at those Canyons, the more appealing they become. Does anyone ride a Canyon F10 frame? any objective coments?

Cheers

craiguk

You can buy a Spesh Tarmac for under £2k, have a look at this Spesh dealer for an idea of price>>>

http://www.dalescycles.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=91

Brian B

Check out Storck bikes on www.poshbikes.com. They are German make and are VERY stiff in regards to weight ratio and they look good too. I am biased as I have the Scenario 0.9 but it does everything it says on the tin.

rjsmith

I just replace the rear mech bolts with SRP alloy breakaway bolts on my CR1 and Plasma. Lighter and will avoid the hanger bending. They only cost about a fiver.

chrisw12

I may be barking mad here but I don't understand all this 'cr1 too stiff and threfore uncomortable' stuff. I have a cr1 and a planetx tt bike and I find the tt bike much, much stiffer and therefore I find it slightly nicer to ride. For me stiff is good, that being said I find tyres make the biggest difference and I make sure I always use good quality tyres.

wildmoustache

canyon's are a bit of a risk ... you're buying from abroad and from a company that doesn't even distribute to the UK. they are light and very stiff so good for climbing (apparently), but handling is said to be twitchy and do not buy if comfort is a priority. I haven't ridden one but ride reports I've read say they are not known for their comfort. Stiff, responsive and light yes.

don't know if you want to avoid big brands, but you can get some deals on Trek Madones right now as the model is being replaced ... but the outgoing model is a very capable bike.

CR1 is a great frame and not uncomfortable ... have ridden it. fairly aggressive race geometry but not uncomfortable.

JeJames have discounted complete bike Look 565s for £1999 which is not a bad deal for a great frame.

Latino

craiguk wrote:

You can buy a Spesh Tarmac for under £2k, have a look at this Spesh dealer for an idea of price>>>

http://www.dalescycles.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=91

Craig, thanks for the link. I just had a look and those which are in my price range are using the Specialized FACT 8r frame. From what I've read, this frame is designed for endurance events, and hence it's more compliant than other frames. I believe this is the frame used in their Roubaix.

I have a friend who had a Roubaix. He found it very confortable to ride, but not too stiff. Recently he sold it and got a Ti frame instead for the added rigidity, as he found himself leaving his crabon toy at home and riding his aluminium bike instead.

If any of this is wrong, please feel free to point it out!!

Latino

rjsmith wrote:

I just replace the rear mech bolts with SRP alloy breakaway bolts on my CR1 and Plasma. Lighter and will avoid the hanger bending. They only cost about a fiver.

What are those? where do I find some? first time I hear about them, please share the knowledge!

wildmoustache

selling the roubaix for a Ti bike and not riding the roubaix due to lack of stiffness is a bit of an eye-opener.

i've never heard they are wobbleboards before. personally can't stand the look of them, but have only heard good things.

as well as the huge impact of finishing kit, tyres and wheel, i feel the stiffness/comfort thing depends on where you've come from. i went from harsh aluminium to stiffish carbon and can ride it with stiff wheels, thin bartape etc. because it's still mroe comfy that what i was used to. i personally like to feel a fair bit of feedback from the road beneath me.

Kléber

Scott dealers have a rear mech hanger kit in case the worst happens. But the drop outs are very strong, after all few riders with the Scale or Genius Scott MTBs have problems. Get the SRP bolt if you like.

As for Canyons, if there is ever a problem you will have to ship it back to Germany. Germany is not famous for customer friendly companies but Canyon are good at looking after their customers.

wildmoustache

Kléber wrote:

Scott dealers have a rear mech hanger kit in case the worst happens. But the drop outs are very strong, after all few riders with the Scale or Genius Scott MTBs have problems. Get the SRP bolt if you like.

As for Canyons, if there is ever a problem you will have to ship it back to Germany. Germany is not famous for customer friendly companies but Canyon are good at looking after their customers.

can you imagine having to ship your bike back though... geez. it's a huge brand out in germany and someone in the uk should start distributing

Kléber

The whole point of Canyon is that they sell online to avoid distributors. You don't pay a middleman, so you make savings.

As for shipping a frame back, it's not hard. You keep the box it came in, log onto a courrier like UPS or even Parcelforce and book a collection from your home or work. After all, if Canyon can ship loads of bikes, we can all send one back.

Anyway, I'm not here to advertise them. Like I said in my first post, there are plenty of other bikes around. One more thing, if you want comfort in life, buy a good armchair or duvet! :twisted:

wildmoustache

Kléber wrote:

As for shipping a frame back, it's not hard. You keep the box it came in, log onto a courrier like UPS or even Parcelforce and book a collection from your home or work. After all, if Canyon can ship loads of bikes, we can all send one back.

duvet! :twisted:

cost, time without bike, inconvenience of lugging around packaged bike/dealing with couriers for those us who work normal office hours etc. was what i was thinking of.

andylav

Dedacciai Scuro carbon frame and forks

Cost ? £1050 from Terry Dolan, £1100 from Ribble, not sure what Condor charge but they are raced by the Rapha Condor team, or £995 from Gospex cycles ( where I got mine, and they can be obtained without any decals whatsoever)

Go to http://www.gobikespex.co.uk/shopdisplay ... SUMO+Bikes for a looksee

These frames are made in Italy (not Taiwan) and supplied to various bike manufacturers to paint and rebadge as they choose (Ciocc, Bottechia and Kona, to name a few, use this exact frameset as the core of some of their high end bikes)

Frame weight for a Medium is 957 grammes, nicely curved top tube, aero seat tube and aero seatpin included in the framset package. Very nice, cost effective alternative to the Scott with the benefit of replaceable hangar

Or, from the same sellers, between £675 and 799 for the lower level Nero Corsa frame

rjsmith

Latino wrote:

rjsmith wrote:

I just replace the rear mech bolts with SRP alloy breakaway bolts on my CR1 and Plasma. Lighter and will avoid the hanger bending. They only cost about a fiver.

What are those? where do I find some? first time I hear about them, please share the knowledge!

I bought several here - http://www.cyclerepairman.co.uk/
Look under breakaway bolts under the anodized bolts section. You just replace the standard Shimano bolt with it. Takes about 5 mins. Means the bolt breaks (if you have a crash, stick in wheels, rear mech in wheel etc) instead of bending the hanger. MTB riders used to use them alot. If you need more info just PM me.

Latino

wildmoustache wrote:

selling the roubaix for a Ti bike and not riding the roubaix due to lack of stiffness is a bit of an eye-opener.

In his defense, he is a tall powerful rider that grinds the pedals at a cadence of about 70 since that is what he finds most comfortable. He still manages very decent speeds, so the power he puts down through the pedals must be considerable. I'm not surprised if the roubaix, a bike that is designed to be compliant for longer rides, falls short of his expectations. His new litespeed should be a better fit.

wildmoustache wrote:

as well as the huge impact of finishing kit, tyres and wheel, i feel the stiffness/comfort thing depends on where you've come from. i went from harsh aluminium to stiffish carbon and can ride it with stiff wheels, thin bartape etc. because it's still mroe comfy that what i was used to. i personally like to feel a fair bit of feedback from the road beneath me.

I'm on the same boat. I come from aluminium, which I find plenty comfortable already. My bones should be just as happy or more on a stiff carbon frame

wildmoustache wrote:

cost, time without bike, inconvenience of lugging around packaged bike/dealing with couriers for those us who work normal office hours etc. was what i was thinking of.

All those things are indeed a pain, but it's no different if buying online in the UK. The postage may be a little cheaper, but I would still have to deal with all the other issues. And buying in a shop in London will, most likely, prove more expensive than necessary. In short, those are inconveniences I have decided to accept for a better ride for my money. And regardless, unless it's faulty on delivery, I doubt I'd send it back, as I quite enjoy getting my mittens dirty on my bikes

Kléber wrote:

Scott dealers have a rear mech hanger kit in case the worst happens. But the drop outs are very strong, after all few riders with the Scale or Genius Scott MTBs have problems. Get the SRP bolt if you like.

Now that's the first time I hear that. How would the fix a cracked chainstay? Sounds like I would indeed get one of those SRP bolts

Kléber wrote:

One more thing, if you want comfort in life, buy a good armchair or duvet! :twisted:

Ha ha, funny you'd say that. I had to trade my bike ride this weekend for a bit of sofa shopping instead. . But all I could picture was myself on Sunday afternoons having a kip on my new sofa after a long ride

andylav wrote:

Dedacciai Scuro carbon frame and forks

Cost ? £1050 from Terry Dolan, £1100 from Ribble, not sure what Condor charge but they are raced by the Rapha Condor team, or £995 from Gospex cycles ( where I got mine, and they can be obtained without any decals whatsoever)

Go to http://www.gobikespex.co.uk/shopdisplay ... SUMO+Bikes for a looksee

These frames are made in Italy (not Taiwan) and supplied to various bike manufacturers to paint and rebadge as they choose (Ciocc, Bottechia and Kona, to name a few, use this exact frameset as the core of some of their high end bikes)

Frame weight for a Medium is 957 grammes, nicely curved top tube, aero seat tube and aero seatpin included in the framset package. Very nice, cost effective alternative to the Scott with the benefit of replaceable hangar

This one seems like a nice alternative! I haven't found any information regarding the stiffness of the frame though (although I'll admit I didn't have time this weekend to do a thorough search). Will have to try again, but if I build my own bike, this one is on the list so far

rjsmith wrote:

I bought several here - http://www.cyclerepairman.co.uk/
Look under breakaway bolts under the anodized bolts section. You just replace the standard Shimano bolt with it. Takes about 5 mins. Means the bolt breaks (if you have a crash, stick in wheels, rear mech in wheel etc) instead of bending the hanger. MTB riders used to use them alot. If you need more info just PM me.

Great, thank you! seems like a no brainer for £4.

TO ALL

Thank you so much for your input so far. From being restricted to a Scott I now have a handful of very real alternatives I can consider. I now need to slowly digest the information, dig around and find my perfect new bike!

Cheers

giant_man

If you can get a test ride on a Canyon then go for it. As a rider of a relatively rare make of bike outside Canada (Argon 18) I can vouch for a manufacturer which would be rare to see in the UK.

just because they aren't popular, ie Trek, Cannondale et al. doesn't mean they're not good bikes.The Spesh Roubaix or the Tarmac are very comfortable, as I am sure the Scott is, being all carbon. For gods sake whatever you go for, try first. Every time.