Giant SCR3 Wheels, whats wrong with them?

Panter

I see thay are generally pretty poorly regarded.

What is the problem with them?

I've had my SCR3 for a few weeks now and have had no problems to be fair.

Should I be worried about wheel failure, is there anything I can do to avoid problems with them?

I check the spokes frequently (just using fingers,) anything else I should be doing or am I best to just change them for something stronger?

Cheers

Chris

martincroxall

There's nothing "wrong" with them at all. Basically they are relatively cheap but that just means they are heavier and the build quality isn't quite as good as some more expensive wheels. Esentially they are still going to be better than the Shimano 600 / Mavic GP4 wheels I had in 1988 and I got thousands of miles out of them.

Panter

Thats a relief, thanks for that

They do seem heavy, I assumed that with all I'd read about them being rubbish it meant they didn't last very long. :oops:


Cheers

Chris

gkerr4

yeah - there's nothing wrong with them as such - nothing wrong with most wheels on £500ish bike mark - but they will be heavier, less aero, poorer bearing quality than more exensive wheels.

to put it into perpsective - they would have a ashop value of about £30 - £50 a pair so people upgrade them to something like Mavic Aksiums (£110) which makes a decent upgrade for the SCR to benefit from a little less weight etc..

Panter

Thanks gkerr4, that makes sense.

I was worried the spokes were going to fall out or something

I'll get some weight off myself before I start worrying about the weight of my wheels

Cheers

Chris

martincroxall

Yay!!!!!

Someone who realises that the easiest way to save weight is to lose some off the rider!

Panter

Well, it seemed logical :oops:

I've read there are arguements that lighter wheels help with acceleration. The only other road bike I've ridden was a very expensive, very lightweight LeMond with lightweight wheels. In fact the pedals on it cost more than my first MTB

Sure, the thing was quicker than mine, but it was also over a Grand more than mine, I'd expect it to be

Once i'm down to he weight I want to be at, then its the bikes turn to start dropping some pounds


Cheers

Chris

Panter

Bl**dy thing dropped a spoke today :evil:

Ho Hum........

emaichael

you drop about... 5pounds when spending over a grand extra..... really worth it, unless your entering competitions, and it matters if you come in a good position?
surely the heavier the bike, the better, when your not at competition level, then you get a work out.

Smokin Joe

emaichael wrote:

you drop about... 5pounds when spending over a grand extra..... really worth it, unless your entering competitions, and it matters if you come in a good position?
surely the heavier the bike, the better, when your not at competition level, then you get a work out.

Nope, the best workout comes when you ride a lightweight bike fast.

allaction

I had big probs with the wheels shedding spokes. Had them back four times before I updraded to Shimano R550 wheels. Done over two thousand miles on them no problems at all. Can be got for £80ish now so are a bargain and well worth it if they actually keep you on the road. My wife had the ladies version which also shed two spokes in just over 300 miles before she sold bike on.

Panter

allaction wrote:

I had big probs with the wheels shedding spokes. Had them back four times before I updraded to Shimano R550 wheels. Done over two thousand miles on them no problems at all. Can be got for £80ish now so are a bargain and well worth it if they actually keep you on the road. My wife had the ladies version which also shed two spokes in just over 300 miles before she sold bike on.

Thanks for that. 8)

Its in the LBS now, I've asked them to tension them all if needed and ensure everythings true.

if it keeps happening I'll certainly look at trying those shimanos.

Cheers

Chris

benny2891

I'm about to take delivery of a SCR 3, knowing that the wheels aren't the best. I'll replace 'em eventually, but for now economics dictate that I live with what I've got.

I'd love to hear how you get on after you get the LBS to re-tension your wheels.

I'm also wondering if it would be worth it to rebuild the wheels in a non-radial spoke pattern. I know it looks pretty, but from what I understand, not too strong and puts a huge amount of stress on the hub flange.

Anything else that can be done to lessen the chance of wheel failure while out enjoying the new ride ?

--
Ben

cart71

same problem here the wheels on my scr3 2 spokes came loose and broke one spoke so took them off my bike and chucked them in the bin and replaced with vuelta starlite had no problems since

emaichael

cart71 wrote:

same problem here the wheels on my scr3 2 spokes came loose and broke one spoke so took them off my bike and chucked them in the bin and replaced with vuelta starlite had no problems since

it wa only yesterday a guy on a scr4, the spokes on his wheels just snapped off at the start of the run.... (a coincidence i thought to myself when i had read this topic the night b4)

benny2891

So what is it about these wheels?

Bad spokes ?

Bad rims?

Bad build?

All three ?

I don't mind too much at this point if the wheels are a little heavy. With my level of cycling, it's the least of my worries. But, for wheels to be heavy and unreliable needs a solution.

Just wondering what needs fixing.

cart71

no coincidence the wheels aint very good the last thing you want is going downhill 50mph then your spokes going ping not a pretty sight

emaichael

cart71 wrote:

no coincidence the wheels aint very good the last thing you want is going downhill 50mph then your spokes going ping not a pretty sight

makes a very loud noise to.

cart71

hehehe

martincroxall

You know there's nothing "wrong" with these wheels. They aren't as good as wheels that cost £500 or more but then again if you buy the whole bike for £300 what do you expect? It's a damn good bike for the money and the wheels match the bike well so just live with them until you do need to upgrade. If you want better wheels straight off then buy a more expensive bike.

benny2891

SCR 3's run around £450.00.

For that price (or for £300), I don't expect wheels that are light, high performance suited for racing. However, I do expect them to be reasonably reliable. (i.e. not shed spokes after a few hundred miles.) Kinda heavy/inefficient is OK. Very shoddy is not.

Of course there will be compromises with any entry level bike. But I would expect to get more than a few months out of a set of wheels.

Of course I say all this without having actually having my bike yet. I base these statements on the stories offered on this and other forums. I'm just wondering if I'm better off getting new wheels straight away and selling the Alex's on Ebay, or Trying to get through the winter commuting on possibly dodgy wheels, and then upgrading when the weather is better.

Panter

I'll keep this updated when I get the bike back from my LBS.

To be completely fair, I am overweight and my commute involves me doing a fair few miles at high speed over pretty rough roads.

Also, worth mentioning that when my spoke went, I was almost exactly halfway through a club ride of 35 miles or so and it got me back at no change of pace with a spoke missing.

My personal plan is to see how it goes really. If it keeps happening, I'll get the shimanos mentioned above but if its a very occasional event, and mainly my fault, I'll leave them alone.

Hope you enjoy your new bike when you get it , I love mine 8)
I had to do my commute on the MTB this morning, all 17miles of it in the freezing cold. That really bought home how much faster my road bike is

Cheers

Chris

martincroxall

I think if wheels shed spokes os early it's a problem with that particular set and not representative of the wheels in general. A problem such as that is a health hazard and somehting that Giant would stear well clear of. I'd advise anyone with that problem to take it back to the supplier to get it sorted.

Althought the SCR3 is usually around £450 it's not hard to get one for under £350, mine was £315.

C1234

I loose a spoke every 200 miles or so: I would change my wheel to something less cheap (than the 2 sets that I rotate right now), except that the more you spend, the less spokes you get. A spoke or two going on my current rig just means I have to let off the brakes abit, but the thought of spoke breaking putting my into single digits is just terrifying!

Has anyone had a spoke go on some R105s or similar? what happens?

I'm 13 st and very tall, and my seat tube is very steep and long, so essentially I'm sitting above the back wheel. I think that has alot to do with why they break?

Panter

I had that same conversation with a friend who's pretty experienced.

he reckons that even though the expensive lightweight wheels should be less robust, the incidences of them breaking are far rarer.

Certainly, one of his bikes I'm sure only seems to have a handfull of spokes but, as you say, the consequences of losing one would be pretty severe.

DevUK

Are the same wheels used on the SCR 2 as on the SCR 3? I'm looking for a new bike and the SCR 2 is the sort of thing I might be considering

benny2891

Yup. Same wheels.

It's one of the reasons I went with the SCR3 instead of the 2. I don't mind 8 speed, and for the price of the SCR2, I can have a 3 with some nicer wheels.

As an aside, my bike arrived this evening, and the front and rear wheels are both need to be trued.

emaichael

DevUK wrote:

Are the same wheels used on the SCR 2 as on the SCR 3? I'm looking for a new bike and the SCR 2 is the sort of thing I might be considering

My current bike, is an SCR2, and ive done well over 2000 miles on it already, and theres nothing wrong with the wheels, (i havent even needed to slightly pump them up yet!)
and i go over fairly rough terrain at times (some would argue it was more mountain biking at times, lol)

i just hope my luck doesnt fail, or that the scr2 wheels might be better quality? for an extra 150ounds i hope so, cus i bought my scr 2 for about 510quid.
its a brilliant bike... love it. hasn't been a problem once. wheels are dif on them to the scr4 i think...but i'm probably wrong. cba checkin, goin to bed now bbye!

benny2891

Panter wrote:

I had that same conversation with a friend who's pretty experienced.

he reckons that even though the expensive lightweight wheels should be less robust, the incidences of them breaking are far rarer.

Certainly, one of his bikes I'm sure only seems to have a handfull of spokes but, as you say, the consequences of losing one would be pretty severe.

I would think it must come down to build quality and / or the quality of the parts used. Provided all other variables are the same, the more spokes, the stronger the wheel. The heavier too.

http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

This has a bit about spoke counts that makes sense to me.

This is why I am wondering why so many people seem to shed spokes on the stock wheels that come with the Giant SCRs. I'd guess it's build quality, but I'm certainly no expert. The other reason could be the rims are just too flexy to keep the spokes in constant tension (if I am saying that properly).

Since my wheels need to be trued anyway, I'm thinking I'll let my local LBS have a go at making sure they are built up as well as possible, and see if I can make it through the winter on them.

Panter

Keep us updated as to how you get on 8)

I am sometimes a bit wary of the power of the internet and its potential to slate a perfectly good product with a very one-sided view.

Like you though, I've read reports of these Alex DA22's being unreliable hence my original post. Of course, when I lost a spoke a few days later, I feared the worst.

I guess with tthe number of SCR3's that Giant must be selling, there must be thousands of people who've had no problems at all but they're the stories we don't hear about. Except of course the general praise for the bike which is why I plumped for the SCR in the first place

Anyway, good luck wth the bike and let us know how you get on. I'll post back in another 500miles or so with an update, or the piccs of some shiny new wheels, whichever way it goes

Cheers

Chris

Panter

Cool link BTW, I've just had a good read of it.

I must admit I was hatching a crazy idea last night to build my own wheels after reading the guide in the Zinn bike manual.

Having read that link I'm even more tempted now 8)



Mind you, as I know beggar all about bike maintenance it would be a challenge to say the least

rewarding though I would think, or painfull, one of the two


Cheers

Chris