First Road Bike

COVEC

Hi all,

I have had a rush of blood to my head and just bought a Giant SCR C4 off a popular auction site(the deal seems too good to be true, I paid £500. Just hope it arrives in the advertised new condition).
My main concerns are the sizing and comfort issues, I do not really understand the compact road geometry thingy, but fit in at the top of the height bracket on the Giant website, does anyone own one and can comment?
My other concern is the whole suitability of a carbon frame and my inexperience of road bike riding, again anyone care to comment? I currently ride a Giant Escape M1 Hybrid and feel that it is the road that I am hankering after.

I suppose I could just wait till the bike arrives and find out for myself, but I am too impatient and probably in need of a bit of reassurance before my new steed arrives.

Cheers
COVEC

topdude

Hi, i can't comment on the SCR C4 specifically but it is going to be a totally different ride to your M1.
At first it will feel light, wobbly and unstable with fairly poor brakes and a hard ride. However once you get used to riding it and adjust the saddle and handlebars to suit you it will feel light, fast and responsive.
Also if you don't already use clipless pedals and shoes you ought to think about getting some.

DavidTQ

The non carbon SCR frame is a dream for road bike comfort, being at the top end of the height bracket for frame size shouldnt be an issue at all, it means youve got as light a bike as possible for your size . In theory the Carbon version should be more comfortable than the alu framed version and lighter as well... Ive got the regular SCR1.

I would actually differ over a lot of what top dude has said, Personally I found 105 brakes on my road bike more reassuring than the V brakes on my hybrid and comfort wise with carbon forks, carbon seat post relaxed compact geometry and the giant SCR curved seat stays acting as some form of suspension I found it a more comfortable ride than my dawes hybrid, especially over the bumps on rougher roads... Of course Ive not tried the carbon version but I believe its the same geometry and frame design as the alu version and thats a really comfortable nice bike. Ive considered looking out for the carbon framed version formyself in the future... The SCR is a "Comfort" based bike rather than an out right racer, but its still fast and nimble its just not a bone shaker whilst it does it

The hybrid I had was relatively light at 12.5kg and had 700c wheels and I was used to leaning into corners already instead of steering with the bars so much.

I have however tried out road bikes which even now feel twitchy as anything and nasty and harsh to me. Particularly an early peugeot alumium framed bike I tried out - horribly unforgiving twitchy and really poor brakes...

COVEC

Cheers for the replies guys,

It seems like I will need to take it easy for the first few rides :oops: but good to hear that it is going to be a comfy bike
Just need the beast to arrive so I can hit the road and get rid of the Crimble paunch :shock:

I will no doubt be back asking lots of daft questions once I have the bike and need assistance in the fettling and tweaking departments.

COVEC

COVEC

Well,

Its been a week since I paid for the bike and I have had zero contact with the seller
I think I might have been duped, I have tried to initiate contact through the eBay message thingy but to no avail, So it looks like I will be starting the dispute process asap, I have to wait 10 days from the end of the auction before I can get going I think.
Have any of you had dealings like this? Can I just tell my credit card provider that I have not received the bike and claim it back that way or do I need to go through the eBay/Paypal scenario.

One very disappointed COVEC

sloxam

do you have a link to the item?
if you paid by paypal you will be covered to £500 so don't worry

CanterburyTailwind

What a pain! My sympathies to you Covec. Although eBay do do alot to try and avoid scammers etc (and the feedback thing is a great way of checking how legit someone is), they always seem to find a way. Good luck with reclaiming your money.

...and don't let the whole experience put you off road bikes!

DavidTQ

Ive not had any experience of things going like that with ebay, sorry to hear about it, what sort of feed back did the seller have?

Members of my family use ebay quite a bit but dont generally run into problems like that, my mum uses ebay so much that the granchildren all get warned when they play with something that they better put it away or nanny will sell it on ebay Bizarrely Im a IT manager I rarely use ebay myself I normally let my wife handle it... But then I also rarely check my email as well...

COVEC

Hi all and thanks for the support,

The listing looked genuine enough, pictures of the actual bike rather than stock publicity shots, the seller has a 95.8% feedback on 44(poor I know, but on checking is was all negatives from a few years ago, so I gave him a break thinking he may have messed up early in his eBay days not really knowing what he was up to).
The last item he sold was a Pinnacle Aeos 1.0 in early December, I am still clinging to the hope that he is just having comms problems.
If any are interested you can view the listing

HERE

I would welcome any comments on the validity or not of the listing, I might be being a bit too generous with my belief in the general honesty of the UK populace. If a bargain seems too good to be true, it probably is

Cheers
COVEC

alfablue

Most things about the listing look okay, postage at £60 is silly though. His old negative feedback was in both cases about non communication and failure to complete. He has included a mobile number in the listing, have you tried that?

The bad thing about PayPal protection is that it excludes postage costs, which in this case are high. (His price for PArcel Force may be genuine, but there are much cheaper courriers, should be in the region of £25).

I frequently report ebayers with excessive postage costs because they are trying to inflate the price, and deny you protection when things go wrong.

Good luck!

sloxam

it seems to me that he hasn't got what he wanted for it so hes ignoring you. funny how hes had 2 brand new bikes in the space of a fortnight though. you will get a refund through ebay but you will have to be patient i'm afraid.

alfablue

sloxam wrote:

funny how hes had 2 brand new bikes in the space of a fortnight though.

Even more funny that in both cases they are barely ridden because of a lack of interest - does one get two bikes when having a lack of interest?

To view some real ebay scammers, look at this lot - more than 30 identical bikes listed by ebayers with little or no feedback. I have reported it as potentially fraudulent, some unlucky person has bid on one of them!

il_principe

So he's sold 3 bikes since 03/11/07... I'd guess he's a tea leaf!

CanterburyTailwind

The ad looks legitimate to me, though I would have wondered why noone else was bidding on it for a bike like that at that price...

Gary D

I would also agree with what the others have said and be very suspicious.
If the deal does go ahead then I would ask, or even insist on, proof of ownership.

The strange thing is that the 2 bikes are totally different sizes?? One is a 46.5cm and the other is a 56cm.
No wonder he hadn't got the enthusiasm to ride them as one certainly did'nt fit!!

Gary.

DavidTQ

Gary D wrote:

I would also agree with what the others have said and be very suspicious.
If the deal does go ahead then I would ask, or even insist on, proof of ownership.

The strange thing is that the 2 bikes are totally different sizes?? One is a 46.5cm and the other is a 56cm.
No wonder he hadn't got the enthusiasm to ride them as one certainly did'nt fit!!

Gary.

Actually those frame sizes I can see working the Giant SCR has different frame sizing to most bikes I could get along comfortably with a 46.5 cm SCR although I would need the seat up a fair way, I ride a 50cm Giant SCR day in day out which if anything is a fraction on the big side, but I get along with it fine. Normal sized frames I got recomended a 54. Its not a huge stretch to be able to ride both comfortably at around 5'7" to 5'8".

The giant tables list the following sizing recommendation:-

Height 5'4" - 5'7" conventional frame size :- 51-54cm Giant size 46.5
Height 5'7" - 5'10" Conventional frame size :- 55-57cm Giant Size 50cm

I could happily ride both bikes without any problems.

The fact that the deal went through on the other bike is hopeful.

meagain

Bad news. Have to say I've never had any problem buying or selling on ebay. For anything over say a ton I try to engage the seller in some "meaningful" comms incl phone if possible and make a judgement on how they "sound".
And I've sold up more than three cycles at once (when changing to m'bikes) - and they weren't even warm!

COVEC

sloxam wrote:

it seems to me that he hasn't got what he wanted for it so hes ignoring you. funny how hes had 2 brand new bikes in the space of a fortnight though. you will get a refund through ebay but you will have to be patient i'm afraid.

I think you are right, he would have been hoping for more as it would have been a fantastic bargain for me to pick up(the best I could find the 07 SCR C4 for was 850 through an internet shop). The rest of the listing seems fair enough and even the high postage was not a concern as I was looking at overall cost to me, but I shall have to live and learn

So, on a more positive note what recommendations for a road bike would you all suggest? I have a Giant dealer near by and am going to take a run over to see what he has in stock 8) but will have to wait untill I get this fiasco sorted. What other bikes should I be looking at and have any of you seen good bargains on the net?

Cheers
COVEC

morrisje

I bought a Kinesis Racelight TK a few months ago, it has been great. There was a review in the last Cycling Plus and they were also very impressed. They called it a do anything type bike, which is pretty useful. Woth considering.

http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk/kinesis.htm

COVEC

Well,

Its good news I think, I gave the number on the listing a ring and got diverted to the answerphone immediately and left a message(along the lines of, has there been a problem? if so please contact me or I will have to initiate the dispute process). Only a few minutes after leaving the message my phone goes with the seller on the other end being very apologetic, and offering a reasonable explanation as to the delay. He then goes on the tell me the bike is in tip top condition and will be getting dispatched as soon as the couriers can pick it up, possibly this afternoon. He has promised to call me as soon as he gets the expected delivery date

I just hope it all goes well, I went to my local Giant supplier this morning and the bike is fantastic and the size is exactly right. Could be my best eBay bargain to date. Once I hear anything I shall share and if it turns up I will be annoying you all with daft questions :?

Cheers
COVEC

alfablue

Covec, that sounds very positive!!! My fingers are crossed for you!

COVEC

Latest Update

The seller rang me this afternoon to let me know the couriers will be collecting the bike tomorrow morning and to expect delivery in a day or so

Looks like I will be out on the road by the weekend, might even have to take an early stack on Friday(provided it turns up).

Cheers
COVEC

ademort

Hi well have you got your bike or is it still not a done deal, Greetings Ademort

COVEC

Woo Hoo
It arrived today, and is exactly as described. Only had a spin round the block on it so far as it was dark when I got home, but first impressions are good.
I think Friday will be my first proper run out on the beast, going to take it easy and try a 15-20 mile run to get all the fitting and sizing adjustment bits in order.
One very chuffed COVEC here, what a bargain I have picked up. I think all the hassles were a form of payment but worth it in the end.


Cheers
COVEC

alfablue

Great news Covec!!!

ademort

great news, hope it was worth waiting for. Be careful on your first few rides, make all the correct adjustments and have many hours of pleasure with your new roadmonster. Greetings ademort