Newbie: Giant SCR 1.5 or 1.0

fostario

Hi,
Decided to splash out on a road bike and I've managed to narrow my search down to the SCR series (mainly because it's had lots of good words said about it and also because it can take mud guards).
Started out looking to spend £400, then started reading Tiagra is worth the expense over Sora and found the SCR 1.5 for £499, which seems like great value. But I can also get the SCR 1.0 for £640, is the extra £140 worth it for the 105s and the better wheels? Just that I don't know what the value is for aftermarket upgrades seeing as there seems to be a few seperate components for the "wheels" and the "gears" if you get me. And knowing what I'm like with other hobbies, I probably will look to upgrade the bikes at some stage
In terms of money, the student overdraft could cope with either.
Thanks for any help, really appreciated,
Stephen

fuzzynavel

fostario wrote:

Hi,
Decided to splash out on a road bike and I've managed to narrow my search down to the SCR series (mainly because it's had lots of good words said about it and also because it can take mud guards).
Started out looking to spend £400, then started reading Tiagra is worth the expense over Sora and found the SCR 1.5 for £499, which seems like great value. But I can also get the SCR 1.0 for £640, is the extra £140 worth it for the 105s and the better wheels? Just that I don't know what the value is for aftermarket upgrades seeing as there seems to be a few seperate components for the "wheels" and the "gears" if you get me. And knowing what I'm like with other hobbies, I probably will look to upgrade the bikes at some stage
In terms of money, the student overdraft could cope with either.
Thanks for any help, really appreciated,
Stephen

Depends how much you have ridden in the past....would you notice a difference between Tiagra and 105 gearing if you never tried both together....I don't think so. Best thing to do is try out the bikes and see which fits you best.....then you have to decide if you can do without 70 pints of beer (around £140) this term!

simon_e

fostario wrote:

is the extra £140 worth it for the 105s and the better wheels?

I'm not sure anyone can answer that for you. Some will say yes, others like me will say no. IMHO that £140 buys you one more gear (is 18 not enough?) and slightly lighter components.

Or it gets you a decent wheel upgrade next Spring when you're feeling like you fancy a bike-related treat. The stock wheels aren't dreadful, but are invariably the first place to look for improvements when there's money burning a hole in one's pocket.

Otherwise put it towards some decent clothing, shoes and SPD pedals or, as suggested by fuzzynavel, your beer bill

Oh, and make sure you have insurance and a decent lock!

DonDaddyD

I own a SCR 3. It is my first bike.

Firstly and above all else, buy what you can afford and take into consideration the cost of accessories.

Knowing what I know now about road bikes and how much I love cycling I would say yes, if you can afford it, buy the SCR 1 over the SCR 1.5.

alfablue

IMHO it is worth £140. Sora shifters are fine, but the little thumb lever would annoy me, Tiagra and 105 and above have the proper setup with a smaller lever behind the brake lever - much easier and more pleasant to use. Changing the shifters later will cost you upwards of £120, and the chances are you will never be quite able to justify the upgrade whilst the Sora's still function. And you get better wheels too...

Don't get me wrong, if you are absolutely stuck to the budget, Sora is good enough, but it is cheaper at this point to improve on the shifters than in the future.

salsarider79

It's hard to know what to say. The benifits are that you get better gears, and wheels, which is good. The snob in me says yes, the rider in me says yes, the mechanic in me says yes, but these are personal points of view...

Sora shifter lever, does no one notice it's almost the same as campag? No one seems to complain about that...

alfablue

salsarider79 wrote:

It's hard to know what to say. The benifits are that you get better gears, and wheels, which is good. The snob in me says yes, the rider in me says yes, the mechanic in me says yes, but these are personal points of view...

Sora shifter lever, does no one notice it's almost the same as campag? No one seems to complain about that...

I think the campag lever is easier to reach from the drops, and the Sora lever is very stiff and small, making gear changes hard work - my girlfriend has them and she gets a sore thumb.

Sjaak

alfablue wrote:

salsarider79 wrote:

It's hard to know what to say. The benifits are that you get better gears, and wheels, which is good. The snob in me says yes, the rider in me says yes, the mechanic in me says yes, but these are personal points of view...

Sora shifter lever, does no one notice it's almost the same as campag? No one seems to complain about that...

I think the campag lever is easier to reach from the drops, and the Sora lever is very stiff and small, making gear changes hard work - my girlfriend has them and she gets a sore thumb.

Yes, I found the Sora shifter hard to reach from the drops. As a matter of fact I hated it straight from the box (SCR 3 '07). But 2 years of riding, I love the bike and learned to live with the Sora shifters. They're fast, but noisy and you only shift down one gear at the time (Sora is the only system I am familiar with - so is that different from those levers that sit against the brake levers?).

Also, SCR 3 is the only bike in this range with a triple - so you get a lot of stick from smug club riders, but they're ideal for beginners on long distance hilly Audax rides/sportives/sportifs/challenges!

Hey, I finish rides ahead of many thousands of pounds worth of bike on my £365 SCR machine! That gives me more satisfaction than a £3650 bike ever would.

That's my 2p.

gabriel959

But surely the Giant SCR 1.5 has got Tiagra shifters not Sora. I have got a SCR2 and that has got Tiagra shifters.

I would get the SCR 1.5 personally and get upgraded wheels and tyres.

horizon1967

i have an scr2 as well a friend let me use his scr1.5 and i found the full tiagra a real upgrade.The scr1 has 105 which is better again i would wait a little longer the new defy range is now out and i think bike shops will sell the scr range at a further reduced price.Or you could buy a bike from the defy range there cheaper than you think .The 09 defy which replaced the scr2 is cheapier than the scr2 08 why i dont know

DonDaddyD

The SCR 1 has 105 groupset and better wheels the SCR 1.5 has Tiagra and less quality wheels.

In all honesty all the wheels and tyres in the SCR range could do with an upgrade, Fulcrum 7's will do complimented with Continental GP 4000s.

Personally I think the SCR 1.5 is more comparable to the SCR 2 than the SCR1. The SCR 1 is a slightly different bike as it has better wheels, handlebars, brakes and groupset (front/rear mech, chain, bottom bracket and cassette. In fact the SCR 1.5 has the same frame, fork, seat and seat post as the SCR 1.

The SCR 1.5 is a great bike (personally think the SCR 1,1.5,2 and 3 are all great bikes) but the SCR 1 is better in terms of components than the SCR 1.5 in as much as the SCR 1.5 and 2 is better than the SCR 3. Your not loosing any money buying one over the other beyond the additional cost. So buy the one you can realistically afford.

simon_e

Some confusion in this thread. The SCR 2 and 1.5 have Shimano Tiagra STI and mech, the SCR 1 is 105. None of them run Sora.

2009 Defy 3 is 9 speed Sora at £549.
Defy 2.5 is the same as SCR 2 and £624.
Defy 2 (the bicycle formerly known as SCR 1.5) is £724. This year it gets Mavic rims on Giant hubs.
Defy 1 (105) is £925.

Defy prices aren't likely to tumble for a while. They are also quite a bit more than outgoing SCR prices before discounts on the latter.

Can anyone describe *from experience* (not hearsay) just how 105 is £140 better than Tiagra?

DonDaddyD

horizon1967 wrote:

i have an scr2 as well a friend let me use his scr1.5 and i found the full tiagra a real upgrade.The scr1 has 105 which is better again i would wait a little longer the new defy range is now out and i think bike shops will sell the scr range at a further reduced price.Or you could buy a bike from the defy range there cheaper than you think .The 09 defy which replaced the scr2 is cheapier than the scr2 08 why i dont know

That's not exactly accurate the Defy range is roughly about £100 more than the SCR range. I would also wait no longer to pick up an SCR with the Defy range now available all LBS now have is stock they are trying to get ride.

The SCR 1 £850 and the Defy 1 £925

SCR1.5 £650 Defy 2 £725

SCR 2 £550 Defy 2.5 £625

SCR 3 £465 Defy 3 £550

The Defy Range 2 is the equivalent to the SCR 1.5 (both are spec with Tiagra and Carbon seatpost) and the Defy 2.5 is the equivalent to the SCR 2 (aluminum seat post) - Giant tweaked the numbering of the range.

http://shop.devercycles.co.uk/category/300/Racing_Bikes

doktorsteve

I bought an SCR LTD (SCR 1.5) for £499 last year because it had Tiagra shifters, compact chainset and carbon seatpost. And the price was below my £500 limit. Period.

I became dissatisfied with the wheels due to reading stuff off the net. I changed the tyres to Vittoria Rubino Pros and that proved a great upgrade. I changed the wheels to Open Pro on 105 hubs and I could not tell much difference.

The wheels would have been fine if I had not read all the stuff on the net and in Cycling+.

Other than that I love it.

Remember you will need some money for pedals and shoes so you will soon hit £600. Tip:Speciallized are good for wide feet.

flasher

Don't forget you'll probably spend at least another 200 quid on pedals, shoes, new comp etc. etc. even if you have old bits you just wont want too fit them on your shiny new machine

DavidTQ

When I got my SCR 1.0 I had test rode the scr 3 and scr 2 and I definetely felt differences, mainly on the "smoothness" of the gearshift I felt there was an improvement in "Feel" to the brakes. I originally brought my SCR 1.0 Planning on upgrading the wheels quite fast, I never bothered and just got some conti gp4000s's.

I paid £600 for my SCR 1.0 but that was a 2007 model, just as the new model range came out. Ive never once regretted it or though I should have saved money and went for the SCR 2 or 3.

The bikes paid for itself many times over...

fostario

Doktor Steve. How did you know I had wide feet?
Thanks guys, lots of good advice in the post, and just after I'd written it I'd realised I'd forgotten the extra bits I'd need to buy, so I went for the 1.5. Plus I figured I wouldn't appreciate the better gears plus wheels being new to road bikes.
Got myself down to Aldis today so clothes are bought. Gonna leave spds for now, so theres still room to buy an upgrade in my performance later on (plus I don't know how good I'd be at clicking in and out of the pedals without falling over!). Really excited now, still have a week off before I start uni 8)
Cheers
Stephen

doktorsteve

Glad to be of service.
Hope you can keep hold of the bike. I lost 2 bikes and a pair of pedals when I was at uni.
But at least the guy who nicked my pedals left me an antique pair to ride home on!