Giant SCR - tough enough?

Jimfrandisco
Jimfrandisco Posts: 210
edited September 2009 in Tour & expedition
Hi - My wife has a Giant SCR 2. It's definitely designed for more distance riding and has pannier rack mounts so guess a little light touring as well. We're just trying to find out though if it'd be tough enough for the odd cycle path, tow path, off-road trail - it currently has Alex DA22 rims on formula hubs and carbon fork. I'd be happy to change the wheels to tougher touring wheels and change tyres obviously - but there'd be no point if the bike itself wasn't up for it - anyone any thoughts on that?

full spec can be seen at

http://www2.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bi ... 399/29640/

cheers

Jim

Comments

  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    It'll be fine as it is on cycle paths. For rougher paths, particularly if you're wife is carrying some luggage then it'd probably be a good idea to upgrade the back wheel. I did a loaded tour on my SCR2 a few years back and all I changed were the tyres and back wheel.
    More problems but still living....
  • Jimfrandisco
    Jimfrandisco Posts: 210
    Great - thanks for the response...that's good to hear

    cheers

    Jim
  • jellybellywmb
    jellybellywmb Posts: 1,379
    Ihave used mine on cycle tracks and some slightly rougher tracks and as long as you take your time you are ok, I am not the slimmest fella and my wheels are still very true.
    "BEER" Proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy
  • priory
    priory Posts: 743
    I went a few yards up the caledonian canal path on mine with light panniers and 25mm conti 4000's, but got onto the b road at the next opportunity because I feared punctures. The riding was a bit too rough to enjoy for a major part of the f/w to inverness route on the bit I tried. If we were not going so far per day, had 28 or 32mm pasela's and went slowly it would have been ok.

    I find the scr2 good up to about 8kg on the back, but 12kg feels bad. The frame twists on corners with that much weight on the back.

    here is a photo of it set up:
    http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z122 ... 0022-1.jpg
    Raleigh Eclipse, , Dahon Jetstream XP, Raleigh Banana, Dawes super galaxy, Raleigh Clubman

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  • Sjaak
    Sjaak Posts: 99
    I would definitely recommend upgrading the wheels. Although the rims are good enough, the build is diabolical with spokes of the rear wheel 'popping' all the time without and with a bit of load.
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    Sjaak wrote:
    I would definitely recommend upgrading the wheels. Although the rims are good enough, the build is diabolical with spokes of the rear wheel 'popping' all the time without and with a bit of load.

    My back wheel lasted over a year before I popped a spoke (normal riding mind, not with luggage) and my front wheel is still going strong after over 3 years and is now on my commuting bike. So the build on my wheels was fine. With any wheel if you pop a spoke through 'normal' riding then its time for a full rebuild anyway.
    More problems but still living....
  • Sjaak
    Sjaak Posts: 99
    amaferanga wrote:
    Sjaak wrote:
    I would definitely recommend upgrading the wheels. Although the rims are good enough, the build is diabolical with spokes of the rear wheel 'popping' all the time without and with a bit of load.

    My back wheel lasted over a year before I popped a spoke (normal riding mind, not with luggage) and my front wheel is still going strong after over 3 years and is now on my commuting bike. So the build on my wheels was fine. With any wheel if you pop a spoke through 'normal' riding then its time for a full rebuild anyway.

    On another SCR (SCR3, 08 model) 2 spoke nipples had already come loose after my first ride! Straight back to the shop for a rebuild...
  • acidstrato
    acidstrato Posts: 945
    my 1.5 has taken one hell of a beating over the last 18 months

    the alex wheels might as well be made of cheese (alhough i still use them for training)

    despite a few clicks and creaks its holding up strong. and trust me i wasnt a light lad when i first jumped from mtb to road. 18 months all i'ved replaced is the chain and cassette (which was only last week)
    Crafted in Italy apparantly
  • hamstrich
    hamstrich Posts: 112
    I did some of that path too on my SCR2 a year ago... 25mm tyres and panniers on the back. Was not too happy since the path was very rough stony in places.

    This year I did some heavier touring (fully loaded 32 litre panniers plus a tent) in Europe. I'm not sure how much weight exactly the luggage amounted to but I'd guess it must have been at least 15kg. I stuck with the original wheels but I changed the tyres to 28's (a very wise choice in retrospect!) There were quite a few off-road sections of variable terrain, but these were on the whole pretty comfortable and I didn't feel at any point that I was over-stressing the back wheel. The only thing that took some getting used to was the huge difference in handling that all of that weight on the back made - it took a few days before I could get out of the saddle without wobbling all over the place!
    priory wrote:
    I went a few yards up the caledonian canal path on mine with light panniers and 25mm conti 4000's, but got onto the b road at the next opportunity because I feared punctures. The riding was a bit too rough to enjoy for a major part of the f/w to inverness route on the bit I tried. If we were not going so far per day, had 28 or 32mm pasela's and went slowly it would have been ok.

    I find the scr2 good up to about 8kg on the back, but 12kg feels bad. The frame twists on corners with that much weight on the back.

    here is a photo of it set up:
    http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z122 ... 0022-1.jpg

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