Giant OCR 3 - Worthy of a revamp?

ravey1981

I have a giant ocr3 which i think is a 2004 or 2005 model (pic in signature) I bought it second hand for £250 about a year ago. I mainly ride off road but do quite a few miles on road (in summer )

Its looking a little tatty however, what i'm wondering is is it worth getting it resprayed (about £90 at bob jackson cycles) and upgrading the parts or would i be better buying a new frame.

Its currently got tiagra bits on it and some shimano branded wheels (not sure what they are), I was thinking of upgrading to around 105 spec and some new wheels.

I dont really want to spend the earth on it but i do like things to look tidy

Any advice appreciated

dru

Does it really need a respray?

If I was on a limited budget then I'd drop the respray and open up the extra £90 for the upgrades.

I wouldn't necessarily upgrade any components until they wear out. I'd get a set of wheels and tyres for road use ride it for a bit and save up for a new bike if you really need one later next year.

ravey1981

Hi

sorry i think you mis understood me, when I say I ride off road I mean I ride my mountain bikes off road, not the giant. It already has road wheels and tyres on it, the wheels are a low end shimano factory wheelset.

It probably doesn't NEED a respray but i want it to have one. What I don't know though is is the frame worth having money spent on it, I know the same frame was used for all the OCR bikes so even though the components are low range the frame may be ok? It fits me and seems to ride pretty well so...

top_bhoy

It wouldn't be me respraying this bike - I'd use it until it drops and then consider whether replacing parts was a good investment or to buy another, better conditioned bike. Respraying this frame doesn't appear to be sensible to me but you seem to want to, so why not if the bike gives you pleasure and you enjoy riding it? If the latter is the case, I don' think you can go wrong with whatever decision you make.

rake

ravey1981

Thanks for the replies, Im going to do it i think. I reckon if i spend about £400 on it i can have a pretty decent bike, and certainly a better one than i could get new. As road biking comes secondary to mountain biking as far as I am concerned I don't really want to be spending a lot more than that...

I've been thinking about bike specs and things while at work today and I've come to the conclusion that there is a "£1000 rule" when it comes to road bikes and hardtail mountain bikes...I believe that as you spend more money up to around £1000 you get a better bike for you're money....but after £1000 you are basically paying for bragging rights...sure you'll get a bit lighter bike with technically superior bits on it but in real terms its just bollocks...

If you're a professional athlete then sure each gram is important but to the man on the street a couple of pounds in bike weight isnt going to change you're life... Is a £1000 set of wheels really 4 times better than an £250 set of wheels...i think not...

Discuss

notsoracy rich

I have a Giant SCR3 which is the newer version of the OCR3. I bought it brand new 2 years ago for £315 , and it makes a good winter bike.

The frame and forks are sound, the bits get replaced as they wear out.

I have also had steel frames resprayed by a frame builder in the past, and although the finish was good, it was nowhere near as hardwearing as the original finish.

I would be loath to replace the paint finish on a Giant bike with something which may not be as good, especially if it doesn't need doing. It could end up devalueing your bike.

ravey1981

notsoracy rich

I'm leaning towards powdercoating which is both cheaper and extremely hardwearing.

Im not really bothered about devaluing it as i didn't pay much for it.... i just want to make it mine...if that makes sense

notsoracy rich

Thats a good idea-I must admit I hadn't thought about powder coating.

In that case your idea seems good-gets away from the boring ,same as everyone elses bikes.

I think we need some pics when its done!!

Rich

Rod11

I was in the same position as you were. I bought a Giant SCR 3 last year. This year I got it resprayed and got custom decals on it, all for £100. Now there is no other bike in the world like mine, and it certainly turns heads!

I thought about saving the money to spend on a new bike, but decided against this as the amount of money I was going to spend would get me exactly the same bike pretty much, just a newer model. Plus the frame fits me really well. So I upgraded my entire groupset to SRAM Rival. Best decision ever!

Hope this helps.

ravey1981

Jack93

Cool, do you have any pics? Did you get decals made up fpr it then? If so from where?

Cheers