Giant TCR Once Team Replica (pg2 update)

JSpencer1

I've been putting together this little eBay special over the last few weeks with the intention of it being a cheap winter runaround whilst the S Works and its carbon rims are laid up over winter.

Some parts I had lying around, some I robbed off my wife's Cube Axial WLS which is no longer being ridden after 100 miles, other bits I had to scour eBay for buying wisely and netting some bargains. All told total expenditure was just over £200, the biggest expenditure being a trip to Cycle Surgery for bar tape, cables and a BB.

Pics:












Frame and Forks: Giant TCR Once Team replica c.1999 May even be a team issue as the Once logo is stamped in to the steerer tube.
Bars: Easton Aero thingys off the Cube
Stem: See above, likely to swap to a Deda Zero I have if I get a little more flexible.
Headset: Cane Creek ZS
Bar Tape: Lizard Skin DSP

Front Shifter: Shimano Dura Ace ST-7801
Front Caliper: FSA Energy
Rear Shifter: Shimano Dura Ace ST-7801
Rear Caliper: FSA Energy

Cables: Shimano PTFE
Front Mech: Shimano 105 5800
Rear Mech: Shimano 105 5800

Seat: Charge Spoon, likely to swap to Specialized Romin Evo, just leaves the other bike short of a saddle!
Seat Post: Matt Burrows aero carbon - nice piece of kit, just want to drop it by 10mm
Seat Post Clamp: Once/Giant

Cranks: Shimano Ultegra 6600
Chainring(s): 53/39
Chain: KMC 10sp
Cassette: Shimano Dura Ace 7900 12-28
Pedals: Shimano SPL-SL cheapies
Bottom Bracket: Shimano 105 5700

Front Wheel: Cube/Easton
Tube: Specialized
Tire: Continental GP4000S

Back Wheel: Cube/Easton
Tube: Specialized
Tire: Continental GP4000S

Accessories: Bontrager bottle cage, Lezyne rear light, Garmin 500 and associated gubbins.

Weight: Not a clue, 10kg?

Now here's the rub, this was supposed to be the winter bike, and although it has built up cheaply it still does have some quality parts and the frame looks almost like new. My wife is 12 weeks pregnant and the S Works Tarmac owes me about the same as my overdraft, head says sell up and go in to parenthood debt free, heart says if I sell up how long until I can afford something special again? I know a set of Zondas or Ultegra wheels would get me closer to the spritelyness of the S Works for not too much money. What would the wise old heads on here do?

(Gratuitous S Works pic)



Thanks Darren

d_o_g

Are you the size of a small boy?

Spesh looks nice, but I wholly applaud your frugality. Get rid of it, cane the miles, be faster for less money. Do it now so the missus is used to you bvggering off for hours on end. The riding is more important than the bike.

JSpencer1

D O G wrote:

Are you the size of a small boy?

Spesh looks nice, but I wholly applaud your frugality. Get rid of it, cane the miles, be faster for less money. Do it now so the missus is used to you buggering off for hours on end. The riding is more important than the bike.

Um, I don't think so! 5'10 14st ex rugby player... I guess my height is in my legs and a slightly shorter reach hence long seat posts and short stems.

The S Works is so nice, I just know next year it is going to get ridden less and less so seems like an expensive ornament.

cubedean

JSpencer1 wrote:

D O G wrote:

Are you the size of a small boy?

Spesh looks nice, but I wholly applaud your frugality. Get rid of it, cane the miles, be faster for less money. Do it now so the missus is used to you buggering off for hours on end. The riding is more important than the bike.

Um, I don't think so! 5'10 14st ex rugby player... I guess my height is in my legs and a slightly shorter reach hence long seat posts and short stems.

The S Works is so nice, I just know next year it is going to get ridden less and less so seems like an expensive ornament.

indeed, I would say keep it if it didn't owe you anything.

Edit - I have sold a couple of bikes to ease up some funds which i have regretted doing, however they i wasn't 'in debt' over them. The missus will see it as most will "why do you need two bikes?" & that is what you need to justify, is the debt with a child worth it.

Giant looks really clean.

shipley

D O G wrote:

Get rid of it, cane the miles, be faster for less money. Do it now so the missus is used to you bvggering off for hours on end. The riding is more important than the bike.

Great advice. When the babas are young, getting out in the air, alone, is precious time. The bike is immaterial, it's the miles that count. Keep the routine of a weekly ride and when you get out the other side ( I have 2 teenagers) you get more disposable income and can buy toys.

Painful as it may seem now, lose the Spesh, clear the debts and do your duty...for now

fleshtuxedo

The Giant looks great, nice work

epo.wks

I bet that Giant is rapid as fook. I've always wanted one but have never gone ahead!

JSpencer1

It certainly shifts with the standard crankset on it. Coming from a rugby background I've just about got the legs to push it along on the flat, not so sure how I'll cope on the hills tough!

JSpencer1

Change of saddle (Specialized Romin Evo), stem and bars (both Deda Zero). Feels much more homely now.


And proof I'm not the size of a small child!


One thing that's irritating though are the shifters cables rattling on the underside of the Garmin out front mount, hmm.

d_o_g

I think it was the compact frames that made me think that.

Keep caning the giant. Have you sold the other one, yet?

Yellow Peril

Great bike. I have to say I'd have the Giant any day over the Specialized. it's super cool.

JSpencer1

Yes, sadly the S Works has been sold.

Went out for a last ride last night before the clocks change. Still setting PBs on the new budget build, but it just doesn't 'feel' fast. I've never had an alu road bike before, always carbon, is this how an alu frame feels? Also, wheels wise, I'm running the same tires and tubes but they feel more 'sticky' than previous wheels. I guess you get what you pay for (they came off a bike costing less than my usual wheel purchases!).

JSpencer1

Winter's been and gone, hopefully. So lights and guards have been removed and picked up a new set of wheels this week. Fulcrum Racing 3 2-way, currently running tubeless and instantly feel a huge step up from the old Eastons. I've run Fulcrum Racing Zeros in the past and wouldn't bother paying the extra, although I do think the tubeless bit has made the real difference.

As it currently stands, still covered in it's winter grime. Weighed it for the first time, 17lbs. Was amazed at how light it was for a 15 year old frame with a cobbled together spec sheet.

bendertherobot

That's a blast from the past. I had an identical one about 2000. About the same size as well.

I remember the day it arrived and I spent ages trying to work out how the gears worked!

JSpencer1

Thought I'd take some decent photos after a pretty rapid club run this morning. Put almost 1,000 miles on the bike now, still can't get over how fast and compliant it is given its age.







Love the ONCE detailing (even if they have a checkered past...)





Tubeless 8)



Some of the best shifters I've ever used



And my rabbit Bertie. His favourite colour is yellow, although to date I've never seen him eat steak...



C&C welcome.

Darren

RideOnTime

crumbs....

ravey1981

Love this bike, I had a giant OCR years ago with a mike burrows post... Looks so much better with the fulcrums too, the blue decals just didn't work with the rest of the frame. Tempted to get myself a pair of those and give tubeless a try, shame there aren't more tyres available.

mugensi

Beautiful Bike!! I'd say you could be right in that it was an official team bike as I cant see Giant stamping the headtube and elsewhere on replica bikes sold to the public.

bsb1971

Insanely jealous of you owning that Once frame - been searching for one of those for yonks, lost out on one on ebay last year! It looks fantastic despite its age. Best of luck putting the miles in on it.

mulletmaster

I had one of these as my first road bike. Bought for buttons and sold for peanuts. Was a great frame.

maxlite

Great looking bike, love the seat post.

How are the tubeless tyre's, do you loose much air over time? I'm use to mtb tubeless, but would like to run some on road bike

JSpencer1

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I love the way it rides and looks. Also nice to have a bit of a talking point out on group rides with it not being a generic carbon number.

Tubeless are great. When I first bought them, second hand, I was miffed at losing so much pressure each day. Took the tyres off and cleaned them and the rims before refitting and new Stans fluid, now only lose a couple of psi per day.

Couple of new pics. Gone further retro with some 6600 brakes. This bike is the antithesis to the modern matt black number!









My wife's now in the early stages of labour so lord knows when I'll next get out on it!

JSpencer1

Been on a little spending spree over the last few weeks:

Power2Max mated to B.O.R 668 cranks. I was looking at the Rotor LT power meters but with the P2M summer sale and a weak Euro I managed to get a proper crankset based power meter for less than the left sided Stages/Rotor options.

Never heard of B.O.R previously. But having done a bit of reading they seem to be produced in partnership with Tune. And being German they should be well engineered. However, to roll out a German stereotype, they look a bit boring. Must have been why they were in the sale!

Only covered two miles since fitting so can't comment yet. DC Rainmaker rates the P2M though and is used by Movistar and OPQS.



I also bought a set of 50mm Chinese carbon clinchers but as expected they we sh1t. So salvaged the Hope Pro3 hubs and now mating them to HED Belgium C2 rims via DT Swiss spokes and Vittoria Open Pave tyres. Currently with my local mechanic for tension/truing. First ever build for me so wanted them checked over by a pro. Built them with endurance in mind so on Ugo's advise used DT Swiss Alpine III spokes and brass nipples. Still build up to a 1660g set of wheels which I'm happy with.

JSpencer1

I got the wheels back from my LBS last night so fitted them in haste with some Vittoria Open Pave tyres for the winter months. Only a brief spin but they feel damn solid with the 2x lacing and DT Swiss Alpine 3 spokes. Weight for wheels excluding skewers and tyres is 1,649g. Should be a good blend of endurance and light(ish)ness.

The P2M has revolutionised my view on cycling. I now spend far too much time looking at numbers and realising the only way to improve is to get that FTP up!

Pics, and yes it's dirty, that's because I ride it.

Chris Gamble

Looks very nice indeed. I just bought one second hand as my first bike and was interested to know more about it. 2008 with the ONCE logos and stamping. Paid €500 in Spain. Any feedback would be welcome, thanks. I'd like to get it to tour spec maybe. Prefer Retro anyway as I in my Fifties and sort of suits me better. Had to really crop photo to get to fit, sorry. Will have to send better pics

raisinberry777

Not quite 2008, the ONCE team stopped being sponsored by them in 2003. Looks like a 2003 TCR Aero from what I can gather.

I would probably just ride it as it is for now, hard to tell from the picture but they came with pretty reasonable parts to begin with.

gaffer_slow

just wanted to say that looks wise. i think the bor crank looks great. classy and understated

JSpencer1

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706304#p19706304]raisinberry777[/url] wrote:

Not quite 2008, the ONCE team stopped being sponsored by them in 2003. Looks like a 2003 TCR Aero from what I can gather.

I would probably just ride it as it is for now, hard to tell from the picture but they came with pretty reasonable parts to begin with.

Totally agree with that. I'd tried to research bits and bobs myself. The latest ones were carbon so that puts this one in the early 00's. Same as mine with an integrated headset so one of the last alu TCRs they rode. Mine's 2001 and only seen the black colour scheme on carbon ones so at a guess I'd say 2002.

They were very well specced. I got mine as a second hand frame but as new it was a $4,000 bike running high level campagnolo including wheels.

What is yours running?

JSpencer1

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706316#p19706316]gaffer_slow[/url] wrote:

just wanted to say that looks wise. i think the bor crank looks great. classy and understated

Thanks. It's grown on me too now. Fits in with the new wheels much better. Rotor/Fulcrum were all logos and show, BOR/HED much more understated and better performance.

Riding with power is so enlightening. Just need to structure my training now.

Chris Gamble

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706640#p19706640]JSpencer1[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706304#p19706304]raisinberry777[/url] wrote:

Not quite 2008, the ONCE team stopped being sponsored by them in 2003. Looks like a 2003 TCR Aero from what I can gather.

I would probably just ride it as it is for now, hard to tell from the picture but they came with pretty reasonable parts to begin with.

Totally agree with that. I'd tried to research bits and bobs myself. The latest ones were carbon so that puts this one in the early 00's. Same as mine with an integrated headset so one of the last alu TCRs they rode. Mine's 2001 and only seen the black colour scheme on carbon ones so at a guess I'd say 2002.

They were very well specced. I got mine as a second hand frame but as new it was a $4,000 bike running high level campagnolo including wheels.

What is yours running?

It is running Dura-Ace group set but with LOOK pedals. Has the ONCE logo stamped in the frame and the serial number under the crank housing says 2008. I am very happy with it and apart fom some new wheels l plan to keep it original now. I think it was a late edition of the aluminium framed 1997 ONCE tour bikes which ran concurrently with its Carbon Fibre sister bikes up until 2008 from research. GIANT have asked me to send photo so l hope to hear back from them soon. This bike was originally sold in Andalusia, Spain.

chinterman

I also have a 1999 Giant / Once team frame. It is a blast to ride. Stopped by my LBS with it the other day and was weighing the cost/benefit of either upgrading this bike or getting a new one. After the shop guy got done drooling over my near antique and reading up on what a great bike this particular frame is: I'm going with the upgrade. Full Ultegra 6800 (compact - cause I'm old) and Ultegra wheelset. This bike is just a blast to ride.