TEST RIDES ~ thoughts, meanderings and musings

[VeloVT]

it's beautiful!

[ehirsch83]

The OCR is a great bike! It is a comfort bike, so it is actually what you want for what you do!
The mixture of carbon and aluminum also gives you a great ride, the carbon fork will dampen vibration, while the aluminum frame will give a great ride with a very responsive frame.

I say go for it if you are going to ride it! You want to be comfortable.
Also, Giant gives you a great great great product for the money, the frames come with a lifetime warranty and most shops should give you at least a year warranty on the components. The sloping top tube on it is going to put you in a comfort position, more upright then a race geometry(say the tcr), you can raise the stem up and be in a pretty vertical position, so you should not have the issues you were having on the Trek.

I say listen to the hubby and go for the OCR A1W!!!!

[sandra]

I say listen to the hubby and go for the OCR A1W!!!!

I just read this post to hubby and he said "that's exactly what I say, go for it!

But, I struggle for these reasons:
First ~ I'm frugal
Second ~ Paying that much I'd have to be 100% positive that it was THE perfect bike and THE perfect fit. I don't know if I'll ever be 100% positive on either of those.
Third ~ I wouldn't want to put it on a bike rack or use it because I wouldn't want to scratch it.
Finally ~ I'm old. I don't know if I have enough riding years left in me to get my $$$ worth! LOL, but it's true.

[sandra]

Oh, and one more reason. I haven't ridden any more bikes yet.... but when I compare the geometry of the Aurora or the Cross Check, I can't imagine how they would work.

This WS stuff is confusing!!!

[divingbiker]

Finally ~ I'm old. I don't know if I have enough riding years left in me to get my $$$ worth! LOL, but it's true.

Well, I'm about the same age as you, I think (I'm 51), and I'm planning to buy a bike that costs four times that much. It's the quality of the years left, not the quantity!

[sandra]

I am a frugal almost 53. And I don't want to feel guilty if I'm NOT out there riding constantly.

[withm]

I dunno - it comes in blue too. Go for it!

You know, it may seem like a lot of money, but as far as bikes go, it's not so bad. Look at it this way, if you smoked cigarettes, you'd be spending over $2,000/year.

And when you consider the health aspects - $2,000 for a bike vs oh I don't know, $200,000 for ER and heart attack and angioplasty? It's a no brainer.

Don't think about the cost of the bike. Buy whatever bike makes you feel good. (Yeah, they ALL make ME feel good! I love to ride my bikes).

[Beane]

I'm going to tell you what I told my mom when she was debating getting her new bike: If you LOVE your bike, you will want to be out riding constantly. (so that deals with your point #1 about being frugal (and also point 4 a little))

#2: Test ride lots of bikes, have fun with it, and then make a decision. You may have second thoughts or subsequent bike envy, but everyone does at some point (I think.).. that's what accessorizing is for! With some minor tweaks you will make whatever bike you get "your own" and will love it (n.b.:this process may not be cheap but it will be fun).

#3: Bikes are meant to be ridden. And as I've been telling myself lately since my bike's sandpaper incident, you can always repaint.

#4: I don't think you're old, but seriously, you can't take it with you... so have fun and enjoy life!

[ehirsch83]

Alright Sandra,
A)You deserve it!! My mom is a year or two older then you(I forgot how old she is... I always guess younger!) and she just bought herself a new road bike, because after riding her Giant OCR for 3 years, she decided she DESERVED a new bike. She loved her bike, but she saw everyone else around her getting a new bike so she decided that it was time for her to get a new one. Now, my mom may ride anywhere from 0-4 times a week, her rides lasting anywhere from 8-25 miles. Her speed is slow, but she loves going out there and since she loves it, she deserves to have a bike she truly enjoys.

So what I am saying is, You DESERVE it, from everything you have told us on these boards, you love riding bikes and you seem to have done a pretty good job raising a great family, now it is time for you to splurge on yourself a little

Now the other thing I am going to say, I work at a LBS that sells both Giant and Jamis- I think they are both awesome bikes and what it comes down to is which one you feel best on, in my opinion neither bike is a better product. They are both great quality for what you are going to pay.(I have had 2 giants,ridden my mom's old OCR and have test ridden a Jamis, I loved all 4 bikes)

p.s. don't be afraid to put it on a bike rack! that is what they are made for :-)

[sandra]

Now the other thing I am going to say, I work at a LBS that sells both Giant and Jamis

Please talk to me about the geometry of the OCR 1 WS in a medium compared to the geometry of an Aurora (possibly a 50?). Studying the numbers, it's hard to see how they could compare.

Of course I haven't ridden the Aurora yet, but geometry is confusing to me.

[Geonz]

(In defense of frugality... I *do* think of what else the dollars could buy. There's nothing wrong with frugality :-) I get an awful lot of joy from my only semi-precious steeds.... and really expensive things make me nervous.)

[Zen]

That is a beautiful bike.
Classy, I tells 'ya.

Frugality is a good thing but age does have its privileges.

If you can afford it and it feels good, do it.

[sandra]

This one's really not bad though.

[SlowButSteady]

Sandra, I have the Giant OCR A1W In the gold-black-silver.

Hotawmighty, it's a beautiful machine.

Mine is frame sized XS. I'm 5'2" with really short legs.

I upgraded from a Trek 1000WSD.

Besides the structural/mechanical upgrade, I really did it for two reasons that are probably not applicable for you:

1. I wanted a bike w/ 700c wheels. The Trek's were 650c. I felt like I might be able to keep up better on club/group rides with bigger wheels. So far, I'm still as slow as molasses. But the frame geometry of the Giant XS allowed for 700c wheels where the 48cm Trek had 650c wheels. I don't quite have the standover room on the Giant that I should have. But then I'm a very short woman of very wide proportions and I probably looked like a circus clown riding a teeny-weeny bike on that Trek.

2. Color. Sounds petty, but I did not want a pastel colored bicycle. Most of the bikes I was looking at that might fit me were in colors that made me want to vomit. And I wanted a bike in a primary color that was not the color of my old bike and didn't match the color of anybody in my club. That gold/black/silver OCR A1W is one pretty bicycle. Unfortunately, that bike's beautiful color scheme clashes with all of my cycling clothes, gloves, helmet....I have an orange helmet, spring green gloves.......and some goshawful jersies. Nothing looks good with it.

Anyway, the Giant OCR A1W is a fine bicycle, and she's a looker.

Other things: gear shifting is smoother. The Giant is a double and my Trek was a triple. It's easier for me to keep up with the gears since I'm mechanicially challenged. I find myself pedaling better, cross-chaining less. Just generally riding in a more suitable gear more often.

Just from a human standpoint, don't settle for one bike because if you have your heart set on another, you may not be satisfied.