Giant TCR Team Once

[elPedro666]

Those stems are terrifying and there're a lot around now, plenty of people who won't use them seem happy to pass them on on eBay :x Glad you got sorted with a refund

With those bars I guess a little extra stem length may not be a bad thing? Really wish I could find some silver in 26.0mm for the cross build...

'Effective' is the word that springs to mind! Hope your first ride goes well

 

[riddim-track]

You got the same Giant stem that I have on my OCR3. The bike is coming on nicely, much quicker than mine which I've been too busy at work to think about. I got a C King 1" nothreadset this week so have all my parts now, just need to do the paint repair on the seat stay. I might put up a post elsewhere with pics when I do my paint repair, I'm using a mini modellers spray gun with enamel paint so I can mix the paint myself and match the colour better.

 

[migueltreze]

@elPedro666: the extra length might not be nice because I belive I will have to reach to far to place my hands on hoods for proper shifting and braking... but it is just an impression, I will have to test the bike and see how it feels.

@riddim-track: I am short of patience when it comes to puting a bike togheter Kind like a kid in Christmas, I get jumpy and excited to ride it, I hate long term builds. I was thinking on having her ready by tomorrow, but I do not have the bolts to mount the brakes to the frame. Damn, such small items are making me even more anxious

But I think I can solve this during the weekend.

 

[migueltreze]

Well, she´s ready to rock and roll. Sorry about poor quality pics, really bad weather today here in Lisbon, Portugal. I "test drive it" for about 20 miles, feels very responsive and fast, frame is really fun to handle on corners, tyres perform flawlessly. I´m still working on gears, I think the derailleur cabe is to short. Pedals must also be changed. I went for the "black look" instead of white saddle/handlebar combination. I was not liking the Zoncolan, so I fitted a XO until I find a proper saddle (by proper I mean half the weight ). The bike has 8,700 grams, a little above of what I had in mind, but not bad considering there is no carbon components. Anyway, I will probably change the stem for a shorter one, and I am considering a carbon stem/seatpost setup, so she will be about 300 grams lighter (new saddle included). . This Shimano levers are superb, very precise and confortable, although I admit they coul look better. I am completely surrendered to compact handlebars, they are truly great.

 

[elPedro666]

Looks short and tight and fast - ace! Nice photos too

Guessing an FSA stem to match the bars & cranks?

 

[migueltreze]

Thanks, elPedro666. Yes, that was the original ideai, an FSA stem. This one is a bit too long, so I may have to change it anyway.

 

[riddim-track]

Hey, looks very nice, photos are good too and most of all I'm glad you enjoy riding it, these frames are seriously overlooked by many people who never tried one but really are great fun to ride. Seeing it finished makes me want to find time for mine even more, and seeing the finish you got with auto paint is making me think of getting another old TCR I have painted by my friend who's a car sprayer. You made a good choice to go for the black handlebar tape and saddle combo, white only looks good for the first few rides anyway. The overall finished appearance is very well balanced, in my opinion for the saddle you should try to get a nice condition Selle flite Ti, like I'm using on my build, it'll look the part and keep the weight down. I also recently tried compact bars for the first time and agree, yes they are excellent.

Anyway, while I'm here I just thought I'd share photos of this TCR I picked up at the weekend, the finish is strangely similar to yours, you can just make out the Giant logo on the down tube, it has a tiny ONCE logo stamped into the headtube, just visible in the last pic.

 

[migueltreze]

Hey, looks very nice, photos are good too and most of all I'm glad you enjoy riding it, these frames are seriously overlooked by many people who never tried one but really are great fun to ride. Seeing it finished makes me want to find time for mine even more, and seeing the finish you got with auto paint is making me think of getting another old TCR I have painted by my friend who's a car sprayer. You made a good choice to go for the black handlebar tape and saddle combo, white only looks good for the first few rides anyway. The overall finished appearance is very well balanced, in my opinion for the saddle you should try to get a nice condition Selle flite Ti, like I'm using on my build, it'll look the part and keep the weight down. I also recently tried compact bars for the first time and agree, yes they are excellent.

Anyway, while I'm here I just thought I'd share photos of this TCR I picked up at the weekend, the finish is strangely similar to yours, you can just make out the Giant logo on the down tube, it has a tiny ONCE logo stamped into the headtube, just visible in the last pic.

Thank you. Yes, I really like the final result, a few changes will be made, but general looks will be the same. Paintjob is really great, I will try to post a few better quality pics as soon as the Sun decides to come out, these do not do the bike any justice. I am going to fit a Selle Italia Catopuma, a friend of mine has one for a really nice price, I think the saddle has great design and excellent weight (160 grams). This saddles comes as standard equipment on Pinarello Dogma bikes.

And thank you for sharing your new TCR frame. So cool! Color looks really similar to mine and I love the seat clamp details, as well as headtube and subtle logo on the front. That headtube with integrated headset looks massive.

 

[elPedro666]

Look like fat rails on that saddle, will they fit the seatpost clamp okay?

 

[migueltreze]

Look like fat rails on that saddle, will they fit the seatpost clamp okay?

Hum... good point, haven´t noticed that. I will check this with the seller.