I've narrowed it down to these...any opinions?

Denalihighway

Hello
over lunch I had a reasonable amount of success in researching bikes and visited a couple of joints

Consensus seemed to be with a Giant, these models in particular

CRS 2.5 - www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/lifestyle/347/31776/
Escape R1 - www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/lifestyle/347/31765/
Escape M1 - www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/lifestyle/347/31769/

but also this Lapierre - www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=12390 (I assume there's others similar in this range at simlar prices above and below)

they all seem to fit the bill fairly well, some have a slight edge (disc brakes, lighter etc) and I'm leaning towards the Escapes. They seem to have what I'm after and also, I'm almost ashamed to say it, they look great which is not very important but important if we're talking about bikes with even enough performance merits.

any feelings on these models? Total beginner bike, I'll be using for 90% commuting.
thanks for nay responses

niceonetom

links to the giant site ain't working...

wouldn't be crazy about that particular lapierre, has very low gearing for road use.

Denalihighway

sorry, should be OK now...
thanks for that

niceonetom

of the three giants i'd go for the crs because:

700c wheels = wider choice of road oriented tires.
no disk brakes -> they're not necessary on the the road, and they're more attractive to thieves.
i prefer the look of the crs frame with the profiled tubes etc., the escapes look more agro and butch, but i think the curved blade fork might be (marginally) more forgiving.

copacetic

niceonetom wrote: »

of the three giants i'd go for the crs because:

700c wheels = wider choice of road oriented tires.
no disk brakes -> they're not necessary on the the road, and they're more attractive to thieves.
i prefer the look of the crs frame with the profiled tubes etc., the escapes look more agro and butch, but i think the curved blade fork might be (marginally) more forgiving.

the R giant has the 700c wheels too. long term the disc brakes should need less work, no rim wear etc. as you say thieves like them better but of those bikes I'd presonally go for the escape R1

at1withmyself

What are the prices like on the Giants, I imagine the CRS is much cheaper then the Lapiere but how do the others compare.

I think its important that you like the look of the bike, after all you will be the one cycling it so if two are similar in spec and price then I would go on looks.

Denalihighway wrote: »

Hello
over lunch I had a reasonable amount of success in researching bikes and visited a couple of joints

Consensus seemed to be with a Giant, these models in particular

CRS 2.5 - www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/lifestyle/347/31776/
Escape R1 - www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/lifestyle/347/31765/
Escape M1 - www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/lifestyle/347/31769/

but also this Lapierre - www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=12390 (I assume there's others similar in this range at simlar prices above and below)

they all seem to fit the bill fairly well, some have a slight edge (disc brakes, lighter etc) and I'm leaning towards the Escapes. They seem to have what I'm after and also, I'm almost ashamed to say it, they look great which is not very important but important if we're talking about bikes with even enough performance merits.

any feelings on these models? Total beginner bike, I'll be using for 90% commuting.
thanks for nay responses

Stark

at1withmyself wrote: »

What are the prices like on the Giants, I imagine the CRS is much cheaper then the Lapiere but how do the others compare.

The CRS 2.5 is €440 and the Lapierre RCR 100 is 475 judging from the website. The difference between the bikes would be that the CRS would have more MTB components and 35mm tyres, whereas the Lapierre would have more road components and 25mm tyres.

Between the R1 and the M1, I'd go for the R1 as it has thinner tyres (32mm vs 38mm), therefore less rolling resistance while still having big enough tyres for comfort. Not sure what the major differences are between the R1 and the CRS 2.5, other than the R1 being much more expensive and having disc brakes.

Denalihighway wrote: »

but also this Lapierre - www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=12390 (I assume there's others similar in this range at simlar prices above and below)

I wouldn't buy the Lapierre Apache it as it has a suspension fork. I'd go for the Lapierre RCR 100 instead.

blorg

Stark wrote: »

Not sure what the major differences are between the R1 and the CRS 2.5, other than the R1 being much more expensive and having disc brakes.

The R1 has lower gearing for getting up hills, like really low though, lower than you probably need (28-32 against 28-28.) I get the impression that the Escape R1 is a bit more MTB-leaning, in the mold of the "urban MTB" type thing (the Escape M1 is a 26" wheel bike.) Try them out and see how they fit.

dub_skav

I have a Lapierre RCR 500 and love it. I had a mountain bike with slicks for years then a hybrid and now the lapierre.
The difference with the road-gearing on the RCR is amazing.

If you're just doing city miles I'd say go for the RCR 100, but as the lads have all said go in and try them out, see what feels good.

johndoe77ie

Picked up one of these yesterday for €450
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/road/1400/28831/

Might interest you.

blorg

johndoe77ie wrote: »

Picked up one of these yesterday for €450
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/road/1400/28831/

Might interest you.

The FCR3 is a nice bike, definately leaning more towards road and will be a lot faster with road gearing (high gear of 52-12) and thinner tyres (700x26c). Personally I would go for this over any of the other options. €450 is a very good price.

Denalihighway

thanks everyone, appreciate it. The R1 would be in pole position for me at the minute, based on brakes and less focus on MTB aspects....and lastly of course..looks...

might ask for nobbly tyres on instead of slicks give a bit more protection. Shouldn't hamper performance too much no?

Stark

If you're using the bike mostly on roads, then knobbly tyres will actually reduce your grip and won't really make a difference puncture protection wise.

Denalihighway

hmmm...well I'd be slightly concerned about the loss of grip alright, but if it was very minimal the increased performance on off road use (which will be minimal admittedly) might compensate? Or should I just keep the slicks?

Pj!

johndoe77ie wrote: »

Picked up one of these yesterday for €450
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/road/1400/28831/

Might interest you.

Where did you get that for €450?????

Stark

Denalihighway wrote: »

hmmm...well I'd be slightly concerned about the loss of grip alright, but if it was very minimal the increased performance on off road use (which will be minimal admittedly) might compensate? Or should I just keep the slicks?

I've found good reviews for the stock tyres that come with the bike so I'd be inclined to keep them: http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2004/reviews/maxxis_columbiere

blorg

Denalihighway wrote: »

might ask for nobbly tyres on instead of slicks give a bit more protection. Shouldn't hamper performance too much no?

It would substantially hamper performance, not help in any way with puncture protection, and as Stark says actually reduce grip.

If you want to off-road get a second pair of tyres (although that bike is not really suitable for off-road anyway.)

Denalihighway

yeah don't worry I'm not intending off-road use, its just inevitable that you may have to rough it a bit every so often though. I was told the knobbly tyres wouldnt make much difference. Having both sets might be a good option though

blorg

Denalihighway wrote: »

yeah don't worry I'm not intending off-road use, its just inevitable that you may have to rough it a bit every so often though. I was told the knobbly tyres wouldnt make much difference. Having both sets might be a good option though

Eh? Why so- where are you planning on cycling!

Denalihighway

I'm glad yer so inetersted! (seriously)
well on my route there's always an option to skip through a park - its 'off-road' as such cuz its not actually 'the' road, but all it is is a dirt track really, fairly smooth with the odd bump...like i said it would be far from often i would even go that way i'd say but hence my interest in knobbly tyres etc

blorg

If that is all it is, and it's not a long distance, I would stick to the slicks.

Knobblies _will_ grip dirt tracks better but they will be far far worse on the road.

Basically I would weigh it up- if you are more than 40-50% on dirt, knobblies, otherwise slicks.

If you are a lower percentage on dirt you could consider something like a Schwalbe Marathon which have a bit a tread- I did the Camino de Santiago on 700x35c version of these, about 25% off road, and they managed the off road sections fine (but not as good as knobblies would have.)

johndoe77ie

Forky wrote: »

Where did you get that for €450?????

McConveys in Belfast

Pj!

johndoe77ie wrote: »

McConveys in Belfast

Thanks johndoe.
Ya might have saved me a few quid!