I have a Giant TCX SLR2 on order and, having seen one in the flesh this afternoon, I can’t wait for it to arrive – it seems that the M/L I have on order is the one with the longest lead time! It is on order and the bike shop have had it confirmed that mine is due with them mid/late February.

Glad to hear you are pleased with yours, crasher50

As far as I could tell, the only extra you got on the 3 was 105 parts added to the drivetrain mix.

Yup, Sora 9sp instead of the mix of 105 and Tiagra 10sp, with the same chainset. That, and you get the regular BB7s.

It’s a nicer colour as well…as in ninja black 8)

Ahh fair enough. The 1 has the BB7 brakes, the 3 has the BB7-SL.

Jamie; you had, briefly, a Giant TCX SLR2 didn’t you but got a refund IIRC as you weren’t happy with the finish..? The one I saw this afternoon looked fine, and actually reassured me that I am getting the right bike and that it will be worth the wait.

Jamie; you had, briefly, a Giant TCX SLR2 didn’t you but got a refund IIRC as you weren’t happy with the finish..? The one I saw this afternoon looked fine, and actually reassured me that I am getting the right bike and that it will be worth the wait.

I did indeed. I just got unlucky, there is always the odd lemon. I had a Giant Defy for several years and it was rock solid. So no anti-Giant angle.

The problem was, as you have found out, is stock. If they’d been able to send me out a replacement then I would be riding it now. But, it was all ‘possibly in 3 weeks…maybe in 2…..could be a month’ type time frames, so took the refund.

Maybe in hindsight I shouldn’t have been such a tart and just kept it, but I shouldn’t have to be picking metal shavings out of the frame on a £1k bike.

Maybe in hindsight I shouldn’t have been such a tart and just kept it, but I shouldn’t have to be picking metal shavings out of the frame.

Crikey. That’s understandable, then. Wonder if you had one of the first batch..?

Must admit that if there’s any delay beyond week 7 (as I’ve been reassured) for mine I’ll ask for my deposit back.

Wonder if you had one of the first batch..?

I think so, as this was at the end of September.

Must admit that if there’s any delay beyond week 7 (as I’ve been reassured) for mine I’ll ask for my deposit back.

Would probably do similar. It’s a nice bike, but not so awesome that one should wait indefinitely. It is the most complete package, though. Saying that, Canyon have there bikes out now, which look alright.

I run a Jake the Snake with 105. It spends more time as a winter hack bike than anything else now, though I did do a road/off road ride of around 100 miles on it in the spring. Despite 700x32c tyres I was a bit beaten up by the end.

I alternately love and hate it. When the hate sets in (usually late spring) I jump on my ‘good’ roadie and all is well.

Househusband, its well worth the wait. I had one on order for some time and then they got delayed again with the brake recall. Mark at Pedalsport was brilliant and kept me informed at each stage – (thanks Mark). I’ve fitted a 34t inplace of the 36t to make it easier on the longer climbs – old farts legs syndrome!
Also on the spec sheet online the cassette is listed 11-28t, mine came with 12-30t which is a bonus.
I’ve emailed Giant about the confusion over the front axle.

I alternately love and hate it. When the hate sets in (usually late spring) I jump on my ‘good’ roadie and all is well.

My Croix De Fer is now my only bike. So when the weather gets warmer, I might start to regret this state of affairs.

The Canyon bikes are indeed nice but rather more than I’m spending; did get a bit of a discount on the Giant! If it is delayed I’ll probably get the CAADX.

Cheers, crasher50. I thought that they all came with the 15mm front axle, too, until Jamie here pointed out that the SLR2 is q/r – it does/did actually state this but it wasn’t very clear.

You’ll probably be fine. My hate is all about speed…or lack of it. Jump on the pedals and nothing much happens, it is also a bit heavy for the few climbs we have round here.

I have put some better wheels on it this winter (CXP22 instead of Fulcrum 7s) and it is a bit more lively but nowhere near as responsive or speedy as a carbon roadie.

Long off road rides are a bit painful though you can push hard and go pretty quick on fire roads. Singletrack becomes a bit more exciting but…you have to do some pretty radical unweighting over roots etc. Get it wrong and you have a flat on your hands. I haven’t done a successful ghetto tubeless conversion yet.

Slowjo – which year is yours ? I had the 07 fluro green one till just before Christmas when I replaced it with a Croix. The genesis is much more comfy off road. Its fine on road this time of year but agree different animal to the defy composite 🙂

CAADX

I looked at that. Promax brakes put me off.

You’ll probably be fine. My hate is all about speed

Fortunately, I am quite slow.

…but nowhere near as responsive or speedy as a carbon roadie.

Well, no, it probably won’t be 8)

Jamie, on my home road loop, which is 25 miles of hilly back roads, the Croix with the 35c stock tyres is about 6 mins slower than Defy Comp 1 with ultegra and 23c tyres. the Croix is 16 -17 and the Giant 18-19, both on a good day, for me.

Jamie, on my home road loop, which is 25 miles of hilly back roads, the Croix with the 35c stock tyres is about 6 mins slower than Defy Comp 1 with ultegra and 23c tyres. the Croix is 16 -17 and the Giant 18-19, both on a good day, for me.

Good to know, Ian.

Guess it will just mean I am working harder 😉

Mikey – that’s a great bike, good on ya ! Keen to hear how you find the 35mm small block 8’s

Went out for a ride today and I have to say I was quite impressed with the tyres: The ride involved everything from tarmac to roots to gravel to thick gloopy mud and to quite hard, but slippery surfaces, and the only type where they were found wanting was the latter.

Pretty much any mud where they could cut through to find grip, they were great. The surface where they struggled was on slick, muddy surfaces where the mud was too hardpacked to let the tyres dig in, if that makes sense.

The bike, as a whole, was nice too 🙂

Cheers mikey, I may go for those once the stock conti cross speeds wear out.

Go for the TCX, I love mine.

Now hung up for another year.

Now do I keep an efficient lightweight crosser that’s never missed a beat, always performed well regardless of having old canti’s.
Or, do I buy a slightly heavier disc equiped new bike?

I’ve been running a final model Cotic X in standard weekday build (apart from saddle) for nearly a year now and love it to bits still.

I bought it on C2W with the intention of a mixed role bike that could serve up fun as well as a faster commute and I have to say the only things about a CX bike that’s disappointed me are how often I take it out instead of something else and how weird and draggy big 2.25/2.35 26er wheels feel afterwards…

I went for the X at the time as I wanted to beat the c2w pricepoint, have discs and proper STi’s – and preferred a steel frame. Getting the last green one in my size finished it off. This year it would have been very different as discs are a lot more widespread in sub £1k land and the 3500 Sora groupset and better is much more common now also at the pricepoint. CdF’s, TriCrosses and stuff were in the mix against it at the time.

I’m beginning to consider upgrades – notably drivetrain.

Cotic specced the Sora 50/34 front and balanced that with an 11-32 back end. I’m wondering if I would really benefit from something a bit more normal here. I’d prefer unwindowed shifters but they’re still working well enough that I don’t see any real point swapping for another 9 speed set apart from bling. I note Spesh have done something very similar with this years’ Tricross Sport Disc and it’s got a 50/34 11-30 set up. A TCX SLR2 might have been a nice alternative also but seems more race focussed and concerned with being stiff instead of springy (I get why) but the 15mm front axle looks interesting.

In fact, having dragged it out on 100 mile+ road epics, classic roadie cat climbs in the peaks, all over the Dark Peak including some insane descents I’d have much rather had a longtravel HT for but were epic fun and, of course commuting, I’ve got to say it’s probably the most fun and practical bike I’ve ever bought. CX racing is about the only thing I’ve not tried with it – and I never really intended to, hence happy with a fun, springy steel frame and sod the weight… 😉 There have even been moments I’ve considered a dropper on it and I think I’ve worked out where to put a KS remote on the drops…

Now do I keep an efficient lightweight crosser that’s never missed a beat, always performed well regardless of having old canti’s.
Or, do I buy a slightly heavier disc equiped new bike?

The way you have worded that, suggests you already know the answer 8)

A TCX SLR2 might have been a nice alternative also but seems more race focussed and concerned with being stiff instead of springy (I get why) but the 15mm front axle looks interesting.

Just so you know, the SLR2 has a QR front axle, and not a 15mm axle. Only the SLR 1 and Advanced models have the 15mm axle.

A TCX SLR2 might have been a nice alternative also but seems more race focussed and concerned with being stiff instead of springy (I get why) but the 15mm front axle looks interesting.

The TCX SLR2 isn’t 15mm at the front – Q/R.

TCX SLR2 lack of 15mm front: my bad, thanks!

I’m not in the market for another new bike this year anyway, and I think I’d have been wanting a race bike to have picked the Giant but I was more intrigued that 15mm was making it into CX after the howls of ‘another new standard!’ when it turned up on MTB forks…

I thought it was 15mm too until Jamie pointed it out! Not too fussed; bought a 15mm > Q/R adaptor so I can use my 29er wheels in the SLR2… when it arrives!

I thought it was 15mm too until Jamie pointed it out!

…and I thought the same until I directly asked Giant. The marketing bods should have made it clearer.

After fridays thread about the Croix de Fer I posted my head is now buzzing with the alternative options I have for buying a new CX bike. Im wondering If steel is really what I want or not. To be honest my last 3 hardtails have been a Gt Aggressor (Alu 7005) , 456 (4150 Chromoly steel ) and a Prince Albert (520 reynolds) If Im being honest the One one was the worst bike to ride .
As I said in the other thread I doubt I would ride a cyclocross event though you never know but do intend getting some panniers and doing longsih mixed road , fire road rides up north. Anyone know if the sizing for a cx bike needs to be the same for a road bike ?(Im a 54cm on my Giant Defy).
Househusband nice to hear you are buying a new bike lets hope we can get out on them this summer for a wee spin.

(Im a 54cm on my Giant Defy).

I had a 54cm Defy, which I always felt was just a smidge too big for me, so went for a 52cm Croix De Fer, and briefly had a small TCX SLR2 which seemed ok.

I am 5’7 with a 30-ish inside leg.

If you are over 5’8, or comfy on your Defy, I would say stick with the same sizing on a Croix De Fer/TCX…hard to judge on other bikes as, as I found out with the Boardman CX bikes wherein they’re Small frame was equivalent to a medium/54cm TT Giant, different manufactures size differently.

Anyone know if the sizing for a cx bike needs to be the same for a road bike?

Not a clue! The sizing/geometry for the SLR2 is odd… I was able to get a sit on one of the few in the country when I ordered it a couple of months ago and went for the M/L. Leslie Bike Shops were able to get hold of one (the next model up with CF frame) for a sponsored rider and he was kind enough to let me have a wee shot around the car park.

Househusband nice to hear you are buying a new bike lets hope we can get out on them this summer for a wee spin.

Aye!

My medium Defy composite and 54 Croix De Fer are same size effective top tube at 545mm and a 110mm stem

iainc in response to your earlier question, mine is royal blue. It is maybe 3 or 4 years old.

Regarding sizing, there’s no formula, least of all because of how different brands size differently but a very rough rule of thumb is that a CX bike will be around 1cm shorter in the top tube than the same rider’s road bike, possibly with a slightly shorter stem too.

It’s certainly a decent starting point anyway.

I run a Kona Major Jake – on Kenda Slant 6s in 700 x 35 for the winter gloop. Mtb much neglected atm. Just lashed out on stupidly expensive Avid Shortly Ultimates to ungrade the cantis.

I can confirm the TCX is a race focussed bike, it’s stiff, light, rigged like a lightweight climbing roadie (a bit like thier TCR line) It has a longish stearer for those that want a bit more situp and beg but theres not a lot to play with about 40mm extra (I’ve slammed mine, but then I slam everything) I comes with connecting links for mudguards and a few other attachements (that I’ve ditched) so it can be a flexiable bike.
As for the build quality, certainly seems streets ahead of the competition (IMO) of the race focussed CX bikes that I looked at. There is a size issue, the best thing I think you can do is sit on one. I ride a 56 roadie with a 110mm stem for a low slung oldskool stance but the TCX size for me came in on the M/L sizing and a 100mm stem (equiv 54cm sizing) but I expected that being a CX’er.
I’m a bit miffed like some others about the SRAM disc brakes, but they are changing them FOC so I’ll continue to squeeze these buggers until that happens (April I’ve been informed)
Only thing I’ve changed are the tyres, got some Grifo’s on but the Std Sams are really pretty good (so I’ll use them as spares)

Just out of interest – how tall are you, bikebouy?

Any idea what the TCX SLR 2 weighs?