Road: Could Not Resist….

Curse this site! I now have a 54cm pro on order…

I now need to find a cheap groupset to build it up with – any suggestions for anything better that a 105 groupset for £400 from Merlin?

Wheels for now will be my current Mavic Aksiums so that just leaves me some finishing kit to find.

Can’t wait to build it 🙂

So everyone’s bought one, but no one’s built one yet?!

The weather’s been quite nice lately, I’ve been riding instead.

Got my 54cm (med) SL on Friday and now thinking the Pro might better suit my standard of riding. Still boxed, so if anyone on here wants it at cost + delivery please email me for pics etc. These are actually selling on eBay for £650! (Hey, might even consider it myself 🙂 )

is the only difference between the pro and SL weight?

and I have a mate who may be interested.

I’ll txt him

The Pro has a different (lower) grade of carbon and a more forgiving ride, I believe.

Anyone know why there seem to be so many CR1’s on sale – was the same last year? Must be a reason for all the surplus?

52cm Pro on order for me.

Really fancy one of these, but can’t work out whether to go for a Large (56) or an XL (58) and obviously it’s not easy to test ride 🙁

I’m 6ft 1in with long torso and short legs (33in) which would seem to put me on the boundary between the two sizes.

Anyone the same sort of height on here? What size are you riding?

Is the finish on the Pro matt like the SL anyone?

Ref groupsets, Ribble have 6700 ultegra 10sp mechanical for 550: Di2 for 720, dunno how that compares but popped in my inbox whilst reading this thread.

That’s cheap, Merlin’s Ultegra Di2 is close to a grand

pologies, theyve listed Di2 gearset separately from full groupset, group is £1K, its the elec gear set for £720.

Got the shop name and mech group price right, at least 🙄 😆

No probs, was about to log on and potentially press a ‘buy’ button.

Phew

Oh well plans to just swap over from old road bike have foundered….grey ultegra en route from ribble….. 🙄

Built mine up on Saturday, first impressions are that it’s a very stiff frame, but very harsh. Climbs beautifully and feels rock solid in a sprint, but it’s so harsh at the back, I checked my back tyre as I thought I could feel the rim!
I’d read some reviews that say this is a comfy sportive-style frame… No idea where that came from! The front end is 40mm lower than my Cervelo R5, so certainly not “sportive” geometry, but probably more towards the relaxed end of the race geometry spectrum.
And did I mention it was a bit harsh at the rear? I rode over an empty crisp packet and could tell what flavour they were!
But overall, very pleased with it for the money – as a dedicated crit race bike it’s perfect. I certainly don’t think I could have got better for the money.
Maybe I’ve been a bit spoilt with the R5, but I think I’d be disappointed if I’d paid £2.2k for one of these – the finish isn’t what you would expect in that price bracket, and it’s poles apart from the R5 in terms of ride quality. But overall, a proper bargain and a cracking frame.

Build:
Drivetrain – Ultegra/105 mix
Chainset – FSA SLK Carbon 53/39 (11-25 on the back)
Giant SL seatpost, FSA carbon stem, Easton EA50 bars
Ultegra wheels with Conti Gator Protection tyres
Selle Italia SLK Saddle

Not weighed the full build, but the frame/forks/headset/BB came in at 1300g, the Giant TCR C3 it replaced was 1800g.

Currently riding 105 on my bike.
Will I notice any difference between 105 and Ultegra?
Similar to SLX vs. XT ?

Not really, it’s mostly weight difference – I have 105 shifters on this, Ultegra on another and Dura Ace on my best bike.

The DA is streets ahead but there’s no discernible performance difference between 105 and Ultegra.

Shibboleth – my Foil is harsh too. Am running a kurve bull saddle and that has massively helped, but the front end is still stiff and gets uncomfortable after about 90 mins.

Agree on the build quality, internally it’s not great when trying to feed cables etc. But at half price you don’t mind as much.

Ooh that’s nice

Why have you got some intenstines behind the bottle cages?

That’s my pink B&Q microfibre oily rag! I’ll never look at it the same again… 🙁

DHArmstrong, a couple of the lads I ride with have Foils, and they both say they’re harsh, but that’s kind of expected with the Foil – it was never marketed as anything other than an out-and-out aero race bike.

Scott make quite a big deal of the marketing claims of the rear stays… Like I said, maybe I’ve been spoilt in the past, but it’s certainly at the harsher end of the scale.

Not really a complaint, more of an observation… Intestines in the bottle cage seem to help. 😉

in between intense bouts of ‘have I done the right thingitis’ i find myself

a.worrying more – does this mean I have to shave / wax my legs? is it now compulsory that I subscribe to Rouleur?

b.still try to settle on build kit. Still thinking Tiagra, possibly the Merlin deal with R30 wheels @ £390.00, especially if merlin will do the offer with black rims. Deda seatpost Merckx finishing kit bundle from PX.

c. tyres – for the love of black rubber rings – so much choice….!

your thoughts would be appreciated.

Oh, have started keeping an eye on s/h as well – pretty happy going s/h on group set. not too sure about wheels, though…

And did I mention it was a bit harsh at the rear? I rode over an empty crisp packet and could tell what flavour they were!

PMSL 😆

oh no, I was hoping for a comfy, light, fast sportive bike, as the advertising bumpf makes out.

Never mind best try it with my 105 stuff first and see what it’s like before spunking loads of dosh on a decent groupset and wheels.

Would a decent quality carbon seatpost help with the harsh ride? OR is that just crazy talk from a MTB rider who knows no better?

Dunno, but my Crank Brothers Cobalt 11 carbon post arrived on Saturday and its lurvely 🙂 175g uncut.

you’ll save another couple of grammes if you remove the tubes in the clamp 😉

oh no, I was hoping for a comfy, light, fast sportive bike, as the advertising bumpf makes out.

Don’t worry about it, I’ve just commuted into work on it, and I can honestly say I didn’t notice the feedback after the first couple of miles. It was quite obvious to me after spending the morning riding the R5 and then getting on the CR1, but it’s certainly not what I’d call uncomfortable… You’ll just be able to read manhole covers without looking at them! 😀

In all honesty, it feels like a very capable bike – I think I’ll enjoy riding it.

I suspect it’s the seat tube diameter that transmits a bit more feedback – the Cervelo is 27.2mm. I can’t see there being much flex in a 30.6 seat post no matter what it’s made from…

Shouldn’t you be bunny hopping manhole covers? 🙄

or you could always fit 28 tyres.
speaking of which how much room have you round the 23 conti’s? will they fit 25’s?

I’m just gonna put two tyres on mine.

There’s 5mm clearance at the chainstays. I’d probably not want to go bigger than 25s…

you could of at least moved the cat poop off the lawn first!

Here’s hoping that my pro is a bit more comfy than the SL…

I spoke to the shop today and they are happy to fit the headset before shipping it out. They said that stock is due to them tomorrow and to expect delivery on Thursday or Friday (I ordered on Saturday).

Here’s hoping that my pro is a bit more comfy than the SL…

In my experience, you probably won’t be able to tell any difference unless you ride them back to back, and then it will be minimal – like the difference between an R5 and an R3, or a Supersix versus an Evo.

They tend to feel a bit more lively/spritely, but you barely notice any difference in comfort.

Anyway, everyone stop worrying! I’d hate to put a dampener on peoples’ purchases – it really is an amazing bike! 😀

I hate this thread as its got me yearning for a new Scott Frame now, only have the Scott CR1 Pro (HMF) Road Frame Set (2012) in a 56 for £499, probably suit my riding and I can swap over my 105 groupset and fulcrum racing 5 wheels for starters.

Anyone installed the headset or a different BB yet?

Cant it be done with a diy headset press?

And can the bb be removed with a headset removal thingy?

Anyone installed the headset or a different BB yet?

I posted a tip earlier about the headset. The crown race was tight so was fitted using a steel pipe drift.

The headset cups won’t fit in a Cyclus-style headset press, but if you turn the stepped conical drifts round, the flat ends fit perfectly.

A DIY press would be fine, if you want to risk it. 😉

I’m sticking with the Shimano BB fitted.

Got my 54cm (med) SL on Friday and now thinking the Pro might better suit my standard of riding.

Tell me more. I was gutted that I didn’t get the SL, and assumed they were the same design apart from the quality of CF and hence weight. Is the Pro actually more forgiving?

The whole reason I was interested in the bike was as a Fred bike for someone who doesn’t like racing bikes, ie something Audaxy. It appears from the statements above that it is actually not much of an Audax machine at all.

New Ultegra due out in September I think. Do you think that will push down the price of Ultegra 6700 significantly below the £550 is is now?

Has anyone built theres up yet? There’s got to be one of you who’d going to beat this stem spacer stack

Really can’t see the point in this, it just seems like a spending exercise. Buy a hugely discounted frame, for no other reason than the facts its hugely discounted. Then build it up with shite parts.