Giant Ocr Defy Allez Campagnolo Road Race Bike Small Fast Team Once 18 Epeed

GIANT OCR TRAM ONCE YELLOW/BLACK 18 SPEED ROAD RACE BIKE UNISEX

CAMPAGNOLO XENON 18 SPEED GROUPSET

LIGHT ALUMINUM FRAMEWITH ALLOY BLADED FRONT FORK

EXCELLENT FAST ROAD RACE BIKE. 


• Road race bike in Good working condition, a few marks as to be expected (see pictures for full condition)


•  Tyres are 700x25c Continental gatorskin front and rear , both in good condition.

• small size 44 cm ,  Should be good from 5’0″ to about 5’6″.


• 18 speed Campagnolo Xenon groupset easy gear change 9 gears at back 2
at front. With close ratio range for those fast rides (12-25 range, and 42/53 front ). All shift well
up , and down. New chain/cassette about three months ago.


Serviced 3 months ago with new chain and cassette, new front and rear pads about 6 months ago , cables lubed or renewed, its all ready to go.

• tyres and tubes all hold air, 


• nice comfy seat


• very smooth and fast ride

• Slight surface corrosion on nuts and bolts. 


• Excellent size easy to get on and off. 


• Everything works well, in great condition,  see pictures

Ready to commute.


Cash on collection please from Newbury Park. Near Central Line tube for easy colection.

Bike test – Giant OCR1

Giant have such a massive slice of the bicycle market. You’d expect a
company of such magnitude to have corporate heads who care little for
cycling and just want to make (more) money… Well it’s not all board
rooms and bottom lines at Giant. A few years ago I was invited by Giant
to ride at the Etape with the top brass from their Dutch HQ. Not only do
they make bikes, they are also super-keen cyclists, which is probably
why they have sponsored a first division cycling team for many years and
employ people who really do care about cycling. They are also really
aware of the fact that to compete in the bicycle market you have to use
the product yourself and give the consumers what they are after.

Giant seem to have done a lot of listening recently. Their 2005 range is
the broadest road bike range from any of the top-name manufacturers.
They now have a bike for every road bike riding discipline; cross,
track, time trial and road. The OCR’s fill the entry level road category
starting at £425.00. This bike, the OCR1, sits just behind the range
topping OCR Zero.

Giant introduced their compact frame designs around ten years ago. I
have to be honest, I have never been a real fan. The idea was a
reasonable one in theory, but the compromises involved when getting the
bike to fit have always been a real pain for me. Giant’s original idea
was to present three sizes of frame; small, medium and large. Then you
could opt for a different length seatpost and an adjustable stem. Well
this may have worked on the drawing board but not when you are trying to
fit riders to bikes who could be either 4’8″ or 6’6″ tall. They added
larger sizes to some of the ranges but it still failed to cover all
eventualities.

With the latest OCRs they’ve softened the lines of the frame geometry a
little and made them semi-compact design across the board, they
certainly look better. Some still only come in three sizes but the
mainstay of the ranges are available in four, some in five and so they
fit the short/tall extremes far better now. This bike came from De Ver
cycles in South London. Everton (the mechanic at De Ver’s) set the bike
up for me and swapped a stem over to get the fit better. I opted for the
medium size but fitted a 10cm stem as the 12cm one supplied was way too
long. This is something well worth considering – although the bikes
come in more sizes now you still may have to compromise the standard
specification. This time in the workshop also meant the bike worked
perfectly from the first pedal stroke.

Out on the road
Old Giant TCRs and OCRs were twitchy and flightly. The lighter they got
the more fly-away the handling. This OCR was a much more stable platform
so didn’t take so long to get used to. Giant have worked into their
AluxX 6061 frame and added flared ends to the tubes and more complicated
profiles. It certainly looks more sophisticated and the welding quality
is a step on from previous ranges.

Giant have given special attention to the rear seat and chainstays on
the OCR. Where previous OCRs had thicker, shorter and straighter seat
stays the latest version has gently swaged curved ones to smooth out the
road a little. The chainstays allow a little more flex to the back end
which is important as the bike cannot rely on a long seatpost to add any
‘give’ to the rear end.

The overall ride is still quite aggressive, just not in a Buckaroo type
way, I liked the responsive feel and I was far more confident descending
than on previous Giant testers. Cornering and sprinting is predictable
too, with the 45mm raked carbon fork (which is soooo much better than
the old aluminium one Giants used to suffer with!) soaking up bumps and
pot holes with no effort at all. Colour is a love/hate issue – It shows
the dirt but is neutral enough for most people.

Wheels
The Campagnolo theme is complete with a set of Ventos. They look good
and ride better than similar priced and more expensive ‘in-house’
factory wheels. The Hutchinson Flash tyres are a little more hardwearing
than their racing tyres and grip better in the wet – they also have a
wider, more cushioned profile and added some comfort to the wheel
package. Campagnolo hubs are, even at this end of the market, wonderful.
Easy to service and will roll on for ages. During the testing period
not a wobble or a lump to report from the Ventos. They look the part
too.

Components
Many manufacturers are now recognising the importance of complete
equipment groups. The ‘average’ bike consumer is now far more up to
speed with componentry and Giant know a full groupset could turn heads
in their direction over a competitors bike with a few corners cut.
Having said that Giant have cut one small corner with the bottom
bracket, although Campagnolo’s Mirage BB is not top drawer, so it’s a
minor point.
Campagnolo’s Mirage isn’t the finest piece of engineering to leave Italy
but it is reassuringly positive to shift gear sprockets and the braking
power is far more reliable than similar priced Shimano units. The
gearing was for racing rather than Etapping, so a switch of ratios at
the rear wheel would be better for tackling higher hills in the summer.

Contact points
Fizik saddle was a welcome up-spec product on the OCR and the ITM bars
and stem are becomming the stock option for 2005 (why, oh why?) I found
the ergo bar way to stretched out, the ‘drops’ felt like they were in a
different postcode to the ‘tops’. However these parts are a massive leap
forward compared to the goose-neck adjustable stem and hole in the
middle saddles that Giant used to specify.

Conclusion
Giant have a massive buying power. So you know whatever bike you buy
from them will be excellent value. This bike goes a little further too
with better handling and more comfort than previous OCRs and it is a
valid upgrade for any Giant buyer. It would be just at home on the
slopes of the Col du Soulor as it would be on a tight UK crit circuit. I
liked it and I know many budget buyers will too, especially seeing as
the OCR 3 starts at £425 – Wow. But I am certain that the Shimano
Ultegra equipped race-ready version of the OCR at £1100 will be one of
the top sellers for ’05. Just see if you can get one (whilst stocks
last…).

Good: A class winning bike and greatly improved geometry

Bad: Down spec bottom bracket, but that’s about it. Colours aren’t everyone’s cuppa

Performance:
4/5

Value:
5/5

Overall:
4/5

Specification
Frame sizes: S(51cm) M(54cm) L(57cm) XL (60cm) [c/t]
Size tested: M (54 cm top tube)
Frame tubing: AluxX 6061
Fork: Straight bladed Carbon/alloy steerer
Headset: Giant
Crankarms: Campagnolo Mirage triple 170 mm
Chainrings: Campagnolo Mirage triple 53/42/30T
B/B:
Pedals: none supplied
Chain: Campagnolo Mirage
Freewheel: Campagnolo Mirage 12-25
F/D: Campagnolo Mirage triple

R/D: Shimano 105 triple
Shifters: Campagnolo Mirage 9 speed
Handlebar: ITM Ergo 42cm
Stem: ITM forged 12cm
Tape: black cork
Brakes: Campagnolo Mirage
Wheels: Campagnolo Vento front and rear
Tires: Hutchinson Flash 700x23c
Saddle: Fi’zi:k Pave
Seatpost: Giant
Colour: off white ‘camo’ theme

Weight: 20.94lbs/9.5 kgs less pedals
Price: £750.00

Current Price: £279.99

This Giant Ocr Defy Allez Campagnolo Road Race Bike Small Fast Team Once 18 Epeed is being sold on eBay by rkm99uk from London, London, IG5 0UE