RickGr4

I am a newbie to the forum. I just bought a new Giant Fastroad SLR 1 and I really like it. This particular forum seems to be dominated by Specialized and Trek (both great brands) discussions. I thought I might try to add a voice for Giant.

I casually starting looking for a new bike last January. I snowmobile during the winter so I was in no great hurry to pick up a new bike knowing I could not ride it until April. I decided I wanted a flat bar road bike with disc brakes and composite forks that was biased towards road riding. I have a 2002 Jamis Tangier that works just fine on trails. During my search, I looked at Giant, Specialized, Trek, Raliegh, Surly, Felt, Jamis, Cannondale and Fuji (boy do I have a doozy of a Fuji story). I was focusing around the $1,000 price range but I was prepared to go a touch higher.

I narrowed things down to the Sirrus Comp Disc and Fastroad SLR 1 primarily because I liked them the best and they both were readily available in my area. I settled on the Fastroad SLR 1 for four reasons:

1. The Giant was roughly $100 less than the Specialized yet the running gear was EXTREMELY comparable.
2. I thought the Giant frame was more "trick" and exotic looking. It looked to me like the Giant simply had more technology and new thinking in the frame.
3. I liked that the Giant ran all of the cables inside frame the tube. I noticed the Comp Disc still had one cable outside the tube and I didn't like the design.
4. I liked the color scheme on the Giant.

If I learned anything during my search, there are TONS of great bikes out there and competition is fierce. People can buy a helluva bike for $400 (or less). It's a good time to be a bike buyer and bike rider!!!

swoodjr1

I am not sure what other's might experience but despite living in a city of approximately 1 million people, there is not a Giant dealer.

RickGr4

Wow. The Twin Cities (700,000 peeps in MSP not counting the burbs) has a few good Giant dealers. However the Felt dealers had a poor selection and Fuji is a non-existent brand in the Twin Cities area. Also I found the dealers in the Twin Cities that had the brands I was looking for stocked very few bikes in the $1,000 price range. Even though I did not buy a Specialized bike, KUDOS to Erik's Bike Shop for stocking a nice selection of bikes in that range.

JG1967

No pictures??? Shame on you!

RickGr4

I know. Workin on it. New bike stand arriving Friday. Pics to follow.

Slow Bro

Last month I was at Giant purchasing my Roam XR1. I couldn't stop looking/ checking out the SLR 1 & SLR 2. I was really drawn to them in the showroom. I think if I didn't buy the Coda I would'ov taken the SLR out for a spin.

Congrats. That's a sweet looking ride

limbot

In a city of less than 300,000 , we have 2 Giant Dealers (within about 30kms of each other )

practical

I ride a Giant Escape 1. I would have been interested in the SLR except that it costs twice as much as the Escape for what seemed (except for the disk brakes and Tiagra components) a very similar bike. BTW, I live in Burlington, Vermont and we have one Giant dealer. I also really like my Giant bike.

RickGr4

I did a comparison between our two bikes. I noted quite a few differences besides disc brakes such as frame and fork materials, shifters, wheels and tires. I suppose it could be argued how important any single one of those upgrades make to the bike, however as a group they probably add up.

I REALLY wanted disc brakes on my new bike and I am glad I went that direction.

Wanderer

You must not read regularly - Giant is on here all the time.

HCB

Can't find a Fastroad Comax 1 anywhere. According to a Giant rep the demand for their bikes was up 20% this year pushing back production on their high end hybrids.
guess I'll wait for a 2016 model.

RickGr4

My dealer made it sound like my Fastroad SLR 1 was not hard to find. They didn't have very many in stock, but they had the one I wanted...

RickGr4

Well, I did say I am a newbie but I have been reading this forum for a couple weeks now. I just seems to me that over the time I have been here, talk about Giant bikes seems lighter than other brands.

At the moment I am writing this, if you look at the thread titles on the first page of this forum Trek is mentioned in 12 thread titles, Specialized 6, Giant 3, Jamis 1, Fuji 1, Scott 1, Raliegh 1.

Wanderer

Type Giant into the search box, and see what happens........ LOL

No disrespect, but Giant is probably recommended on here, more than any other.

Giant makes great bikes, at reasonable prices. They look nice too!

RedRockRider

Giant makes a great bike!

My 2010 Rapid 0 is my "cheapest" bike (picked up used for $600) but it seems to be the one I always grab when I feel like a quick 10-15 mile fitness ride.

RickGr4

My birthday present to myself:

MRT2

Very nice. Ride it in good health. FWIW, the frame looks identical to the Giant AnyRoad 1. The main difference between the two bikes appears to be drop bars on the Any Road, flat bars on the Fastroad SLR 1, and mechanical discs on the AnyRoad, hydraulic discs on the Fast Road. I like traditional frames, but the Giant bikes seem to be very well thought out and versatile road bikes for a person looking to ride seriously. And, they seem to have covered their bases, offering the same product but in flat bar and drop bar versions.

RickGr4

I love the bike so far. I know the biking purists will flame me but I have tried bikes with drop down bars and they simply don't work for me. I am 55 years old, 6'3 and I weigh about 250. Most of my height is from my waist on up. I do 5 to 25 mile exercise runs. I have tried but I cannot find a comfort zone on a bike with drop down bars.

MRT2

IMO, the challenge for someone your height looking for a drop bar road bike is to get the the height and the reach of the bars just so. I have a friend who just went through this and to his chagrin, gave up and decided to stick with his (very) old 27" frame road bike. It looks like your FastRoad has some sort of extra tall stem to get your bars as high as they need to be.

RickGr4

Based on my experience with my other bike, I bought a stem extender when I bought my new Giant. I rode the bike for a week without the stem extender then I decided to install it. I like it MUCH better. I don't ride for speed. I ride for fun, exercise and to be outside. I like having a cool bike. But I respect and understand effciency. I have noticed there are some "hard core drop bar" members in this forum. I respect their opinions. I am not comfortable with drop bars. The more comfortable I am, the more I ride and the more exercise I get. That is all I care about.

JG1967

I don't like drop bars either and prefer a flat bar. The great thing is you can get a "flat" bar with a little rise to it to make your riding position even more comfortable.

tony.mcross

Hi all!
Could anyone tell me, please, 700x35c tires fit Giant Fastroad SLR frame and fork?

RickGr4

My LBS has the handlebar you are talking about and I may try one. It is made by Giant and extremely similar to the standard bar except it has a slight rise and slighty sweeps the grips back. I am very interested in it but I would need to cut it a little bit (no big deal).

travbikeman

My LBS that I bought my Specialized from was also a Giant shop. I tested the Roam2, they didn't have the 1. I liked it, but felt I fit the Crosstrail better. I do like the paint jobs better on the Roam though. Specialized seems to really like the really dark colors at this time. But hey, I feel like Darth Vador on two wheels!

I will agree, Giant's are a heck of a deal price wise.

RickGr4

Plenty of room in front. No issues. Not quite so sure about the back. I think a 35 would work but it would be snug. Giant put plastic plugs in the fender mount holes and I think there is one plug that would need to be removed.