# ocr limited or FCR



## jechilt (Sep 10, 2006)

As a newbie and my first post, this site has a lot of great information!

My wife are out to get bikes for each other. 
My wife has pretty much narrowed down her choice to the FCR2. She likes riding more upright and finds the OCR's to be too agressive for her. She only wants to do some casual riding at this point so the OCR did not seem to be what she is wanting.

For me...I am a different story. I grew up riding bikes but have not had one for a long time. I ride a stationary every day and my instructor wants me to get a bike that he can take me out on the trails and train with me.
Initially, I rode about 15 different bikes and narrowed it down to the FCR bike as well. I then had a chance to ride the '05 OCR Limited. This was a very nice riding bike and I liked the acceleration I was able to get out of it and I didn't even have clips on! Overall, I am impressed with the limited and I have a chance to get it at a great price.

Now the questions...
I am not really interested in racing. Maybe later down the road but it is not something I consider right now. I want a bike that will last a while without having to do many upgrades.
I would like a bike I can go ride with friends and be able to keep up on and looking to go on 20-50 mile weekend rides.
Honestly, I like the wider grip and hand position of the FCR flat bar. At the same time, I really like the ride of the OCR limited. The store owner says i would be happier with the OCR Limited than the FCR. 
I know there are some big differences in components and frame material. At the moment, it seems it is all about the hand position/bars.
Would it be dumb to put a flat bar on the OCR?
Are there different types of bars I could put on the OCR Limited to make it a little more comfortable? I noticed on the TCR and TRC Limited, the bars are different and seem to be more ergonomic than the bars on the OCR Limited.

I hope to go back to the store in a few days to get 2 bikes, a half wheeler for my son, a pea pod for the daughter and who knows what else....ohh, a delphia computer with heart monitor.

Thanks for any feedback and suggestions.


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## Spongedog (Aug 6, 2005)

I own an 05 OCR limited and have not regretted the purchase for one second. Here are a few thoughts:

1) for your wife, you may want to have the bike shop flip the stem so the bar is higher, and maybe tweak the bar position for more comfort. You can set it up where you can have a pretty upright position. Maybe slide the seat forward a little too.

2) The frame is wonderful. What you put on it is up to you. It comes with a good component set. The only items you may want to upgrade one day are the wheels. The brakes are Tektros, and while they are pretty much the mass market brand, I have found them to be fine. They give me good feel, they can stop hard when needed. The wheels are nice, but a little heavy. You can't really do better unless you want to spend a lot more money. Putting different bars on there would not be silly. I am thinking of the flat bars myself.

Good luck!! I love mine.


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## jechilt (Sep 10, 2006)

thanks for the response!

i am going to go down the bike shop today and take another close look and ride the FCR and OCR Limited.

I will talk to them about the options of changing bars.

In regards to the mention of my wife, are you suggesting we make changes on the OCR? 
I do know she likes the FCR shifting devices better than the style on the OCR. I like it too 

You know....after riding bikes like Bianchi, Specialized, Cannondale, Trek....I am happy to be choosing a Giant. It all comes down to the model now.


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## Spongedog (Aug 6, 2005)

You would not go wrong with either choice. The new crop of plush road bikes are killer (one of my buddies bought the Specialized Rubaix and loves it). 

I was suggesting those changes for your wife. I think that for a lady, the compact OCR frames would seem to be really nice. I was only thinking that tweaking the setup might make things better. 

One thing I learned from being married for 14 years is that if your wife really wants something...don't fight it. Even if she hates it later, she will suffer in silience because you supported her.:thumbsup:


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## jechilt (Sep 10, 2006)

hi spongedog...

well, the giant forum group might not like me at the end of the week. today, i make my first post on this cool forum and am convinced that I am going to get a giant. Not sure why, but I decided to stop by another shop and now am giving Cannondale another serious look. 
As you mentioned, there are a lot of good bikes out there. What is the best for me is hard to say at the moment.
I might have to disagree with the wife statement. At the moment, my wife really wants me to not get a nice bike. A good huffy is a good place to start. If I ride that a lot, then it will be ok to get a better bike. So, we may agree to disagree on this topic, but overall, I would have to agree and say that you are right, we need to support our wife 

I am going to try to get my wife on another road bike and see what happens.

thanks for the feedback!


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## Spongedog (Aug 6, 2005)

My wife has really supported my bike habit. It all in the sales pitch. Also, one of my buddies really set us all up when up upped the bet with a Specialized S-Works mountain bike. We were all riding $500 beaters at that point, and then we all upgraded. I went Giant with NRS 1 (that was about 1800 bucks), and my other friends both went with Santa Cruz Superlights. It was a big help that others went for the expensive bikes first. Now that I have my wife trained to understand that bikes are not cheap, it was a piece of cake sliding my OCR Limited by her.

We just convinced one of our old mountian bike fiends to join us on the road, so he bought the Cannondale Six13 Team 2. 2 guys on Specialized Rubaix, one on Six13, and me on the OCR Limited. We all did a century together a couple of weeks ago and all bikes were great (and good looking too!)


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## jechilt (Sep 10, 2006)

how do we compare the cannondale to the ocr limited?
2 different bikes, different materials, different components. Does it all come down to what our preference is if the price is the same?
I have been looking at the aluminium R700 or R900 for about the same price I can pick up an OCR limited (carbon) bike.


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## Spongedog (Aug 6, 2005)

I would go carbon before aluminum. Love the feel.


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## liquid_action (Jul 1, 2005)

i have an 05 OCR limited as well, and havent regretted buying it one bit. love the bike, and everything about how it rides and reacts to my inputs. i havent done any races yet, buty would like to start next season, so, as of now, im just like you and using it for casual rides.


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## madvax (Nov 6, 2005)

*Sounds like good advice*



Spongedog said:


> One thing I learned from being married for 14 years is that if your wife really wants something...don't fight it. Even if she hates it later, she will suffer in silience because you supported her.:thumbsup:


A great bid of advice. Thanks.


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