yes, absolutely. I think the fact that they say '105' and everything but the headset and seatpost is Shimano 105 says a lot - hubs, cranks, derailleur, brakes, shifters, the works. (Anyone who tells you that Shimano 105 will slow you down vs. Ultegra is delusional, btw).
on to the frame: No problems yet, and I am 6'4", 185 lbs. I put a LOT of torque on that puppy (L frame). It has a replacable dropout which is nice to have on any frame. Welds look ok to the layperson's eye.
Where they save $$ is a) the wheels (heavy w/ bottom of the pack Mavic rims, but bombproof - this spec has since changed), b) heavy stem/bar/seatpost. I never bothered to change it, and think that the next year's version had threadless headset (mine is still threaded which works fine).
IOW, it's hard to go wrong with it if, yes IF, the size works for you. The problems with the XS, S, M, L, are pretty well discussed on this forum, but I think a little overplayed. I think some reason why dealers hesitate to pick them up is b/c they ruin their pricing structure to some degree, and Giants are sold through Performance (which ruins the Giant's profit margins of the dealer).
I know nothing about the Felts (other than I find their top tubes to be strange looking), but agree with Tom Demerly that the seat angle on the OCR (different on the TCR) is a bit slack.
bottom line: would I buy the same bike again for $1000? Absolutely.
Josef
-------
blog
on to the frame: No problems yet, and I am 6'4", 185 lbs. I put a LOT of torque on that puppy (L frame). It has a replacable dropout which is nice to have on any frame. Welds look ok to the layperson's eye.
Where they save $$ is a) the wheels (heavy w/ bottom of the pack Mavic rims, but bombproof - this spec has since changed), b) heavy stem/bar/seatpost. I never bothered to change it, and think that the next year's version had threadless headset (mine is still threaded which works fine).
IOW, it's hard to go wrong with it if, yes IF, the size works for you. The problems with the XS, S, M, L, are pretty well discussed on this forum, but I think a little overplayed. I think some reason why dealers hesitate to pick them up is b/c they ruin their pricing structure to some degree, and Giants are sold through Performance (which ruins the Giant's profit margins of the dealer).
I know nothing about the Felts (other than I find their top tubes to be strange looking), but agree with Tom Demerly that the seat angle on the OCR (different on the TCR) is a bit slack.
bottom line: would I buy the same bike again for $1000? Absolutely.
Josef
-------
blog