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Over 10 years ago, I wrote my first blog post. Since then, I've authored books, had kids, traveled the world, found Trish and blogged about it all.

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Sunday July 10, 2005

New Bike - Giant FCR3

I had the pleasure of buying a new bike this weekend (my last one was stolen in June). Rather than replacing it with a mountain bike, I got a commuter. I've heard they're great for riding around town and can make the ride-to-work thing a lot faster. I'll probably buy a mountain bike too, but I'm going to hold off until next year for that - the Bus will be taking over as my top time-consuming hobby in the near future.

New Commuter - Giant FCR3

Update: More about the Giant FCR3.

Update 2: I set a new record on the ride to work this morning: 23 minutes! I took the long way to get home and it took 45 minutes. My goal is to reduce both times by 25% by the end of summer.

Posted in General at Jul 10 2005, 11:20:46 PM MDT 10 Comments
Comments:

So, how is this different from a traditional mountain bike?

Posted by Rob Sanheim on July 11, 2005 at 01:34 PM MDT #

The frame is <em>much</em> different - it's more like a road bike than a mountain bike. Very lightweight, no shocks. Also, the tires and wheels are very similar to a road bike. The gears are also road bike gears, rather than mountain bike. My last mountain bike was a full suspension, so there was lots of bouncing when riding it around town.

Posted by Matt Raible on July 11, 2005 at 01:43 PM MDT #

The main difference between a commuter/hybrid and a road bike is also the rider position. With Matt's bike, he is more upright like on a mountain bike, compared to a road design where your back is much flatter for the sake of aerodynamics and pedaling efficency. That said, the FCR is quite a bit more efficent (read, easier) than a mountain bike's big fat buzzing tires on the asphalt.

Sweet ride, Matt! Good choice.

geof

Posted by Geof Harries on July 11, 2005 at 03:54 PM MDT #

Matt, If you don't mind can you give me the price you got it for? thanks.

Posted by kishore dandu on July 11, 2005 at 08:22 PM MDT #

Kishore - I paid $620. The MSRP is $630, as noted on this site.

Posted by Matt Raible on July 11, 2005 at 08:26 PM MDT #

Not surprised you cut minutes off after switching bikes. The tires make a huge difference unless you ran slicks on your old MTB (very rare to see)...

Switch to a racing bike and you'll go even faster with those 20-23mm tires ;-)

Posted by Ken Yee on July 12, 2005 at 03:59 PM MDT #

Ken - I did have a 2nd set of wheels (with slicks) for my MTB. The new tires are quite a bit smaller though. I think the biggest difference is the weight (this bike is much lighter) and the higher gears.

Posted by Matt Raible on July 12, 2005 at 04:12 PM MDT #

I bought this bike used 9 months and have had no problems yet. I come frome a bmx background so i ride my mtbs like i ride my bmx bike . This is one tough bike. Giant really has nailed the geomitry on this one. Perfect mix between mtb and road bike in my opinion. I can pro hop 3 feet high with this sucker.

Posted by Benjamin on August 14, 2006 at 06:43 PM MDT #

This bike is consumer reports.org number one choice in the FITNESS BIKES For regular workouts or daily commuting. division.

Posted by Chris on April 14, 2007 at 11:32 AM MDT #

How about this bike (FCR 3) for touring/travelling? I am planning to bike from Minnesota to Vermont (grad school) in the fall. I love my old Specialized Hardrock Comp MTB but she is definitely not the right tool for that job. I'm also doing the MS 150 in June. I'm relatively poor and my local Giant dealer (Penn Cycle) doesn't carry FCR 2's so I'd almost certainly be going with the FCR 3. The other bike I'm looking at is that Cannondale Road Warrior (500 or 800) but those are spendier and no one around here seems to carry them! I really want a flat handlebar, that's what led me to the FCR series. Thanks in advance.

Posted by aleks on April 23, 2007 at 04:07 AM MDT #

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