What bike is this?

[CheeseAndWineBiker]

So I'm borrowing this road bike from my dad's cousin, training for the CTCT. 

Obviously it's a Giant OCR 2. But I comefrom a MTB background (+- 10 years in te sport and I consider myself quite a decent, fit rider). So roadbikes are Latin to me.. 

So I'd like to know, was this a "professional bike" back in the day? Because it is super hard to pedal. I did the lovers lane climb this morning (from Jip de Jager side) and damn.. Compared to a mtb, I had to get out of the saddle and pedal hard. It's impossible to slowly spin up a hill. 42T small chain ring at the front and 21T biggest cassette gear at the back. That's the lowest gear possible and I wish there were more lol. 

Does modern road bikes have easier/lower gears? Might borrow a colleagues bike who has 3 chain rings and I think will be easier to pedal. I wil be dead by the time I come to chappies and suikerbossie of I ride this bike. Lol. Aiming for sub 3h30mins however. See you guys on the 13th of March! 

[eddy]

Rule #5

[Me rida my bicycle]

Coming from a mountain bike... Good luck 😂 but seriously if you are planning on riding that bike get a bigger range cassette. 

[RobbyB]

You're right the cassette isn't a "climbing cassette.

A modern day cassettes goes up to 32 at the rear and the small ring up front on a compact is a 34.

This bike is ideal for racing on the flats...unless you're super strong!

The rear derailleur looks like a short cage so you wont be able to slap on a bigger tooth'ed cassette.

Edited February 23, 2022 by RobbyB
Added info...

[CheeseAndWineBiker]

23 minutes ago, eddy said:

Rule #5

please elaborate? I only know 1 rule.. The faster you go, the smoother it gets

 

[CheeseAndWineBiker]

25 minutes ago, RobbyB said:

You're right the cassette isn't a "climbing cassette.

A modern day cassettes goes up to 32 at the rear and the small ring up front on a compact is a 34.

This bike is ideal for racing on the flats...unless you're super strong!

The rear derailleur looks like a short cage so you wont be able to slap on a bigger tooth'ed cassette.

Thanks for confirming Robby! Did a quick 15km cycle this morning, stole soms KOM's from the roadies and called it quits because my calves were on fire! Definitively borrowing my colleagues bike! Still super lekker to ride fast on the flat roads, but grateful to have testes it out in the neighbourhood before tackling the 109kms 

[NC_lurker]

Yup, that's the standard gearing we used in the early '90s. If you were lucky you had a 23 at the back.

Seem to remember that after groveling up Franschhoek pass after about 170km during my first Double Century, I sourced a 39 tooth ring for the front the next year!

[RobbyB]

Have fun...road riding gives you a great speed rush after MTB'ing. Be careful though because tar is not as forgiving as the trails can be, if you come off...

KOM chasing also becomes addictive. 

[BaGearA]

35 minutes ago, CheeseAndWineBiker said:

please elaborate? I only know 1 rule.. The faster you go, the smoother it gets

 

#5 HTFU 

[porqui]

Sjees he's only done a few road rides and is already chasing KOM's

You need some serious help

[CheeseAndWineBiker]

4 minutes ago, porqui said:

Sjees he's only done a few road rides and is already chasing KOM's

You need some serious help

Ja Bru, mtb KOM's are super hard. I got some road segments on my mtb. Gotta show the roadies how it's done 😜😂

[Longbarn Killer]

To answer your first question... No, this was a pretty entry level bike in the day. Has Sora 8 sp which is Shimanos bottom of the range. 

Fear not, even entry level road bikes are way faster than mtbs on the road. 

That's how road bike gearing was in those days. You didn't rely on easier gears to get up a hill, you relied on stronger legs. Having said that, I didn't know that you got a 21 big cog. Maybe this was used for time trials. 

 

[CheeseAndWineBiker]

1 hour ago, Longbarn Killer said:

To answer your first question... No, this was a pretty entry level bike in the day. Has Sora 8 sp which is Shimanos bottom of the range. 

Fear not, even entry level road bikes are way faster than mtbs on the road. 

That's how road bike gearing was in those days. You didn't rely on easier gears to get up a hill, you relied on stronger legs. Having said that, I didn't know that you got a 21 big cog. Maybe this was used for time trials. 

 

Thanks for confirming! Yes, the bike is super fun to ride, but I don't see myself standing and pedalling up all the CTCT hills.. I also told my dad that this could've been a TT bike perhaps. Couldn't fathm how hard it was going up a gentle hill even 

[M L]

12 hours ago, CheeseAndWineBiker said:

So I'm borrowing this road bike from my dad's cousin, training for the CTCT. 

Obviously it's a Giant OCR 2. But I comefrom a MTB background (+- 10 years in te sport and I consider myself quite a decent, fit rider). So roadbikes are Latin to me.. 

So I'd like to know, was this a "professional bike" back in the day? Because it is super hard to pedal. I did the lovers lane climb this morning (from Jip de Jager side) and damn.. Compared to a mtb, I had to get out of the saddle and pedal hard. It's impossible to slowly spin up a hill. 42T small chain ring at the front and 21T biggest cassette gear at the back. That's the lowest gear possible and I wish there were more lol. 

Does modern road bikes have easier/lower gears? Might borrow a colleagues bike who has 3 chain rings and I think will be easier to pedal. I wil be dead by the time I come to chappies and suikerbossie of I ride this bike. Lol. Aiming for sub 3h30mins however. See you guys on the 13th of March! 

Looks like a Giant.

[mecheng89]

Dat stem tho

#aeroiseverything

[RobertWhitehead]

My opinion: Ride the MTB on race day. It is not always about the speed but more about what's comfortable. It doesn't help if you have thin wheels but can't climb up the hills.