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Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 10:34 am
by merlin6014
Hi all upgrading from my alu road bike to a carbon bike. Budget is $2000-$2500. Below is my shortlist. I have listed either cheapest sale price I have found or rrp for bikes not on sale.

I have tested the merida, giant and foil, the cervelo s2 is out of stock everywhere and really hard to find which is a shame as i probably like that one best. I could wait though if its worth it. I prefer ultegra over 105 though not a dealbreaker (just i think i will save in the long run as i suffer upgraditis big time).

Giant Tcr Advanced 1 2013, Ultegra group $2999 rrp
Avanti Corsa Dr1 2013, 105 group $2499 sale.
Cervelo S2 2013, 105 group $2800 rrp
Merida Reacto 907 2012, ultegra group, $2499 runout.
Scott foil 40, 2013, 105 group, $2000 sale.
Scott foil 20, 2012, ultegra group, $3300 sale.

So what are your thoughts? In regards to type of riding I basically like to do no more than 40km at a time, smooth pavement or roads, mixture of flat and hilly terrain.

99 percent solo riding against the clock (strava) is what motivates me hence the aero choices. However i dont think my back could handle a dedicated TT bike.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:04 pm
by Marty Moose
Buy the one you like they are all good. Which one grabbed you on the ride?? Make sure you check clusters brakes etc to see if they are of the same std add the rest of the group.

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk 2

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:19 pm
by BrisVegas
The Avanti Corsa DR looks pretty cool. Haven't seen one on the road yet. But for bang for your buck, I reckon the Foil 40 + some nice carbon wheels + (later on) SRAM Red is hard to beat.

EDIT: Giant have just released the "Propel" aero road bike too. Might be worth a look.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:20 pm
by merlin6014
BrisVegas wrote:The Avanti Corsa DR looks pretty cool. Haven't seen one on the road yet. But for bang for your buck, I reckon the Foil 40 + some nice carbon wheels + (later on) SRAM Red is hard to beat.

EDIT: Giant have just released the "Propel" aero road bike too. Might be worth a look.
i dont mind the look of the corsa but no reviews anywhere that i can find so bit hesitant to buy.

I like the foil 40 i think its the 105 group and crappy wheels (shimano r501) putting me off both of which i know i will spend money on later...if only i could haggle a foil 20 down to 2500 i would be a very happy man (full ultegra and mavic cosmic elites).

Interesting news on the propel but nome on bikeexchange, giant website or google.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:24 pm
by merlin6014
Marty Moose wrote:Buy the one you like they are all good. Which one grabbed you on the ride?? Make sure you check clusters brakes etc to see if they are of the same std add the rest of the group.

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk 2
Definatly checking whole group, i have a whole spreadsheet dedicated to this endeavour....

In regards to ride honestly i liked them all! Head says tcr but heart thinks its a Toyota. The heart wants the cervelo but no damn stock grrr

The merida is probably best blend of performance looks and value but i cant afford the red/white 2013 only the 2012 (which i hate the blue colour scheme).

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:01 pm
by Daccordi Rider
Keep your eye open for TDU specials. I saw an Orbea Orca for $2899 today. Only 105 and cheap wheels but that is an excellent frame at that price and you can upgrade as time goes on. :D

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:22 pm
by merlin6014
Daccordi Rider wrote:Keep your eye open for TDU specials. I saw an Orbea Orca for $2899 today. Only 105 and cheap wheels but that is an excellent frame at that price and you can upgrade as time goes on. :D
Never heard of an Orbea Orca so googled it - damn they are sexy. None in NSW though

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:33 pm
by MarkG
Like MM said - check the full component list on the bike and make sure if it's advertised as Ultegra, that includes the brakes, cluster, both the mechs etc.

In some cases they may have an Ultegra equipped bike but it's down spec'd with Tektro brakes, or lesser spec mechs.

I remember my first bike was a Advertised as Ultegra, but they had put Tektro brakes to keep the price down.

Just something to be aware of

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:36 pm
by nickl
merlin6014 wrote:
BrisVegas wrote:The Avanti Corsa DR looks pretty cool. Haven't seen one on the road yet. But for bang for your buck, I reckon the Foil 40 + some nice carbon wheels + (later on) SRAM Red is hard to beat.

EDIT: Giant have just released the "Propel" aero road bike too. Might be worth a look.
i dont mind the look of the corsa but no reviews anywhere that i can find so bit hesitant to buy.

I like the foil 40 i think its the 105 group and crappy wheels (shimano r501) putting me off both of which i know i will spend money on later...if only i could haggle a foil 20 down to 2500 i would be a very happy man (full ultegra and mavic cosmic elites).

Interesting news on the propel but nome on bikeexchange, giant website or google.
The Propel is nice, but starts at $7000 and isn't available until March: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/g ... es--36210/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Foil 40's are on sale at the moment for $2049. Gives you some room to upgrade? Note that the 2013 Foil 20's don't have Mavic wheels - they are Syncros (?) which Scott bought last year.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 6:09 pm
by Marty Moose
merlin6014 wrote:
Marty Moose wrote:Buy the one you like they are all good. Which one grabbed you on the ride?? Make sure you check clusters brakes etc to see if they are of the same std add the rest of the group.

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk 2
Definatly checking whole group, i have a whole spreadsheet dedicated to this endeavour....

In regards to ride honestly i liked them all! Head says tcr but heart thinks its a Toyota. The heart wants the cervelo but no damn stock grrr

The merida is probably best blend of performance looks and value but i cant afford the red/white 2013 only the 2012 (which i hate the blue colour scheme).
They win a lot of races for a Toyota :) :) I agree the Merida in nice but they often down spec, if they were up front about it I'd be cool but they are not.......... If you have a good relationship with your LBS you should beable to get a 2013 TCR 0 pretty close to your budget!!

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 6:53 pm
by merlin6014
Marty Moose wrote:
They win a lot of races for a Toyota :) :) I agree the Merida in nice but they often down spec, if they were up front about it I'd be cool but they are not.......... If you have a good relationship with your LBS you should beable to get a 2013 TCR 0 pretty close to your budget!!
Yeah nothing against giant they are nice bikes (i have a giant xtc as my mtb).

What do you mean about merida downspeccing without being upfront? Like hiding 105 stuff in an ultegra group?

Your saying i could get a 2013 tcr 0 for $2500? That would be sweet, id be happy to get a tcr 1 for $2500.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 12:22 pm
by merlin6014
Hey guys just an update - went out today and did some more test riding.

2013 Giant TCR 1 and 2012 Merida Reacto 907 ridden back to back - both beautiful to ride, very stiff, now this just may be in my head as I know its an aero frame but the Merida felt quicker downhill like it was slicing through the air easier. Best price on either of these bikes I could negotiate was $2500 both with full Ultegra groupsets (obviously the Giant is a newer model though but Merida was still brand new). The merida weighs 7.8kg and the Giant about 7.6kg so not much in that. Winner to me was Reacto 907, nothing much in it probably just preferred the looks over the red/white 2013 TCR which looked very plain/boring (IMO only :D ).

Couldn't get a Foil 20 under $3K so checked out the Foil 40 again, $2099 but 105 group so seems its probably worth the extra $400 for the Ultegra groups of the Reacto and TCR so that may rule that out the Scott for now.

So (I think) it comes down to Reacto 907 vs Cervelo S2. I can't test ride the S2 as no stock anywhere (a couple of shops said maybe stock around Australia day). Now the S2 is $300 more than the Reacto (not withstanding negotiation on the S2) and has a 105 grouppo. Comes down to which has the better frame then I guess. Am I better off just getting the Reacto which needs no upgrades (wheels later) or is the S2 frame and Cervelo name/engineering worth it to downgrade to the 105???

Such a dilemma (though its a good dilemma to be in :D ). Thanks for your help so far BTW.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 3:50 pm
by Wakatuki
Just my 2 cents,

Bought a Foil 40 at $2500, now only $2099. :!: "thats retail for you" As others have said about group sets, many bikes and LBS's claiming 105 or Ultegra, Scott was FULL 105 with no need to swap anything. I did swap cassette, but to something more hill friendly.
I enjoy it 50-60k rides normally a 20ish k blast. Ultegra would have been nice but.... I would spend extra on those 'bits' we all need, shoes, lights, computers etc.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:14 pm
by merlin6014
Lol just to throw this out there, went to another shop and saw a Cannondale Slice 5 which is a TT bike. Sat on it just for giggles initially but then thought wow this really isnt as uncomfortable as i thought it would be. They look really mean as well - the 2013 is all matt black carbon.

Given I ride solo flat out most of the time this may suit me just fine. Just another option...

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 10:56 pm
by gistane
No idea where you live but bike shops if you can find someone with stock and your size sell the TCR Advanced 0 2012 for around $2500 - $3000

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:45 pm
by merlin6014
Today I learnt Cervelo is pronounced "cer-vey-lo" though 80% of LBS still pronnounce it as "cer-velo" and that SRAM is pronnounced "sram" (one word said quickly) not "s-ram" and not "shram"

The more you know... :D

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:00 pm
by merlin6014
Hey all just thought I would update the thread to let you know what I ended up doing.

Was all set on a Cervelo S2 at $2800 (Shimano 105) then decided the Scott Foil 40 was too good to pass up at the $2099 Tour Down Under sale. So ended up on that with the decision made to put the $700 saving into decent wheels (there is a lot of nice carbon tubulars on sale for under the $1000 mark on the UK sites). Anyway I'll probably strip the 105 off and sell as new on ebay then fit it out with SRAM Force. Pretty confident that it will then end up around the 6.5kg mark for maybe $3300 all up. As it stands its currently 7.9kg when I got it home on the scales.

Thanks for the suggestions and see you out on the road.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:14 pm
by BrisVegas
nice bike mate. I wouldn't be in such a hurry to sell the 105 gear. You'll prob get more bang for your buck with fancy wheels. Anyway, YMMV etc. I'm jealous, that's the bike I'd buy if I had the cash right now.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:10 pm
by merlin6014
BrisVegas wrote:nice bike mate. I wouldn't be in such a hurry to sell the 105 gear. You'll prob get more bang for your buck with fancy wheels. Anyway, YMMV etc. I'm jealous, that's the bike I'd buy if I had the cash right now.
Thanks mate - just realised this is what you recommended way back on Friday :shock:

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:04 pm
by BrisVegas
merlin6014 wrote:
BrisVegas wrote:nice bike mate. I wouldn't be in such a hurry to sell the 105 gear. You'll prob get more bang for your buck with fancy wheels. Anyway, YMMV etc. I'm jealous, that's the bike I'd buy if I had the cash right now.
Thanks mate - just realised this is what you recommended way back on Friday :shock:
Hahah yeah but it's ready spending someone else's money!

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 8:58 am
by adamr
merlin6014 wrote: i dont mind the look of the corsa but no reviews anywhere that i can find so bit hesitant to buy.
I tested a Corsa DR4 for an hour and a half yesterday. I rode it from Adelaide down to Glenelg, then hooked onto the back of the BMC team on the last leg of their rest day ride. I did about 25km all up. The Corsa DR4 is the same frame shape as the DR1 (obviously), but different carbon (not sure what the difference actually is). The Corsa DR4 had full the DA9000 mechanical group and DA C50 wheels. It was awesome. Only thing I didn't like was the handlebar shape. It felt light for an aero bike - not sure of the weight, I would guess about 7.5kg. It was surprisingly smooth on the road. I felt much less of the bumps and road buzz than I felt on a Specialized Roubaix Elite that I rode later in the day. I am seriously considering the Corsa DR1 or Corsa DR2 for myself.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:50 pm
by merlin6014
Hey guys thought I would update this thread with how the Foil actually performs as I hate reading threads with no outcome.

There is a bunch of courses I do on Strava but one in particular is a 20km sprint which I have done many times (say over 30 times) .

I have now done it twice on the Scott to get a decent average and compared with my prior bike (2012 Avanti Giro 3) with no other changes (same conditions ect) I have picked up 3-4 minutes over 20km's )and about 3 to 6km/h on my average speed which has brought me into the top 10 (was sitting about 150 before) which I am very happy with. Still shopping for wheels (the stock R501-30s weigh 2001g!), I think with the right wheels this bike will be a beast.

The handling, stiffness, looks everything is great, very happy!

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:06 pm
by MarkG
As long you're happy mate, that's the main thing.

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:19 pm
by merlin6014
MarkG wrote:As long you're happy mate, that's the main thing.
I'm sure i would have been happy on any of them, but hey at least this justifies spending $3k in my mind...

Re: Help me pick - Tcr vs Corsa vs S2 vs Reacto vs Foil

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:56 pm
by jheeno
merlin6014 wrote:Hey guys thought I would update this thread with how the Foil actually performs as I hate reading threads with no outcome.

There is a bunch of courses I do on Strava but one in particular is a 20km sprint which I have done many times (say over 30 times) .

I have now done it twice on the Scott to get a decent average and compared with my prior bike (2012 Avanti Giro 3) with no other changes (same conditions ect) I have picked up 3-4 minutes over 20km's )and about 3 to 6km/h on my average speed which has brought me into the top 10 (was sitting about 150 before) which I am very happy with. Still shopping for wheels (the stock R501-30s weigh 2001g!), I think with the right wheels this bike will be a beast.

The handling, stiffness, looks everything is great, very happy!
heres some wheels motivation from a fellow scott foil owner
Image

anyway the point of my reply was that what you said above - was the exact feeling I had when I first got my bike and started to push it and myself for the first month I had it. Well ... I still do though.
Good choice.