Head is melted choosing a bike

woppers

TL;DR - I'm wondering if the ToughRoad SLR GX 1 2018 and 2019 are identical bar the the color?

I have a 10km round trip commute and am looking to start cycling. Budget is between 1-2k on the bike to work scheme.

When you can only afford one nice bike and you want to cover all possible styles of cycling then it gets tricky.

I've been narrow mindedly been only looking at Giant bikes due to there being a shop in my town and from what I can see, they seem like decent value for money. Maybe I'm wrong.

I really wanted a mountain bike and was looking at the Fathom because I'd like the option to bring it off road but realistically, I'll rarely get a chance to bring it off road and most of the good ones I looked at only have one chainring on the front so I don't think a mountain bike will be a good option seeing as it'll be mainly road use.

So I started looking at the ToughRoad so I'd still have the option to bring it off road while still being good to ride on the roads.

I'm thinking of getting a ToughRoad SLR GX 1 and I'm trying to choose between the 2018 and the 2019 model. There's €300 in the difference between the two bikes because the 2018 model is on sale.

These bikes look the same to me. Can anyone tell me if there's any difference between these 2 models?

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/ie/toughroad-slr-gx-1

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/ie/toughroad-gx-slr-1-2019

jon1981

The only difference is the year between these 2 models, Giant always drop the price by a few hundred on existing stock when they bring out the next years model. Decent price considering the brakes are hydraulic (better than mechanical). Also you can always invest in a second pair of wheels to put skinnier road tyres onto so that you can mix up the cycling.

woppers

jon1981 wrote: »

The only difference is the year between these 2 models, Giant always drop the price by a few hundred on existing stock when they bring out the next years model. Decent price considering the brakes are hydraulic (better than mechanical). Also you can always invest in a second pair of wheels to put skinnier road tyres onto so that you can mix up the cycling.

Nice one Jon! I never thought of getting a second set of wheels.

RIGOLO

woppers wrote: »

TL;DR - I'm wondering if the ToughRoad SLR GX 1 2018 and 2019 are identical bar the the color?

I have a 10km round trip commute and am looking to start cycling. Budget is between 1-2k on the bike to work scheme.

When you can only afford one nice bike and you want to cover all possible styles of cycling then it gets tricky.

I've been narrow mindedly been only looking at Giant bikes due to there being a shop in my town and from what I can see, they seem like decent value for money. Maybe I'm wrong.

I really wanted a mountain bike and was looking at the Fathom because I'd like the option to bring it off road but realistically, I'll rarely get a chance to bring it off road and most of the good ones I looked at only have one chainring on the front so I don't think a mountain bike will be a good option seeing as it'll be mainly road use.

So I started looking at the ToughRoad so I'd still have the option to bring it off road while still being good to ride on the roads.

I'm thinking of getting a ToughRoad SLR GX 1 and I'm trying to choose between the 2018 and the 2019 model. There's €300 in the difference between the two bikes because the 2018 model is on sale.

These bikes look the same to me. Can anyone tell me if there's any difference between these 2 models?

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/ie/toughroad-slr-gx-1

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/ie/toughroad-gx-slr-1-2019

If I were you Id take a step back and look at your problem afresh..
So you can get on the BTW scheme, great saving and some companys spreads the cost .. what a saver.
Giant 2018 models are having great reductions, save 300.. wow
You have a local bike shop that you can build a relationship with.

Your head will melt if you try to get one bike to fit all cycling options, you would need to be a good bike mechanic, alot of experience of cycling and able/willing to interchange components , doesnt sound like you are there yet.

Your priority is the 10KM work commute. dont forget, you might also be carrying a backpack or pannier bag. And if you plan on staying in that job with that commute, consider you want to get 5-10 years of beating up that bike on that route without being too fussy.

I think you should re-consider it from the top, perhaps you should go back to a mountain bike (as you mentioned) or hybrid with semi-slick tyres (smooth down the middle with grip on the side walls, grand for the road wont suck you to it like a regular mtb tyre , but also a bit of grip is you go on a trail).
And dont break the bank on your first bike, just get a good value one and save some of that budget for proper road bike if you do get the bug..

I have 9 bikes and Im still not sure I have all aspects of cycling covered. but the one for my 15k commute would have been under 1K (15 years ago), mountain bike (Trek 6500), rock solid , taken 15 years of abuse, with panniers and still going strong (cant say the same for rider though), and at the time I bought myself some good quality clothing and shoes for the commute and some spent on extras for the bike, bull bars, semi-slick tyres etc....

either way best of luck.