Giant say this is actually a general theme throughout the frame, the objective not being to build the lightest frame out there, but to maximise the “stiffness to weight” ratio. It’s designed to maximise stiffness without a significant weight penalty. The steerer is tapered, using different sized bearings at the top and bottom of the head tube. The frame (a Medium size for me), fork and steerer tube are all full carbon composite, using Toray 700 carbon fibre. It’s a personal thing though and maybe I’ll have dragged myself out the dark ages when I come round to buying my next bike… I’m also a bit of a sucker for simple mechanics, so Di2 in particular didn’t really appeal to me. To me, a TCR is a lightweight climbing bike and to put heavy discs or electronic shifting on to it would only blunt its primary purpose and character. The Propel and TCR lined up at the Giant shop for a quick test rideĮasy answer to these ones. I had also heard that the Propel is due a frame revision in 2018, whereas the TCR has just been refreshed and won’t be changed for another three or so years. They said “take the Propel round the block, then the TCR, and then make your mind up.” So I did, and immediately understood why they all rode TCR themselves, it just felt so much more alive than the Propel (more on that later). Actually, I went in trying to buy a Propel, but the guys there said I should think about the TCR too. At the time, I was tossing up between a Propel and a TCR, as I wanted a racy geometry but didn’t know if aero was worth it. So why did I choose a TCR specifically? I’m lucky enough to work near the Giant St Paul’s bike shop in London, so I popped down there one lunchtime to take a look at Giant’s 2017 line up “in the carbon”, as there was only so much research I could do on the Internet. ![]() ![]() ![]() I like the authenticity I think this brings to their bikes, I guess the same way I like the fact that my Honda’s engine is made by Honda, rather than VW or Ford. Secondly, I like the fact that, unlike a lot of bike manufacturers, Giant make their own frames in house, using their own frame building and carbon layering skills and processes, rather than outsourcing to a third party company. First, I really like my old aluminium Giant Defy (which I still use as a winter bike), which served me very well when I did Lands End to John O’Groats a while back, so I guess a sense of brand loyalty worked away in my head. So here it is, my complete and honest thoughts about my bike, a 2017 Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1. This is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while now, but I wanted to make sure I’d done enough riding to do a full review justice.
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