Competition road bike test: Giant TCR Advanced LTD - Test 2015: Giant TCR Advanced LTD

The stiff frame and the laterally stiff, heavy fork guarantee a smooth ride. The frame is designed for a moderately sporty riding position. For riders who are not sure whether a comfort road bike is not too much of a good thing, this design could be just right. The combination of a relatively stiff aero seatpost and narrow 23 mm tyres makes the rear end of the bike feel comparatively stiff. The complete Ultegra groupset from Shimano guarantees high-level shifting and braking technology. A striking feature of the test bike was the low spoke tension on both wheels, which makes re-centring necessary in the near future.

CONCLUSION Well equipped, favourably priced, stable ride. Relatively hard on the saddle. Weakly preloaded wheels.

Reference/Info www.giant-bicycles.de

Price 1,799 Euro
Weight 8.0 kilos
available in specialised shops

MEASURED DATA

Frame/fork/steering bearing weight 1,050/496/73 grammes
Frame sizes S, M, ML, L, XL
Seat/steering angle 72°/72,5°
Seat/top tube/head tube 540/570/171 mm plus 17 mm headset cap
Wheelbase/caster 995/57 mm
Stack/Reach/STR 569/388 mm/1.47

EQUIPMENT

Steering bearing Giant, top 1-1/8, bottom 1-1/4 inch
Brakes/gears/bottom bracket Shimano Ultegra 6800 (50/34 t, Press-Fit BB86)
Wheels/tyres Giant PR-2/Giant P-SL1 23C
Handlebar/stem Giant Contact/Giant Contact
Saddle/post Giant/Giant Vector Advanced (aero profile)

*The frame set accounts for 40 per cent and the equipment for 60 per cent of the overall grade. The grades are calculated with all decimal places up to the final grade; however, for the sake of clarity, all grades are given with rounded decimal places.
**Weighed weights.
***Manufacturer's specification, test size bold.
****Stack/Reach: projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube; STR (Stack to Reach): 1.36 means a very stretched, 1.60 an upright riding position.