At first glance, the aluminium version from Giant's TCR range is almost indistinguishable from its expensive carbon brothers - the very distinctive tube shapes, flowing transitions at the seat junction and the glossy black paint job can easily mislead the observer. The very torsion-resistant frame rides pleasantly unobtrusively on the road, while the riding position and steering behaviour aim for the golden mean. The equipment with Shimano's complete Ultegra groupset and simple but reliable classically spoked wheels is fine, only the own-brand tyres proved to be puncture-prone: the test team had to put up with two punctures in one day. The saddle proved to be remarkably comfortable, while better shaped handlebars can now also be found in the lower price ranges.
Price 1,649 Euro
Weight 8.6 kilos
Available in specialised shops
Reference/Info www.giant-bicycles.com
Weight frame/fork/steering bearing** 1,415/560/74 grammes
Frame sizes*** S, M, ML, L, XL
Seat/steering angle 72,5°/73°
Seat/top tube/head tube 535/570/170 mm plus 17 mm headset cap
Wheelbase/caster 990/53 mm
Stack/Reach/STR**** 565/392 mm/1.44
EQUIPMENT
Steering bearing FSA, top 1-1/8, bottom 1-1/2 inch
Brakes/gears/bottom bracket Shimano Ultegra (50/34 t., press-fit)
Wheels/tyres Giant P-R2/Giant P-R3
Handlebar/stem Giant Concept
Saddle/post Giant TCR/ Giant Concept (30.9 mm)
*The frame set accounts for 40 % of the overall grade, the equipment for 60 %. 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 an extremely race-like riding position, 1.60 an extremely comfortable riding position. A typical sporty position is in the range of 1.44 to 1.49.
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