2 SALE - Giant TCR Advanced 0 Ultegra Di

Shimano's Ultegra DI2 groupset represents the beginning of a new era for the bicycle industry. The release of Dura Ace Di2 was impressive to say the least; all the bikes we tested shifted seamlessly regardless of what we threw at them whether we were cross changing, or even committing the cardinal sin of shifting from the big to the little ring whilst climbing. Nothing took the system by surprise; there were no sudden jumps, no irritating clicking as it decided where it needed to be and every gear engaged and ran perfectly. We were impressed, but with a price tag of around £3000 for a group it was just that little bit too expensive to push us to ditch our SRAM Red or Campagnolo Record groupsets. The addition of the Ultegra brand to the Di2 group however has really got us thinking about swapping our drivetrains.

Lets face it, what is the appreciative difference between Ultegra and Dura Ace? The answer is really very little, other than higher grade materials which allow for a slightly lower weight the shifting is still great, as is the braking. The same is true of the Di2 systems - the Ultegra group, although using slightly different electronics to reduce costs, still shifts seamlessly and is nigh on impossible to confuse. If anything we would get it for the fact that it requires almost no matainence in that there is no cable stretch whatsoever. Sitting on the Giant TCR Advanced frame this makes for a bike which will be difficult to fault at the price.

Most of us need a bike that does it all; something that is fast, comfortable, strong and representative of good value for money. The Giant TCR Advanced fulfils these criteria almost perfectly. A derivative of the Giant TCR Advanced SL, the TCR Advanced features a slightly lower grade of carbon fibre; a T700 fibre to be precise. Giant only uses the finest quality Japanese Torayca carbon fibre in all their frames and three different lines for three different frames. The ‘Composite’ frames utilise a T600 fibre, the ‘Advanced’ a T700 and as stated before the ‘Advanced SL’ a T800 fibre. The difference is found in the rate at which the fibre is produced. A lengthier process produces a stronger fibre which means that less can be used for the same stiffness and strength. The production cost increases dramatically as the quality increases, which is reflected in the price you pay for the final product. However as with everything the effort that is required to make a fibre as good as the T700 that little bit stronger for the T800 is relatively large compared to the benefit inherent in the jump from the T600 to the T700. This means that whilst the Giant TCR Advanced SL is an absolutely superb frame -  from a racing perspective, quite possibly one of the finest frames we’ve ever ridden in fact - it is not as huge a departure from the TCR Advanced  frame as the Advanced frame is from the Composite or aluminium frames.

The Giant TCR Advanced frameset is light, astoundingly stiff under load, smooth and incredibly precise in the corners. Although it is not Giant’s flagship frame it is punches well above its weight and happily competes with many top-of-the-line frames produced by other companies.

In this case why is it so cheap? This is largely down to the fact that Giant (as the name suggests) are an enormous company, producing frames for many of the other major players in the industry. This is indicative of several facts; firstly Giant are in control of production from the ground up as they purchase the raw fibre from Torayca and manufacture it themselves, producing every carbon frame by hand. As such the quality control is impeccable and although Giant give a lifetime warranty on all their frames we would be surprised if you ever had to use it - in our 20 years in the cycle retail industry we can honestly say we have never seen a single road frame returned. Secondly Giant’s manufacturing costs per frame are far lower than all their competitors as they are not having to outsource. As such they can push more resources into research and development and produce a higher performing, higher quality frame at a lower price.

If you have read any of the other Giant descriptions you may get the impression that we are highly impressed by the Giant range. This is with good reason, aesthetics and heritage aside Giant are building their brand on creating some of the highest performing bicycles on the planet. There are many of us who ride Giant and are now hard pressed to even consider something else given the immense value that they represent. The TCR Advanced is a perfect example of this, a race-ready, superb bike that performs at a level that belies its price tag.

There are few bikes that in terms of pure 'performance for the price' we would recommend over the Giant TCR Advanced 0. The frame is one of excellent quality, race proven and with a notable pedigree and this combined with Shimano's Ultegra Di2 will make for a bike that will take you appreciate your ride that bit more. The addition of Giant's 'Ride Sense' - an integrated speed/cadence sensor mounted in the chain stay - means that you no longer need unsightly sensors mounted to your frame for ANT+ compatible devices - which is not only tidy but that much more Aero. A perfect marriage of cutting edge technologies.