TRUNCATED WHAT?

The head tube, down tube, seat tube and integrated seat post of the new TCR are all in the shape of what Giant engineers call a ‘truncated ellipse’ (‘truncated’ as in the trailing edge has been cut off). Some other brands such as Specialized use the same technology, but sometimes refer to it as a ‘truncated airfoil’. Same thing.

Where the traditional teardrop tube shape is fastest at zero-degrees yaw (the angle between a cyclist’s direction of motion and the relative wind vector), a truncated ellipse… isn’t. But it is faster when the yaw is offset. For this reason, Giant engineered the TCR’S frame with -15 to +15 degrees of yaw, which it says most closely replicates the yaw angles riders experience in the real world.

Another cool fact is that for maximum aerodynamics, the frame was designed for two bottles mounted inside the frame – and they don’t have to be proprietary bottles, either. Neat.