GIANT TCR

PRICE: R199 000 / GIANT-BICYCLES.COM

At first glance, the latest Giant TCR might not appear very different to its predecessor – after all, it retains the same sloping top tube (a hallmark of Giant road bikes) and integrated seat post. But a closer look reveals that this ninth-generation TCR has been completely redesigned.

Much of the redesign has to do with aerodynamics, but this doesn’t make the TCR a dedicated aero bike like the Canyon Aeroad. Rather, it’s a road bike that is aero, but also great for climbing.

Giant’s primary goal in designing the ultimate all-rounder was to make the lightest, stiffest, fastest bike possible, which it’s in a position to do. Unlike other brands that outsource manufacturing to thirdparty factories, Giant has complete ownership of its process, from producing the raw materials to laying up the carbon and assembling finished bicycles.

Thanks to this control, updates to the TCR are more than skin-deep. Not content to use the same carbon as for the previous TCR, Giant manufactured new, lighter raw carbon fibres, which are woven into laser-cut swatches. Most of the frame lay-up is still done by hand, but 150 of the smaller swatches are woven via robotic lay-up assembly, which allows the fibres to be cut to a tighter tolerance, trimming weight.

Even the paint job was taken into consideration: where the previous model used seven layers of paint, the new TCR is finished with a process called Thinline, which uses less paint and saves 50 grams. Marginal gains like this mean a combined 140g weight saving for the frame, which in turn has resulted in what is probably the lightest production race bike available at the moment. (The size large test bike weighed a measly 6.6kg.)

Then there are the wheels… Look closely at the 42mm-deep carbon Cadex hoops (Cadex is a Giant subsidiary brand) and you’ll see that the spokes aren’t just black to match the bike; they’re actually carbon. But unlike boutique wheels like those from Lightweight, which have one-piece carbon spokes that are all but unserviceable, the aero-bladed carbon spokes on the Cadex wheels are serviceable just like standard alloy spokes. And besides looking cool, they increase the power transfer from the hub to the rim and add extra vibration damping.

Now, about that integrated seat post – a feature many riders were happy to see other brands abandon. Despite the obvious downsides, such as facing your fear of taking a hacksaw to it, and the complicating factor of packing the bike for travel, an integrated seat post does offer tangible performance benefits. For one, it’s lighter, because there’s no overlapping material (seat post inside seat tube); and from a performance aspect, it allows the engineers to micro-tune how much flex there is throughout the length of the extension, meaning each different frame size offers exactly the right amount of compliance in all the right areas.

And if trimming the post to fit makes you apprehensive, relax: you get two toppers, offering 25mm and 50mm of extension, so you have some wiggle room to adjust your saddle height.

Ultimately, it’s a beautifully tuned, highly capable racing machine. It dances with the ease of a climbing bike, but it also stays planted on the road in a way that belies its sub-7kg weight.

You’ll have to order this ultimate-spec TCR directly, because the top TCR coming to South Africa has a slightly lower-grade carbon frame, less racy carbon wheels, no integrated seat post and Ultegra Di2 (R108 000). You still get plenty of bike for your bucks with that model though, as you do right down the TCR range. – Bobby Lea