Giant TCR riding advice

[fair weather cyclist]

I'm in an extremely similar situation to you, @fraz101

I have a Boardman ADV 8.8 (the 2019 model) on which at some point I fitted 28mm conti GP5000. And I do have a Giant TCR Advanced.

Extremely different bikes and both good choices for what they were designed, so if you can afford to do it financially and you have the space to keep them, buy the TCR and keep the Boardman too.

I use both of them, depending on what I'm doing.

Since I bought it last year, I've used the TCR for most of my rides on the road, from March to September; in the winter it goes on the turbo trainer. I did the occasional triathlon on it (just with a set of clip on aerobars) and if I ever wanted to do a sportive of up to 150km, that would be my bike of choice. Great bike, stiff and light. It came fitted with 25mm tyres and set up tubeless so it's pretty comfy. The main riding difference I found was the reach: the TCR is a pure race bike so I was way more stretched and low down on the bike and took me a few rides to get used to it.

The Boardman still gets used though, especially in winter. After I bought the TCR, I converted the Boardman to tubeless and put some nice 40mm tyres on it. I use it to do gravel rides and also during the week to go buy fruit and veg at my local organic farm. I'm planning on using it for gravel races this year. The geometry is very relaxed, the reach is shorter and the stack is higher than the TCR. With the right saddle, the Boardman is super comfy and with a pair of road tyres would do great for ultra endurance rides when you have to be on the saddle for most of the day.

So yeah, they're very different bikes, both good and my advice is to have both of them.

 

[fraz101]

I'm in an extremely similar situation to you, @fraz101

I have a Boardman ADV 8.8 (the 2019 model) on which at some point I fitted 28mm conti GP5000. And I do have a Giant TCR Advanced.

Extremely different bikes and both good choices for what they were designed, so if you can afford to do it financially and you have the space to keep them, buy the TCR and keep the Boardman too.

I use both of them, depending on what I'm doing.

Since I bought it last year, I've used the TCR for most of my rides on the road, from March to September; in the winter it goes on the turbo trainer. I did the occasional triathlon on it (just with a set of clip on aerobars) and if I ever wanted to do a sportive of up to 150km, that would be my bike of choice. Great bike, stiff and light. It came fitted with 25mm tyres and set up tubeless so it's pretty comfy. The main riding difference I found was the reach: the TCR is a pure race bike so I was way more stretched and low down on the bike and took me a few rides to get used to it.

The Boardman still gets used though, especially in winter. After I bought the TCR, I converted the Boardman to tubeless and put some nice 40mm tyres on it. I use it to do gravel rides and also during the week to go buy fruit and veg at my local organic farm. I'm planning on using it for gravel races this year. The geometry is very relaxed, the reach is shorter and the stack is higher than the TCR. With the right saddle, the Boardman is super comfy and with a pair of road tyres would do great for ultra endurance rides when you have to be on the saddle for most of the day.

So yeah, they're very different bikes, both good and my advice is to have both of them.

Thanks for the awesome reply!

 

[Peter Salt]

OK, if its a dream bike then you should definitely find one.

Would maybe be worth noting that the TCR Advanced 1 and TCR Advanced Pro 1 have the same frames and groupsets. If you want to see if you like it, why not get the non-pro that will be much cheaper? Also, if you go back to the 2017 model - it's the same frame as 2018 and also an Ultegra but just one generation back making it cheaper still. Worth considering?

 

[fair weather cyclist]

That's good advice from @Peter Salt

The Giant TCR has been around for years and years and it's one of the most refined and most developed bikes ever. Which also means that from year to year you can expect marginal changes rather than drastic. So, a 2017 model will be pretty much the same as the 2018 but yes, way cheaper.

 

[fraz101]

OK, if its a dream bike then you should definitely find one.

Would maybe be worth noting that the TCR Advanced 1 and TCR Advanced Pro 1 have the same frames and groupsets. If you want to see if you like it, why not get the non-pro that will be much cheaper? Also, if you go back to the 2017 model - it's the same frame as 2018 and also an Ultegra but just one generation back making it cheaper still. Worth considering?

What would be the main difference between pro 1, advanced and SL ?

Also i look on eBay and gumtree, is there anywhere else worth keeping an eye out for one?

 

[fair weather cyclist]

Also i look on eBay and gumtree, is there anywhere else worth keeping an eye out for one?

Facebook marketplace.

Also you can join local facebook groups for bikes sale.

 

[Peter Salt]

What would be the main difference between pro 1, advanced and SL ?

Best to look up Giant website. - It's a bit odd as you can't really find links to old models, they also don't seem to pop up in Internet searches. That said, those pages still exist, you just have to manually edit the URLs.

For 2018 models:
(A) TCR Advanced 1: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-1-2018
(B) TCR Advanced Pro 1: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-pro-1-2018
(C) TCR Advanced SL 1: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-sl-1-2018

If you want to lookup other years, change the year in the address. Different models - change the names and numbers in the address.

Differences that come to my mind, I'm sure others will be able to add to this:
- Frame: A and B is exactly the same frame. B has a fully carbon fork and steerer tube, while A has a carbon fork but an aluminium steerer tube - so the former is a bit lighter. C is a different (but similar) frame that's a bit lighter and has an integrated seat post - this makes them a lot harder to buy 2nd hand as people usually cut the seat tube to get a good fit, so unless you're anatomically very similar to the seller you might have issues.
- Groupset: A and B is Ultegra and the only difference (I think) is that B comes with an Ultegra (11/30) cassette while A is a 105 (11/28) which is a £20 difference in RRP. The front chainrings on A are 50/34 while on B they're 52/36. C is also an Ultegra but Di2, 52/36 and 11/28.
- Stem, handlebars, saddle: As you go from A to B and then C these get a bit lighter. However, these are also the parts that people most often replace so I (personally) rarely pay attention to it.
- Wheels: I think that this single word summarises most of the price difference between A and B. A has the Giant PR 2 while B has the SLR-1 that you can also find on C - lighter AND more aero.

Summary:

- The Advanced SL is top of the line, if you want to spend that much you might as well go SL 0 (Dura Ace Di2). Make sure to get a proper bike fit before buying so you know that the seat tube that the seller (likely) cut will fit you.
- The Advanced Pro, in my opinion, is not worth the extra money compared to a standard Advanced. You get a bunch of small components that save a few grams and maybe 10s over a 40k time trial. You do get better wheels but for that price difference you can get much better ones from DT Swiss, Hunt, Zipp or other great manufacturers or have them custom built.

Note there was a new iteration of Shimano groupsets in 2018 so for Ultegra the 2018 models will have the 8000 and before that the 6800. Marginal differences.

 

[fraz101]

Best to look up Giant website. - It's a bit odd as you can't really find links to old models, they also don't seem to pop up in Internet searches. That said, those pages still exist, you just have to manually edit the URLs.

For 2018 models:
(A) TCR Advanced 1: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-1-2018
(B) TCR Advanced Pro 1: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-pro-1-2018
(C) TCR Advanced SL 1: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-sl-1-2018

If you want to lookup other years, change the year in the address. Different models - change the names and numbers in the address.

Differences that come to my mind, I'm sure others will be able to add to this:
- Frame: A and B is exactly the same frame. B has a fully carbon fork and steerer tube, while A has a carbon fork but an aluminium steerer tube - so the former is a bit lighter. C is a different (but similar) frame that's a bit lighter and has an integrated seat post - this makes them a lot harder to buy 2nd hand as people usually cut the seat tube to get a good fit, so unless you're anatomically very similar to the seller you might have issues.
- Groupset: A and B is Ultegra and the only difference (I think) is that B comes with an Ultegra (11/30) cassette while A is a 105 (11/28) which is a £20 difference in RRP. The front chainrings on A are 50/34 while on B they're 52/36. C is also an Ultegra but Di2, 52/36 and 11/28.
- Stem, handlebars, saddle: As you go from A to B and then C these get a bit lighter. However, these are also the parts that people most often replace so I (personally) rarely pay attention to it.
- Wheels: I think that this single word summarises most of the price difference between A and B. A has the Giant PR 2 while B has the SLR-1 that you can also find on the SL - lighter AND more aero.

Summary:

- The Advanced SL is top of the line, if you want to spend that much you might as well go SL 0 (Dura Ace Di2). Make sure to get a proper bike fit before buying so you know that the seat tube that the seller (likely) cut will fit you.
- The Advanced Pro, in my opinion, is not worth the extra money compared to a standard Advanced. You get a bunch of small components that save a few grams and maybe 10s over a 40k time trial. You do get better wheels but for that price difference you can get much better ones from DT Swiss, Hunt, Zipp or other great manufacturers or have them custom built.

Note there was a new iteration of Shimano groupsets in 2018 so for Ultegra the 2018 models will have the 8000 and before that the 6800. Marginal differences.

What a great response.

Thank you so much for this detailed post!

Really appreciate all replies and info

 

[cougie uk]

Don't get the integrated seat post if you want to fly with it.