It's a cyclocross bike, not a true road bike. I was seriously surprised by how quick it is given the size of the tyres (700x32c) and the fact they are knobbly and not slick. It's going to fly when I put road tyres on in summer.
The road bike was a specialized secteur comp, which ironically was more expensive than this, even at the non discounted price, just shows you money isn't always the best indicator of weight anyway. Where I'm living now I really needed something that could handle a bit of everything. I've not had the Giant out on a proper hurl, have that joy tomorrow morning. Going to throw it down the canal path and see how it handles it
