I had one of these in the galaxy paint scheme built up as a frameset (0 model) with all my favorite goodies and Di2, its hands down the best bike I have EVER owned.
Great review, I have had a couple of TCR over the years, still ride one of them on occasion and love it, but my only comment is they need to clean-up the cables in front, doesn't have to be integrated, but should not be running wild like they are. That's the reality of "evolution".
Ya thats actually the one reason that i even considered the much more expensive and heavier and less specced trek. I went with better value in the end, but honestly if they even add a hundred bucks and tie the cable abit neatly, this would have been no competition.
Giant offer cable shortening once you set the bike up, Slam the head and shortened cables makes this bike a dream. Granted I wish bike brands would slam the stem stock these days.
Got mine coming in the next week or so ... Cant wait. I've gone for rim brakes as I'm a purist and there's not many mountains where I live where I need that kind of braking performance. My current bike is a defy 1 2014 so this will be my first carbon steed... Can't wait!
@@Mububban23 it’s feels much more responsive due to the weight and also more rigid in how it puts the power down. Being a lighter rider, I am destroying the the hills around me 😀 it’s a great bike and no problems with making this upgrade. Very happy 😃
@@Gillycycling very nice bike. It's quick, responsive and light. I'm on the rim brake version. I'm regularly getting PBs / top 10s and my average is up too (20.7mph today). Power meter is excellent and accurate. I'm light riding a small frame so have noticed it on the climbs and acceleration. Im coming from 2014 defy aluminium. I've made upgrades on this, wheels (Shimano r700 carbon with Alu brake track), closer ratio cassette (it's relatively flat where I ride). It's a quick bike but the TCR is definitely up a level! Just to add, would I have our purchased this at 3.8k GBP knowing the benefits over my old bike. Probably not. But Im on C2W so c40% savings I can swallow it.
It's a shame you can only get advanced pro disc line with those wheels baked into the price. Its not just that I want my own wheels on there, its that these are hookless tubeless wheels, they shouldn't be forcing something like that on us.
Saying the tires were average would have made the video more credible... cables look disturbing as well. I think i will go with the di2 version which solves both issues :)
Di2 was out of stock all summer so i ended up getting the team version which i'm a big fan of. I will upgrade to electronic groupset later on. I had to add lead tape to balance the weels and avoid the looping sound. Either way, i crushed all my strava records on the first day out without any biking fitness 😀
I don't think that hiding every bit of cable is necessary, I don't mind cables showing. But this bike's cables look a mess. my 2016 Defy did a better job at making the cables look like there was some thought behind it.
Just ordered this bike but sadly due to COVID I won’t get it until the end of April. Still something to look forward to! Great review and I’m even more certain I made the best choosing this bike. In some ways I would have preferred internal cable routing and drop stays but it’s being very picky and I get why they didn’t do the drop stays now thanks to this video.
Purchased.... not sure where prefer came from. On a happier note, Giant Store gave me 10% off and it was ‘only’ £3599 at the time. I’ll be paying around £550 less than the current asking price.
Nice Ben I ordered mine in October from a Giant dealer in Glasgow. Was supposed to be April like yourself. I got a call yesterday its now delayed till June. I hope you dont get a bad news call bro.
The seat stays are so low why make such a big thing about no drop stays? There are a good few companies that make 1 1/4 stems shimano for one. This is a also really dull and doesn't make you want to buy the bike I dont think
@@chrisdunn8215 that was kind of my point some of the best value for money and an all out race bike. Yet this as a feature is as dull as dishwater. If I could get my hands on one I probably would
@@MichelleArthursBrennan thanks! I have a 2019 TCR Advanced Pro - if the new seat post has better damping capabilities than my current, I might upgrade
@@morekyle64 top tube and carbon in general are not made to resist compressive forces. Always, and I say always, clamp the seatpost. If you accidentaly crack it it's a lot cheaper to buy a new frame
@@morekyle64 No really, it isn't... PLEASE don't think this is the right way to do this. Also, whilst you make a fair point that if careful etc., but isn't it just easier to show the correct way to clamp this, as otherwise people who don't know any better (or haven't read the manual) will over-tighten and crush. The picture is worth far more than a few comments underneath saying it is "fine as long as..."
Nice, but I look at this and I see my much missed 2011 Madone P1..... Pretty much the same shape, just a tweek on the tube shapes and yes, this is a disc frame..... But we're talking almost 10 years of design and they're almost the same...... 🤔
I just cannot believe that after many upgrades they still left the cables out ! Beautiful bike but the exposed cables are just hideous. All bikes nowadays are putting some effort on aesthetics, and have been successful at arranging cables in a way that they are not so visible (Trek). Giant is no rookie on this topic, the 2021 Propel have fully integrated cables, it just looks cleaner. I know that by having cables exposed gearing is not compromised, BUT I have not heard them talk about gearing efficacy as a significant advantage on this video. The bike's strength lies on components, aerodynamics, stiffness, etc..... If cables were integrated, this would have been a 10/10, and nobody would be talking about gearing performance... I hope they fix this in 2022. I had the bike in front of me, my credit card out, but the exposed cables made me walk away :(
I guess I’ll end in the same situation tomorrow going to check out the bike in real but those cables r my only worry they look really out of place running haywire
Cables is not bad for me. Look trek domane and emonda frame body it looks bigger maybe because they need to change the frame just to hide those cable. If giant tcr do that to their frame then a slim tcr look will be change like how trek latest road bike become
Not relevant to this review, but I just want to say thank you to Michelle as I too have a small face and have bought radar xs and tifosi crit glasses based on your reviews, so thank you
Glad it was helpful! Though I can't take all the credit - Hannah Bussey reviewed the Tifosi crit (and made similar comments about fitting a small face!) If you're in the market again any time soon, the 100% Speedcraft XS was another win for the small face. Happy riding!
Flat backs don't make thinking more Aerodynamic... show me 1 jet or f1 car with a flat back? Those cables are a mess and the Discs aren't Aerodynamic either.
Major redesign, looks the same, big change, major overhaul, on the face of it not much changed, in its design very similar, very subtle aerodynamic facelift. Honestly.... how far has cyclingweekly fallen. Do they just swallow any marketing? I’m not even sure they like cycling anymore!
I thing giants theme with this is don’t fix something that isn’t broken just to follow the latest trend. The bike rides incredible and for the price you’re not getting a better bike.
1:52 what? no a flat back doesn't make it more aero. The waterdrop shape is the most aero. The reason it's flat back is because the UCI has banned pure airfoil shapes.
The comment is "more aerodynamic" not, "the most aerodynamic." There are lots of things brands could do to make bikes more aerodynamic, but we'd all be riding around in pedal powdered space ships designed for salt plaines. Could be fun...
@@MichelleArthursBrennan They specifically said flat back is more aerodynamic. It's literally the least aero shape you can have at the back of a tube shape. Regular metal reynolds tubing has less separation at the end The reason it's flat back is because UCI doesn't allow full airfoil tube shapes. All you have to do is look at any TT bike and you'll see the airfoil shape.
@@MichelleArthursBrennan This isn't a Kammtail tube shape on the seatpost, which is synonymous with an airfoil with the rear tip lopped off. Instead, this is simply a D shape...as in, it's not narrowing back down to an imaginary point in the rear before it gets cut and is thus not directing the airflow to a smooth, less turbulent exit flow. The flat back on this seat tube is purely for moderating the flex characteristics and has nothing to do with the aerodynamics; the shape is actually going to create a fair bit of drag.
@@antoinemaxima6036 how is it overpriced? give another brand that matches it's specs point per point, technically this year they are basically giving away a power meter with their bikes
I had one of these in the galaxy paint scheme built up as a frameset (0 model) with all my favorite goodies and Di2, its hands down the best bike I have EVER owned.
Great news I just bought the frameset to. Hopefully will be ready this weekend
Had? What happened?
@@adrianc6534 oh no, had it built up, not had it period, still the daily driver!
Great bike . I bought the tcr 2021 rim brake version because i have a few sets of carbon and alloy wheels and didn’t want to sell them.
What’s the degree of stem to be flat or parallel to ground?
@@samuraioodon -17
Ritchey and Pro both make OD2 stems, plus the extralite hyper stem comes in 1.25 if you want to go all the way haha.
Great review, I have had a couple of TCR over the years, still ride one of them on occasion and love it, but my only comment is they need to clean-up the cables in front, doesn't have to be integrated, but should not be running wild like they are. That's the reality of "evolution".
Yeah. Can definitely be cleaned up by making them a bit shorter and adding some clear coat protection for the head tube.
Exactly what I was thinking!
Ya thats actually the one reason that i even considered the much more expensive and heavier and less specced trek. I went with better value in the end, but honestly if they even add a hundred bucks and tie the cable abit neatly, this would have been no competition.
Giant offer cable shortening once you set the bike up, Slam the head and shortened cables makes this bike a dream. Granted I wish bike brands would slam the stem stock these days.
Got mine coming in the next week or so ... Cant wait. I've gone for rim brakes as I'm a purist and there's not many mountains where I live where I need that kind of braking performance. My current bike is a defy 1 2014 so this will be my first carbon steed... Can't wait!
How's the TCR going, coming from a Defy?
@@Mububban23 it’s feels much more responsive due to the weight and also more rigid in how it puts the power down. Being a lighter rider, I am destroying the the hills around me 😀 it’s a great bike and no problems with making this upgrade. Very happy 😃
@@pj9375 any updates in the last two weeks? Want to buy one as well and looking forward to your “unbiased” review. Kind regards, Gilly
@@Gillycycling very nice bike. It's quick, responsive and light. I'm on the rim brake version. I'm regularly getting PBs / top 10s and my average is up too (20.7mph today). Power meter is excellent and accurate. I'm light riding a small frame so have noticed it on the climbs and acceleration. Im coming from 2014 defy aluminium. I've made upgrades on this, wheels (Shimano r700 carbon with Alu brake track), closer ratio cassette (it's relatively flat where I ride). It's a quick bike but the TCR is definitely up a level!
Just to add, would I have our purchased this at 3.8k GBP knowing the benefits over my old bike. Probably not. But Im on C2W so c40% savings I can swallow it.
I'm still glad they sell this Frame in rim brake form, I'll grab one soon and build it up with some nice goodies.
It's a shame you can only get advanced pro disc line with those wheels baked into the price. Its not just that I want my own wheels on there, its that these are hookless tubeless wheels, they shouldn't be forcing something like that on us.
The value for money is insane on this bike! Power meter and a good carbon wheelset for 5K! Wow.
it's 3,999 Euro in EU
Prefer the Wilier Filante, specialized Sl which are aero/road frame, the perfect mix for flat or hill cycling
Interestingly the Giant Defy also has a compact geometry but does have dropped seatstays. In fact they introduced this concept on the 2015 models...
I guess dropped seatstays aren't as stiff...after all the key concept of TCR is different from the Defy...
Best bit about the video is the Clash T shirt !
Hi there, Is GIANT TCR ADVANCED PRO 0 DISC & Giant TCR Advanced PRO 1 DISC the same exact bike? or is it just equipped with better components?
i just dont get the whole idea about an integrated seat post (on the pro sl?). sucks when you try to change your fit or sell the bike ugh.
Its stiffer as said on the video. But people with pro sl do sell their bike but it will only appeal to a handful of potential buyer.
hmm, it's said to be lighter and stiffer since there are no cut outs in the frame. Though it's only targeted to pro racers I'll say.
Lighter and stiffer.
Still have 25mm of adjustment
I have the one above this on order. Was supposed to get it in April. got the call yesterday now put back till June ahhhhhhhhhhhh I WANT IT NOW lol
Got the tcr advanced pro 2021 frame set. Great bike,
@MattFisher1973:
With the exception of the “completely disorganized” cable layout, like UA-cam-user @mpaquet7465 says.
Actually just bought a 2021TCR advanced 1+ PC. Bought some ultegra cranks and much lighter pro one TLR tires to go with it.
i’m looking at one of those. do you mind weighing that and in which size ?
Daniel Saba with pedals(heavy base keo looks), 1 bottle cage and wahoo computer mount my scale says 17.9-18lbs. It goes back and forth. Size 58cm.
Saying the tires were average would have made the video more credible... cables look disturbing as well. I think i will go with the di2 version which solves both issues :)
Di2 was out of stock all summer so i ended up getting the team version which i'm a big fan of. I will upgrade to electronic groupset later on. I had to add lead tape to balance the weels and avoid the looping sound. Either way, i crushed all my strava records on the first day out without any biking fitness 😀
I’m what is the exact model of Shimano ultegra group set used giant tcr advanced pro 1?
I don't think that hiding every bit of cable is necessary, I don't mind cables showing. But this bike's cables look a mess. my 2016 Defy did a better job at making the cables look like there was some thought behind it.
@theaveragebear7873:
I couldn’t agree more / I second that.
What size pedals? 1/2 or 9/16
Thanks for reviewing this bike , looks to me like a super value road bike ! 😜
What size are these bike in the video thats the host is riding? What are height is he?
Just ordered this bike but sadly due to COVID I won’t get it until the end of April. Still something to look forward to! Great review and I’m even more certain I made the best choosing this bike. In some ways I would have preferred internal cable routing and drop stays but it’s being very picky and I get why they didn’t do the drop stays now thanks to this video.
Good choice! Enjoy!
Prefer mine in June and was meant to have it next week. Now 5th Jan at the earliest.
Purchased.... not sure where prefer came from. On a happier note, Giant Store gave me 10% off and it was ‘only’ £3599 at the time. I’ll be paying around £550 less than the current asking price.
Nice Ben I ordered mine in October from a Giant dealer in Glasgow. Was supposed to be April like yourself. I got a call yesterday its now delayed till June. I hope you dont get a bad news call bro.
@@ricky7396 ah man that sucks! I’m in France and they said they sold many of these bikes so I’m hoping I get it when they say
One more thing the guy riding the bike has what looks like a strap over his shoe , what system is that ? Very interesting , tell me more about it !
That’s the Rapha Classic shoe. Laces and strap.
Best review so far for that bike
Anyone experience speed wobbles at high speed? Cycling Tips experienced it at 75kmh but they had scribe wheels on, not the included giant wheels
Very useful thing to have. Shaving everything,
The seat stays are so low why make such a big thing about no drop stays? There are a good few companies that make 1 1/4 stems shimano for one. This is a also really dull and doesn't make you want to buy the bike I dont think
Don't buy one then mate somebody else will, but great carbon wheels and a power meter at this price point is a no brainer..!
@@chrisdunn8215 that was kind of my point some of the best value for money and an all out race bike. Yet this as a feature is as dull as dishwater. If I could get my hands on one I probably would
D Fuse seatpost is on the TCR as well? 4:35
No. It's a Giant Variant aero post
D shaped - not D Fuse
@@MichelleArthursBrennan thanks! I have a 2019 TCR Advanced Pro - if the new seat post has better damping capabilities than my current, I might upgrade
Folks at home- don't put your carbon bike on a work stand like they're showing
Completely fine as long as you’re careful and don’t use an excessive amount of force.
@@morekyle64 top tube and carbon in general are not made to resist compressive forces. Always, and I say always, clamp the seatpost. If you accidentaly crack it it's a lot cheaper to buy a new frame
@@morekyle64 No really, it isn't... PLEASE don't think this is the right way to do this. Also, whilst you make a fair point that if careful etc., but isn't it just easier to show the correct way to clamp this, as otherwise people who don't know any better (or haven't read the manual) will over-tighten and crush. The picture is worth far more than a few comments underneath saying it is "fine as long as..."
@@morekyle64 it's also fine to ride without a helmet as long as you don't crash, but incorrect is incorrect
Calvin Jones: “if you can’t clamp a top tube it’s not a bike you want to be riding”
Just bought mine. New for 3300 euros. :)
Why. Why did you clamp the top tube? You should know better
Nice, but I look at this and I see my much missed 2011 Madone P1..... Pretty much the same shape, just a tweek on the tube shapes and yes, this is a disc frame..... But we're talking almost 10 years of design and they're almost the same...... 🤔
I just cannot believe that after many upgrades they still left the cables out ! Beautiful bike but the exposed cables are just hideous. All bikes nowadays are putting some effort on aesthetics, and have been successful at arranging cables in a way that they are not so visible (Trek). Giant is no rookie on this topic, the 2021 Propel have fully integrated cables, it just looks cleaner. I know that by having cables exposed gearing is not compromised, BUT I have not heard them talk about gearing efficacy as a significant advantage on this video. The bike's strength lies on components, aerodynamics, stiffness, etc..... If cables were integrated, this would have been a 10/10, and nobody would be talking about gearing performance... I hope they fix this in 2022. I had the bike in front of me, my credit card out, but the exposed cables made me walk away :(
I guess I’ll end in the same situation tomorrow going to check out the bike in real but those cables r my only worry they look really out of place running haywire
Cables is not bad for me. Look trek domane and emonda frame body it looks bigger maybe because they need to change the frame just to hide those cable. If giant tcr do that to their frame then a slim tcr look will be change like how trek latest road bike become
Giant, please integrate all the cables at the 2022 model. Thats a deal breaker imho.
go for SL or propel. You do not need that on this bike.
Not relevant to this review, but I just want to say thank you to Michelle as I too have a small face and have bought radar xs and tifosi crit glasses based on your reviews, so thank you
Glad it was helpful! Though I can't take all the credit - Hannah Bussey reviewed the Tifosi crit (and made similar comments about fitting a small face!) If you're in the market again any time soon, the 100% Speedcraft XS was another win for the small face. Happy riding!
TCR？YES！
If your height is 180cm and inseam is 826mm would you go for Size M or ML?
@@raymondchin4638 Definitely Size M, that inseam is kind of short for that height.
Tafuck is that stem / spacer combo? 😂
This is the same bloke that had a negative review earlier in the yr on there flag ship tcr ☹️
Im no good at time stamps, but fast forward to 5.12 and that's discussed
5:12
Flat backs don't make thinking more Aerodynamic... show me 1 jet or f1 car with a flat back?
Those cables are a mess and the Discs aren't Aerodynamic either.
Lol, ok
Major redesign, looks the same, big change, major overhaul, on the face of it not much changed, in its design very similar, very subtle aerodynamic facelift. Honestly.... how far has cyclingweekly fallen. Do they just swallow any marketing? I’m not even sure they like cycling anymore!
I thing giants theme with this is don’t fix something that isn’t broken just to follow the latest trend. The bike rides incredible and for the price you’re not getting a better bike.
@@shabado82k2 I’m no worried about the bike. I’m sure it’s great. Just worried about the video intro flip flopping
1:52 what? no a flat back doesn't make it more aero. The waterdrop shape is the most aero. The reason it's flat back is because the UCI has banned pure airfoil shapes.
The comment is "more aerodynamic" not, "the most aerodynamic." There are lots of things brands could do to make bikes more aerodynamic, but we'd all be riding around in pedal powdered space ships designed for salt plaines. Could be fun...
@@MichelleArthursBrennan They specifically said flat back is more aerodynamic. It's literally the least aero shape you can have at the back of a tube shape. Regular metal reynolds tubing has less separation at the end
The reason it's flat back is because UCI doesn't allow full airfoil tube shapes.
All you have to do is look at any TT bike and you'll see the airfoil shape.
Uci has a rule limiting how deep the section of a tubing can be
@@MichelleArthursBrennan This isn't a Kammtail tube shape on the seatpost, which is synonymous with an airfoil with the rear tip lopped off. Instead, this is simply a D shape...as in, it's not narrowing back down to an imaginary point in the rear before it gets cut and is thus not directing the airflow to a smooth, less turbulent exit flow. The flat back on this seat tube is purely for moderating the flex characteristics and has nothing to do with the aerodynamics; the shape is actually going to create a fair bit of drag.
flat back or truncated profile tubing does not make it more aerodynamic
Advertising... nice bling but cmon.
Few spacers XD
it’s only popular because it’s a budget bike
Its quite overpriced, just like specialized and the other chinese bikes.
Get a clue.
LOL a few salty folks spotted.
@@antoinemaxima6036 how is it overpriced? give another brand that matches it's specs point per point, technically this year they are basically giving away a power meter with their bikes
@@TeeeJaay1225 The power meter retails for £800 from Giant UK. Love Giant TCR bikes.
Not a very clean front end. I'll pass.