welcome to just ride bikes and this the all-new giant TCR Advanced SL. And today I'll tell you all about the bike, give you a tour, all the changes and improvements, how much lighter it is, and aerodynamics, and so on. Go for a first ride. And also, which I'm really excited to do, show you exclusively how the bike is actually made because Giant have invited me here to Taiwan to the HQ to see firsthand how the bike is actually made. So really exciting. There will be a more in-depth video on the manufacturing process coming very soon, so make sure you stay tuned for that. But today, let's focus on the bike, the changes, and my first impressions. So let's dive in. The TCR platform is now 28 years old, and this is a 10th Generation model, and it's still positioned as a total race bike, the perfect all-rounder. Yes, the new bike looks very similar to the old bike, which I personally love. It's a classic silhouette, and I particularly love the non-dropped RAR.

stays, but when you zoom in closer to the bike, you realize the extent of the changes. And naturally, it's lighter, stiffer, and more Arrow than the old bike, which is what we want, right? We don't want heavier, slower, and flex bikes, do we? No. But finding improvements on road race bikes these days is getting harder and harder. But Giant wasn't deterred by this and really drove forward with innovation in carbon fiber manufacturing, using 40 years of expertise in carbon manufacturing to find improvements across the board. There's no one standout improvement; it's a sum of all the parts that really contribute to the extra performance this bike offers. Giant is claiming 690 grand for the top-level SL frame, down from 765 G, while a complete bike is 6.4 kilos, down from 6.7 kilos, which compares well with Tarmac SL8, which is about 6.5 to 6.6 kilos. It's also the stiffest TSHR ever made, and it's more Arrow than the old bike. Giant

developed an all-new two profile for frame and handlebar. And in its wintime testing conducted at 40 km per h with a moving dummy, it's claiming a 2.2 W saving for the frame, a complete bike of just over 4 W. That's not a lot, I know, and is enough to challenge the likes of a Tac SR8. We'll have to wait and see, but we now have full internal routing as first seen on a Propel AA bike and a defi endurance bike. So the hoses go underneath the stem into the frame via a d-shaped steer tube. It's also the stiffest TCR ever made. Yes, the near bike retains the seat MK, but only on the Range topping SL. Giant offers its weight compliance and aerodynamics and benefits of this design. Lower TCL models get a regular seat post. It's also a disc brake bike only. There is no longer a TCR with Rim brakes, and tire clearance is largely the same. So clearly the company felt that was enough for a race bike. I think.

Wide tires might have been nicer, but they could argue that if you want bigger tires, then you choose a defi, which goes up to 38 mm. Giants explained to me that while the goal was to make the TCR lighter, stiffer, and more aero, actually achieving their goals was very challenging. With this new bike, Giant hasn't just focused on a frame and a fork. They launched the CX Wheels in 2019, and the new bike, they've really taken a system optimization approach. We've heard other brands do this in the past, like Cervelo with their system integration, or Si for short, and trying to extract as much performance as possible from the entire bike has led them to rework the wheels, the tires, the handlebar, the frame, and fork together to give improvements across the board. They claim that the combination of linear drag improvements, the rotational drag savings, and also the rolling resistance efficiency of the new tires gives a combined drag saving of 12 watts. Next up was Red driving its innovation in carbon.

fiber manufacturing this whether magic really happens and something we got to see firsthand. There's a separate video coming to the channel very soon, so stay tuned for that. This includes a new carbon manufacturing process called cold blade, a cutting process that improves the accuracy of the cutting, meaning they can create more complex shapes and use less pieces of carbon in the frame. So, a new SL frame is now made up of just 270 pieces of carbon compared to 330 on the old bike, saving weight and improving the performance. Furthermore, the front half of the frame is now molded as one piece. This means they use a single bladder rather than three as they did on the old bike, and even the paint process is new, which saves weight on the bike. As with the previous TCR, there are three levels to choose from, and prices start from £2,700 and go right up to £122,000. At the top tree is the SL using Advanced SL gray carbon fiber in a fork and a frame, the best of the best. In the middle is

the Pro with an advanced-grade carbon frame and the same SL Fork as on the top-level bike. And then the entry-level advanc gets the same Advanced-grade frame as on a pro but a non-SL fork. Giant first launched a cadex wheel range back in 2019 and today launched with a brand new Max 40 wheel set as featured on a range chopping SL. This is a wheel set designed for GC (General Classification) Rider and use a 14 mm Rim which gives away some air performance for low weight and crosswind stability. The hit scales at a claimed and very impressive 1,249 G which is about the same as the new Factor 4858 Wheels launched the other week. The wheels used a thin carbon F spoke integrated into thin carbon air flanges for maximum power transfer. Completing the raft of new product announcements, it's a brand new CeX race GC Tire. It's tubeless only with a 240 TPI construction which improves rolling efficiency by a claimed 6.6 watts.

compared to the old tires on a previous KN generation TCR, so as you've learned while the new bike looks very similar to the old bike, there are lots and lots of changes and improvements under underneath the paint. But how does it actually ride? Well, there's one way to find out. There's a big bunch rolling out of the hotel ni get out of the city into the countryside heading towards some hills. R are really good, really smooth, no potholes, no traffic either, a lovely afternoon for a bike ride. Now, this is just a first ride, so I won't go too much into detail about what it's all about because, well, unfamiliar roads, it's boiling hot, the humidity is just insane, and I I wait till I get home ride a bike on familiar roads and spend a bit more time on it, really, really. But I'll give you a bit of flavor straight from the saddle, unfiltered, and well, it's a 6.4 kilo stiff lightweight Arrow race bike, 6.8 kilos or just under for my size ml with.

pedals parameter and computer so super lightweight, and it does remind me, unsurprisingly, of a tac8. Has that same kind of lack of mass when you're sprinting, when you're climbing. We just did a climb just now, my rate through the roof, but the bike was just going so well. Re wasn't holding me back, my fitness definitely was, but the stiffness is really standing out. The wheels are Mega stiff as well, you really feel that straight away. They are apparently stiffer than the lightweights which are ridden in the past, and they are bloody stiff wheels, and these are stiffer, and that really has a big impact on the riding the bike. The frame Fork hanar stiffer too, but I think the wheels are making a big difference into how the bike is riding today, and it feels way more direct, the response of noce through the roof compared to that tarmac, which is no flexing noodle, but if by your feels on another planet of stiffness. So I can't wait to try the bike with some different

wheels, and see how much is the wheels, and how much of the frame, and fork, and handlebar. But what I like about the bike is how it handles and rides pretty much the same as a TCR always has done, which no bad thing, and let's be honest, the TCR is a no-brainer easy choice if you want a race bike. Good value for money, quality engineering, and manufacturing as I've seen firsthand. Great geometry, does what you want, maybe not a flashy bike in the world, but I think the paint job and the bike is pretty swish. Do you like in new bike then loving it faster, lighter, stiffer. Is it easy being retired now, enjoying the life as an ex-cyclist? Don't miss it at all, it's definitely much easier. Yeah, you still ride, definitely more enjoyable. Yeah, yeah, I still, I still ride quite often, especially in like the beta season. Okay, yeah, like summer, yes. Less in the winter when it's raining and cold. Less in the winter, yeah, start, we're running in the

winter running. Wow, okay. Every time I see 5-6° in rain, I ask myself the question why. Would I so I don't go out than that with anymore. Actually, the so the weight of the new bike is very impressive and the frame it's about the same as a specialized Tac S8, but a complete bike is lighter, partly due to the new cadex wheels. So on the weight front, the bike really impresses, but the arrow improvements are pretty marginal, about 4 watts claimed. And your bike, the first TTR to get an arrow makeover, wasn't exactly the most AOW, the fastest bike in this category. So I can't wait to see how the bike compares to T and have a lightweight AOW around us and whether they've done enough to compete with those rivals and the win over people who might reasonably have expected a bit more arrow. So let me know what you think by leaving a comment down below. And it's clear that Giants are really focused on weight and stiffness more than arrow. I guess they could have

got more Arrow because the Propel shows uh the AO capabilities um, but they have designed a bike for a GC Rider, a rider who will be sheltered in a bunch and doesn't really need all that Arrow because they're not out in the wind until the final decide to move, uh, but if you go head-to-head with a rider on a Super 6 Evo or T8, will this bike hold you back, um, well, a big question mark really, and hopefully we'll see some wind Tel testing and some real-world testing myself and other, uh, people passing the bike against our key Rivals over the coming weeks and months. I've not R talked about Comfort much or compliance, um, as say the buzzword these days because the roads are so smooth that Comfort hasn't been an issue at all. The bike is comfortable, the fit is good for me at 181 CM on a size ml, um, so yeah, Comfort out here been fine, and really I can't comment on it anymore, um, until I get home and ride this bike, hopefully on my local roads, which are in

a much worse state than the lovely roads out here in Taiwan, which are pretty stunning, it has to be said. The few cracks and broken bits of tarmac I have encountered, the bike has really shrugged them off just fine, really. And then the new tires, so Giant Cadex, have been pushing the tires for the last few years, and I haven't been like blown away, to be honest, certainly not enough to tempt you away from uh Cony GP 5000 or Victoria Corser Speed or Control, but I think a new tire, um, it's a good step forward. I hope to see some independent rolling resistance testing against the key rival soon, but in terms of that secure feeling when you're bombing down a descent you've never been down before, I've been absolutely banking the bike every in corners, and they grip for days. So yeah, they seem fine, really. So likes, I love the weight or lack of weight. I love the fact they kept the classic look of the bike, the non-drop rear stays, um, I love the improvements and

stiffness and error. I mean hard to measure today how much difference they make, but nice to have. Not going to turn your nose up against those sorts of improvements, are you? Dislikes well, tire clearance isn't much wider. The freehub makes an absolute racket. They have an interesting decision on their bike. This is a range-topping bike, and riding 12 grand back in the UK. It's not a speet with a KN of One Piece Cadex carbon AA handlebar and stem. We have a carbon handlebar and a separate stem. Pros and cons, they're both systems, of course, but for a bike trying to extract as much performance as possible, not to get the marginal Aero benefits of that one-piece handlebar and stem seems a slightly odd decision. And also, I think people buying this sort of bike might expect, demand, and want that one-piece carbon handlebar and stem. The Tarmac has it, Trek has it, Canyon and so on, so perhaps a missed opportunity. Now there are benefits to a two-piece system.

change the stem length andle bar width much more easily than a one piece. So yeah interesting one. I'm not sure where it's move. I don't mind a two-piece bar stem but should they fited a one piece. And because talking about Arrow, it's worth mentioning the new Propel launched last year, which is in the same top end trim 6.9 kilos, so not much heavier but for a lot more Arrow. Now They Ride very differently, their bike is much sharper and more agile, it's a much more lively character than the Propel, which more purposeful than playful. And it's this bike light enough to justify buying it over the Propel. I love the way it bik rides, it's more exciting for me than a Propel and definitely clim better. You know, once you get away from the city and all the manufacturing plants out here in the Hills, they're R love mean look around me sort of subtropical jungle Vibes nice quiet roads, so unfamiliar sound of birds chirping.

trees, but yeah riding is spectacular. Really, really interesting place. Really enjoying it, but let me tell you, the humidity, the heat is just something else. It is real, it's a killer, but having a lot of fun. Yeah, Taiwan has been an eye-opening place, really fascinating place, uh, the center of bicycle manufacturing as we all know, but really nice to see what the riding around here is like. Quite the bike, huh? Quite a bike indeed. You know what, the TCR makes riding too easy. It's too light, it's too stiff, it's too fast. I mean, where's the challenge, where's the test? But hey, what a lot of fun to ride. I do like a TCR, maybe unbiased, but I think they make great bikes. I love the engineering, the value for money, their no-nonsense approach to selling bikes, right? That concludes today's first ride. We got another ride planned tomorrow, but the embargo is pretty tight, so I try and do what I can. But right now, I need a very, very cold shower and a cold, cold drink. Sweat is pouring off me.

but what a fun ride. The bike is fantastic. It's not a revolution, very much an evolution, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it sort of man. But they have improved it in so many different areas. The handling, still classic TCR, fantastic. Geometry, stack, reach, trail, all those numbers just worked so well. It's still very much a race bike, quite pointy, quite fast steering, but it's not a bike that if you don't race, you can't enjoy. You can't untap the potential the bike clearly offers. I can't wait to get my hands on a bike back home for testing, maybe in a more modest trim, pro model, Ultegra, something like that. Yeah, been a fun day, so hopefully this video has given you an overview of what the new bike is all about. It's definitely first impressions, nothing in depth. I'll wait till I get my hands on a bike back home in the UK to really put it through its paces on roads I'm more familiar with and conditions that aren't quite so hot and humid.

I'm not complaining, just not used to it, that's all. Got any questions about the bike, feel free to put a comment down below. Um, and subscribe to the channel by hitting that button down there if you want to see more content on a bike. Coming very soon, lots to talk about with the bike. I think it's a pretty exciting launch this year. Anyway, that's all for now. Thank you so much for watching. I'll see you again very soon.

New Giant TCR Advanced SL Quick Review: It looks the same but is it better?

New Giant TCR Advanced SL Quick Review: It looks the same but is it better?

Scripts