Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hi Folks,

I am looking at upgrading my road bike soon. I race locally in road races and crits, and would prefer something with a full carbon frame and Dura Ace groupset.

My local bike shop currently has the 2011 Giant TCR Advanced SL 1 on run out for $3600, along with the 2012 model for $4000.

The 2012 model has the Overdrive 2 steerer (thicker and supposedly stiffer front end, allegedly offering better steering and handling etc.), Giant's Ridesense speed/cadence sensor and compatibility to upgrade to Di2 later if so desired. The frame is also supposedly slightly lighter than the 2011 model, or so I'm told.

The 2011 model, however, comes with Dura-Ace 7900 C24 clinchers, which are seemingly considerably better than the Giant P-SLR1 wheels fitted to the 2012 model. It does not have RideSense, and although Di2 can probably be added, it is a lot trickier to do so in terms of locating the battery etc. This doesn't worry me as I'm probably unlikely to consider adding Di2 as mechanical Dura-Ace should be sufficient for my needs.

I plan to eventually upgrade the wheelset to a set of 50mm clinchers for racing regardless of which bike I purchase, but should I go with the 2011 model seeing though it's slightly cheaper and comes with better spec wheels, or am I better off paying slightly more for the 2012 model with it's revised frame, Ridesense sensor and steerer?

go the 2012, the ridesence, better front end makes up for it.
the stock giant wheels are actually bloody good, i couldnt fault the P-SL0's i had on my giant. infact i wish i still had them..

2013 Model SL1 with 9000 can be had for $4400

rabobank89 wrote:2013 Model SL1 with 9000 can be had for $4400

Where?

Edit: i was getting confused between the SL 0 with Di2 and the SL1 with mechanical DA 9000. $4400 is still a ripper of a deal though.

Just a quick update....

I contacted my local bike shop earlier today to try and haggle a deal for either bike.

Basically they advised me that they would be willing to drop the price of the 2011 model to $3300.

They refused to drop the price on the 2012 model as it has already been reduced quite considerably to $4000. I asked about the possibility of swapping the stock Giant wheels for Dura-Ace 7900 C24 clinchers (as per the 2011 model) and was told that this would cost an extra $350, bringing the revised total to $4350.

I didn't bother asking about extras such as free servicing, bike fit and pedals and shoes etc, as it was close to closing time and I was advised that this can all be negotiated at the time of purchase once I've decided which model to proceed with.

Rabobank89, care to share where you can purchase the 2013 model from at $4400? That's a bargain!

http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/bicycles ... /102209402" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



As Requested

Dude, I purchased a 2012 SL1 for $4k early last year.. That bike shop sucks

As far as extras go, I wouldn't bother buying anything local i.e: Shoes, pedals....

Search the forum more thoroughly and check out merlin, bikebug, ribble and wiggle for all your extras.

Thanks heaps for that, it's much appreciated!

Only problem is they don't ship outside of WA. Mmmm, maybe I can talk the missus into a short holiday???

Yeah, I wasn't too impressed with their price on the 2012 model, and I'd be looking at purchasing extras from the sites that you've recommended if they can't be included in the deal.

What do you think of the PSLR-1 wheels on the 2012 model?

Just call giant dealers around you locally and ask them to do the same price...

PSLR-1's are great depending on your weight. I personally love them, they are light, strong and made in conjunction with DT Swiss and certainly comparable with dura ace c24's.. I rode a set for about 5000km before getting injured.

Just picked up a 2013 sl1 with DA9000, put about 220km on it over the weekend. Do yourself a favour and get one. For 4.4k they are simply outstanding value.

doggatas wrote:Just picked up a 2013 sl1 with DA9000, put about 220km on it over the weekend. Do yourself a favour and get one. For 4.4k they are simply outstanding value.

Is DA9000 that much better than 7900? Everyone keeps raving about it..

rabobank89 wrote:
Is DA9000 that much better than 7900? Everyone keeps raving about it..

The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...

Oh, I see. And most bikes go up to ten?

Exactly.

Does that mean it's faster? Is it any faster?

Well, it's one faster, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be riding at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your bike. Where can you go from there? Where?

I don't know.

Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?

Put it up to eleven.

Eleven. Exactly. One faster.


Why don't you just make ten faster and make ten be the top number and make that a little faster?

[pause] These go to eleven.

Mate, I couldn't care less about 11, 7, 9, 10 speed bikes. When i started riding 10 speed was the norm and it was what was available at my price point. I serverly crashed my 10 speed bike and my lovely insurance company decided to cover my loss.

The equivalent Giant bike happened to be the TCR Advanced SL1 with 11 speed Dura Ace 9000. Is the DA 9000 better than DA7900?? Based on the 220kms I covered on the weekend, my early impressions are yes, yes in every single way.

Is this because of the "extra" gear? NO, I put it down to the crisper shifting and better ergos (will be even better when i put my 3T shallow drop bars on it) and hot damn it looks fantastic in the flesh.

I am a reasonably heavy guy and struggle on the steeper pinches (8%+), the stock bike comes with 11-25 cassette, ideally I would like a 12-28, which is the old 10 speed 12-25 with the 28 bailout gear. More than happy to forgo the 11 for the 28, 53*12 is more than enough for my top end efforts. So when I do purchase a 12-28, in my opinion 11 speeds are better.


Basically I couldn't actually decipher the point you were trying to make, so I assumed you were having a blast at 11 speed transmissions.

doggatas wrote: Basically I couldn't actually decipher the point you were trying to make, so I assumed you were having a blast at 11 speed transmissions.

Apologies - it was a lame joke with a quote from the Spinal Tap movie changed to cycling instead of amplifiers. Should have made it clearer...

No need to apologise, was a good prompt to explain that the 11th gear you get with DA9000 is simply just a bonus.