2017 Range

li2099
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby li2099 » Thu Sep 08, 2016 10:46 pm

Ok gotcha.
That means they aren't compatible with each other.

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Mububban
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Mububban » Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:24 pm

I decided to test ride a road bike last weekend, hoping to find a runout 2016 Defy, and ended up putting a 2017 Contend SL1 Disc on layby. $1500 down from $1900 as it was a cancelled order they wanted to shift. This will be my first road bike, can't wait

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/contend-sl-1-disc
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stevenaaus
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby stevenaaus » Sun Sep 11, 2016 2:05 pm

Mububban wrote:I decided to test ride a road bike last weekend, hoping to find a runout 2016 Defy, and ended up putting a 2017 Contend SL1 Disc on layby. $1500 down from $1900 as it was a cancelled order they wanted to shift. This will be my first road bike, can't wait

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/contend-sl-1-disc
That's a good deal for a new 105 equipped bike. Nice colour too.
Brakes Giant Conduct, semi-hydraulic, 160mm
Semi-hydraulic... Never heard of that one before. But i'd bet they're better than the cable disk on my 2016 Advanced.

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Mububban
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Mububban » Sun Sep 11, 2016 5:49 pm

stevenaaus wrote:Semi-hydraulic... Never heard of that one before. But i'd bet they're better than the cable disk on my 2016 Advanced.
I'll be interested to see how many models adopt this hybrid hydraulic system or if it's a one-off experiment that gets shelved. The idea is that any mechanical levers can be used with it so it opens up a range of options for upgrades. Just a short mechanical cable feeding into the converter and it's hydraulic from there, they do talk about retaining the hydraulic feel. I have no frame of reference :)

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/global/showcase/conduct/

I have lost a fair bit of usable handlebar real estate. It does include a Garmin and universal mount system so my Fly12 is now underneath the brake converter unit.
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cyclotaur
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby cyclotaur » Sun Sep 11, 2016 6:01 pm

Can you get an accurate weight of the bike - without your add-ons, of course?

I'd be really interested in that. :wink:
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Mububban
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Mububban » Mon Sep 12, 2016 9:49 am

cyclotaur wrote:Can you get an accurate weight of the bike - without your add-ons, of course?

I'd be really interested in that. :wink:
Sorry, I posted it in another thread.

Before I put my lights or reflectors on it I weighed it at 9.905kg, which includes 415g of my old Shimano SPD pedals and a plastic Bontrager bottle cage (both fitted when I picked it up). So call it 9.49kg without pedals or any accessories.

So not a super lightweight, disc brakes and disc wheels add weight I guess, but my almost 6 year old son was pretty chuffed he can lift it clear off the ground without too much trouble :)
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby stevenaaus » Sun Sep 18, 2016 7:59 pm

Mububban wrote:
stevenaaus wrote:Semi-hydraulic... Never heard of that one before. But i'd bet they're better than the cable disk on my 2016 Advanced.
I'll be interested to see how many models adopt this hybrid hydraulic system or if it's a one-off experiment that gets shelved. The idea is that any mechanical levers can be used with it so it opens up a range of options for upgrades. Just a short mechanical cable feeding into the converter and it's hydraulic from there, they do talk about retaining the hydraulic feel. I have no frame of reference :)

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/global/showcase/conduct/

I have lost a fair bit of usable handlebar real estate. It does include a Garmin and universal mount system so my Fly12 is now underneath the brake converter unit.
Wow, what an unusual design. I can see where they are coming from, but hmmm....it's not very attractive imho,
and i crowd up my bars already, so i can imagine that's an issue. How is the stopping ?

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Mububban
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Mububban » Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:53 pm

stevenaaus wrote: Wow, what an unusual design. I can see where they are coming from, but hmmm....it's not very attractive imho,
and i crowd up my bars already, so i can imagine that's an issue. How is the stopping ?
Stopping feels fine, nice and easy to control although I've only had a very short test ride on a Reid with mechanical disc brakes for comparison. Those felt a bit stiffer and were noticeably louder.

I threw together a video of the bike after my first decent ride (42km is decent for me hehehe), jump to 5:09 for a look at the hydraulic unit.




I can't wait to log some more km on this bike. I'm almost 40 and this is just an entirely new experience for me :)
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby stevenaaus » Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:40 pm

Mububban wrote:Before I put my lights or reflectors on it I weighed it at 9.905kg, which includes 415g of my old Shimano SPD pedals and a plastic Bontrager bottle cage (both fitted when I picked it up)
For reference - my (medium sized) Giants are
2013 Defy 3 (sora, aluxx frame/carbon forks) is ~ 9.5kg including 420gm spd pedals and drink cage.
2016 Defy Advanced 2 (105, carbon, mechanical disks) is ~ 9.3kg including 350gm spd pedals + 2 cages

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Re: 2017 Range

Postby stevenaaus » Wed Sep 21, 2016 10:29 pm

Great review... cheers. :)

Those brakes are freaky alright. The pull through action is quite bizarre. Disc brakes are a conundrum ... It's a better design; more power, wet weather no probs, and wheels stay true better, but maybe they just can't be done cheap....

fergy1987
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby fergy1987 » Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:37 pm

How come Australia only has the Contend SL Disc and the Contend range here? Doing a bit of research it appears that there is a Contend SL model with rim brakes.

What would the reason be behind skipping a whole model for those who didn't want Disc brakes but what a decent groupset

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cyclotaur
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby cyclotaur » Thu Sep 22, 2016 1:18 pm

fergy1987 wrote:How come Australia only has the Contend SL Disc and the Contend range here? Doing a bit of research it appears that there is a Contend SL model with rim brakes.

What would the reason be behind skipping a whole model for those who didn't want Disc brakes but what a decent groupset
Yes indeedy !!

I'd love to get hold of the Aluxx SL rim-brake framed Contend SL1 - I like Alu frame/rim braked bikes and to only be offered discs on the SL frame or the lower spec Aluxx is very annoying.

That operating arrangement on the disc bike looks a bit of a bodge anyway. I reckon they do it to a price point more than any other reason like 'allowing choice of shifters' - what tosh...
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby fergy1987 » Thu Sep 22, 2016 1:55 pm

cyclotaur wrote:
fergy1987 wrote:How come Australia only has the Contend SL Disc and the Contend range here? Doing a bit of research it appears that there is a Contend SL model with rim brakes.

What would the reason be behind skipping a whole model for those who didn't want Disc brakes but what a decent groupset
Yes indeedy !!

I'd love to get hold of the Aluxx SL rim-brake framed Contend SL1 - I like Alu frame/rim braked bikes and to only be offered discs on the SL frame or the lower spec Aluxx is very annoying.

That operating arrangement on the disc bike looks a bit of a bodge anyway. I reckon they do it to a price point more than any other reason like 'allowing choice of shifters' - what tosh...
I want the Disc model but the price is just a bit too high at the moment for me to bite. But I feel like if they had the Rim brake SL model at a decent price point I would probably take the compromise of no disc brakes. And I cant justify $1100 for a Sora groupset when you were getting the old Defy models with Sora for like 800 bucks

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Re: 2017 Range

Postby 2wheels_mond » Thu Sep 22, 2016 2:38 pm

fergy1987 wrote:How come Australia only has the Contend SL Disc and the Contend range here? Doing a bit of research it appears that there is a Contend SL model with rim brakes.

What would the reason be behind skipping a whole model for those who didn't want Disc brakes but what a decent groupset
I can only assume Giant have seen low demand for aluminium rim-braked models in Australia. For 2015 they dropped the TCR SLR from their range which was the TCR's aluminium framed equivalent, and it seems now the same has happened to the Contend.

I agree with the above posters in that it's sad to see this dropped, but I can only assume Giant must be making carbon so cheaply that it's barely worth their while to bother with the aluminium versions. Interesting when the CAAD12, at a very similar level, is a huge seller for Cannondale.

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cyclotaur
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby cyclotaur » Thu Sep 22, 2016 4:23 pm

2wheels_mond wrote:
fergy1987 wrote:How come Australia only has the Contend SL Disc and the Contend range here? Doing a bit of research it appears that there is a Contend SL model with rim brakes.

What would the reason be behind skipping a whole model for those who didn't want Disc brakes but what a decent groupset
I can only assume Giant have seen low demand for aluminium rim-braked models in Australia. For 2015 they dropped the TCR SLR from their range which was the TCR's aluminium framed equivalent, and it seems now the same has happened to the Contend.

I agree with the above posters in that it's sad to see this dropped, but I can only assume Giant must be making carbon so cheaply that it's barely worth their while to bother with the aluminium versions. Interesting when the CAAD12, at a very similar level, is a huge seller for Cannondale.
...but if you want an al-frame Synapse ( 'dale's endurance range) it's the same as Giant - crappy (by all accounts...) Promax discs with 105 or only Sora with rim brakes.

I've trawled GIANT, Cannondale and others for a decent alu frame I can build up with full 105 or perhaps even Ultegra but they're scarce and rarely offered as a frame only. I could by the cheapest alu bike from Cannondale, maybe Focus or Scott, or even Vitus (from c r c) and strip off the gruppo, but the cheaper models also often come with lumpier cockpit components as well.

Yet I saw recently on CyclingTips a boutique US alu-frame maker 'rediscovering' the qualities of the material and 'hand-crafting' bespoke frames, though mainly for crit-style bikes.
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby 2wheels_mond » Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:28 pm

cyclotaur wrote:...but if you want an al-frame Synapse ( 'dale's endurance range) it's the same as Giant - crappy (by all accounts...) Promax discs with 105 or only Sora with rim brakes.

I've trawled GIANT, Cannondale and others for a decent alu frame I can build up with full 105 or perhaps even Ultegra but they're scarce and rarely offered as a frame only. I could by the cheapest alu bike from Cannondale, maybe Focus or Scott, or even Vitus (from c r c) and strip off the gruppo, but the cheaper models also often come with lumpier cockpit components as well.

Yet I saw recently on CyclingTips a boutique US alu-frame maker 'rediscovering' the qualities of the material and 'hand-crafting' bespoke frames, though mainly for crit-style bikes.
I wouldn't despair, there's still some decent aluminium bikes out there. The Trek Emonda ALR is pretty decent, very lightweight, although you have to get the top model (the Ultegra ALR 6) to get a full carbon fork, and you have to deal with their silly bottom bracket system.

Best of the lot to me seems the Ridley Helium SLA - light aluminium frame, full carbon fork, threaded bottom bracket, only comes in 2 pretty boring paint jobs though.

Felt FR30 seems good too. Full carbon fork, light aluminium frame, available with full 105 group, although Felts have never really been a successful budget brand in Australia like they have overseas.

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Re: 2017 Range

Postby cyclotaur » Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:22 pm

2wheels_mond wrote:
cyclotaur wrote:...but if you want an al-frame Synapse ( 'dale's endurance range) it's the same as Giant - crappy (by all accounts...) Promax discs with 105 or only Sora with rim brakes.

I've trawled GIANT, Cannondale and others for a decent alu frame I can build up with full 105 or perhaps even Ultegra but they're scarce and rarely offered as a frame only. I could by the cheapest alu bike from Cannondale, maybe Focus or Scott, or even Vitus (from c r c) and strip off the gruppo, but the cheaper models also often come with lumpier cockpit components as well.

Yet I saw recently on CyclingTips a boutique US alu-frame maker 'rediscovering' the qualities of the material and 'hand-crafting' bespoke frames, though mainly for crit-style bikes.
I wouldn't despair, there's still some decent aluminium bikes out there. The Trek Emonda ALR is pretty decent, very lightweight, although you have to get the top model (the Ultegra ALR 6) to get a full carbon fork, and you have to deal with their silly bottom bracket system.

Best of the lot to me seems the Ridley Helium SLA - light aluminium frame, full carbon fork, threaded bottom bracket, only comes in 2 pretty boring paint jobs though.

Felt FR30 seems good too. Full carbon fork, light aluminium frame, available with full 105 group, although Felts have never really been a successful budget brand in Australia like they have overseas.
I have been tempted by the alu-Endurance offerings from Canyon .... but it's hard to know how they ride without (m)any reviews on them. Specs look great though...

https://www.canyon.com/en-au/road/endur ... l-6-0.htmlFull 105, carbon post, Aksium wheels for $1600 plus delivery. 8.1 kgs w/o pedals. (Full Ultegra for $1900 plus Delivery.....)
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Mububban » Fri Sep 23, 2016 1:23 pm

cyclotaur wrote: I have been tempted by the alu-Endurance offerings from Canyon .... but it's hard to know how they ride without (m)any reviews on them.




I've got no buyer's remorse about getting the Contend, being my first road bike I wanted to get it from a shop I got a good vibe from. But if I'd known Canyon were selling to Australia and has seen the AL 6.0, things might have been different....but then I'd set myself a $1500 budget and it would have been $1900 including shipping. I'm just lucky I scored a discount on the Contend SL1.
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby fergy1987 » Fri Sep 23, 2016 1:34 pm

Mububban wrote:
cyclotaur wrote: I have been tempted by the alu-Endurance offerings from Canyon .... but it's hard to know how they ride without (m)any reviews on them.




I've got no buyer's remorse about getting the Contend, being my first road bike I wanted to get it from a shop I got a good vibe from. But if I'd known Canyon were selling to Australia and has seen the AL 6.0, things might have been different....but then I'd set myself a $1500 budget and it would have been $1900 including shipping. I'm just lucky I scored a discount on the Contend SL1.
I am definitely jealous of your Contend :P

Wait its $400 bucks to ship a bike!!! here I was thinking it was just going to be $9.99 flat rate shipping - well off to the LBS for me I think!

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Re: 2017 Range

Postby cyclotaur » Fri Sep 23, 2016 2:36 pm

^^ Canyon Endurace AL 105 is $1599 plus $200 shipping.

So $1799 all up, against the usual price of $1900 for a new Contend SL1 Disc. So the Canyon is still $100 cheaper, and nearly 1 kg lighter.

But I'd still be tempted by a Contend SL1 105 rim-braked bike....if only we could get 'em here !! :roll:
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby stevenaaus » Sun Sep 25, 2016 10:47 am

Yeah - the "warm fuzzy" thing was big on my initial bike purchase too.
I'd never really thought seriously about buying a road bike though people told me too.
Changing to drop bars seemed too hard. But in the *local* bike store i saw a shiny black defy 3 and thought "thats exactly the sort of road bike i need".
In retrospect, i would have been better buying a second hand bike, but at the time was unsure about fixing them up .... i'd never even riden one before. And it easily took me a 100km before i felt remotely comfortable riding it.

Probably the reason for going disc only on these models is
- Aus is a relatively small market , and old floor stock becomes an issue with too many models.
- Lower end alum/rim-brake bikes can be got for bargains in the second-hand market, which is a little flooded.

EDIT
There is also a - different type of - hybrid brake on this new Reid bike.
https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/blog/re ... ike-review

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Mububban
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Mububban » Tue Sep 27, 2016 12:22 am

stevenaaus wrote: There is also a - different type of - hybrid brake on this new Reid bike.
https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/blog/re ... ike-review
The alloy model is, shall we say, heavily inspired by the Giant Defy

Image
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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Duck! » Tue Sep 27, 2016 1:46 pm

fergy1987 wrote:How come Australia only has the Contend SL Disc and the Contend range here? Doing a bit of research it appears that there is a Contend SL model with rim brakes.

What would the reason be behind skipping a whole model for those who didn't want Disc brakes but what a decent groupset
Because being a relatively small player in the global market, Giant Australia need to rationalise their range to what they expect to be the best sellers. That's why the TCR SLR didn't stick around; they simply didn't sell well enough for Giant Aus to consider keeping them in the local range.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: 2017 Range

Postby stevenaaus » Mon Oct 03, 2016 7:46 am

Mububban wrote:
stevenaaus wrote: There is also a - different type of - hybrid brake on this new Reid bike.
https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/blog/re ... ike-review
The alloy model is, shall we say, heavily inspired by the Giant Defy

Image
Reid probably buy them straight from Taiwan without the decals. Historically, Giant are well known for making other peoples frames i think.
Image
(https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/defy-1-disc-2016)

Meanwhile.... I'm swapping my 2016 32t cassette and med. cage out for a 28t and short cage now i'm a bit stronger up hills.
Geez, if only i'd bought the 2015 model i would have saved myself a motza!
Oh well... I will keep the 32t in the box.. still a handy piece of kit. I'll probably die next Ride-the-Range. :twisted:

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Re: 2017 Range

Postby Duck! » Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:52 am

stevenaaus wrote:
Meanwhile.... I'm swapping my 2016 32t cassette and med. cage out for a 28t and short cage now i'm a bit stronger up hills.
No need to change the derailleur; the upper body, which governs sprocket clearance, therefore shifting efficiency, is the same for both versions, so you won't get any benefit from the shorter cage. You'll just have a few links less chain.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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