Giant Propel

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Carrots
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Location: Adelaide

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Carrots » Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:43 pm

So new brakes installed, kinda tweaked and ridden.

Brakes are far, far, far...far more responsive. And the best part - no squeak!

Can't recall what the DA7900's like on my other bike, but these would be somewhere in the ball park of the standard Sram Red 22 brakes on the Cervelo I rode the other day.

Install was pretty easy with exception of they seem to be a bit more Euro orientated - cable adjuster is on the right side and not left like factory brakes. Only headache this cause was cable was too short so needed new front cable (wouldn't have been an issue had I not decided to do it last minute Friday night...!). Likewise rear cable was a tad short but just fitted (couldn't be bothered re running it, will do when change over the bars).

So worth the $370? For the bulk part - 99% yes. Th 1% is because I should I have tried some Swisstop pads first just to rule the pads out.

The kit comes with Swisstop blacks and is all they suggest you use.

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:34 pm

This seller is currently away until Feb 04, 2014. If you make a purchase, there may be a delay in processing your order.
:cry:

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Carrots
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Location: Adelaide

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Carrots » Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:43 pm

Chinese New Year. The upside is they send them with Fedex so you'll get it within by early the week after this one if you ordered now.

Benny_SL
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Benny_SL » Mon Mar 03, 2014 1:34 pm

I've placed an order as well. My stock SL1 brakes kept popping springs and pulling through.

Changed for some ENVIE cnc ones but they're no better. They seem to hold but they need constant adjustment whilst riding to not rub. Frustrating.

Giant have been awesome about it, as has my LBS TBSM. But that said I went with the Fouriers ones just cause I didn't want to mess about.
Image

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:02 pm

Useless Giant Propel Brakes! I was installing DI2 on the thing the other day and when I put the new brake cable through I only did it up a bit. Tonight I was going to set up the brakes and as I did the screw decided to strip itself. Bloody useless things they are. Logging onto ebay now.

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Carrots
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Location: Adelaide

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Carrots » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:12 pm

Lukeyboy wrote:Useless Giant Propel Brakes! I was installing DI2 on the thing the other day and when I put the new brake cable through I only did it up a bit. Tonight I was going to set up the brakes and as I did the screw decided to strip itself. Bloody useless things they are. Logging onto ebay now.
Breath in... Nah bugga it. You'll rate the newbies highly!

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:45 pm

The wallet is a little lighter now :P

Also picked up one of those good and reasonably priced TT bar garmin mount for about 20 bucks :P

Cmm
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Cmm » Sun Mar 30, 2014 11:05 am

Image

thought i would join in! couldnt be happier! really considering the brake upgrade though! i like the soft gentle approach of the brakes as they remind me of my tiagra 4500 brakes :shock: which i have learnt to cope with on descents.

R12RT
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Location: Ballajura, Western Australia

Re: Giant Propel

Postby R12RT » Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:45 pm

Has anyone had issues with the standard P-SLR1 Aero wheelset as fitted to the Propel.

Since I bought my Propel Advanced 1 in late February I have covered about 1600km. The first 800km was on the stock P-SLR1 Aero wheelset and the last 800km was on the set of Swiss Side Gotthards I was using on my Malvern Star Oppy C6.

With the stock wheels the bike was slower than the Oppy for more effort. A 70km ride at an average of 29km/h was leaving me totally knackered. A similar effort on the Oppy was tiring but I was able to put in similar effort the next day. Any sort of wind except for a tailwind would slow the bike down. Cross winds would blow the bike around so much that more effort seemed to go into keeping in a straight line. Headwinds were also a problem in that if the wheel was turned even slightly away from the wind the wind would catch the wheel and turn it further so you would always be fighting the handle bars. Hills would see any speed be bled off far too quickly. It would always feel as you had to fight for every 1km/h.

The only reviews I found on the Propel were for the SL version with Zipp wheels and the reviewers didn’t mention any problems. Also, reviews on the wheels alone rated the wheels highly with no issues mentioned. I have spoken to two other Propel riders and their experiences are the same as mine.

With the Swiss Side wheels none of these characteristics are felt and the bike feels very smooth, fast and stable. I can now average over 30km/hr with far less effort. The bike gets up to speed quickly and is able to hold speed easily and importantly be able to hold momentum up hills. The Propel is genuinely faster than the Oppy and feels more lively.

Strangely the spec sheets for the respective wheels suggest that the stock wheels should only be about 200g heavier than the Swiss Sides. However, the bike is 400g lighter with the Swiss Sides.

I am disappointed in the stock wheelset as one thing that drew me to the Propel was that unlike other bikes it appeared to come with a decent wheelset.

All-in-all though the bike is good value. $3999 for a quality bike with Ultegra Di2 isn’t too bad.
John Beaven
2010 Malvern Star Oppy C6
2014 Giant Propel Advanced 1

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:59 pm

Those are the flexy plastic carbon versions? The early versions of the SL's came with a stiff carbon rim. I haven't had any issues with the stiff versions and they are a pretty good wheel. Even when I run them on different bikes. They aren't a Zipp wheel but it wouldn't surprise me that since the SL's now come with Zipp 404's that the normal advanced versions now come with an inferior version of their aero wheels. Might even be a different hub.

R12RT
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby R12RT » Sun Mar 30, 2014 4:07 pm

Lukeyboy wrote:Those are the flexy plastic carbon versions? The early versions of the SL's came with a stiff carbon rim. I haven't had any issues with the stiff versions and they are a pretty good wheel. Even when I run them on different bikes. They aren't a Zipp wheel but it wouldn't surprise me that since the SL's now come with Zipp 404's that the normal advanced versions now come with an inferior version of their aero wheels. Might even be a different hub.
The rims are an alloy rim with a plastic shroud to give the 50mm profile. They are made for Giant by DT Swiss using their hubs.

I don't think they are particularly flexy. They feel stiffer than the Gotthards and the ride is harsher on the stock rims.

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:38 pm

Ah right. So they have stayed with the DT Swiss hubs then for the second gen wheelset. I've only had my hands on one for a short time so I can't say much but they are a hell of a lot more flexy than the first gen versions. The plastic cover they have might be the reason as to why. My and many of the reviews for the wheelset are for the first gen/carbon version of that wheelset which are a carbon and alloy composite. As I said earlier it could just be a cheaper version that comes as stock with the bike ie instead of carbon it has plastic.

Image
http://s1251.photobucket.com/user/mrcam ... b.mp4.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

R12RT
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby R12RT » Sun Mar 30, 2014 6:18 pm

It's a little confusing.

The shrouds on my wheels look as though they are plastic. Not carbon.

The Giant website displays the P-SLR1 wheel set. They say the are a Hybrid Scandium Composite construction. It is possible that these are not the same wheels fitted to the Propel as stock. It would explain the weight discrepancy. The weight of my bike dropped from 8.2kg to 7.8kg when I fitted the Swiss Sides. The spec sheets say the difference is about 200g.

I will have to keep my eyes open for an earlier version of the wheels for comparison...

I just looked at you short video. There is no way my wheels sound like that when tapped. Yours sound quite solid whereas mine sound flimsy like plastic.
John Beaven
2010 Malvern Star Oppy C6
2014 Giant Propel Advanced 1

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Alien27
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Alien27 » Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:32 pm

Very interesting. Thanks for the heads up guys, im in the market for a Propel and i was a bit concerned about the rims. They seem like a clip on plastic shroud that seem like they would rattle over bumps.
Tom
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R12RT
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby R12RT » Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:24 pm

Alien27 wrote:Very interesting. Thanks for the heads up guys, im in the market for a Propel and i was a bit concerned about the rims. They seem like a clip on plastic shroud that seem like they would rattle over bumps.
If you like the Propel and get one at the right price I wouldn't be put off by the wheel set.

With decent wheels the bike is brilliant! Prolite Braccianos for $400 would be perfect.
John Beaven
2010 Malvern Star Oppy C6
2014 Giant Propel Advanced 1

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Mon Mar 31, 2014 2:11 pm

Also get some new brakes aswell :P

But indeed its a great bike.

R12RT
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby R12RT » Mon Mar 31, 2014 2:25 pm

Lukeyboy wrote:Also get some new brakes aswell :P

But indeed its a great bike.
I don't have an issue with the brakes. 8)

Early on they needed adjusting regularly but now they are fine.
John Beaven
2010 Malvern Star Oppy C6
2014 Giant Propel Advanced 1

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Mon Mar 31, 2014 3:47 pm

Get out there and really ride the bike hard then :P On the SL's they are useless. I've had tension bolts stripped (both the thread on the mount and the screw head). They are useless in the rain (ie they don't grip but when they finally do the wheel locks). There is sometimes pretty bad vibration under load. Brake pads don't align 100% across different wheelsets (they learnt that the hard way when they had to do a product recall last year for that very reason when different pads and wheels didn't fit the mounts). They constantly have to be adjusted. They are a pain in the ass for mechanics. The limits are less than shimano 105's on descents ie the brakes fade quicker on descents (and I'm not someone that farts around on descents. My propel has been in the 90kph bracket multiple times). In the dry they are in the very decent to mid range good. In the wet they are somewhat decent to poor but in light rain they are shocking. Even running through wet grass is enough to lose them. And all this is coming from someone currently on a 3rd set of factory front brake mounts :P

R12RT
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby R12RT » Mon Mar 31, 2014 5:24 pm

Riding the bike I am. Although I don't have the legs to ride it really hard. :roll:

Interesting about different wheels and the brake as they seem to work better with the Swiss Side wheels than the stocks.

I've not ridden in heavy rain but the light rain this morning didn't cause any problems. However, I did ride through some sprinklers and got thoroughly soaked. That did cause a loss of brakes. A gentle application soon dried then out and restored them.

Fast descents aren't my thing so I won't be testing the brakes at 90kmh :lol:

Stripping the tension bolts is a little worrying. Were yours replaced under warranty?
John Beaven
2010 Malvern Star Oppy C6
2014 Giant Propel Advanced 1

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Mon Mar 31, 2014 8:09 pm

If youre not riding it hard you might not notice the issues as much as such. You don't have to have the legs but its just things here and there that you pick up on under braking.

The reason for the wheel/brake problems was related to the amount of travel available up and down topped off with the narrow top. Wide rims. Narrow rims. Used pads. New pads. There just wasn't enough adjustments available. It became even worse when you swapped between wheels as you had to readjust the whole system. It's one of the reasons the pro teams use the Fouriers brakes.

For me the wheels aren't the problem (first gen). I've run them on my trainer bike in the same varying conditions and they performed the same as the Fulcrums that I usually run on it. Brake pad compound did make a difference however. Next time you ride it in the rain and it gets a good drenching check the levers. I and a few others have a couple problems where the brakes tend to stick and you end up getting play in the levers. An example would be in the dry the lever operates as normal. Its the same in the wet but when it resets the tension isn't fully released from the brake calipers. The lever resets like normal but if you then tap on the lever it will move as if there was no brake cable installed. Once the system drys out and you tap it again it won't budge at all because the tension is there.

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/02/shima ... ude-shima/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yep. Everything under warranty. I had just picked up the warranty replacement brakes when I noticed a crack in the carbon stem.
Image
That really sucked but I got that done under warranty too. When something was stripped again but on a different bolt that had a quick temp amount of tension I had enough and just bought the fouriers :P

R12RT
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby R12RT » Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:34 pm

Thanks for the feedback, Lukeyboy.

I may have to save for some Fouriers just in case.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
John Beaven
2010 Malvern Star Oppy C6
2014 Giant Propel Advanced 1

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Lukeyboy
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:23 pm

Just keep an eye on it. Most of the problems that I have heard have come from crit/road racers running on the SL's. They don't all have the same problems but the brakes are indeed the biggest issue with the bike.

vosadrian
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby vosadrian » Wed Apr 02, 2014 11:50 am

Hey Guys,

I am considering purchasing a Propel Advanced 1. I am after an aero bike that is still OK for normal riding in the hills. I prefer Di2, as I would like to try adding some Aero bars and bar end shifting. I like a mid compact crank set, as sometimes I do some steep hills and a 36 on the front should be good for that, and the 52 should not lose me much compared to my current 53 for TT/Sprints. I don't like the colour, but I prefer function over form. There does not seem to be much stock in my size, but I think I can get one for around $4k if I act quickly before stock runs out. I can't really see any other options from other manufacturers that tick my boxes for similar money. Cell have the Omeo, but probably not in the same league as a Giant, and no aero wheels... which brings me to my question here...

The PSLR1 Aero wheels. The reviews I have read place them in the same league as Durace C50s, being lighter weight and similar Aero. I saw a Propel Advanced 2 in a shop the other day, and I was surprised how soft the shroud was. It did not seem to be Carbon. Having said that, I am not sure they need to be, as they are not a structural part of the wheel. Assuming the alloy main structural part of the rim and spokes are the same, they should be similar stiffness, and the shroud is only for aero purposes, so the shape should matter more than the hardness of the shroud. Of course weight is an issue also, but they seemed to be very thin plastic, so I doubt it would weigh much. I have some Durace C24s on my current bike and they are great. I would prefer C50s, but if the PSLR1 Aero wheels are similar I am OK with that. But if they are no good, I would have to spend another $1k to upgrade to another set of wheels, and that changes the value equation.

R12Rs experiences have me worried. Assuming the shape of the shroud is similar on the plastic version of the wheel, I would not have expected them to roll any worse. Sure they may be heavier and not accelerate as well or may be worse up a hill, but I would not expect them be any difference once rolling and in terms of cross wind effect. Have you got any more to say about this R12R? I considered the wheels to be adding $1000+ value to the bike, but now I am wondering if they will just be something I struggle to sell and then have to pay $1500+ for a good set of replacements. Is there any other purchase option to get a Propel Frame with Di2 with no or cheap wheels, so I can then choose some wheels myself? Maybe Second hand?

Cheers,

Adrian

Dirty32
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Dirty32 » Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:08 pm

Anyone see the new LTD colour scheme?

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bik ... /#overview" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks great! Same as the pro-team obviously.
If I had the money, im not sure which one id take. ^ That, or this...

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bik ... /#overview" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess the same bike, but one has Dura-ace Tubs and one has Zipp 404 Clinchers.

Cmm
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Re: Giant Propel

Postby Cmm » Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:55 pm

Looks great! Yeah c50 tubs are the difference mind you the paint job is amazing

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