Giant Propel

[Sydguy]

Google Giant Propel. Very good looking bike, wheels bit heavy for me but suits the aero look.

Thoughts? Anyone got insight on pricing?

JM

[HAKS]

Assuming these are US $ then my guess is the AU will be abit less

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/g ... es--36210/

Giant will offer three Propel Advanced SL models in March:

the $10,000 SL 0 with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 and Giant's new Contact SLR Aero Integrated one-piece bar and stem
the $7,500 SL 1 with Dura-Ace 9000 and separate Giant Contact SLR Aero carbon handlebar and stem
the $7,000 SL 2 with the same bar and stem but a SRAM Red 2012 group

[MarkG]

Nice looking bike, and quite a change from the standard Giant fare..

[Benny_SL]

I just want the frameset and then shift my current running gear over to it.

I'll be having a good look on the weekend in Adelaide.

[Mulger bill]

That's very pretty. I do like the use of V brakes as an aero and possibly function strategy.

[Howzat]

Giant – once averse to making direct comparisons – now boldly calls out several key competitors as being not only less aerodynamic but heavier, too.

Yikes. Now's the moment that the other top brands kind of wish that their bikes weren't being made in Giant factories - on the "less aerodynamic and heavier" production line.

[toolonglegs]

I think they look pretty hot. Love the brakes... but apparently they are a bit soft compared to the team alloy ones. Don't really need another road bike though.

[MarkG]

Really digging that Giant

[Lukeyboy]

Certainly is a nice bike to ride

[doggatas]

Brilliant, thanks for posting the photo. Any chance of some close ups?

[Alien27]

And a review... whats it like to ride?

[Lukeyboy]

Sorry. Been busy and when there has been sun I haven't been on it. Rain on the other hand

Its fast, super light, very stiff (bumpy repatched potholes still aren't your friends at speed), changing direction multiple times in very quick succession is just an absolute joy, it can leave tyre marks on the ground around fast corners as I found out during a couple shakedown runs along newly resuraced sections of bikeway at *cough*"10kph" (I reckon the chap who was sitting on the grass was wondering WT? I was doing going around that same corner time after time haha), goes like the clappers when climbing (providing you have the right cassette depending on your engine and climbing ability) and descents are really fast when in the aero position. Its very good under braking with the ability to leave skid marks while not locking the wheel. Picking up the tempo/pace for a chase is flawless even if in a gear too high. Gear changes are nice and light. Going into a good headwind the steering gets a little heavy at speed but you can still maintain the pace as you slice through it. Light/medium crosswinds are hardly noticable. Strong crosswinds (say from an approaching thunderstorm that has black/red/yellow on the BOM radar right on top of you as you're racing home so the bike doesn't get wet ) like most other light bikes with aero wheels and crosswinds can be an issue but I've really only noticed it as an issue when doing anything over 60kph/speedy descents when it comes and goes in gusts but the only thing that does is put a smile on your face with a few giggles here and there. That's pretty much the only time I have experienced crosswind issues. There's been a few windy rides but I hardly even noticed them until I caught some traffic lights and noticed the tree branches swaying. All up its in the 6-7kg catagory with the waterbottle cages and the GPS attached (2x Elite Custom Race cages and a Garmin 800).

The SL1 is only available in mechanical DuraAce. SL0 has DuraAce Di2 and yet to hit the Aussie market is a SL2 in SRAM red and SL3 in mechanical Ultegra. The SL2 RRP in the USA is $1000 more than the RRP of the SL1 here. The SL3 RRP in the USA for 5.1K. (personally not a fan of the SL2 and SL3 liveries - Majority black frame with Red parts, Orange decals and White or red on the seat post; Similar to the blue on the seatpost on the SL0 - http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_generate ... SP_red.jpg yuk!).

There's not much too it. The frame is the same across all the models with the livery, components and the resulting weight being the only difference.


Stem and aerodynamic handlebars. The handle bars aren't round but oval, like an aeroplane or racing car spoiler so things like k-Edge GoPro/GPS mounts and Barfly mounts won't attach to them. They feel weird... more awkard at first compared to the normal round bars but you can have a really relaxed hand position for the longer rides. IIRC apparently there are also aero clip on bars coming out soon so you can easily convert the bike into a TT or triathlon setup for a Saturday morning event and then using the same bike minus the clip on bars for a crit race that afternoon.


It would have been excellent if they had incorporated a GPS mount into the larger chunky stems to maintain the aero profile instead of placing it directly ontop of the stem but the issue with that would be how big do you make the stem cutout for the size of different GPS units.


The v-brakes are as simple as quick release brakes. Just pull the cable attachment out from the left and the whole thing unlocks.



No need for other ANT+ bike sensors as Giant already has them built into the frame of the bike (comes with its own pedal magnet). Just sync it to a new bike profile on your GPS (if you run multiple bikes with different sensors) and away you go.


Cable routing is inside the frame for that aero advantage.


Not much of a gap with 23 tyres. 25 would be a very tight squeeze. I can only just manage to get a rag in there to clean it without removing the wheel.

[kunalraiker]

Sorry. Been busy and when there has been sun I haven't been on it. Rain on the other hand

Its fast, super light, very stiff (bumpy repatched potholes still aren't your friends at speed), changing direction multiple times in very quick succession is just an absolute joy, it can leave tyre marks on the ground around fast corners as I found out during a couple shakedown runs along newly resuraced sections of bikeway at *cough*"10kph" (I reckon the chap who was sitting on the grass was wondering WT? I was doing going around that same corner time after time haha), goes like the clappers when climbing (providing you have the right cassette depending on your engine and climbing ability) and descents are really fast when in the aero position. Its very good under braking with the ability to leave skid marks while not locking the wheel. Picking up the tempo/pace for a chase is flawless even if in a gear too high. Gear changes are nice and light. Going into a good headwind the steering gets a little heavy at speed but you can still maintain the pace as you slice through it. Light/medium crosswinds are hardly noticable. Strong crosswinds (say from an approaching thunderstorm that has black/red/yellow on the BOM radar right on top of you as you're racing home so the bike doesn't get wet ) like most other light bikes with aero wheels and crosswinds can be an issue but I've really only noticed it as an issue when doing anything over 60kph/speedy descents when it comes and goes in gusts but the only thing that does is put a smile on your face with a few giggles here and there. That's pretty much the only time I have experienced crosswind issues. There's been a few windy rides but I hardly even noticed them until I caught some traffic lights and noticed the tree branches swaying. All up its in the 6-7kg catagory with the waterbottle cages and the GPS attached (2x Elite Custom Race cages and a Garmin 800).

The SL1 is only available in mechanical DuraAce. SL0 has DuraAce Di2 and yet to hit the Aussie market is a SL2 in SRAM red and SL3 in mechanical Ultegra. The SL2 RRP in the USA is $1000 more than the RRP of the SL1 here. The SL3 RRP in the USA for 5.1K. (personally not a fan of the SL2 and SL3 liveries - Majority black frame with Red parts, Orange decals and White or red on the seat post; Similar to the blue on the seatpost on the SL0 - http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_generate ... SP_red.jpg yuk!).

There's not much too it. The frame is the same across all the models with the livery, components and the resulting weight being the only difference.

That's a nice review, very precise and to the point,overall - has you're Avg improved

[Lukeyboy]

So far it has from the few dry runs I've had on it. Already claimed a couple KOMs and a bunch of top 3 places during shakedown/run in/dordling/I wonder what's down this street rides according to Strava. I haven't had a chance to put it through its real paces over longer distances ie 100km+ just yet due to the rain/work. The one time I had planned on doing some good riding over the easter holidays I had forgotten to take my bike shoes. Still managed to be 5 seconds slower than one of my KOMs even with a good headwind on the straights while wearing soft sole slip on shoes. Also managed to crack the top 10 at the local crit circuit too haha. I'd have to go back with proper shoes this time and see if I can walk away with that KOM

Edit: The weight differences in the different size stems.

Clamp Length Angle Steerer Weight
31.8mm 70mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 115g
31.8mm 80mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 120g
31.8mm 90mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 125g
31.8mm 100mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 130g
31.8mm 110mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 135g
31.8mm 120mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 140g
31.8mm 130mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 145g

[g-boaf]

Saw one of those today, very nice looking bike.

My own Giant has Ridesense as well. Very useful not needing to use that ugly Garmin cadence and speed sensor. My Trek had this sort of thing ages ago - good to see others are doing similar.

[Baldy]

Lukeyboy I hate you. Not because you have a better bike than me but because you review will make Doggatas want to get one. I race with him.

[Howzat]

Interesting brakes - I had always associated V-brakes with cheap hybrids & MTBs. Great review BTW

[bosvit]

Mechanically V brakes should have more clamping power, is this noticeable and what is the modulation like?

Cheers

Good review btw

[Lukeyboy]

Modulation seems good so far at speeds. Haven't done any long speedy decents yet but I'll hopefully be doing Mt Nebo-Mt Glorious soon so I'll be doing some modulation tests to get fimilar with what its like with constant modulation/capable over long distance decents. I haven't experienced any problems or concerns using them. One thing that I have noticed while braking alot when coming to a stop is that it can have that fade and grip shudder/jolt are light enough that you can feel in the feedback via the brake leavers/bars but I only feel it when I shift my body weight/only using one set of brakes towards a set of lights for example and only once you get into the ~10-0kph area with very light braking. I'm 80kg max including bike/tools/tubes/CO2/2 full water bottles/phone/what ever else I carry and very late breaking down Mt Cootha at speed and gradual pulse/trail braking hasn't had any issues or concerns (Pretty sure that kicked up a argument here between a few people that were complaining about speeds and the difference between the brake types available. They obviously haven't ridden this bike before ). Response feedback is excellent to say the least. Going between my flatbar and my second roadie you notice the difference in the breaking but on the propel you can't even notice their a set of V's slowing you down. It should also be noted that the brake pads are similar to what you get on roadies and not the big chunky things that V's usually have.

[HAKS]

The 3T garmin stem would incorporate the GPS nicely although i'm not sure if they make a 1 1/4 version to fit the Giant steerer tube

[g-boaf]

The 3T garmin stem would incorporate the GPS nicely although i'm not sure if they make a 1 1/4 version to fit the Giant steerer tube

I don't think they do either. The standard one doesn't fit. I had to use a K-Edge on my TCR Advanced SL.

[Lukeyboy]

The brakes on the Propel have been recalled. Apparently they are being upgraded from the normal alloy rim pads that they come with to cf pads and mounts. Either way its free of cost and can be done in a very short time from the bike store you purchased it from