Bike Review - Giant TCR SLR: Budget Race-Rocket

Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of bike reviews planned for the RRR. Racing Reds team members tend to be very particular with regard to the bikes in their stables. They are often thoughtfully put together and purpose built; you will find very few “off-the-shelf” bikes on this team. Bike reviews will highlight the unique features of the bikes we ride. The reviews will be largely positive, as we tend to like the bikes we ride on a regular basis, but we will strive to provide a critical look at the bikes and the components that comprise the builds. If you have any questions about our bikes or related components, please feel free to ask them in the comments section of the reviews.

Bicycle Specifications as Reviewed:

Frame and Fork: Giant TCR SLR Size M/L

Front Derailleur: Dura Ace 9000

Rear Derailleur: Dura Ace 9000

Headset: Giant Integrated

Crankset: Dura Ace 9000 52/36 175mm

Cassette: Ultegra 6800 11-28

Stem: Fizik Cyrano 110mm

Handlebars: Whisky Parts No. 7 Compact Bar 42cm

Brake Levers/Shifters: Dura Ace 9000

Brakes: Ultegra 6800

Hubs: Mavic

Rims: Mavic Ksyrium Elite S

Tires: Vittoria EVO CX III 25mm

Seatpost: Giant Proprietary Aero

Saddle: Specialized Toupe Pro Carbon 143mm

Chain: Ultegra 6800

Handlebar Tape: Fizik Tacky Black 2mm Thick

Pedals: Dura Ace 9000, 4mm extended axle

Power Meter: Stages Dura Ace 9000

When I first bought the Giant TCR SLR, I had intended it to be my Criterium and rainy day bike. My previous rain bike was an All-City Mr. Pink. I was somewhat unsatisfied with this bike, not because it was a bad bike, but more so because I wanted a true “B” bike; something that would be a bit more responsive and lighter in a race situation, as well as something that wouldn’t cost half a year’s salary to replace if crashed. I had already owned and broken one Cannondale CAAD10 and liked the responsive feel of aluminum. Truthfully, I am still a bit sad over the loss off my first CAAD 10 due to a crack at the chainstay. In the end, I sold the warranty frame because, frankly, the colour was not to my taste and I no longer wanted to be part of the CAAD10 “cult;” it was time to try something different.

A friend and ex-employer from Western Cycle in Edmonton, Alberta suggested the new Giant TCR SLR. He informed me that it was lighter than the CAAD10, at a frame weight of 1000 grams, had a proper 1.5” to 1 1/8” tapered steerer and there weren’t that many in Canada yet, so it would be somewhat unique. On top of that, I could get one in a M/L size, which is the exact geometry of the race bike I had previously owned and recently sold, the Propel Advanced SL.

Aggressive race geometry with tapered steerer

As a bonus, it was black and orange, my favourite colour combination besides black and red (red is slightly faster than orange, but sometimes you have to compromise). I got a great deal on the bike and had my colleague from Edmonton ship it to the Giant Canada headquarters in Vancouver, BC.

The stock TCR was a mix of Giant branded components and Shimano 105 5800 11 speed groupset. The build was adequate, but I decided to upgrade the bike in order to improve overall performance. I replaced everything with the exception of the frame, seatpost, and fork. The groupset was replaced initially with Ultegra 6800, but I was enjoying the bike so much, that I swapped out the Dura Ace 9000 mechanical groupset that had adorned my current primary race bike, a BMC Racemachine, and installed it on the TCR. A carbon bar from Whisky Components, a Fizik stem, Tacky bar tape and a carbon-railed Specialized Toupe saddle rounded out the cockpit.

Fizik stem and Whisky bars round out the cockpit

Mavic’s not-too-exciting (nor aero), but ever reliable and tough Ksyrium Elite S wheels were installed. Some fresh Vittoria Evo CX tires with latex tubes in 25mm width were chosen in order to provide just a bit of extra comfort to what I expected to be a stiff frame. Overall weight with carbon Blackburn cages, Dura Ace pedals and my Garmin 500 was just over 16.5 pounds or about 7.5 kilograms. Not heavy, but certainly a bit of a porker compared to my BMC Racemachine, which at the time was under the UCI-legal weight limit of 6.8kgs.

So, how do I describe the ride of this bike? Two words. Exhilirating and inspiring. Truly, there are few family friendly words that can describe just how exciting this bike is. Comparing it to every other bike I have owned, it is far more stiff and lively at the bottom bracket. This is saying a lot, considering I have ridden Giant’s own Propel Advanced SL, a great bike in its own right which is marketed as higher-end versus the TCR. Every push on the pedals felt instantly responsive and amazingly good. When I’m on this bike I certainly feel like Marcel Kittel (though my hair is better), despite being a few watts short of his sprint.

Even more remarkable was the steering response. I was slightly disappointed when I first saw a carbon fork with an aluminum steerer, having been promised a full carbon fork on the spec sheet. I was worried about the extra 150 grams, but it really turned out to be a non-issue. The stiff steerer paired with a gargantuan headtube and a big 1.5” bottom bearing makes for stiff and precise steering.

The TCR boasts an exceptionally stiff headtube

This is useful when having to quickly dodge competitors in a field sprint, MAMILs in Stanley Park, or when carving tight turns down one of Vancouver’s epic mountain descents. The TCR is truly point-and-shoot and makes my BMC feel like a rusty bedspring in comparison. When you combine the tight front end with the super short rear end and Giant’s tried and true TCR geometry, you get a really mean machine that just begs to be stomped on and pushes you to attack at every opportunity

Since it is an aluminum bike, there must be a drawback in ride quality, right? Wrong. After having owned the bike for just one week I took it on a 210 kilometre ride and it felt just great, even after 6 hours in the saddle. I can chock some of this up to Vittoria’s supple EVO CX tires and latex tubes being run at 105 psi rear and 95 psi front. As an aside, I am a big fan of the new wide tire and rim trend. Though I haven’t convinced all of my teammates yet, many of them have discovered the joys of wider tires at lower pressures with no performance detriments. For reference, I am 168 pounds and when I am training, I have run the front as low as 85 psi and the rear as low as 95 psi without incident. The 25mm Vittoria’s measure out to 28mm, so I could probably even go a bit lower too, especially on a modern wide rim. After over 200km’s I was as comfortable as one can be on a race bike with 10-plus centimetres of saddle to bar drop, which is to say, surprisingly comfortable.

I will admit that the TCR does transmit more road buzz than the Propel or the Racemachine, but certainly less than the CAAD10 in my experience. This isn’t at all, however, a knock against the TCR. The road buzz it does transfer is not harsh, and for an aluminum frame, the engineers at Giant have done a great job of making a really stiff yet compliant ride (cliché, I know). In a way, the aluminum used to craft the frame provides a more unique, varied and quality ride versus a carbon alternative, without sacrificing comfort. When you look at the bike in detail, it is easy to see that every single tube has been shaped with a precise purpose in mind. Giant hydroformed aluminum first, and their materials know-how is top notch. I am truly impressed with the whole frame and fork package.

This bike may not be the best option for you if you are riding multiple, 250-plus kilometre days all year long. If that is the case, you may want to look at carbon, endurance-style frames that will provide good performance, but will emphasise compliance over stiffness. For me, taking into consideration the racing and training rides that I do, I wouldn’t change a single thing about this frame. Well, perhaps a 27.2mm seatpost would be preferable over the proprietary seatpost provided, but I’ll let that slide considering the overall quality of the bike.

I won’t spend much time reviewing the Dura-Ace 9000 groupset. My groupset has 12,000km on it now and is still as smooth and buttery as the day I got it. It just works and happens to still look great with many miles of wear on it.

Interestingly, Giant only promotes this bike in Canada as an entry-level road bike. With the stock 105 build it comes in at $1,499 CAD. I think Giant may do well to market this bike beyond first-time buyers who may be put off by the sharp handling and stiffness of the frame. If they were to instead offer it with sexier build kits, like Ultegra and Dura-Ace, more amateur racers would take an interest in it, and really, it is a perfect bike for that demographic. Low cost, high performance, and good looks; the TCR should appeal to your typical local racer. Giant could foreseeably challenge Cannondale and their CAAD series if they market the TCR in this way. Recently, other manufacturers such as Trek and Cinelli have started offering high-end aluminum race frames again. With a bike made of a material that is light, cheap and rides extremely well, I wouldn’t be surprised if I started seeing more local racers on the Giant TCR SLR.

My final endorsement should show my love of this bike. I recently learned that I would be going back to school to start an MBA in the fall. MBAs aren’t exactly cheap, so I have been, reluctantly, selling some of my bikes in order to help pay for school. I’ve decided that I can only keep one road racing bike for next year. Which one did I decide to keep over all of the others? Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.

Laying down some watts on the TCR SLR