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Hello Guys
My stepdad is looking at the 2018 Giant Propel Advanced 1 that can be had for £1260 and was asking me what I thought about it, not being a massive roadie, just an occasional one I'm no expert on road bikes. So my question is does this look like a good deal or what else should he be looking at around this price? Full ultegra and carbon frame looked decent to me, the only complaint I can find is the tyres aren't great.
Cheers
Giant make nice bikes
That's a pretty "racy" frame, though I believe the newer model (may well include 2018) is more comfy than the earlier one - it'll still have a fairly low front end and maybe not much clearance for larger tyre sizes and I'm guessing no way he'll get proper guards to fit it. Is he sure a race bike is what he wants ?
I own one . ( bias )
Great frame , stiff but not hideously , and will take 25c tyres that make a difference
Brakes need twidling to remain efficint , but if you can set up mini Vees you are sorted.mine will lock a wheel at will, so more than powerful enough
Giant connect stuff is OK, but heavy I changed saddle, stem and will be fitting aero carbon bars next
The wheelset is OK, but they look ace with 45mm+ deep carbons
Great Value at that price not a fan of the green though
I would go for the 105 at £1199 and sel the wheels as new, and fit some bling ones
Very stiff race frame; can cause osteoporosis in older people.
Also, it has rims brakes which aren't capable of slowing down a dad; that's why most new bikes now come with disc brakes.
I had a look at one the other day. Considered the advanced 0 with di2 but the only version they had in was the one with 105. It was nice but a bit heavy (9kg with stock wheels and pedals), and really missed the deep section wheels. Aero bikes look a bit odd without them imo.
That said, for that price it's a Good deal imo
So he is 55 and pretty fit; we did a 80k ride with 1200m of climbing on sunday and while I was about to keel over on the last hill he was flying up and I'm 28 years younger! I preferred it when I had to wait for him.
His current bike is a Cube Attain SL - https://www.cube.eu/uk/products/road-race/attain/cube-attain-sl-disc-blackngreen-2016/ - I think he is after a new toy and something is a bit different to the bike he has already.
I've got an propel advanced pro from 2016. Fit wise, the stack height isn't extreme, IIRC the TCR was lower when I was comparing them.
The brakes seem fine to me even on carbon rims. I think the first propels had some troubles but giant updated the design.
Comfort seems fine with 80-90psi in the tyres but the torsional stiffness of the front end isn't great. I don't know if it's the stem, steerer tube or frame that is floppy but something gives a bit when climbing out of the saddle.
Not a big enough upgrade on his current bike. There are a lot of words on the description to hide the fact that it has an alloy steerer so not the lightest frame they do. As for the bike, well I own a Propel Advanced full carbon frame from when they first cane out. I also own a Propel Advanced SL. Both are great bikes running 10 and 11 speed Ultegra.
I don’t find them overly stiff (buy a Scott for that) and ride them over 100km/mi distances with ease. And I’m 51. Yes they look nicer with 55mm deep section rims, but then the cost goes up. Brakes on that version are fine.
|Cheers for the feedback guys! What else should he be looking at around that price range then?
I love my propel it has an aggressive very aero front end and is very fast in a straight line ,be carefull on the brakes as they will throw you over the bars iff you pull too hard . My only caution is the top tube is long so try before you buy
Why not spend some money on new wheels for the Cube rather than a whole new bike.