Campagnolo Bora Ultra Two On Giant TCR Advanced SL Team Giro ISP

Campagnolo Bora Utlra Two on Giant TCR Advanced SL Team Giro ISP

I took these photos for a client. It’s a combination that you don’t see that often, but I think that it works pretty well. The Bora Ultra Twos are a great set of aero wheels, that look darn sexy on any bike that they are put on. Since this frame has already got some nice-looking decals, I think that the wheels fit very nicely onto it.

Giant TCR Adv SL 1, Fulcrum Racing 0, & Mavic Carbone SL

TD's fully mounted Mavic Carbone SL wheels

Tuesday was a bit hectic. We had just received another TCR Advanced SL 1 ISP that will be sent off to France tomorrow. I came by on Wednesday night to take some photos of the build. The Giant bikes come pre-assembled, so basically if you’re a bit handy, you’ll be able to mount it by yourself. All of the cabling and wrenching has already been done. All that’s left for you to do is to put the handlebars on, which have the shifters and the handlebar tape on, put on the front wheel, fix the seat post clamp and the saddle, and you’re ready to go.

2010 Giant TCR Advanced SL LTD ISP with Di2

2010 Giant TCR Advanced SL LTD with Di2

I was recently asked a question about this top of the line Giant TCR Advanced. For example, there are some model changes between the US and Taiwan. What are the differences?

2010 Giant Road Bicycles Redux

'10 Giant TCR Advanced SL 2 with Dura Ace 7900

The news is in for the ’10 model year for road bikes from Taiwanese bicycling manufacturer Giant. There are significant rebates to be had if you buy these directly in Taiwan. This is even more valid for the top end specced TCR Advanced SL 1 and SL2¹, which will have lower prices than last year. All in all, there aren’t too many changes. Apparently Giant operates on a three-year product cycle, so there should be new frames in 2011. Giant will feature new components, new paint jobs and higher specs for some models.

2010 Giant Road Bicycles

'10 Giant TCR Advanced SL

There aren’t many changes in the 2010 lineup for road bikes. Naturally, the colors are changing a bit. The 2010 TCR Advanced SL line stays pretty much the same. The Dura Ace and SRAM Red SLs should drop $1,000 in price, to $7,000 and $6,300 respectively. In Taiwan, I’d expect these bikes to retail for $4,500 and $4,000, maybe even less. This means that ’09 models are going to drop prices by at least another $500-$700¹. If a complete ’09 TCR Advanced SL 0 retails for about $3,000², then it’s a serious contender as my main bike once again, knocking out the second-hand Kuota KOM. Colors are pretty much the same for those two models. That being said, these Giant prices are really impressive. Giant were already competitive, but even more so now. The SL 0 is a fine looking beast, with red handlebar tape, red/white decals and everything else black. As a testament, take a gander at the photo below. It’s the SL that I’m talking about.

'09 Giant TCR Advanced SL 0

The ’09 SL2 is now the ’10 SL3 with Ultegra and should sell for $4,000. The TCR Advanced line now has a Dura Ace 7900 bike. The biggest news is that the frame prices drop to about 2,950 and 2,750 for the ISP and the non-ISP TCR Advanced SL frames.

Giant TCR Advanced non-ISP

Giant will release a bunch of new carbon components, from stems to bars for the higher-end models. The new Giant stem looks a bit like a Zipp, but it’s more squared off. The handlebar resembles an FSA K-Force ergo bend. It includes adjustments in reach and drop for each bar. Giant doesn’t plan on offering a BB30 frame, as their BB86 keeps testing stiffer in their lab.

*

[¹] This was true for the ’08 bikes. ’07 will drop by at least a similar amount, if you can find one in your size that is.
[²] With SRAM Red and Zipp 404s. The ’09 prize for an SL0 is $4,500 in Taiwan.

* * * * *

Relevant Posts

2010 Giant MTB

Wilier Cento or Kuota Kom or Orbea Orca or Giant TCR Advanced SL

Wilier Cento

Since I’m currently in the market for a high-end frame. I have the following choices: Orbea Orca, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Kuota Kom, Wilier Cento. The Pinarello Prince, Time RXR Ulteam, Colnago EPS & EP and De Rosa King 3 are out of the running. Mostly because they are out of my price range.