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A day with Giant
Hooking up with the guys from Giant at their Arizona product launch, Jeff Tse takes a quick look at what's new from the world's biggest high-end bike manufacturer and finds that bike categories get more blurred every year.
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Last year the cycling world saw the début of the Gold Edition TCR Composite Team at the Tour de France. With the 100th Anniversary of the Tour this year, we suspect we'll see something special in July, but Giant's folks get very tight-lipped when you ask what they're planning - or, indeed if they're planning anything at all.
The very limited number of gold edition TCR Composite bikes made last year were sold to buyers before they even left the factory. And riders interested in the TCR Composite had to call as many bike shops as possible to get a good place in line for their bike. Giant's Steve Westover says the company was glad to see a shift in people's attitude towards Giant from the image five to eight years ago when price was Giant's competing advantage. When people think of Giant now, they see a high-end road bike.
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Westover explained the different lines of road bikes offered by Giant. At the top is the full carbon TCR Composite, a complete carbon frame with an aggressive geometry and the same bike the ONCE team rides. Next are the TCR Elite bikes, with an aluminium main triangle and a carbon rear. The third is the TCR Alloy, which is an all-aluminium frame. Finally, there's the OCR range, aimed at riders who want a more stable geometry.
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Giant is also heavily marketing their new Revive comfort bike. While it looks like a recumbent, the people at Giant claims it is very different. The riding position is more upright and there is an active rear suspension. It also rides much more like a bike than a recumbent, feeling like a Dutch commute bike with a more comfortable reclined position. Retailing at around US$800, it is geared toward the people getting back into an active lifestyle.
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While the Revive is a fairly long way out of the box for a company that previously focused on 'conventional' bikes, Giant is also broadening its categories in the traditional area. The new TCR ELite, for example, combines the longer wheelbase and shallower head angle of the OCR series frames with the carbon rear end of the TCR bikes for a super-comfy long distance road bike.
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Mountain biking has fragmented into so many categories in the last few years that it's dizzying trying to keep up, but Giant's VT looks to be a popular fit between two of them. It bridges lightweight cross-country race bikes and beefy 'freeride' bikes witha rig that is claimed to weigh under 30lb, climb like an NRS and offer 5 or 5.75in of rear travel.
Photos
Images by Jeff Tse/cobaltmedia.com
- Giant's TCR Elite, merging carbon with aluminium
- The seatstays on the TCR Elite
- A look at the carbon chainstays on the Elite
- The perfect beach cruiser? Giant's Revive city bike
- The rear of the Giant VT1
- Giant's VT2 set up for Four Cross
- Five plus inches of air sprung travel
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