The 10th generation of the game-changing TCR road bike range was recently introduced to media members from around the world at Giant Group headquarters in Taiwan. Designed and made in-house using proprietary composite materials and manufacturing techniques, the range features not only some of the lightest frames in their categories, but also greater efficiency compared to previous generation TCR models.
The new range includes three series—the TCR Advanced SL, TCR Advanced Pro, and TCR Advanced—and is the result of a collaborative effort involving product developers, an in-house aerodynamics team, and athletes and technicians from Team Jayco-AlUla, Giant’s partner WorldTour team. Riders from the team tested final versions of their new TCR Advanced SL team bikes at an early-season training camp in Spain.
The entire range introduces innovative new features including internal cable routing, a new D-shaped OverDrive Aero steerer tube, and new handlebars and stems—all made possible by cutting-edge construction techniques.
The frameset, wheels, cockpit and other parts were engineered, developed and tested together to perform best as a system, providing an overall ride quality that has left an impression with gear editors. The majority of initial reviews focused on the TCR Advanced SL, which features a 3.38% improvement in stiffness-to-weight ratio over the previous generation.
BikeRadar gave the TCR Advanced SL 0 a near-perfect 4.5-star ranking, with senior technical editor Warren Rossiter proclaiming, “Comfort-wise, the TCR feels like one of the best race bikes I’ve ridden.” Specifically, Rossiter honed in on the TCR’s stiffness-to-weight, adding, "The new TCR climbs with a responsiveness that only comes from the lightest of road bikes. Even better, it doesn’t seem to pay any penalty for the low weight.”
Rossiter also referred to the CADEX Max 40 WheelSystem as “among the most responsive lightweight hoops I’ve ever ridden.”
More frame stiffness means better cornering and response to rider input on the road, something that was widely recognized upon first impressions. Writing for Cyclist, former elite racer and longtime contributor Nick Squillari shared his appreciation of the frame’s stiffness: “The TCR was solid as a rock out of the saddle, uphill or flat, only to track like tracer fire heading back down,” he wrote. “The responsiveness of this bike I will solely lay at the feet of the engineers who have made this TCR feel so exceptionally well-balanced – which, given it has Giant’s best stiffness-to-weight of any bike, is no mean feat.”
James Huang, Head of Tech at Escape Collective, was equally impressed with the TCR’s stiffness and weight, writing: “It’s wonderfully responsive when sprinting, but particularly in combination with the very low weight, it’s positively fantastic on steep climbs.” Huang also noted the TCR’s nimble handling, writing, “It’s laughably easy to pick just about whatever line you want assuming there’s available traction, and feedback is excellent for where that traction is – as well as where it isn’t.”
In Cycling Weekly, Tech Features Editor Stefan Abram was taken by the acceleration provided by the TCR’s frame as well as the CADEX Max 40 WheelSystem: “My very first impression from some leg-opening sprints back and forth in front of the hotel was the sheer rapidity of the acceleration. Admittedly unsurprising from a 6.4kg build, but it barely took a squeeze on the pedals to spin up to cruising speed. What was more unexpected was just how well it maintained speed once freewheeling — the deacceleration was markedly slower than what I was expecting. I think this was largely down to the wheels and the optimizations CADEX has put in across the spokes, hub flanges and rim profile.”
Abram added that he would “be very happy with this being my only bike,” describing the bike’s fun factor as “dead on.”
Writing for Wielerflits, Tech Editor Ties Wijntjes wrote that the TCR offers the complete package. “The bike is stiff, but not uncomfortable; reactive, but not nervous. This special balance of riding characteristics, in combination with the low weight, ensures that the TCR is an extremely solid racing bike that, as intended, can hold its own on almost any terrain and during any effort.”
In his first-impression video from the bike’s launch in Taiwan, David Arthur of the Just Ride Bike YouTube channel summed up the new TCR’s many qualities with a splash of humor: “This TCR makes riding too easy. It’s too light, it’s too stiff, it’s too fast. I mean, where’s the challenge? But hey, what a lot of fun to ride. I think Giant makes great bikes, I love the engineering, the value for money, their no-nonsense approach to selling bikes. The bike is fantastic.”
Another YouTube channel, The Ride with Ben Delaney, posted a video touring Giant's composite factory where the TCR and other composite bikes are made, from raw carbon thread to finished frames.
For more, check out the links below for full reviews. And for all the details on the full new TCR range, click here.
Cycling Weekly (United Kingdom)
Escape Collective (United States)
Just Ride Bikes (United Kingdom)