Giant Propel

Sydguy
Posts: 749
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:33 pm
Location: Sydney (Rhodes to City Commuter)

Giant Propel

Postby Sydguy » Sat Jan 19, 2013 10:47 am

Google Giant Propel. Very good looking bike, wheels bit heavy for me but suits the aero look.

Thoughts? Anyone got insight on pricing?

JM

User avatar
HAKS
Posts: 2348
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:28 pm
Location: Canberra, AUS

Re: Giant Propel

Postby HAKS » Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:02 pm

Assuming these are US $ then my guess is the AU will be abit less

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/g ... es--36210/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Giant will offer three Propel Advanced SL models in March:

the $10,000 SL 0 with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 and Giant's new Contact SLR Aero Integrated one-piece bar and stem
the $7,500 SL 1 with Dura-Ace 9000 and separate Giant Contact SLR Aero carbon handlebar and stem
the $7,000 SL 2 with the same bar and stem but a SRAM Red 2012 group
Current Ride: Trek Madone 6.5 (2013)

User avatar
MarkG
Posts: 2147
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2011 2:02 pm
Location: Perth, Australia

Re: Giant Propel

Postby MarkG » Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:59 pm

Nice looking bike, and quite a change from the standard Giant fare..
Proudly "a hater of academics with helmet cams"

Benny_SL
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:56 am

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Benny_SL » Mon Jan 21, 2013 2:57 pm

I just want the frameset and then shift my current running gear over to it.

I'll be having a good look on the weekend in Adelaide.
Image

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Mulger bill » Tue Jan 22, 2013 1:16 am

That's very pretty. I do like the use of V brakes as an aero and possibly function strategy.
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

User avatar
Howzat
Posts: 850
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:08 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Howzat » Thu Jan 24, 2013 6:01 pm

Giant – once averse to making direct comparisons – now boldly calls out several key competitors as being not only less aerodynamic but heavier, too.
:shock: Yikes. Now's the moment that the other top brands kind of wish that their bikes weren't being made in Giant factories - on the "less aerodynamic and heavier" production line. :lol:

User avatar
toolonglegs
Posts: 15463
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:49 pm
Location: Somewhere with padded walls and really big hills!

Re: Giant Propel

Postby toolonglegs » Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:13 pm

I think they look pretty hot. Love the brakes... but apparently they are a bit soft compared to the team alloy ones. Don't really need another road bike though.

User avatar
MarkG
Posts: 2147
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2011 2:02 pm
Location: Perth, Australia

Re: Giant Propel

Postby MarkG » Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:41 pm

Really digging that Giant
Proudly "a hater of academics with helmet cams"

User avatar
Lukeyboy
Posts: 3621
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 2:38 am

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Wed Apr 03, 2013 11:02 am

Certainly is a nice bike to ride :P

Image

doggatas
Posts: 357
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 9:13 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby doggatas » Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:05 pm

Brilliant, thanks for posting the photo. Any chance of some close ups?

User avatar
Alien27
Posts: 252
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 5:59 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Alien27 » Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:44 pm

And a review... whats it like to ride?

User avatar
Lukeyboy
Posts: 3621
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 2:38 am

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:51 am

Sorry. Been busy and when there has been sun I haven't been on it. Rain on the other hand :evil:

Its fast, super light, very stiff (bumpy repatched potholes still aren't your friends at speed), changing direction multiple times in very quick succession is just an absolute joy, it can leave tyre marks on the ground around fast corners as I found out during a couple shakedown runs along newly resuraced sections of bikeway at *cough*"10kph" :P (I reckon the chap who was sitting on the grass was wondering Say What I was doing going around that same corner time after time haha), goes like the clappers when climbing (providing you have the right cassette depending on your engine and climbing ability) and descents are really fast when in the aero position. Its very good under braking with the ability to leave skid marks while not locking the wheel. Picking up the tempo/pace for a chase is flawless even if in a gear too high. Gear changes are nice and light. Going into a good headwind the steering gets a little heavy at speed but you can still maintain the pace as you slice through it. Light/medium crosswinds are hardly noticable. Strong crosswinds (say from an approaching thunderstorm that has black/red/yellow on the BOM radar right on top of you as you're racing home so the bike doesn't get wet :P) like most other light bikes with aero wheels and crosswinds can be an issue but I've really only noticed it as an issue when doing anything over 60kph/speedy descents when it comes and goes in gusts but the only thing that does is put a smile on your face with a few giggles here and there. That's pretty much the only time I have experienced crosswind issues. There's been a few windy rides but I hardly even noticed them until I caught some traffic lights and noticed the tree branches swaying. All up its in the 6-7kg catagory with the waterbottle cages and the GPS attached (2x Elite Custom Race cages and a Garmin 800).

The SL1 is only available in mechanical DuraAce. SL0 has DuraAce Di2 and yet to hit the Aussie market is a SL2 in SRAM red and SL3 in mechanical Ultegra. The SL2 RRP in the USA is $1000 more than the RRP of the SL1 here. The SL3 RRP in the USA for 5.1K. (personally not a fan of the SL2 and SL3 liveries - Majority black frame with Red parts, Orange decals and White or red on the seat post; Similar to the blue on the seatpost on the SL0 - http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_generate ... SP_red.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; yuk!).

There's not much too it. The frame is the same across all the models with the livery, components and the resulting weight being the only difference.
Image

Stem and aerodynamic handlebars. The handle bars aren't round but oval, like an aeroplane or racing car spoiler so things like k-Edge GoPro/GPS mounts and Barfly mounts won't attach to them. They feel weird... more awkard at first compared to the normal round bars but you can have a really relaxed hand position for the longer rides. IIRC apparently there are also aero clip on bars coming out soon so you can easily convert the bike into a TT or triathlon setup for a Saturday morning event and then using the same bike minus the clip on bars for a crit race that afternoon.
Image

It would have been excellent if they had incorporated a GPS mount into the larger chunky stems to maintain the aero profile instead of placing it directly ontop of the stem but the issue with that would be how big do you make the stem cutout for the size of different GPS units.
Image

The v-brakes are as simple as quick release brakes. Just pull the cable attachment out from the left and the whole thing unlocks.
Image
Image

No need for other ANT+ bike sensors as Giant already has them built into the frame of the bike (comes with its own pedal magnet). Just sync it to a new bike profile on your GPS (if you run multiple bikes with different sensors) and away you go.
Image

Cable routing is inside the frame for that aero advantage.
Image

Not much of a gap with 23 tyres. 25 would be a very tight squeeze. I can only just manage to get a rag in there to clean it without removing the wheel.
Image

kunalraiker
Posts: 448
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:44 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby kunalraiker » Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:51 pm

Lukeyboy wrote:Sorry. Been busy and when there has been sun I haven't been on it. Rain on the other hand :evil:

Its fast, super light, very stiff (bumpy repatched potholes still aren't your friends at speed), changing direction multiple times in very quick succession is just an absolute joy, it can leave tyre marks on the ground around fast corners as I found out during a couple shakedown runs along newly resuraced sections of bikeway at *cough*"10kph" :P (I reckon the chap who was sitting on the grass was wondering WT? I was doing going around that same corner time after time haha), goes like the clappers when climbing (providing you have the right cassette depending on your engine and climbing ability) and descents are really fast when in the aero position. Its very good under braking with the ability to leave skid marks while not locking the wheel. Picking up the tempo/pace for a chase is flawless even if in a gear too high. Gear changes are nice and light. Going into a good headwind the steering gets a little heavy at speed but you can still maintain the pace as you slice through it. Light/medium crosswinds are hardly noticable. Strong crosswinds (say from an approaching thunderstorm that has black/red/yellow on the BOM radar right on top of you as you're racing home so the bike doesn't get wet :P) like most other light bikes with aero wheels and crosswinds can be an issue but I've really only noticed it as an issue when doing anything over 60kph/speedy descents when it comes and goes in gusts but the only thing that does is put a smile on your face with a few giggles here and there. That's pretty much the only time I have experienced crosswind issues. There's been a few windy rides but I hardly even noticed them until I caught some traffic lights and noticed the tree branches swaying. All up its in the 6-7kg catagory with the waterbottle cages and the GPS attached (2x Elite Custom Race cages and a Garmin 800).

The SL1 is only available in mechanical DuraAce. SL0 has DuraAce Di2 and yet to hit the Aussie market is a SL2 in SRAM red and SL3 in mechanical Ultegra. The SL2 RRP in the USA is $1000 more than the RRP of the SL1 here. The SL3 RRP in the USA for 5.1K. (personally not a fan of the SL2 and SL3 liveries - Majority black frame with Red parts, Orange decals and White or red on the seat post; Similar to the blue on the seatpost on the SL0 - http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_generate ... SP_red.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; yuk!).

There's not much too it. The frame is the same across all the models with the livery, components and the resulting weight being the only difference.
That's a nice review, very precise and to the point,overall - has you're Avg improved :)

User avatar
Lukeyboy
Posts: 3621
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 2:38 am

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Wed Apr 10, 2013 1:34 pm

So far it has from the few dry runs I've had on it. Already claimed a couple KOMs and a bunch of top 3 places during shakedown/run in/dordling/I wonder what's down this street rides according to Strava. I haven't had a chance to put it through its real paces over longer distances ie 100km+ just yet due to the rain/work. The one time I had planned on doing some good riding over the easter holidays I had forgotten to take my bike shoes. Still managed to be 5 seconds slower than one of my KOMs even with a good headwind on the straights while wearing soft sole slip on shoes. Also managed to crack the top 10 at the local crit circuit too haha. I'd have to go back with proper shoes this time and see if I can walk away with that KOM :P

Edit: The weight differences in the different size stems.

Clamp Length Angle Steerer Weight
31.8mm 70mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 115g
31.8mm 80mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 120g
31.8mm 90mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 125g
31.8mm 100mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 130g
31.8mm 110mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 135g
31.8mm 120mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 140g
31.8mm 130mm +/- 8° 1-1/4" 145g

User avatar
g-boaf
Posts: 21319
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby g-boaf » Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:23 pm

Saw one of those today, very nice looking bike. :)

My own Giant has Ridesense as well. Very useful not needing to use that ugly Garmin cadence and speed sensor. My Trek had this sort of thing ages ago - good to see others are doing similar.
Last edited by g-boaf on Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Baldy
Posts: 1669
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:55 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Baldy » Wed Apr 10, 2013 7:48 pm

Lukeyboy I hate you. Not because you have a better bike than me but because you review will make Doggatas want to get one. I race with him.

User avatar
Howzat
Posts: 850
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:08 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Howzat » Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:11 pm

Interesting brakes - I had always associated V-brakes with cheap hybrids & MTBs. Great review BTW

User avatar
bosvit
Posts: 1613
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 9:47 pm
Location: Port Lincoln

Re: Giant Propel

Postby bosvit » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:25 pm

Mechanically V brakes should have more clamping power, is this noticeable and what is the modulation like?

Cheers

Good review btw

User avatar
Lukeyboy
Posts: 3621
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 2:38 am

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:18 am

Modulation seems good so far at speeds. Haven't done any long speedy decents yet but I'll hopefully be doing Mt Nebo-Mt Glorious soon so I'll be doing some modulation tests to get fimilar with what its like with constant modulation/capable over long distance decents. I haven't experienced any problems or concerns using them. One thing that I have noticed while braking alot when coming to a stop is that it can have that fade and grip shudder/jolt are light enough that you can feel in the feedback via the brake leavers/bars but I only feel it when I shift my body weight/only using one set of brakes towards a set of lights for example and only once you get into the ~10-0kph area with very light braking. I'm 80kg max including bike/tools/tubes/CO2/2 full water bottles/phone/what ever else I carry and very late breaking down Mt Cootha at speed and gradual pulse/trail braking hasn't had any issues or concerns (Pretty sure that kicked up a argument here between a few people that were complaining about speeds and the difference between the brake types available. They obviously haven't ridden this bike before :P). Response feedback is excellent to say the least. Going between my flatbar and my second roadie you notice the difference in the breaking but on the propel you can't even notice their a set of V's slowing you down. It should also be noted that the brake pads are similar to what you get on roadies and not the big chunky things that V's usually have.

User avatar
HAKS
Posts: 2348
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:28 pm
Location: Canberra, AUS

Re: Giant Propel

Postby HAKS » Thu Apr 18, 2013 6:33 pm

The 3T garmin stem would incorporate the GPS nicely although i'm not sure if they make a 1 1/4 version to fit the Giant steerer tube

Image
Current Ride: Trek Madone 6.5 (2013)

User avatar
g-boaf
Posts: 21319
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby g-boaf » Fri Apr 19, 2013 1:57 pm

HAKS wrote:The 3T garmin stem would incorporate the GPS nicely although i'm not sure if they make a 1 1/4 version to fit the Giant steerer tube

Image
I don't think they do either. The standard one doesn't fit. I had to use a K-Edge on my TCR Advanced SL.

User avatar
Lukeyboy
Posts: 3621
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 2:38 am

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Thu May 16, 2013 12:42 pm

The brakes on the Propel have been recalled. Apparently they are being upgraded from the normal alloy rim pads that they come with to cf pads and mounts. Either way its free of cost and can be done in a very short time from the bike store you purchased it from :)

User avatar
Lukeyboy
Posts: 3621
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 2:38 am

Re: Giant Propel

Postby Lukeyboy » Mon Jun 03, 2013 3:49 pm

The brake setup recall wasn't what I posted above but the whole brake assembly was actually swapped out. Prior to that I have had limited running on it in the rain and hadn't noticed many issues but the other day I came across an abnormality where the front brakes were locking in the rain - in that the assembly mounts weren't releasing 100% - even though no brake pressure was still being applied (to release the pressure I had to flick out the brake mounts). There was a little slack in the brake lever where if you pressed it gently it wouldn't apply the brakes but then it became stiff and the brakes started to apply. Overnight the brakes dried out, the sun came out and the locking was gone. I had left the mounts in the same position where it locked itself but the next morning it had released itself which summed up my water theory causing the brakes to lock in position. I'll be taking it to my lbs for its freebie service/stem mods soon and I'll try to source out some more information about the brake setup and if it might be related to its recall from the first time.

User avatar
g-boaf
Posts: 21319
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Giant Propel

Postby g-boaf » Tue Jun 04, 2013 3:05 pm

HAKS wrote:The 3T garmin stem would incorporate the GPS nicely although i'm not sure if they make a 1 1/4 version to fit the Giant steerer tube

Image
Confirming just in case anyone needs to know that this will not work at all. Doesn't fit. So you'll need to use the K-Edge mount instead.

User avatar
HAKS
Posts: 2348
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:28 pm
Location: Canberra, AUS

Re: Giant Propel

Postby HAKS » Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:29 pm

or get creative like this guy ;). He takes limited requests on the WW forums so perhaps if enough Giant owners ask he might do one for their oversized stems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT5lq8-L9c4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image
Current Ride: Trek Madone 6.5 (2013)

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users