Giant Cypress, Alight or Thrive

[Lisa464]

Hi All,

I am new. I have just started to get back into exercise and riding after having a baby.

I want to commute to work. The distance is 3.7km according to Google maps. Takes about 7 minutes in the car. It's flat most of the way with a slight incline on one of the areas.

My local bike shop stocks Giant bikes and initially recommended the Cypress to me. But, the frame doesn't look as sporty as I would prefer. I like these:

Alight

Thrive

I'm not sure which one to choose between these. I will be going back to the bike shop next week to look at them. Can anyone shed any light on how to make the decision between the two?

Thank you

[tekapo]

Focus on the test rides, and find a frame/geometry/size that suits you best. Also look at other brands as well as their geometry might differ.

After that, the fun part of comparing specs begins. Thrive has a higher tier road group with TIagra, while Alight has a mountain Altus/Alivio. The main thing to note is that the mountain group have more lower gears for climbs/heavier loads (racks/panniers etc can add up), and road group have "faster" higher gears. Alight also has disc brakes which is much better in the wet, although you can still make do with rim brakes as well.

Other question to ask.

Do you want racks/panniers/fenders?
How wide a tire the bike can fit? You may or may not want to use a wider tire to smooth out the ride.

EDIT: Mixed up the models.

[Red Rider]

Hi Lisa, I think you're right, the Cypress's suspension fork and seatpost aren't necessary and just add weight.

Going on the specs online, the main difference between the Alight 1 and Thrive 1 is the Alight has rim brakes while the Thrive has disc brakes. Disc brakes are a big benefit in wet weather.

The Thrive looks to have a more modern frame design.

The Thrive also has 'sportier' gearing than the Alight. The Thrive has 2 gears up front and 10 at the rear, whilst the Alight has 3 up front and 9 rear. I used to have a commuting bike with 3 gears at the front and never (as in literally never) used the smallest one, so I think it is a waste to have 3, and since your route is generally flat I think the Thrive set up is definitely better suited to you. The grade/quality of gearing etc on the Thrive is also above that of the Alight.

The tyres on the Thrive are a bit 'sportier' than those of the Alight, being a bit skinnier and slick, which is fine on sealed roads and paths.

The trade-off for the difference between the Thrive 1 and Alight 1 is the price, about $300 separates them.

[tekapo]

Cypress's suspension fork and seatpost aren't necessary and just add weight.

Most around here will frown on having the suspension fork/post. But they are still useful, to an extent, and good for nice easy rides around the place, and it might be perfect for the short 3.7km ride

Don't diss it until OP had a ride on it, who knows, it might be the best fitting/comfy of them all.

[Lisa464]

hi. What do you mean when you say Alight has a higher tier road group with Tlagra? I looked for that word in the specs sheet, and Altus/Alivio and couldn't find it. Do you mean Alight is more suited to the road, whereas Thrive is still closer to a mountain bike?

Sorry. I feel like a dill

There's only one small climb on the way to work. And it's unlikely that I'd be adding racks and panniers, but I wouldn't like to rule out the possibility, just in case I wanted to do so later.

Focus on the test rides, and find a frame/geometry/size that suits you best. Also look at other brands as well as their geometry might differ.

After that, the fun part of comparing specs begins. Alight has a higher tier road group with TIagra, while Thrive has a mountain Altus/Alivio. The main thing to note is that the mountain group have more lower gears for climbs/heavier loads (racks/panniers etc can add up), and road group have "faster" higher gears. Alight also has disc brakes which is much better in the wet, although you can still make do with rim brakes as well.

Other question to ask.

Do you want racks/panniers/fenders?
How wide a tire the bike can fit? You may or may not want to use a wider tire to smooth out the ride.

[Lisa464]

The shop doesn't do test rides because they don't have all the models in stock all the time. That makes it kinda hard eh.

[tekapo]

[quote="Lisa464"]hi. What do you mean when you say Alight has a higher tier road group with Tlagra? I looked for that word in the specs sheet, and Altus/Alivio and couldn't find it. Do you mean Alight is more suited to the road, whereas Thrive is still closer to a mountain bike?

There are probably two issue at hand here.

Firstly, gearing.

(These are from the US site, should be similar to the AU model, but just as a example as there are many models within each line)

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bik ... ifications" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

shows it has Tiagra shifters derailluers etc, FSA Vero cranks 34/50 (two chain rings up front, and more teeth up front = higher gear, less teeth=lower), and a 10 speed 11x28 (less teeth = higher gear, more teeth = lower gear) cassette at back. So in theory the lowest gear you can have is 34/28, and highest is 50/11

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bik ... ifications" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

shows it has mix of Altus/Alivio shifter derailleurs etc, Shimano M391 crank 26/36/48 (three chain ring up front), and a 9 speed 11x34 cassette at the back. So lowest gear is 26/34, and highest is 48/11.

So the Thrive have a higher top gear, but Alight has a (much) lower bottom gear. So low that typically, you wouldn't even use the 26 chainring unless you are off road climbing, or hauling some serious load. However, there are always times that your legs might be dead tired facing a hill, that some really low gears might come in handy. But in reality, both set of gearing ranges will be fine for commuting, people whinge about the triple chain ring on MTB groups for on road use because of, heaven forbid, the excess weight of the essentially useless small chain ring.

Second, component level/quality.

Shimano has got a line of road groupsets and a line of MTB groupsets, and within each line there are different tiers (based on performance, quality, weight, price etc). In these tiers, Tiagra, a road group is on par with its MTB counter part, Alivio and higher than Altus, which is two steps below. But again, in reality, both will serve you fine.

As to test rides, this is probably the most important aspect of finding the right bike. If you buy a bike from a reputable brand, such as Giant, the components/parts will do its job, some might be slightly better or worse, but it will do its job, there isn't much to go wrong here. But if you buy a bike that is too small or too big, or have a too aggressive geometry, or a too relaxed geometry, then you probably will have problems. So if that bike shop don't have one for you to test ride, I suggest you try another shop or perhaps brand.

[Lisa464]

Thank you so much for your detailed reply, I appreciate the amount of detail you put into it and your explanation.

The Australian Giant site doesn't have the same information in the details section so I now see why I couldn't see those words Tiagra or Altus/Alivio. They're displayed on the American site but not the Australian. I clicked on the links you provided and there it was.

Thanks again

[Red Rider]

Just to clarify as there is some confusion here, the Thrive 1 has the Tiagra road gearing and disc brakes, the Alight 1 has the Altus mountain bike style gearing and rim brakes. The info is available on the Aus website.

[tekapo]

Just to clarify as there is some confusion here, the Thrive 1 has the Tiagra road gearing and disc brakes, the Alight 1 has the Altus mountain bike style gearing and rim brakes. The info is available on the Aus website.

Thanks, just noticed I typed it up wrong earlier.