Looking to get a road bike with Ironman races being canceled indefinitely. I’ve narrowed down my search to a Tarmac SL7 Expert and a 2020 Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1 Disc and my LBS has both in stock. The TCR seems like a better value at $5,400 coming with carbon wheels and a power meter. If I go with the SL7 expert, I’ll add a powermeter for around $350 and then eventually upgrade the wheels, putting me closer to around $6,500 all in. I liked how both bikes road. I’ll be using the bike for off-season ironman training, longer rides, group rides, some climbing.
Where do you guys think the better value is? Still fairly new to cycling so any pros/cons of going in either direction is greatly appreciated!
The TCR is definitely a great value. Giant bikes also come with a 2 year no questions asked crash damage warranty. Drive your car into the garage door and it’s covered. Can you ride either locally to figure it out? Both are great bikes. There is no wrong answer.
You’ll get a more aero frame with the Tarmac, plus an integrated cockpit. Carbon aero bars vs. alloy round bars should not be overlooked. You should evaluate if you find the Aerofly II bars comfortable.
That said, carbon wheels on the TCR are a big nod towards the Giant in terms of value.
I would say the best value is definitely the Giant, but be honest about whether you really want an integrated cockpit.
But really, the question you need to ask is really “Which bike is red?” and then buy that one.
The best value is the Giant, but does it “speak” to you. Part of buying an expensive bicycle for me is the lust factor. The Giant TCR, with exposed cables and brick like aero features, just doesn’t do it for me.
Just visited my LBS (Austria) and for the Pros with Ultegra there is a waiting time of at least 2 months (for some sizes March 2021!!).
I could get the Pro with the Sram a lot sooner, but I’m not sure what to think about the 1x. Does anyone already have some riding experience on the 1x and could give me some impressions? How do you like it compared to a 2x? How does it climb? How do the bigger jumps affect cadence when shifting? …
Honestly, the best setup I’ve had on road was 1x Sram mech with the clutch derailleur. With 12-speed and a 10-36 cassette, you’ll have almost identical overlap of range and distinct gears with traditional road ranges like 53/39x11-28 an 52/36x11-28… see below. On top of that, cleaner aesthetics and the bragging rights of being unique.
The problem of course is the aesthetics of having a little teeny chain ring at the front and a great big dinner plate at the back when all good roadies know that it should be the other way round
Actually, thank you for posting this, must admit I thought the jump from 13 to 15 was bigger than that. That was always the area that worried me as you tend to spend a lot of time around that part of the cassette.
I had a 48x11-28 on an Allez Sprint a summer or so ago, and it was a ton of fun. Only negative was I need a little more top end to race it and, if I wanted to climb a little more, some extra range. a 12-speed 48tx10-36 AXS setup would have addressed the only concerns I had, and I much prefer not having to mess with a front derailleur and the risk of a dropped chain.
Same for me, I wont be able to pick mine up till Feb / March which suits me fine as I wont want to ride a shiny new bike in the winter when i have my older one…but I put a deposit down for a Pro model
The advent of Di2 has pretty much put an end to messing around with front derailleurs and dropping chains though. I think if Di2 didn’t exist I’d be looking much more seriously at 1x on a road bike (already have it on the TT bike, just don’t do steeps climbs on that bike so haven’t had to compromise between gear range and gear spacing).
I had the 10-36 cassette on for about a week with a 48t and the double jumps over 14 and 16 really suck. Its converted to 2x so with the 10-28 I have on now its way better. Just depends on what speeds you normally ride at and the type of terrain.
I bought the SL7 Pro a week ago and to make it a 2x I changed the cassette, chain, added the FD and chose a Sram Red crankset. I’ll post photos once I get it from the shop in a couple of weeks as bike parts are backordered in my neck of the woods.
Yea that red colorway in the TCR is nice! I like it a lot more than the silver Tarmac. The Tarmac SL7 expert which is the model I’m looking at has alloy aerobars. I’d have to shell out an extra $2k for the Pro model to get the Aerofly II bars, carbon wheels and upgraded saddle. Is that worth an extra $2k to me? Probably not.
@AJS914 Appreciate the insight. Good to know about their crash damage warranty!
@lightyear yes what @grant said. Looking at the 4iiii single sided. So $350 but not getting dual sided like what’s on the TCR.
@stonerider I hear you. The silver colorway on the SL7 Expert doesn’t do it for me. I’m a huge fan of the two colors on the SL7 pro but that’s out of my price range.
@Boombang My LBS has a 2020 propel in stock in my size. What kind of discounts are you seeing on 2020 models?
