Cross is coming. It may be hotter than Hades now, but that means Fall is just around the corner. If your current cross whip is clapped out like an off camber turn in the mud, or maybe you’ve just gotten bit by the cross bug, either way Giant may have the bike for you.
Hot on the heels of Tyler’s recent post, we now have all the official specs and pictures of the 2011 Giant Cyclocross line up. Obviously we have already touched on the fact that Giant now has a true full line of crossers with addition of the carbon TCX Advanced SL, and a cross bike specifically for women in the TCX W. It was pointed out after the last post that Terry ,not Giant, was the first bike brand to create a stock woman’s cross bike with the Valkyrie, which has been available for two years. Altough, Giant is the first of the bike manufacturers that makes both men’s and women’s bikes to offer a woman’s specific cross bike.
The complete line looks great and truly offers everyone a bike no matter what their dedication to riding in the slop tends to be.
Read on to see pictures of all models with full specs.
TCX SERIES
Light enough to hoist and carry, fast enough to carry you to the podium. That?s TCX.
With a sharp-handling, lightweight and easy-to-shoulder ALUXX SL aluminum frame
plus a smart mix of dirt-worthy components, the all-new TCX is your do-it-all bike for
competition or adventure. Better yet, both.
FEATURES
• ALUXX SL-grade aluminum frame
• OverDrive oversize headtube with 1-1/8†top and 1-1/4†lower headset bearings for
maximum rigidity and control
• Composite fork with aluminum steerer tube
• PowerCore bottom bracket
• MegaDrive oversize rectangular-section downtube and oversize toptube for significant
torsional stiffness and out-of-the-saddle power delivery
• Modified Compact Road Design with flattened toptube for comfortable shouldering
BENEFITS
• 2% lighter frameset weight than 2010 TCX aluminum
• 5% additional bottom bracket stiffness over 2010 aluminum version
TCX ADVANCED SL
Developed for one purpose: to win the world?s hardest cyclocross races. Rabobank pros
accept nothing less, so when Lars Boom rode this bike to the 2010 Dutch CX
Championship, it spoke volumes. The secret is Giant?s Advanced SL-grade composite
frame—featuring a MegaDrive downtube for unprecedented stiffness and an integrated
seatpost for a lighter, more compliant ride.
FEATURES
• Advanced SL-grade composite frame with T-800 raw carbon woven in-house
• OverDrive oversize headtube with 1-1/8†top and 1-1/4†loer headset bearingsfor
maximum rigidity and control
• Full Advanced SL-grade composite fork with composite steerer tube
• PowerCore bottom bracket
• MegaDrive oversize rectangular-section downtube and oversize toptube for superb
torsional stiffness and out-of-the-saddle power delivery, with ultimate steering precision
• Fully integrated cable routing—for outstanding braking/shifting performance in the
worst conditions
• Integrated seatpost
• Mud-shedding frame design
• Modified Compact Road Design with flattened toptube for comfortable shouldering
BENEFITS
• 18% lighter frameset weight than 2010 TCX aluminum
• 10% additional frontal stiffness over 2010 aluminum version
TCX W
Aim for state championships or your first-ever cyclocross race—either way, the versatile
TCX W is the right bike for the job. With a sharp-handling, easy-to-shoulder, superlight
ALUXX SL aluminum frame and composite fork, the women?s-specific TCX W gives you
the confidence you need in even the worst conditions.
FEATURES
• ALUXX SL-grade aluminum frame
• Women’s specific geometry including shorter toptube and taller headtube
• OverDrive oversize headtube with 1-1/8†top and 1-1/4†lower headset bearings for
maximum rigidity and control
• Composite fork with aluminum steerer tube
• PowerCore bottom bracket
BENEFITS
• 2% lighter frameset weight than 2010 TCX aluminum
• 5% additional bottom bracket stiffness over 2010 aluminum version
Finally I’ll leave off with a word from Giant regarding their professional cross team they have put together and how they have helped shape the new line of bikes to ensure that consumers bikes can be just as potent as the pro’s steeds.
NEWBURY PARK, CA (July 5, 2010)—With a talented roster of world class cyclocross racers on its new Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team, plus a new series of 2011 ’cross bikes including an all-new TCX and the TCX Advanced SL composite bike, Giant is placing more emphasis than ever on its commitment to cyclocross.
Earlier this year Giant launched a new global off-road team with a dual focus on endurance mountain biking and cyclocross. Now, with the fall ’cross season approaching, Giant is introducing a new line of cyclocross bikes including the TCX Advanced SL that will be raced by team riders including World Cup contenders Gerben de Knegt and Bart Aernouts of The Netherlands.
The new TCX Advanced SL marks the culmination of a development project that began more than 18 months ago when Giant first partnered with the Rabobank Professional Cycling Team. Shortly after Giant and Rabobank joined forces, Giant’s product development team met with Rabobank ’cross racers including Lars Boom—who was the Elite Men’s World Cyclocross Champion at the time—to begin the process of creating a new World Cup-level ’cross bike.
“The Rabobank team has very deep roots in cyclocross,†said Giant Global Product Development Director Dennis Lane. “With riders like Boom, de Knegt and lots of other developing stars in Europe, they asked us to come up with a bike that would give them a real edge at the World Cup and World Championship level.â€
The heart of the new frameset is Giant’s Advanced SL composite material. Starting with T-800 raw carbon fiber, Giant weaves its own composite at its renowned C-Tech composite engineering facility to produce a superlight, stiff and compliant frame sharing the same DNA as the road and TT frames raced by Rabobank road pros.
The next, and perhaps most important step in the development of the TCX Advanced SL, was determining tube shape through Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Generally speaking, the TCX Advanced SL features smaller-diameter tubes than Giant’s composite road bikes. This results in a more compliant, ride-tuned feel the Rabobank ’cross pros asked for. It makes for a better-handling bike, one that “flows†through the tight corners and constantly changing terrain of cyclocross.
The TCX Advanced SL’s Integrated Seatpost, a signature feature of Giant’s pro-level road bikes, is engineered with a bit more compliance than Giant road bikes. There’s less emphasis on aerodynamics, more on comfort. And of course the TCX Advanced SL frameset takes into consideration the elements of ’cross racing. Plenty of rear wheel clearance helps shed mud, and internal cable routing ensures crisp, precise shifts no matter how adverse the conditions.
The TCX Advanced SL does incorporate some of the performance features of Rabobank’s pro road bikes. The Overdrive headtube and fork steerer, with 1-1/8-inch top and 1-1/4-inch bottom bearings, is super stiff for razor sharp handling; when paired with a composite fork for a compliant feel on rough surfaces and harsh transitions, it offers an unparalleled performance ride.
Powerhouse Cyclocross Team
The cyclocross division of the Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team is managed by former Cyclocross World Champion Richard Groenendaal. Four Junior and Under-23 riders from The Netherlands will join de Knegt, silver medalist behind Boom at the 2010 Dutch Cyclocross Championships, and Aernouts on the team.
The developing Rabobank ’cross riders will look to follow in the footsteps of Boom. He came into the sport through cyclocross, won 10 Dutch Cyclocross Championships and a World Championship with Rabobank, and is now racing the Tour de France with the Rabobank Road Team.
In addition to de Knegt, Aernouts and the four young European-based racers, some of Giant’s World Cup mountain bike racers will switch to cyclocross competition in the fall. For example, Adam Craig, a U.S. Olympian in mountain biking, competes in select North American ’cross races and played a role in the development of the new TCX Advanced SL.
For more information on the Rabobank-Giant Off-Road team, and to learn more about the complete new series of Giant cyclocross bikes—which also includes all-new TCX models and a specially designed TCX W for women—please visit giant-bicycles.com.
