Giant’s new road bikes were pretty sweet looking, especially the TCR Advanced SL above.  It’s a partial monocoque 1K weave carbon frame with about a 900g frame weight.  Add the sub-300g team fork, and you get an extremely lightweight frame.  Also known as the Columbia Team Model ridden by Mark Cavendish, it’s a full Dura-Ace build that will MSRP for $8,000.
See more pics of this and other new Giant road bikes, including a new women’s specific bike, the Avail, when you read “more”…
From the front, you can see the heavily shaped tubes.  The top tube is almost like a diamond shape with a very boxy downtube.
The integrated seat mast has markings at the top, making it easier to get your measurements cut in the correct place.
A lot of people know that Giant makes frames for a lot of other bicycle companies, which is why you could generally get a similarly spec’d Giant for less coin than another major brand…they do crazy volume and there’s no extra market from reselling the frames.  What a lot of people don’t know is that they literally make everything in house.  The 1K carbon weave?  It’s woven in house.  This gives them complete control over the process from start to finish.
Next down the line from the SL is the TCR Advanced.  This is a full monocoque carbon frame (975g frame, 320g fork) that retails for $3,650 with SRAM Force, Race Face bits and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels.  You still get a big, fat downtube, but no integrated seatmast and the junction of the top tube to seat stays is decidedly less fluid than on the SL.
This family shot shows some of the color options available, but they’re all set against the black carbon frame.  Click on the pic to make it really big.
Next down the line is the 2009 Giant Defy road bike.  Shown above is the “Advanced” model with an Ultegra/Dura-Ace build that retails for about $3,550.  It comes with Race Face handlebar and stem, Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels and an aero seatpost.   There are a couple of Defy models available, dropping down to about $2,150 with a 105/Ultegra build and FSA cranks (double or triple).
Whereas the TCR has a very race-oriented geometry, the Defy is performance oriented but has a longer top tube and taller headtube to make it more comfortable for the average or enthusiast rider.
The Avail is Giant’s women-specific road frame.  Built around the performance specs of the Defy, it’s available in similar builds from $2,500 to $3,500.
