Which new carbon bike? Cube vs. Giant

scotthunter

https://www.certini.co.uk/38983/product ... green.aspx

Is this a good sportive bike? Any thoughts on the colour scheme? Or I could save a grand, buy the TCR Advanced 2 and use half of the money I saved to put a pair of mavic ksyrium elites in it, although I would have to live with rim brakes and a 105 groupset.

Hmmm decisions decisions. I’m going to my local bike shop for some test rides to see if I want a TCR or Defy.

keef66

scotthunter wrote:

Why are 105 shifters hideous?

105 mechanical shifters are fine, but that bike has hydraulic discs and last year there were no 105 hydraulic STIs.
Instead they paired non-series ST-RS505 hydraulic shifters with the 105 kit last year. Universally criticised as being conspicuously large and bulbous.

The new 105 R7000 soon to be released has it's own hydraulic STIs which look a bit easier on the eye.

keef66

If the only thing stopping you buying a bargain 2017 TCR Advanced is the shape of the bars, get the bike shop to swap them to something you like better. It would take them 20 minutes and they should do it cheaply if they want the sale. And if you immediately want better wheels, ask them how much to upgrade at the same time. Compare that with the cost of buying a second wheelset at a later date (which you may prefer to do if you want to have a spare set)

Oasticles

scotthunter wrote:

https://www.certini.co.uk/38983/products/2018-giant-defy-advanced-pro-1-road-bike-carbon-smoke-green.aspx

Is this a good sportive bike? Any thoughts on the colour scheme? Or I could save a grand, buy the TCR Advanced 2 and use half of the money I saved to put a pair of mavic ksyrium elites in it, although I would have to live with rim brakes and a 105 groupset.

Hmmm decisions decisions. I’m going to my local bike shop for some test rides to see if I want a TCR or Defy.

I just went through the same process and found that doing a bike fit the Defy suited me better. The TCR is a lovely bike too but I just felt that bit more stretched out on it and part of the reason for treating myself to a new bike was for comfort (it's an age thing!).

If you can afford it I would go with an advanced pro - composite plus tubeless was really nice!

drlodge

If you want better wheels I'd suggesting buying an extra pair, then you have two pairs for winter/summer use.

scotthunter

https://goo.gl/images/SCoKRX

I went for the Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1 in the end. Got £450 off the list price.

Took it out for a spin last night and did my local hill climb - 400ft over 1.2 miles in 7min dead without trying too hard as I was just getting used to the bike. I've done this climb 8 times previously and got a PB. I last attempted it properly about month ago on my old Cube Peleton and was a minute slower then. I calculated I was 15% faster on the new bike. It just goes to show that lighter bikes (and more importantly lighter wheels) really do make a difference.

The 25mm tubeless tyres on the carbon frame make a massive difference in terms of ride comfort compared to the 23mm tyres on the aluminium frame. This bike just floats along the road like it's on a magic carpet. It's really smooth. Gear changes with the new Ultegra R8000 feel very crisp in a reassuringly mechanical sense.

Haven't thought about what to carry on longer rides as I am completely new to tubeless- what do I do if I get a puncture? I think I'm running at 90-100 PSI at the moment.

Lovely bike.

drlodge

scotthunter wrote:

Haven't thought about what to carry on longer rides as I am completely new to tubeless- what do I do if I get a puncture? I think I'm running at 90-100 PSI at the moment.

Lovely bike.

Those pressures are higher than they need to be, I'm running 80/90 with 23c IRC roadlites. Try 70/80 for 25c tyres

Make sure there is decent sealant in the tyres (just moved to Orange endurance myself), which should seal most punctures. For more serious holes that don't seal, carry some worms like these https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/collection ... nnovations also a decent hand pump as CO2 will breakdown the sealant. Malcolm's vid on utoob is good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfJXNQPZbJ0

Even if a puncture doesn't 100% seal, its likely to retain some pressure and you can ride these tyres down to about 30 or 40 psi, enough to get you home.

keef66

Well that looks lovely, and it sounds like you got a good deal. Enjoy!

I'm thinking of some handbuilts from Malcolm and was going to give his IRC Roadlites a go at the same time...

scotthunter

[/quote]
Even if a puncture doesn't 100% seal, its likely to retain some pressure and you can ride these tyres down to about 30 or 40 psi, enough to get you home.[/quote]

So with tubeless, assuming there is enough sealant, you don't get the catastrophic, complete loss of pressure type punctures like you do with clinchers then? I remember doing a 112 mile sportive called the Moor 2 Sea and getting 4 punctures during the ride. I think they were all pinch flats. It was a really long day!

drlodge

keef66 wrote:

Well that looks lovely, and it sounds like you got a good deal. Enjoy!

I'm thinking of some handbuilts from Malcolm and was going to give his IRC Roadlites a go at the same time...

Go for it. I've got a couple of wheels from Malcolm, one 50mm deep carbon and the other he put Kinlin rims on old Shimano hubs for my winter bike, very pleased and the IRC roadlites are great tyres (got the X guard on the winter bike).

Tubeless can be a bit of a ballache getting them on and seated, having a compressor or "oneshot" type thing helps.

drlodge

scotthunter wrote:

So with tubeless, assuming there is enough sealant, you don't get the catastrophic, complete loss of pressure type punctures like you do with clinchers then? I remember doing a 112 mile sportive called the Moor 2 Sea and getting 4 punctures during the ride. I think they were all pinch flats. It was a really long day!

#

Exactly right, and there is no chance of getting a pinch flat as there's no tube to pinch.