Aero – Giant Vs Merida

john kirk wrote:Been looking

john kirk wrote:

Been looking at the Transonics as well. (just online for now)

Out of the different braking layouts of the 3 I like the idea of Giants own system on the Propel… just seems to make perfect sense. A simple, slim solution hidden neatly inline with the frame.

A part of me wants to go for any brand other than the largest bike manufacturer in the world.
but… on paper and visually the Propel looks hard to beat ?

I totally agree with you; I didn’t want to get something from the largest manufacturer either, but if you take that out of the equation, I couldn’t find a better value bike, or one I wanted as much.

The brakes are the best non-disc brakes I have used too, never mind the elegance of the solution. Way better than under the bb.

I bought a Giant Propel
I bought a Giant Propel Advanced 1 in April. Absolutely love it. I Everested on it in May (27 hours) and have ridden it up the Blockhaus in Italy this summer (4 hours climbing, 90 minutes descending 👿 ) so it climbs well enough and won’t break you into a million pieces if you ride it for more than 30 minutes. I think it weighs 8.25 kg.

Evans are a good place to demo bikes, if you really want to try some out, but they don’t stock Giant as far as I know. I tried a Fuji Transonic (aero, similar to the Propel/Reacto) which was fine, looked slightly more radical but felt harsher than the Giant. I also tried a Cannondale Supersix which again was good, but by this point it would have taken a lot to get me off the Giant.

My local Giant store would only let me try a £2.5k Propel, which was absolutely way beyond anything I have ever ridden, a stunning piece of kit. So much so, I thought long and hard about finding the way to pay for it. That version of the Propel has good wheels and makes do with 105.

The Reacto looks like it has similar drive train; I’ve had no real problems with the Giant wheels although they seem to be a little more prone to pinch punctures than the Campag wheels on my old bike.

The Propel is generally known
The Propel is generally known as a bit more rounded as an aero bike as it’s generally lighter and stiffer for climbing than others.
The merida is known as a full on aero bike, so does lose some points on frame weight.

However as anyone who knows will tell you, that’s only part of the story, where can you buy from, service, support, most important the fit of these bikes will be different.