# Giant Going after the Competition



## r1lee (Jul 22, 2012)

Cool video guys, you can also download the test data. Basically Giant is going for the big prize. 

Win With Giant


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## Sun Rider (Jul 8, 2012)

I chose Giant for my road bike, a '12 Defy Advanced 0, because I believe they are more advanced in the research, design, and manufacturing of carbon fiber frames.


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

This is halfway credible. Better than the usual marketing BS about revolutionary tube shapes or carbon layup technology.

I notice your post was on the general discussion board and was then removed. Too commercial?


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## r1lee (Jul 22, 2012)

yeah it looks like it was removed, i guess potentially could be a flame war, which i wasn't trying to start.

I think it was a good discussion based material, considering Giant really wants to make a point. 

Like I said, they seem to be pretty bold in their statements, unless they are completely wrong with their data. 

From what I heard about the Propel bike. They took all the Aero bikes on the market. Created a life size dummy of one of their Rabobank riders and positioned him on each bike. At that point they started to tinker with the design of the Propel. With their data, it showed that the propel in almost every condition, came out as the fastest bike. Until this is proven, who really knows.

Even in the current video that was released at Eurobike, in that interview the Giant rep came out and stated that its the "fastest" aero bike period.


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## Sven_Nijs (Jul 14, 2011)

Cheers for the link!


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## Sun Rider (Jul 8, 2012)

yeah it looks like it was removed, i guess potentially could be a flame war, which i wasn't trying to start.


> That would be a frame war.


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## MXL (Jun 26, 2012)

What's a relavent competitor? Bikes that are made in Asia? I didn't see the Colnago C59 or EP mentioned.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

I suspect your thread was removed because it was specific to Giant, so not a general topic of interest.

As to the vid and tests, being conducted 'in-house' IMO the results are highly suspect. It's interesting to note that the Tour tests don't result in such a clear win for Giant, and they _are_ an independent testing facility.

As far as having control over the entire process from design to end product, is Giant saying that they don't follow any quality standards when manufacturing the competitions bikes? Hardly. They too are manufactured to the specs dictated by their respective designer/ manufacturer. 

Don't get me wrong, I think Giant are fine bikes, but there's more than a little marketing hype at play here.


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## icsloppl (Aug 25, 2009)

It's an interesting and useful approach to advertising, and one of the few that uses actual data that's been taken in a quality manner. Personally, i believe everything they are saying and my experience completely backs up their results.
Like most things in life though, it's advertantly incomplete one regard, and somewhat misleading in another.

IMO -

Incorrect/Misleading - Giant is the only company that controls their CF from design to completion. Trek's high-end U.S. made Madones also share this. While the Asian Treks don't, many Gaints are also farmed out to Chinese factories that are not owned by Giant. As to Colnago's Italian lines, they rely on Toray CF nor do they make the tubing from the material.

Incomplete - Higher BB stiffness is always better. When the BB area is deformed such that the chain ring is effectively rotated from parallel to the rear casette cog, there is no loss of efficiency. It's only when the entire frame is deflected from the path of the rear wheel that energy is wasted, as the rear wheel is then not exactly aligned with the direction of travel. This situation only happens when standing and leaning/throwing the bike back and forth. 

Correct - You can never have too much torsional stiffness in the steering tube / head tube area. IMO Giant is probably the best in the world in this regard.

This link was posted in the Cannondale forum with the question as to whether the Super 6 wasn't really a better bike than the EVO, as Giant's data would indicate. Those who've ridden both back-to-back would question that conclusion, me included. Stiffness isn't the ultimate factor in all regards. If it were, frames would be made from beryllium or magnesium. The Super 6 rides like a steel bar, you feel every wrinkle in the road surface. Not only is this rather unpleasant, it's also inefficient and adversely affects cornering. The Cannondale EVO was made to address these areas, and like the high-end Madones, it does so very well. IMO while the high-end Giant's aren't terribly harsh, they appear to have abandoned these areas vs. what the best designs have accomplished.


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## r1lee (Jul 22, 2012)

i see that Giant has sponsored the forum on the home page with this.


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