# gaint advanced versus tcr composite zero



## warek (Aug 25, 2005)

I am thinking of buying a new giant bike. I am a slowish overweight rider of 92 kg and a very poor hill climber. I am an Audax club member and ride distances of 100-400 km a day. I like nice equipment but what is the ride, handling, speed, comfort difference I could expect between these two bikes?


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## tmanley (Jul 31, 2005)

*Tcr*



warek said:


> I am thinking of buying a new giant bike. I am a slowish overweight rider of 92 kg and a very poor hill climber. I am an Audax club member and ride distances of 100-400 km a day. I like nice equipment but what is the ride, handling, speed, comfort difference I could expect between these two bikes?


I'm interested too to learn more about these bikes. In particular, the TCR Comp 1 is what's piquing my interest.


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## wasfast (Feb 3, 2004)

warek said:


> I am thinking of buying a new giant bike. I am a slowish overweight rider of 92 kg and a very poor hill climber. I am an Audax club member and ride distances of 100-400 km a day. I like nice equipment but what is the ride, handling, speed, comfort difference I could expect between these two bikes?


I haven't compared the 2. I own an '04 TCR Composite with Rolf Prima Elan wheels, mostly Record 10 parts. I don't race any more but do around 150 miles a week. I have a rain bike for the "other" half of the year here in Oregon.

The handling on the Giant is pretty quick but not in a twitchy sense. The ride is very smooth. If anything, you have to be careful when getting out of the saddle due to the short wheelbase and fast steering. I have to remind myself to have the saddle touching the back of my legs as I'm sprinting or climbing.

The potential plus to the Advanced is that the chainstays are considerably longer than the Composites. This will lessen the above effect and make the ride even smoother plus allow large tire sizes that are quite tight on the TCR Composite where the tire can contact the seattube.


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## PedalSpinner (Aug 24, 2005)

Given your weight and rider profile, I would try to stay away from Giant's normal composite frame. We are around the same weight and although I found my TCR0 ready to fly in a straight line on the flat, I found corner handling a bit unsettled, especially on descents (eg on the Audax Alpine Classic at Falls Creek which I did last year) and around faster turns. 

I hear the advanced frame is much stiffer so I think that would suit you better for handling and if you are having problems climbing, the stiffer frame will help get more of your leg power into turning the wheels rather than being absorbed by the bike.

At the risk of being flamed on this Giant forum, I would also suggest you keep an open mind and consider a more traditional geometry that tends to handle heavier riders better. Yeah, I know, I thought it all used to be marketing hype but when I moved to one of Trek's Madones from my TCR0, the difference in handling and stiffness was like night and day without sacrificing ride comfort. Yes, you may need to pay a few extra dollars (very hard to beat Giant on value) but I think you will find it is worth it- especially with the kms you are doing and on those difficult climbs.

At the end of the day, all these bikes will ride great but for your specific case, I'd look carefully at getting something stiffer than the normal TCR composite frame if the budget permits- at least a TCR advanced with some nice stiff DA cranks!


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## TZL (May 4, 2005)

Wasfast,

i think you have it backwards, Advance frames have SHORTER chainstays, 400mm, vs 407mm for the 05 composites.

Giant lengthened the chainstays on 05 composites to make them more stable and slightly more comfortable, however they kept the short chainstays on the advances for the tighter handling



wasfast said:


> ....The potential plus to the Advanced is that the chainstays are considerably longer than the Composites. This will lessen the above effect and make the ride even smoother plus allow large tire sizes that are quite tight on the TCR Composite where the tire can contact the seattube.


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## Savedsol (Sep 23, 2004)

As always, different opinions. I thought the OCLV Treks felt like touring bikes. I was 205lbs when I bought my 2004 TCR Team (almost the same frame as the 05 Advanced). No problems then, loved the razor sharp cornering then and love it now.


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## TZL (May 4, 2005)

Well I've never ridden the Madone or Madone SL, but i've ridden many standard OCLV frames, and i have to say that TCR comps are significantly stiffer than std OCLV frames......however I can't comment on the new generation of Madones.



Savedsol said:


> As always, different opinions. I thought the OCLV Treks felt like touring bikes. I was 205lbs when I bought my 2004 TCR Team (almost the same frame as the 05 Advanced). No problems then, loved the razor sharp cornering then and love it now.


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## elviento (Mar 24, 2002)

when I came from a Trek 5900 to a TCR carbon, I was shocked how flexy the front end of the TCR was. 



TZL said:


> Well I've never ridden the Madone or Madone SL, but i've ridden many standard OCLV frames, and i have to say that TCR comps are significantly stiffer than std OCLV frames......however I can't comment on the new generation of Madones.


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