Giant brings discs to TCR road bikes, adds Contend aluminum road line

NEWBURY PARK, Calif. (BRAIN) — Giant is bringing disc brakes to its longstanding pro road bike line, TCR. The TCR Disc range includes three model series: TCR Advanced SL Disc, TCR Advanced Pro Disc and TCR Advanced Disc.

Giant also announced a new road bike line, Contend, which features aluminum frames and handling designed for recreational riders. Contend also comes in three model series: Contend SL Disc, Contend SL and Contend.

TCR gets discs

Giant has offered many disc brake road bikes in recent years, including in its Defy line, which is more of a high performance comfort/endurance race bike. This is the first time the company has offered discs on the TCR line, which is Giant's superlight pro-level line.

The TCR Disc models all have flat-mount caliper mounting and 12mm thru axles front and rear (12x100 front and 12x142 rear). Despite the addition of discs, the new bikes have the same chainstay length (40.5cm) as rim-brake TCR models.

Bikes in the two higher-end TCR Disc series (TCR Advanced SL Disc and TCR Advanced Pro Disc) come with Giant's SLR Disc wheels and new Giant Gavia SLR tubeless tires.

All the TCR Disc models have Giant's compact road design. The Advanced SL Disc has a lightweight carbon layup and an integrated seatpost. The Advanced Pro Disc frames have a slightly heavier carbon layup and a standard seatpost. The Advanced Disc bikes have the same frames as Advanced Pro, but with a composite fork and Overdrive tapered steerer, instead of the larger diameter Overdrive 2 steerer on the two higher-end series.

The TCR Advanced SL Disc bike model is spec'd with SRAM's Red eTap drivetrain with hydraulic disc braking. Retail pricing is $8,250.

The TCR Advanced Pro Disc bike model is spec'd with Shimano Ultegra mechanical drivetrain and hydraulic discs.

The TCR Advanced Disc bike has Ultegra and Shimano RS505 components and hydraulic discs. It retails for $2,450.

New Contend line

Giant said the Contend line is "aimed at aspiring riders who seek the performance and ride quality of competition-level road bikes, combined with a smooth, confident ride quality at a high value."

The Contend SL Disc model has an ALUXX SL-grade aluminum frame and a hybrid composite fork and Overdrive steerer. It has integrated rack and fender mounts and internal cable routing.

The Contend SL has the same frameset features as the SL Disc, but with rim brakes.

The Contend models have similar features but heavier ALUXX aluminum tubing. While the Contend SL and SL Disc models feature Giant's D-shaped carbon seatposts, the Contend model uses a round 27.2 seatpost. The Contend also lacks the internal cable routing used on the Contend SL and SL Disc bikes.

The Contend models will be available in July. Giant did not release details on complete Contend bike specs and pricing.