Looking to buy a new bike around the £1700 mark. This will be my first bike that I have invested a lot of money into. I keep getting recommended the Giant TCR Advanced Disc 3 and have a few friends who ride this and really like it.
What are everyone’s thoughts and any better bikes for this price point?
TIA
by StarFox1997
5 Comments
Most of the bikes performs the same as the others in the same price bracket hence why i personally would never be faithful to a brand nor buy at msrp. I would go for a discount bike.
I have a ’21 advanced pro disc frameset which I then built up myself; great bike that’s fun/easy to ride and work on.
around that price point that going to be *better* is the van rysel NCR Tiagra [https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-ncr-cf-tiagra-grey/_/R-p-332106?mc=8735601&c=electric%20blue](https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-ncr-cf-tiagra-grey/_/R-p-332106?mc=8735601&c=electric%20blue) or maybe planet x
[https://planetx.co.uk/products/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-105-r7100-road-bike-1?sku=18063625639577486680682015](https://planetx.co.uk/products/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-105-r7100-road-bike-1?sku=18063625639577486680682015)
where the giant is reduced it’s very good value
The TCR is a very lovely frame. Modern Tiagra is very capable, just be aware that 10 speed is a bit of a dead end when it comes to upgrading (a bit more room with 11sp).
The stock tyres are anchors. With little investment you can lower rolling resistance significantly.
The stock wheels are okay-ish. Out of the box tubeless is nice, but they are heavy and the bearings are nothing to write home about.
Ideally, you can stretch your budget to 105 spec, for a bit of saving in the long run (cheaper than eventually upgrading to 11/12sp). If not, it’s still a very capable bike. With a quality DT Alu wheelset (e.g. PR/ER 1400/1600) and especially better tyres, you’ll have plenty of bike for the money.
Decathlon UK has the Van Rysel NCR
– tiagra at £1400
– Apex at £1800
– 105 at £2000
If you’re not married to Giant
TCRs are great. Not many people would ever be disappointed by a TCR. It’s a “race bike” though, and so will be on the more aggressive side.
One thing to consider is stretching your budget for a TCR 2 as that comes with 105, and 11 speed is nicer to ride as you can have range without big gaps between gears.