2023 Giant TCR Advanced SL
Managed to get outside today - hurrah! And I also managed to drag this bad boy out of the shed. What a life-affirming ride! there's something so immediate, so responsive and so thrilling about this bike. Partly, that's the weight (it weighs a scarcely believable 6.24 kilos, without pedals), but it's also just the DNA of the frame. It actively wants to go fast, it wants to surge ahead (whether you do, or not!). yes, it's mechanical gearing, yes it's rim brake, yes, it's got exposed cables on the headset. It's a collection of tech which is now sold as being "obsolete", and yet it can hold its own against virtually anything else. My SL6 is a thoroughly modern setup, but this TCR is a match for almost any aspect of the new pretender. it gives a little away for the discs, on sketchy descents, and I'd love to be able to throw some wider rubber on, but apart from that - it's perfect. Riding this today (out past Claygate, back through Oxshott, and Leatherhead) put a giant grin on my face, that's still there, hours later.
Must see if I can do it again tomorrow!
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