Giant Propel - Slight Customisation

[DSK]

What a bloody day! All went well with a 8:30am start and 2:45pm finish. The snags were the damn battery holder for the di2 from giant needed some additional engineering help to hold the battery in situ, rear brake cable internal routing and just a bit of faffing with internal routing on the bars as the di2 and brake cable wanted to use the same holes. The Kinetic-1's raised a few eye brows of approval. CycleServe did all the work but I was there helping as and where I could, happy for me to learn and spent ages getting stuff dialled in up front. Had a couple of 15-20 minute bursts of rain where we stopped and brought the bike inside.

It was good to do as the bars better suit me but, also I suffered from a bit of discomfort in the shoulders at times due to the positioning of the shifters originally, so I was able to get that dialled in. Spent a while with spirit levels and getting on the bike to get the STI's provisionally set just so. I also got a cateye seat rail mount which brings the light right up under the seat and stops its moving as it did with the rubber bands.

Below are not glory shots as the bikes are filthy like a $2 hoe at the end of her night, but just some general pics. The weather should be better this weekend so will get out for a maiden flight and get rid of all the grease marks.

Pro-Lites transferred to the TCR, just need some clip on mud guards now that I have wrapped the frame in clear protection film. Oh, this is another one for Google - Can you fit 25mm Continental Gatorskins to a 2013 Giant TCR.......... well hell yes! don't know what all the faff is about from other owners stating only certain 25mm tyres will fit and only just........

 

[DSK]

TEST RIDE SUMMARY

I did 15 miles this morning as the maiden flight on the Propel following the upgrades and I have to say, its about bang on.

The bike is silent in every way and feels good all round with no tweaks required to the Di2. I did post a thread in maintenance to say that when the new cranks went on and you gave them a spin by hand, they only rotated a revolution or so. I was told this is as its new and packed to the hills with grease, it will settle through use. It does operate and ride smooth and quietly none the less with no tangible drag like feeling when on the move.

Bars

I like the bars, the drop is more compact than the original bars and I'm more comfortable staying on them. The STI's now always seems ot be at my fingertips whether I'm on the hoods or drops which is nice. They also seem to have dampened the road vibrations a little more compared to the originals. Not sure if that's down to the bars or both the bars and the tape. (The original alloys were quite impressive compared to other bikes I've owned).

Di2

All good and glad I did it. The shifts are sublime and precise. The Wipperman chain seems much better than a new KMC I had on a couple of weeks back. I was able to shift the front/rear mechs to replicate syncro shifting with cables but, oddly, today I found myself not being able to do that. Di2 is not set up out of the box to do it but, I seemed to hit the wrong shift button on the odd occasion, going the wrong way along the cassette than intended. I guess a few more rides and I'll be able to resolve this and then look at setting up synchro shifting. I also prefer the press of a button compared to the throwing action of a cable operated shift.

Crankset (50/34 to 52/36)

I did find the jump from the 50/34 compact to the 52/36 semi better suited to my needs but the difference was just better efficiency being able to keep in the front ring (which ever) longer, and keep the rear cassette in a more confined area rather than having to search for the right gear frequently. However, it has left me thinking, perhaps I would have been better off with a 53/39 but, rather than spend any more cash, I'll just ride it as is.

Wheelset - Kinetic K1 - 42TL

I have had an endless nightmare with decent wheels doing nothing but wobbling beneath me and I shudder to think how much money I have wasted on trying so called tough wheelsets. Basically, during cornering and giving it the beans when climbing all the wheelsets to date have flexed badly smashing the brake blocks even with them backed right off. (Mavic Cosmic SL, Mavic Cosmic Elite, Pro-Lite, Vision Trimax, Fulcrum Racing 5) despite them running true. All wheelsets were tested from new so no second hand unknowns.

Kinetic K1 had a sale on and each set is built to order. I had a couple of 30 minute or so chats with Andy at K1 over a couple of weeks. Rather than just talk or give me sales blurb, he actually listened and advised. I'm circa 90Kg in body weight but, I cross between body building and power lifting and can comfortably (with absolute concentration and on a good day) squat a few sets of 183KG for 10 reps. Followed by doing all other leg exercises religiously every Monday at the gym for the last 8 years. Andy at K1 appreciated that whilst I'm no pro cyclist, I'm likely putting down serious amounts of power that perhaps the average cyclist is unlikely to do so and the mechanics of this is causing the flexing I have whinged about.

Today I deliberately pushed the K1's harder to get them to flex, really hammering up the climbs and giving it more large ones than ever, even letting the bike swing a little more etc. Noting that my brake blocks are back to where I like them, just a off the rims resulting in minimal lever action, I can honestly say that the K1's did not flex so I'm very happy with those. (The 2nd set of K1's are being delivered today and will be kept as a spare set).