A Covert Ride for Stealthy Cyclists

Some people want to be warriors on bikes, muscling up climbs like they’re storming a castle. Some want to be pirates, swashbuckling their way through a peloton and ripping down descents like Douglas Fairbanks down a sail.

Me? I want to be a ninja. And that’s why I so enjoyed my time with the Giant TCR Advanced SL 1.

The murdered-out color scheme is only the beginning, though, (and let’s face it, most serious cyclists would ride a hot pink frame if it made them faster). No, the ninjaness really came from the bike’s tracking — smooth and silent.

The hugely oversized headtube is offset by nearly rectangular top tube and down tubes, giving the bike a distinctly stealth-bomber appearance and a stability that surprises. In past years, some complained that the Advanced SL line got jarring on rough pavement, but I felt nearly as comfortable flying over cattle guards as I did on newly repaved roads. The Dura-Ace groupset is Shimano’s crown jewel for a reason, and it performed admirably, even when struggling up 20-percent-plus grades. Never a hitched shift, never a dropped chain.

There’s one dividing point, however: the integrated seat post, which tends to be a hot-button issue with riders. Giant is one of the few major manufacturers left to still offer the option, which necessitates cutting the carbon seat post to your desired length and securing it with a slide-over mast and a pinch bolt. It saves significant weight over the conventional seat post, but also means that on-the-fly-adjustment is all but impossible. Its 20-30mm of play were enough for me to find a comfortable position on the ML build (53.5), but the flexibility is important enough to me that I’d opt for the conventional post were I to purchase the bike.

I’m not clear exactly how a bike this fast and powerful manages to come in under $7,000. Part of that is the SL1 is outfitted with mechanical Dura-Ace rather than Di2, and Giant’s proprietary P-SLR1 wheel system. The other part is that Giant weaves its own composite in its own factory — something only one other major bike company (Time) does.

So yes, it’s lighter on the wallet than most of the bikes we tested, but when you consider that it put me on equal footing with riders who had nearly double that money invested in their rigs, it’s an absolute steal. Don’t want to take my word for it? Ask the pros. Luis León Sánchez rode a limited-edition Rabobank version of the Advanced SL in the TdF this year, capturing a stage, and Robert Gesink took the 2012 Tour of California on one. And while I certainly didn’t match his time on the climbs of Sonoma County, I had no trouble understanding how he rode this bike to victory.

WIRED Black-on-black-on-black made for the most badass ride of the crop. Component quality and performance for the price can’t be matched.

TIRED Integrated seat post feels unduly permanent. People love catching — and dropping — ninjas.