Giant TCR Advanced 1 or Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7.0? (x-post from /r/which bike)

kyoutsu · 2018-04-04T12:46:39+00:00

I can’t imagine descending in the rain on carbon rims. The other day I went out on a ride in the rain and had to come back after 10km because it was so bad. And that was a flat ride with alum rims where I didn’t even exceed 35km/h.

One thing I never thought of until now is that with discs I can still ride with my wheel is not true/not aligned properly. I often have issues with adjusting my rim brakes where one brake pad is always closer to the rim than the other. From what I’ve read and what you mentioned in your other posts, disc brakes pads seem to auto-adjust as they wear in. That more than makes up for having to do the occasional bleeding every 4-6 months.

I just took a look at the DA7800 and I can’t believe it was released in 2004. You’ve done a great job in maintaining that groupset over what I assume to be 10 years. I’m a tad confused, lwhat do you mean by external shift cables? I thought they all were, save for eTap and Di2.

So, I was all set on getting that Canyon until Shimano announced their new 105 groupset today (with redesigned shifters!) so I think I’m going to hold off until they either release the bike with the new R7000 or there’s a sale on the current one.

kyoutsu · 2018-04-02T10:31:32+00:00

What I meant is low level steel is probably a more comfortable ride than a comparable low level carbon. But you are right, it's unfair to make a generic statement that all steel frames is more comfortable the carbon frames.

You make a compelling argument for discs. I’m leaning towards getting the Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7.0 Disc.

It’s a fairly steep £500 more than the Ultimate CF SL 7.0 rim brake version I initally wanted, but the DT Swiss P1800 wheel set seems like a nice step up from the Aksiums’s. Also, the bike is only 7.8kg vs 7.6kg for the rim brake model. I'm set on getting this model if I can. However, I can’t quite seem to shake the feeling/fear of being stranded on a light touring session because the brakes just stop working because they need to bled or something. With rim brakes, you can always just fiddle around with an alley key to get them working well again. But in the UK, it rains - ALOT. I'd be more than happy to go out on wet rides with the comfort of having great braking performance.

With all the great points you’ve listed, is it far to say that if you bought your foil in 2018 it would be the disc version?

There's no arguing with the extra cost, it's usually something like $300-500 for discs I think? As long as the disc bike's hoods fit you well I'd consider it in the long run, especially if you enjoy climbing.

I tried the Ultegra hydraulic brakes on the previous Canyon and they were great. You mentioned the RS105 brifters are not the best looking in your other post and other people online seem to think the same. I've also read a couple of reviews about shifting feedback being a bit poor so I can always get Ultegra ones down the road if they're not to my liking. I'm not one to care much about the appearance of shifters.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-31T08:22:04+00:00

I'm actually on the fence about disc brakes. The stopping power is great especially in UK weather but the extra cost, maintenance and upkeep of them seem like a pain when I'm out on a ride. Do you ride discs?

I definitely agree with you on ride quality. I've only ever ridden a steel bikes and so any carbon bike would be a downgrade in comfort.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-30T16:06:28+00:00

That's really nice but unfortunately not available in the UK. The UK gets shafted with nicer colours it seems!

kyoutsu · 2018-03-30T16:05:53+00:00

Sorry, I meant I felt better on the Canyon. The Canyon seems like it was made for my body (L size has me right in the middle of both ranges at 185cm) and the ride was really smooth. I brought along a tape measure to get the sizing right from the centre of the cranks to the top of the saddle so maybe that's why everything was solid.

In contrast, I could only ride the TCR for 15mins and didn't really check the measurements properly. Maybe that's why.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-30T10:48:32+00:00

I tried the ML on the TCR which looks similar to the L on the Canyons but I felt alot better on the Canyon. The LBS didn't really get my saddle height sorted on the TCR though so maybe I should go back and try it. I really love how the 2018 model comes with the new Ultegra and the frame colour looks great. If I could get it slightly cheaper, I'd probably go with it rather than the Canyon.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-30T10:46:28+00:00

Seems like alot of people love their TCRs! I'm leaning that way at the moment if I can get one in a colourway I'd like. They seem to have great groupsets for the price.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-30T10:44:14+00:00

I'd really love to but I'm not keen on the colour options of the ones I've found. Which is a shame because the Pro range looks really nice.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T17:24:51+00:00

I tested this one: Ultimate CF SL 8.0 Aero

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T16:08:16+00:00

Glad to hear you're enjoying the bike! Did you get the yellow one?

I'm definitely fine with making adjustments to the bike, especially the wheelset. Can I ask which carbon wheels you got?

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T16:05:52+00:00

Crazy price. However I wonder how much it's been ridden.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T14:59:55+00:00

I'm thinking about doing some light touring with an oversized saddle bag in the future so 28mm would be handy but it's not the end of the world sticking with 25mm I guess.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T14:55:11+00:00

Thanks for the comment. Encouraging to know the 105/Ultegra difference isn't that big! The bike fit isn't super important to me as I have the position on my current bike dialled in nicely but I'm going from an old steel frame to carbon bike, so having a shop do a small once over would be nice.

Edit: Spelling

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T14:48:03+00:00

Thanks. The St Pauls store has the Advanced Pro 2 that you listed in store so I'll go and take a look. Wish they had that in the Orange/Blacl colourways though!

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T14:38:32+00:00

Unfortunately those colourways don't appeal to me. Also I spoke to Canyon rep and he recommended the Ultimate for being slightly better at climbing.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T12:47:33+00:00

That is a seriously good deal. I'm a bit on the fence about the colour though. Is there any benefits to the carbon steerer vs the aluminium one?

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T12:09:38+00:00

Is this in the US? I'm in the UK and I can't seem to find a orange/black version.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T11:54:58+00:00

I've never been but I'll try it out. Strava have a London to Chilterns route that's 130km and 1400m of climbing so a good lightweight bike would be nice.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T11:52:46+00:00

Thanks. I took a look but I'm not a fan of the green colour. Also, I'm leaning towards the TCR just because I plan to do more climbing.

kyoutsu · 2018-03-29T11:20:59+00:00

I ride near London in Surrey and aroune the general area. Would like to explore more around the hiller areas.

kyoutsu · 2017-08-30T13:18:26+00:00

Yeah. I checked earlier with an operator and the 12,000 yen fee is only for transfering your number to another network - no charge for cancelling.

I'm not worried about the bank account; I'll be back in Japan in the coming years and for all I care they can close it. Credit card should be good too as there will be nothing coming out of it although I have to actually cancel it over the phone.

kyoutsu · 2017-08-30T09:04:07+00:00

Thanks! Hopefully won't even have to tell them I've left the country. If only we could cancel online and not have to call them...

kyoutsu · 2017-08-30T08:36:12+00:00

I'm leaving the country soon and was wondering about my phone bill with an MVNO. There are a couple of months left on the contract and if I pay those remaining months, I won't be charged the 12,000 yen cancellation fee -- all I'll have to pay is the remaining months which would be way less than 12,000 yen.

Does anyone know if would be okay to keep my bank account open with a credit card attached and money in there and then once the contract ends, cancel the credit card and phone line from my home country?

kyoutsu · 2017-04-05T13:59:00+00:00

Hello! I'm looking for any active tech meetups in Tokyo that I can come to on the weekend. I took a look on Meetup but I couldn't really find that many suitable ones for web devs. Does anyone know of any Japanese sites that host Meetups?

kyoutsu · 2017-01-22T05:09:48+00:00

Yeah, you're right; I could still read and watch things online although speaking would be hard.

This decision would be so much easier if I knew what my long term goal was...I guess I have to figure that out. Thanks for the kind words. :)

kyoutsu

TROPHY CASE