Giant TCR Advanced SL2 vs Orbea Orca M20 Cofidis

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tmcm
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 10:04 pm

by tmcm

I am looking at purchasing one of these two frames this year (Giant TCR Advanced SL2 or Orbea Orca M20 Cofidis). I generally ride 60-80 miles (rolling hiils) a week and started doing crits on a CAAD10 with some upgraded wheels but want to move to a carbon frame. Now I have not ridden the Orbea OMR or Giant Advanced SL frame but I have ridden the OMP which is just a lower grade carbon and I have also ridden a giant TCR advanced. They both were great rides but my LBS does not carry either of these frames. So i am torn on which one to pull the trigger on. They are both top of the line frames. I just wanted to know if anyone else has ridden on both frames before and can provide with some much needed feedback.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bik ... 169/83943/

http://www.orbea.com/us-en/bicycles/orc ... ofidis-16/

nd2rc
Posts: 290
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:20 pm
Location: Tennessee

by nd2rc

No feedback, but I'd pick the Orbea hands down in this comparison.

by Weenie


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jeffy
Posts: 1325
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:51 pm

by jeffy

I would go for the Adv Pro TCR Frameset, Force22 (or 5800, non-di2 ultegra is pretty redundant), PM, and Deep Sections of your choice.

mimason
Posts: 654
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:43 pm
Location: Florida

by mimason

Maybe a no brainer given the excellent warranty and reviews and weight and and and

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/06/first ... nt-page-1/


under 6.4kg sl0 stock.

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zappafile123
Posts: 655
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 8:24 am

by zappafile123

mimason wrote:Maybe a no brainer given the excellent warranty and reviews and weight and and and

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/06/first ... nt-page-1/


under 6.4kg sl0 stock.


I would go for the Giant too. At least here in Aus, Obea's are a bit of a lesser known, 2nd or 3rd tier brand. Giant make high quality stuff. Sure they are not exotic and havent ridden as well as other high end stuff I've ridden, but as far as sheer performance is concerned they are as good as anything else. As it says in the cyclingtips review, one thing you can be guaranteed of is that you'll be getting one of the stiffest framesets going around - the previous TCR SL was super stiff.

To criticise the point above about the comment regarding the suggestion of going for the advanced pro - ALWAYS opt for the higher level frameset over a lesser framset with higher end components. I used to work for a Giant world and the difference between the Advanced and Advanced SL framesets was night and day. I doubt anything has changed for the next gen frames.
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MNX1024
Posts: 299
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:21 am

by MNX1024

In terms of spec comparison, I'll go with the Giant. It's a little bit more, but you're getting a full carbon wheelset. Full Shimano Ultegra groupset where the Orbea has a FSA crank. Also, the Giant comes with an integrated speed/cadence sensor on the frame.

sharkman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2004 8:32 pm
Location: the Netherlands

by sharkman

Giant for me. For what I've seen so far Obea never managed to impress me (build/paint quality).

by Weenie


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balty
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:46 pm

by balty

hi, i might be a bit biased on this one as i own a 2015 orca but between the bikes i'd say go for the orbea, (however my frame is the omp not the omr which i have no experience of) we had recently had an ex team advanced sl in at our shop built up with sram red and some deep section giant carbon wheels that i spent the a day playing about on and my observations between the 2 bikes were that they are both fantastic but very different machines. The giant is possibly the stiffest bike i've ever ridden, the power transfer and acceleration on the thing is mind blowing, add in the quite aero profiled tubes and 50mm deep wheels and you end up with a something that has straight line speed that almost feels on a par with a dedicated tt bike. The downsides i found were in the comfort and fit department, all that stiffness translates into quite a hard ride, and you are locked into giants proprietary integrated seat post and oversize steerer/ stem combo, so if you are oddly proportioned you may struggle to get the bike to fit you.

The main difference i found with the orca was that while not quite as stiff as the giant, it still has power transfer that's better than most and is noticeably more comfortable than the giant, due to the slim seat stays, top tube and seat post combo, in that department it actually doesn't feel that far off some of the dedicated endurance machines like the synapse or domane for example. going in a straight line it doesn't feel like it slices through the air as efficiently as the tcr, but it really excels when climbing long steep grades, it just has a nice punchy, reactive feel when going uphill that I've not really experienced very much in other bikes. Also the orca is quite flexible in terms of fit, the headtube lengths are all effectively 1cm longer than advertised as the fork has a long axle to crown, and you get a nice 1.5 cm tall carbon bearing cover, so even with the stem slammed it doesn't put you so low that you end up with back problems.

Also on another note, people saying that orbea are a smaller brand and wouldn't have a warranty as good as giants etc, not true, at the shop i worked at when i dealt with them i found them to be very professional, and short of smashing your bike head first into a brick wall at 50 mph, they will honor the warranty. also if you ask nicely enough they will change the spec on bikes if its an order so you can get your fit right (ie different size bars, stem, crank length, cassette size etc)

All in all its a pretty simple choice, both are good bikes; if you want a great all rounder, with a bias towards climbing and the roads you ride aren't silky smooth, the orcas the one. if youre more of a flat lander, race and like getting every possible watt of power you can out of a bike go for the giant.

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