racing bikes: Test: Giant Propel Advanced Pro Disc - Sporty aero racer with a price war

Test: The Giant Propel Advanced Pro Disc is characterized by the best aerodynamics, good rigidity, precise handling and high-quality equipment including a power meter. At just 5.300 euros, the bike not only impresses with its performance but also with its excellent price-performance ratio.

Giant Propel Advanced Pro Disc – The Frame

The frame of the Giant Propel Advanced Pro Disc is handcrafted from Advanced Composite material. It is the heart of these fast and stiff aero racers. In terms of shape, the Giant frame differs a little from the other models in our test field, because the slightly sloping top tube is a complete contrast to the "usual" slooping geometries, where the top tube rises slightly. But this ensures a super sporty and streamlined position on the bike. For those who want to take it a little more comfortably, Giant offers a cockpit consisting of handlebars and stem, with enough spacer space to defuse the position a little. Another highlight on the frame of the Giant Propel Advanced Pro Disc is the RideSense sensor integrated into the chainstay, which measures speed and cadence via Bluetooth and ANT+.

Giant Propel Advanced Pro Disc – The equipment

In addition to the high-quality carbon frame, the equipment of the Giant Propel is also impressive. With a complete Shimano Ultegra Di2 you have everything you could wish for at a reasonable price. The cassette has 11-30 teeth and the crank has 52/36 teeth. The Shimano discs come with a 140mm diameter for the best safety. The cockpit, consisting of stem and handlebars, comes from Giant itself and makes a good first impression. There are small deductions for the wheels, which also come from Giant and are relatively heavy.

One of the highlights, especially in this price range, is the one-sided power meter, which measures the watts on the left crank arm. Of course, at such a price, you have to save a little somewhere, so the tires cannot be equated with the top models from Conti, Schwalbe or Specialized. But you can exchange them for a few extra euros.

Giant Propel Advanced Pro Disc

Enough with the theory, let's get down to practice! When we saw the price of the Propel before our test, we had to look twice. Because a high-quality aerobike for 5300 euros is almost no longer feasible these days, when the ten thousand mark is no longer a magical limit. Wrong thought! A quick look at the specs already shows that the Giant has everything you need to be fast and have a lot of fun on the road. At 7,9 kilos, it's the heaviest bike in our test field, but that's just over a kilo over the UCI limit of 6,8 kg.

The climbing properties are therefore not outstanding, but still solid. On the level it goes all the more forward. Thanks to the Giant AeroSystem shaping, the Propel has been optimally designed for every angle of attack and thus ensures the right speed. The rigidity also plays its part and ensures good power transmission, which is particularly noticeable when accelerating and starting. The 65 mm rim on the rear wheel and the 42 mm rim in front combine the best handling with good aerodynamics, but run a little worse than even higher quality models with more rim height.

The complete Shimano Ultegra Di2 group does a good job and is in no way inferior to the Dura-Ace version. The fully integrated disc brakes ensure the best braking performance and excellent controllability in any weather, which provides the necessary safety, especially in the wet and on fast descents. With the one-sided power meter, Giant does everything right, because it works well and ideally supports the training control.

A small weak point is the cockpit cover on the stem, which was attached with several screws. When adjusting, you have to completely remove the screws from the cap before anything can be adjusted, even if this will probably not happen very often.