🃏New aero road bike for Aussie spr💃inter Mark Renshaw
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Sprinter Mark Renshaw (Blanco) is using Giant's brand new Propel Advanced SL aero road bike for this year's Tour Down ☂Under.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Mark Renshaw's (Blanco) new Giant Propel Advanced SL aero road bike is nowh🍷ere near the UCI minimum weight limit at 7.59kg (16.73lb, without SRM computer). However, the data generated by his SRM power meter is still far more valuable than shaving a few grams.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Shimano-sponsored teams at the Tour Down Under are still using the previous-generation Dura-Ace Di2 79𝓀70 group.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
A custom stainless steel number plate holder is attachedﷺ to the 🎉seatmast head on Mark Renshaw's (Blanco) new Giant Propel Advanced SL.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Pro riders - Blanco sprinter Mark Renshaw included - are quickl🅘y switching to wider tubular tires such as the 25mm Vittoria prototypes shown here. Wider rims mean there's little aerodynamic disadvantage with the move plus the riders get improved ride quality and cornering traction.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Giant's RideSense wireless ANT+ speed sensor is attached to the non-driveside chain stay. The timing chip is located 🧜just be𒆙hind it.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Thꦿe down tube on Mark Renshaw's (Blanco) new Giant Propel Advanced SL is specifically shaped to work with a round water bottle. The second bottle is intentionally mounted very low on the seat tube in an effort to 'hide' it behind♔ the other one.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Huge tube sec🗹tions around the 86mm-wide bottom🤡 bracket lend very good drivetrain rigidity.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Tire clearance ♎is very tight behind the seat tube with 25mm-wide tubular🐬s fitted.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Blanco's custom team-only aluminum brakes certainly aren't as sleek looking as th🅺e standard carbon composites units used on production bikes - and are certainly heavier - but they seem to work much better.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Dual cable noodle positions on Blanco's custom m🃏achined ༺aluminum linear-pull brakes easily accommodate wide or narrow-profile rims with almost no additional adjustments required.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
While everyone seems to be jumping on the truncated airfoilꦑ bandwagon for their latest aero road bikes, Giant uses a more traditional shape for Mark Renshaw's (Blanco) new Propel Advanced SL.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Deep drop, traditional-bend PRO Vibe 7s aluminum bars (with no sprint shift buttons) for Mark Renshaw (Bl💧anco).(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Shimano has already introduced its new Dura-Ace Di2 9070 group but teams here at the Tour Down Under are still using📖 the older 7970 version for now.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Mark Renshaw's PRO Vibe 7s aluminum handlebar is nothing new but the matching stem is with its carbon wrapped extensio✱n, four-bolt faceplate, and 1 1/4" steerer clamp for use with Giant's OverDrive 2 fork.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Blanco team mechanics route the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 wir🥃e along the bottom of the stem instead of the brake housing as usual. A small clamp is affixed to the lower steerer clamp for strain relief.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Gia🎀nt uses its usual massive oversized OverDrive 2 1 1/4-to-1 1/2" steerer for the new Propel Advanced SL but the hourglass-profile head tube and trim headset bearing cartridges still yield a surprisingly slim exterior shape.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Giant specs custom TRP carbon composite linear-pull brakes on production Propel Advanced SL bikes but the team gets custom units made of machined aluminum that more readily accommodate wide-profile rims and feature a more cable-friendly clamp. The fully enclosed stainless steel noodle - not to mention the tighter💜 connection to the arm - yields a much better lever feel, too.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Top riders have gathered here in Adelaide, Australia for the 2013 Tour Down Under to test their early season fitness. Blanco team sprinter –🗹 and Aussie local – Mark Renshaw is testing Giant's new Propel Advanced SL aero road bike, too, and hopes its new low-drag shape will carry him to success at the finish line.
Giant just days prior to the start of the race so it's no surprise that Renshaw is using it here. According to Giant, the new bike is substantially speedier aerodynamically than the team's – a second per kilometer, t𓂃o be exact – while still only weighing 950g for a Renshaw's medium frame and coming close in terms of rigidity, too.
We suspect Ren🍷shaw's pꦜarticular bike closes that gap substantially, though, and perhaps even surpasses a stock TCR Advanced SL in that respect based on the 7.59kg (16.73lb, without SRM computer) actual weight. For reference, a comparable Propel Advanced SL 0 would weigh about 7.25kg with Shimano's admittedly lighter Dura-Ace Di2 9070 group and identical pedals but heavier aero clincher wheels, too.
Given that Giant has built specially reinforced bikes bef♌ore for powerful riders like Mark Cavendish before, we're guessing some of the extra mass in Renshaw's bike comes courtesy of a few extra carbon plies.
Blanco team bikes also sub in team-only machined aluminum linear-pull brakes instead of the molded carbon composite arms used on production Giant Propel Advanced SL. The material change and chunkier shape certainly add weight – and look to possibly impact the aerodynamic perfor🍰mance, too, at least on paper – a quick pullꦰ of the lever reveals that they work quite a bit better, too.
Lever feel is firmer and more positive than on production bikes we've ridden, the cable anchor uses a bigge🗹r and more cable-friendly clamp design, and the fully enclosed stainless steel noodle locks into a more secure socket. Team brakes sport a dual-position noodle anchor, too, to more easily accommodate narrow and wide-profile rims without requiring additional adjustment.
Finally, we spotted what looks to be a new PRO stem on Renshaw's bike, slammed down with a particularly low-profile ♐FSA upper headset cone. Key features include a Giant OverDrive 2-friendly 1 1/4" steerer clamp, a carbon-wrapped body, and four-bolt handlebar clamp♛.
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Otherwise, Ren🔯shaw's bike co🥃mprises mostly off-the-shelf gear.
Though Shimano has already introduced its new Dura-Ace Di2 9070 group, Renshaw – and other Shimano-sponsored riders here at TDU – is still using the previous-generation 7970 edition since supplies are still too limited for teams to make the swꦕitch. Renshaw's 50mm Dura-Ace carbon tubular wheels are standard issue, too, although they're wrapped in prototype 25mm-wide Vittoria tires.
Somewhat surprisingly for a sprinter, Renshaw isn't using Shim♑ano's optional sprint shifters on the drops, either, instead relying on the standard ꦕbuttons to get the job done.
Capping ⛎things off are a fi'zi:k Aliante k:ium saddle, Tacx Um𝓰a carbon fiber bottle cages, and an SRM PowerControl 7 computer head.
