Giant "Anyroad"

So I stopped into one of the more semi-competent Giant shops in Taipei today to get a longer stem and what did I see? A cool new 2013 model that’s perfect for Taiwan. 700c, drop bars, disc brakes, sloping top tube, clearance for big tires…kind of like a poor man’s Salsa Vaya. The only thing missing is rack eyelets (seems odd a bike like this doesnt have those) although I did notice fender mounts. Yes, it’s got entry level components but I think this is the bike that all those dopes who ride hardtail MTB’s on the road all the time should be riding (no offense if you are one of those dopes, I know a lot of people find them comfortable :raspberry: ).

The Anyroad 1 has a Tiagra compact and the Anyroad 2 has a Sora triple.

I’m going to try and talk my fiancee into getting one. She wants a CX bike like mine but is too short to standover any of them.

What do y’all think?

cycling-update.info/jet/show … asp?d=1447

How much does it go for stock?

That’s awesome. Which shop did you see it at? I’d like to check it out in person. Any idea of the weight?

Nanjing/Fuxing has both the 1 and 2 in stock, both of them size S (of course).

The 1 lists at $29,800 and the 2 at $21,800.

The weight isn’t listed in the nifty little brochure I have and I didn’t try picking one up at the dealer. Curious about that too…

seems like it’s a Taiwan-only release for the moment, and may go wider next year. Only Chinese language reviews so far.

Very interesting. That’s an awfully big price difference between the 1 and 2. Is it just the Sora/Tiagra groupset that’s different?

looks heavy - like 12kg
the gimmicky bikes usually are all concept, no engineering.
they’re probably waiting for something to catch on, then will start making it good

and yeah Taiwan only makes sense - its aimed at the Taiwanese who seem to be very reluctant to get off their beslickedMTBs
the rest of the world commutes, or rides around town or does club rides, TT or off-road or whatever. Taiwanese just do that evening ride up some mountain at 17km/m with a rest-stop or 5, a few times a week. Bike sellers here like to think the customers don’t get it. I think the customers really don’t care.

In case you are interested, Giant has posted the specs on this bike on their Taiwan website.

http://www.giantcyclingworld.com/web/bikes_view.php?id=22e6d6c3-0518-4e4b-9f96-f29c0aedb6e7

+8kNT get a carbon framed road bike @8.7kg. http://www.giantcyclingworld.com/web/bikes_view.php?id=ed868e65-b3ea-4fed-9766-b5aeda788f9d. 1-2kg makes SO MUCH difference.

If one was the type of rider who wants/needs a carbon framed road bike then they wouldnt be looking at this bike in the first place. They’d be looking at carbon-framed road bikes (like there aren’t enough of those in Taiwan!).

The lower-end model uses a 2013 Sora setup. It’s a triple and it looks like Shimano has done a major revamp on their shifters, according to the article at http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/shimano-sora-and-tourney-2013-first-look-33204/. Looks good to me, actually.

That’s a nice looking bike :slight_smile:

I know these style are supposed to be X-Road - but are they really any good if you want to do some mountain trails with them? Those wheels don’t look like they could take a good rock bashing??

If one was the type of rider who wants/needs a carbon framed road bike then they wouldnt be looking at this bike in the first place. They’d be looking at carbon-framed road bikes (like there aren’t enough of those in Taiwan!).[/quote]

Well, as long as you are OK with admitting that the choice is down to rationalising not rationality.

The OP says he wants a bike for his girlfriend. The proposed Anyroad is essentially a road bike. My suggestion is that he get her a better road bike.

[quote=“monokuro”]That’s a nice looking bike :slight_smile:

I know these style are supposed to be X-Road - but are they really any good if you want to do some mountain trails with them? Those wheels don’t look like they could take a good rock bashing??[/quote]

gravel and sandy tracks, with the odd rut: sure. but no drop offs, jumps, stairs, etc. that’s what suspension bikes are for.

I heard some are proper branches some are only franchises.

If one was the type of rider who wants/needs a carbon framed road bike then they wouldnt be looking at this bike in the first place. They’d be looking at carbon-framed road bikes (like there aren’t enough of those in Taiwan!).[/quote]

Well, as long as you are OK with admitting that the choice is down to rationalising not rationality.

The OP says he wants a bike for his girlfriend. The proposed Anyroad is essentially a road bike. My suggestion is that he get her a better road bike.[/quote]

Fair enough. But the missus has a preference for wider tires (yes, irrational to some degree although I’ve also found from experience that bigger tires are more comfortable, especially on bad roads ) and wants a more upright riding position. Also, she cant stand over many road bikes as she has pretty short legs. So the sloping top tube is a big plus for her.

Finally, and this may or may not be irrational as well, I’m wary of shipping carbon bikes on the trains here. I ship my bike quite frequently and it already has quite a few dings from being mishandled/slammed together with other bikes etc. Might or might not be a big deal but I wouldnt like to ride around thinking about catastrophic fork failures etc.

I’m looking for my first Taiwan bike, and this looks ideal. Could I fit skinnier tyres for the road and save the knob lies for trail riding etc. Haven’t bought a bike in years, so not really sure what my options are.

Yes, you could easily put narrower tires on there. It has 700c wheels so it should take any road tires. It’s not like it’s a 29er where things can be a bit trickier.

And your other options depend on what you want to use it for, how much you are willing to spend and how long you are willing to wait for it (for instance, if you want something other than Giant or Merida).

oh God, here we go again!
:roflmao: