From big wins by Team Jayco AlUla pro racers—including Mauro Schmid’s recent Tour de France stage victory—to a stack of glowing reviews from the world's leading tech editors, the lightest, fastest aero road bike ever from Giant has earned its place at the top of the category.
The new range spans three series: the flagship Propel Advanced SL, the Propel Advanced Pro, and the Propel Advanced. Each is built on a totally integrated, full-system approach that turns aerodynamic gains into real-world performance, targeting top-end speed, instant speed, and sustained speed.
The development of the new range was driven by Giant’s Total Speed System, a philosophy that transcends isolated metrics to achieve the ultimate synergy of total resistance, system efficiency, and system control. AeroSystem Shaping treats the rider, frameset, cockpit, and wheels as a single dynamic unit to minimize drag while slashing rolling resistance using a seamless tire-to-rim interface.
“The Lightest Aero Road Bike We’ve Ever Seen”
BikeRadar delivered a first review of the new range by tech editor Simon von Bromley with a headline that says it all: “The new Giant Propel is the lightest aero road bike we’ve ever seen.”
Von Bromley pointed out the Propel’s unusual combination of low weight and aero performance. “The fourth generation Giant Propel is here and it weighs as little as 6.56kg in a top-spec, size-medium build,” he wrote. “While many aero road bikes take an ‘aero is everything’ approach, the Propel has always balanced aerodynamic performance with weight, versatility and comfort. The latest model doubles down on that ethos, shaving weight from almost every part of the bike.”
In a follow-up story on BikeRadar.com, Paul Norman traced the Propel’s pedigree back over a decade, noting Marcel Kittel’s eight Tour de France stage wins on the bike (2013–2014) and the engineering process behind it: “Rather than refining the Propel’s aerodynamics bike-only in the wind tunnel, from the outset it has been using a pedaling mannequin based on a former pro to increase realism, reproducibility, and data accuracy."
“The Best Race Bike in the World”
The authoritative German publication Tour included the new Propel Advanced SL in a group test that also featured flagship bikes from Canyon, Cannondale, Cervélo and Storck. The Propel came out on top as the only bike to achieve Tour’s highest possible rating of 1.4.
“The ride feel on this bike is thrilling as expected,” Tour claimed. “It can be accelerated explosively and guided playfully, yet always feels controlled, even in sharp direction changes. On long rides you gradually realize how balanced and complete the new Propel has become. None of the trade-offs that many other specialist bikes demand—whether ultralight or blazing fast—are required here.”
Looking at its evolution over the previous generation, Tour wrote: “Our overall score reflects that the Propel, as a complete package, has made a considerable leap forward. Currently it is the only race bike able to achieve a rating of 1.4, and it may, until further notice, be regarded as probably the best race bike in the world.”
“A Bike That Wants to Go Fast”
Jordan Villella of Bikerumor.com also had a chance to ride the new Propel Advanced SL in France and had this to say: “It’s clear Giant has refined an already fast platform into something even more capable. The bike climbs way better than you’d expect, descends with confidence, and delivers an impressive stiffness when sprinting or pushing hard through corners. At the same time, the ride quality has improved enough to make it more livable than the previous generation.”
Villella was among the initial testers to notice how some of the new components, including the CADEX Max 50 WheelSystem, play a role in the “total speed system” philosophy that defines the new Propel. “A big part of the bike’s overall performance comes from the updated CADEX Max 50 wheels,” he wrote. “These wheels feel incredibly well-balanced. At 50mm deep, they deliver the aerodynamic benefits you’d expect, but they avoid the overly sail-like sensation that deeper wheels can sometimes create in crosswinds. They spin up quickly, hold speed well, and complement the bike’s handling characteristics perfectly.”
For more details on the full new Propel range, click here.