Well, “race-worthy” is all relative until the UCI actually allows discs back into the pro peloton, but many of us non-racers like the feeling of riding a good race bike as our daily driver. Indeed, nothing is quite like a nimble-handling tour-worthy race bike. And, the new Cervelo S3 Disc and Giant TCR Advanced Disc are great examples of what the future of race (pros or neo-pros) bikes will be like.
2017 Giant TCR Advanced Pro Disc
Giant always delivers a killer overall value with every bike they make. They can do that because they own the factories in Taiwan and can sharpen their pencils more than most other brands. All carbon materials, design and lay-up happen in-house, so Giant has all the flexibility to fine-tune their bikes to their exact liking while maintaining market-leading (and mind-boggling) prices.
Sitting atop the range is the SRAM Red eTap-equipped TCR Advanced SL Disc ($8250) with the lowest-priced model being the TCR Advanced Disc at a competition-shattering $2375. The sweet spot is the bike pictured above, the TCR Advanced Pro Disc with tubeless-ready carbon clinchers and a full Shimano Ultegra Di2 kit for a $4700.
More Info: Visit Giant-Bicycles.com
2017 Cervelo S3 Disc
The venerable Cervelo S3 has been raced at the highest levels of the sport. And, for 2017, that S3 is getting optimized and also re-configured for use with disc brakes. Aside from the “eye of the beholder” looks of disc-equipped bikes, many skeptics point out that there’s no way around the additional drag that disc calipers and rotors have. Well, the masters of aero are proving that to be wrong with the new S3 Disc.
You see, Cervelo engineers are a crafty bunch and the S3 Disc is said to actually perform better aerodynamically than the rim-brake version while also adding lateral stiffness at the head tube and bottom bracket for even zippier acceleration. The S3 Disc is available in two variants: Ultegra Di2 with Enve SES wheels for $7400 and Ultegra mechanical with HED Ardennes wheels for $4500.
More Info: Visit Cervelo.com
