Giant Contend 1 (2018) - Review

The Giant Contend 1 (2018) has been made using ALUXX technology, with an aluminium frame with butted 611 alloy making it lightweight and strong. The welding on the frame gives it a smooth frame finish. The ergonomically designed frame features a comfortable endurance geometry, combining stable handling with a comfortable, slightly upright riding position. The shorter top tube places an emphasis on control and stability.The Giant Contend 1 has a hybrid composite fork and an OverDrive tapered steerer, which offer a smoother ride by absorbing the vibrations felt when cycling over uneven road surfaces. Giant's OverDrive tapered steerer improves front-end stiffness for precision steering control. Two bottle well-spaced bottle holder mounts are housed by the frame.

The Giant Contend 1 comes equipped with a Shimano Sora Drivetrain. The shifting is controlled by Shimano Sora Shifters. The Shimano CSHG4 11-32 cassette and the Sora 34/5 crank in the front offers superior shifting performance and creates a fantastic low climbing gear, ideal to tackle steep climbs. Kudos to Giant on this one! The wide range cassette and compact chainset offers a broad range of gears that are ideal for cycling on varied terrain. The shifting was incredibly smooth, seamless and precise. The positioning of the shifters allows for easy shifting on a ride. The shifters require a feather light nudge to shift, very impressive.

Known for their impeccable sense of designing efficient, good-looking bicycles, the Giant Contend 1 sure meets the mark.This bicycle from Giant is a sure eye-catcher, with its high quality glossy paint job.Overall, it looks sleek and classy. The bicycle is available in two colour variants - a primary black with satin,orange and silver decals, and a green with black and white decals.

The Giant Contend 1 (2018) comes equipped with Giant specific Tektro TK-R312, dual Pivot rim brakes. The braking mechanism was impeccable, and the brakes were extremely responsive and efficient. The Shimano Sora brake levers are well positioned, and require minimal efforts to get the bicycle to come to a full stop.The Giant Connect handlebar is just the right length to allow for a comfortable riding position, when gripping the drop bars as well as the handlebar itself.

The Giant Contend 1 comes equipped with Giant S-R4, 7x25c tires. The tires are fitted onto Giant S-R3 rims. Conventional quick release skewers allow for easy wheel upgrades.The Giant Contend 1 comes equipped with a connect forward saddle, which has been ergonomically designed to be comfortable when on the road. However, I felt that the width of the saddle was on the narrower side when it comes to accommodating one's sit bones comfortably.