Giant Escape 2 (2015) - Review

The Giant Escape 2 215 is a commuting hybrid bicycle. This commuting bicycle performs better than a lifestyle bicycle and provides more comfort than an endurance bicycle. One of the biggest positives of this bicycle is in Giant's ability to form aluminum tubing in almost any shape imaginable and the shape, thickness, and cross section changes inch by inch along the length of any tube. This means that more material is added where structural support was needed, and material taken away to save weight where structural support is not as necessary. This bicycle also offers internal routing of the gear and brake cables. This is great for reducing drag, and looks cosmetically better. The Giant Connect upright saddle is perfectly shaped and felt comfortable during the 5Km test ride. Even though the frame size measurements were accurate the flat handle bars were just a tad lengthier for comfort.

Enough gearing combos on the Shimano Altus group set to climb those uphill and hit top speeds quickly with less effort. Gears shift very smoothly after getting used to it with the thumb shifters placed perfectly. On a few bumps during our test ride, the rear shifter jumped between gears - for example, while on the 5^th gear, and when hitting the bump while pedaling it shifted to 4^th gear for a moment and then back to 5^th gear, all by itself. It was very brief, for a second or so.

The Tektro linear pull V-brakes has a sturdy design with great stopping power. It also handled sudden halts on the road well. The handlebar isn't same-size from center to grips (it's fat in the stem clamp area and tapers down to normal after an inch or two). While it looks nice, it makes attaching stuff like lamps and computers tricky because you have to avoid the zone where it tapers - either clamp on the fat side, or the normal side. You would lose an inch of useable bar area because of that.

The smoothness is impeccable on city road conditions with majority of the vibrations from the road breaking off before reaching the body. Perfectly suited for daily commutes, fitness riding and leisurely weekend adventures, The Giant Escape 2 215 is a prime example for road versatility. Whatever road or path you choose, just hop on and make your escape.