My TOYs have just arrived! Giant TCR Advanced 2 Disc 2019 Bike, Jersey, Shorts, Pedals…

Today is the Christmas day for me! My long long awaited road bike has finally arrived!

From the first day I got my interest cycling, saw a nice Trek road bike in Facebook marketplace (2nd August), till I got my own Giant TCR Advanced 2 Disc, it has exactly 35 days! I learnt a lot during few 1 month+ period. From a total novice to now at least able to chat with cyclist on bike terms and parts.

Below is the first road bike that I intended to buy when I saw it in FB marketplace. The seller sold it earlier, but lucky for me as the size is definitely way too small for me. I knew nothing about size during that time.

(image above is posted by the FB seller)

I ordered a pair of clipless pedals from a Facebook seller in Johor. He delivered the pedals to my shop (ShaShinKi.com) today as well at 2.45pm. This is the latest Shimano 105 R7000 pedals. Only at RM270, the cheapest I can find online. Shimano Ultegra R8000 pedals are RM450, way too much as compared to the R7000 model and the weight difference is only 16 grams. Not worth the extra money for me. So I opt for this 105 series instead.

Then the jersey and shorts that I ordered from China (Santic brand) have arrived as well!

I got to know this brand from another seller in Malaysia, but as I read that there might be some fake Santic brands around, hence I decided to order directly from Santic store in China. The shorts costs RMB128 (RM77.50), while the jersey is RMB138 (RM83.60). Good price for the quality of the jersey and shorts. Looks premium and very details in stitches and cutting. I have not seen the premium Castelli shorts (over RM500 per piece) before, so can’t compare the quality. But I have seen those cheap one RM99~199 one at Giant shop, felt cheap the padding is no where near the Santic shorts that I have gotten.

While in the office, I have to put the Giant box standing to avoid it blocking the ways of my customers in the retail shop.

I brought the Giant bike in box into my Alphard and headed home after work. Yes, it can fit into my car without problem.

Immediately I took it out from the box once I reached home, and there are several pieces that I need to attached to make it work. It took me about half an hour to assemble the bike. Most parts were actually already per-installed, so only left a few items (wheels, handlebar, saddle) to be fitted on. Not so difficult job, but just have to be careful not to scratch the body paint.

This is my freshly built Giant TCR Advanced 2 Disc 2019. Lovely red colour! A few things to note when you assemble the bike at home though…

Make sure you have a torque wrench as most parts have a specific maximum allowable torque to tighten. Eg. Saddle, I dare not to tighten it too much end up it dropped down when I sit on it. Scratched the seatpost, heart pain.

Allen keys in various sizes. If you have a torque wrench, then this should be same.
Have a bike stand to hold the rear wheel while you assemble the front wheel or the seatpost and handlebar. You can’t lay the bike flat on the floor during assembly. Noticed in the photo below I have two bike stand, but I find the black cheap one is much easier to use than the Minoura Japan stainless steel stand.