Today, Giant has launched new versions of its Propel aero bike, along with a corresponding update from its sister brand, Liv, to its EnviLiv platform.
The outgoing model is in its fourth calendar year of production, and such are the product cycles in the road bike world that it was starting to feel overdue for a refresh.
The headline figures are an 18.4 watt saving over the outgoing model for the Propel, in the top spec SL variant, though there’s more to this figure than just aerodynamic improvements, but rather a system wide approach that has seen extremely modest changes to the frameset, and gains won in other areas of the spec package like the cockpit, wheels, and tyres. The EnviLiv offers up a significant, but smaller, gain of 8.62 watts.
A tweaked frameset
Back-to-back, it would be easy to mistake the 2026 Propel for the outgoing 2025 model. The shapes are extremely similar, with the dropped seat stays proving to be a key difference.
Many of the changes have been made under the hood, with tweaks to the manufacturing process creating a 45g saving in the frameset for a size medium. This has been achieved through the use of a single bladder for the front triangle rather than three, and more accurate cold cutting of the carbon sheets, avoiding any warping at the edges from excess heat that can come with laser cutting.
As well as being marginally lighter, the Propel is slightly stiffer, with a claimed 5.7% increase in the stiffness-to-weight ratio, and a 14.8% increase in ‘system handling efficiency’, though it isn’t overly clear what this second metric pertains to. The new EnviLiv also boasts a stiffer pedalling platform, with a 14.7% increase in pedalling stiffness.
It doesn’t appear that there have been any changes to the geometry of either platform, but vertical compliance has been increased by up to 25% at the rear end via the integrated seatpost, and by 12.8% up front via the cockpit, and tyre clearance has been increased to 32mm to account for the trend of wider tyres on the road.
Gains elsewhere in the system
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