Touring bikes - light & sporty: The Giant Fastroad AR Advanced 1 on test

Similar to the Liv, there is a slightly more off-road version (GRX) and a more road-oriented version (AR) of the Giant Fastroad. In the all-road version tested, the moderately sporty riding position of a mountain bike is combined with a road bike drive trimmed for speed and variable tyres that are also selected for easy rolling. With this combination, you can actually ride almost as fast as on a gravel bike, except that the tyres are around one kilo lighter. Rose Backroad feels even more agile when accelerating, the rim-tyre combination of the Giant is a little heavier.

Areas of use of the Giant Fastroad AR

Although: Giant mounts all non-motorised bikes with tubeless tyres ex works and also supplies them tubeless. This relatively new variant of tyres, very similar to car tyres, is supposed to roll better and seal itself in small holes thanks to a factory-filled latex milk. Not many brands dare to do that!

We didn't simulate a puncture in the test, but it was noticeable: the tyres react very sensitively to the ground, with a little less pressure they adapt perfectly to uneven surfaces and have surprisingly good grip despite their low profile. With more air pressure, the tyres roll super smoothly and quietly.

This technology is definitely an enrichment, the AR version of the model is so well controllable, even off the beaten track, that we would probably decide against the GRX superstructure, which is definitely less versatile.

Another nice feature of the road version is the drivetrain from the road bike segment. Like Koga, Giant combines 2x compact cranks with eleven sprockets with up to 34 teeth, which provides exactly the gear range and gradations that you need for training, mountain bike tours and when travelling with a lot of luggage.

Although the wheelbase isn't the longest, the Giant Fastroad AR runs very straight, even if you mount a few panniers on it. And that's a good thing, because Giant is very generous when it comes to payload. With a maximum rider weight of 136, a maximum luggage load of 14 and a resulting maximum system weight of almost 160 kilos, the model is a bikepacking tip across all classes. If you want to take full advantage of this, you should run in the Tektro brakes well beforehand, as they only develop their full power after some time. Instead of fitting a pannier rack and kickstand to this speedy bike, we recommend using the many threads for small bags.

Conclusion on the Giant Fastroad AR in the MYBIKE test

The Fastroad is a great all-rounder with clear strengths in the touring sector! Both the advanced wheel/tyre combination and the good rolling characteristics as well as the long-term comfortable riding position, but especially the robustness of the frameset with its many mounting options make it one of the best bikepacking models on the market. There are more dynamic bikes, but very few with this weight-to-cargo ratio! - Timo Dillenberger, MYBIKE editor

MYBIKE tip: Tour/Trip 1/2024

The most important information about the Giant Fastroad AR

• Weight: 9.60 kg
• Price: 2299 Euro
• Frameset: Full carbon
• Maximum system weight: 159 kg
• Frame sizes: S, M, M/L, L, XL
• Seat tube / top tube: 475 / 575 mm
• Stack / Reach / SR-Quotient*: 578 / 404 mm / 1,43
• Wheelbase: 1058 mm
• Drive: Shimano 105 2 x 11 groupset, crank NN 2-speed Hollowtech II 36 / 48 teeth, 105 cassette 12-34 teeth
• Brakes: Tektro HD-R280 hydraulic disc brakes, 160 / 160 mm, HD-R280 brake lever
• Wheels / tyres: Giant S-X2 Disc aluminium wheels, 24 Sapim spokes / Maxxis Receptor 700 x 40c, tubeless
• Saddle / handlebars: Ergocontact / aluminium 3° curvature 70 cm

*SR ratio: calculates the ratio of height to length of the frame, the higher the value, the more elongated the geometry.