Giant looks to have some new time trial gear in the works, with Luke Plapp riding a new time trial bike and wearing a new TT helmet at the Tour of Romandia on friday
Until now, the Giant Trinity line of time trial bikes have all been rim brake models, with their Jacyo-AlUla-sponsored team forming a last-place finish in the pro peloton amid the widespread adoption of disc brakes .
The new bike Plapp rides is, however, fitted with disc brakes, meaning Arkea-Samsic’s Bianchi Aquilas could be left as the last rim brake bike in the men’s pro peloton. The Liv Jacyo-AlUla women’s team is supplied by Giant’s women’s specific arm, Liv, although nothing new has been seen from that particular brand.
Giant also supplies helmets to Jayco-AlUla and looks to be a significant step forward in that department as well. While not as radical as some of the controversial designs seen this year, the new lid offers a wider profile and extended visor.
The new TT bike
There has been no official information from Giant regarding the new bike, so it is not clear if this new model represents a new line or the next iteration of the Trinity frame.
The key details of the design are therefore unclear, but visually there are some clear departures from the previous model used by the Jayco-AlUla team, the Trinity Advanced Pro 2.
At the front, the forks are much deeper in profile and wider in terms of the distance between them. This is undoubtedly with aerodynamics in mind and follows the recent trend of the time trial bike, which is increasingly borrowed from the world of track cycling. The absence of the rim brake behind the fork has allowed this area to be open, and will allow the team to use wider tires and rims.
At the rear, there was a revision at the junction between the top tube, the seat tube, and its seats. This has been reduced with a much reduced surface and where the seat stops used to pop out from the side of the seat post before extending, there is now a smoother system that. It effectively extends back from the seat tube.
The chainstays are also noticeably more angled than the previous Trinity’s near-horizontal stays, suggesting a lower bottom bracket. Elsewhere, there is a small change to the junctions of the head tube, with the frame eating more into the fork.
It remains to be seen when Giant will release any details surrounding the bike and when it will be available to the public. All equipment registered with the UCI must be available for public purchase, but teams are allowed to ride approved prototype equipment before the brands launch their products.
The new helmet
The bike wasn’t the only thing different about Plapp’s appearance at the Tour de Romandie TT. He was also sporting what appears to be a new TT helmet from Giant.
Giant’s current TT helmet is the Rivet, and once upon a time Jayco-AlUla were something of an outlier, using goggles with the helmets instead of dedicated visors.
This also appears to have changed, with Plapp sporting a large clear visor that wraps around his face. The previous helmet was attached tightly to the face above the ears, but this new model follows the trend of taking a wider profile. This is intended to reduce the air hitting the rider’s shoulders, instead of encouraging it to wrap around the visor and flow from there.
The new Giant helmet is not as radical as the new helmets produced by Giro and Rudy Project this season, and before Specialized, but it is still a step in that direction. The UCI recently announced a review of the time trial helmet design after these new models sparked a wave of controversy over aesthetics, although this new Giant helmet doesn’t seem so divisive when it’s about crimes against fashion.
The helmet still has a rounded profile, but in particular it presents an immersed middle which is presumably an effort to create a dedicated channel for air flow.
