Giant Contend AR1

£1,899 Smooth, stable riding made easy

- Robin Willmott

GIANT DESCRIBES THIS ALL-ROAD bike as able to cope with "adventurous options" away from main routes and onto those with rougher surfaces. Slotting ably into the overlap between endurance, all-road and gravel bikes, could the Contend AR1 be your budget-friendly 'everything' machine?

Giant's range of aluminium-framed road bikes features four models, including the £879 entry-level Contend with rim brakes, the Contend SL in rim or disc brake form, the Contend AR, and the AR1 model on test, which tops the disc-only, all-road line-up. Maximum tyre size for the Contend SL is 28mm, for the Contend SL Disc it's 34mm, but the ARs have room for rubber with up to 38mm measured width.

As well as differing tyre clearances, the Contend SL and AR have subtly different geometry. The medium-sized AR's head angle is half a degree shallower, at 72, the head-tube is shorter, the top-tube longer, and it has a lower bottom bracket. This gave the Medium AR1 on test a slightly racier position, which, for someone who usually rides a ML Giant, felt extremely comfortable. I found the 550mm top-tube sufficiently long, and even with a 100mm stem, instead of my usual 110mm, I didn't feel cramped.

The composite fork with oversized OverDrive steerer tube plugs into Giant's Aluxx aluminium frame (of typically high quality, with unobtrusive welds and thick, glossy paint). The detailing is neat, with both gear cables entering the head-tube. The seatpost clamp is hidden in front of the seatpost, and covered by a rubber gaiter, plus there are mudguard mounts.