Giant ToughRoad SLR 2 2017

The Toughroad from Giant is an interesting bike. Calling it Toughroad makes sense, but just as easily it could have been called Fastmountain, or something similar. 

The Toughroad is a wide tyred (50mm) 700c hybrid style bike without suspension.

Or to put it the 'Fastmountain' way, it could just as easily have been a non suspended 29er Mountain Bike with 2' tyres.

700c and 29' is the same. 50mm and 2' the same, and no suspension is no suspension.

So, the Toughroad is a bike that really can be ridden pretty much anywhere you like. Light and fast enough for trails and bike paths, but see a track sneaking off into the bush and instantly it's a Mountain Bike. Sure, a bit old fashioned without suspension, but  with 50mm tyres on double walled rims and some skills on your behalf,  it's still do-able.

Versatility like this is unusual in these days where there is a specialist tool for every single job.

The Toughroad has a carbon composite front fork fitted to a light weight SLR ALUXX aluminium frame. The frame quality is really noticeable when you do the standard 'pick it up and feel the weight' test. Being so light, for a bike as robust as this shows how far mretallurgy has come over the years.  With 27 speed Shimano gears the Toughroad has ratios to get you up even the steepest of climbs, with enough top end to make sure the descent is much, much faster. For confidence at speed, reliable stopping power is required, this is where the hydraulic disc brakes come into there own, controlling the slowing and stopping duties with ease. 

Lotsa fun, off road or on, the Toughroad also has rack mounts just in case you want to add tourer to its list of optional uses.