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Giant Defy Advanced Range Review

Giant Defy Advanced Review

Price:

£1,599.00 - £7,499.00

Finance from:

£66.63/month (0% APR)

High-quality carbon frame
Carbon or alloy tubeless wheel options
D-Fuse seatpost for a more comfortable ride
Hydraulic disc brakes on every bike
Complete Shimano or SRAM groupset
A lot of bike for your money

Discipline:

Sportive & endurance racing

Weight:

8.1Kg (18.1lbs)*
9.0Kg (20.1lbs)**


A smooth ride to keep you fresh in the saddle for longer. The Giant Defy Advanced is a comfortable, endurance road bike that is built for long distance rides over challenging road surfaces

Updated: 27th February 2020

Overview

Built to keep you comfortable in the saddle on long rides, the Defy Advanced is Giant’s high-performance endurance road bike. Ideal for sportives with a comfortable ride quality, this Giant Defy review includes both the Advanced and Advanced Pro bikes. These bikes are built to take on tough races like the classic Paris-Roubaix, with its rough cobbled sections, making them more than capable on the roughest British roads.

Each bike is built around a lightweight Advanced-Grade Composite carbon frame that offers a perfect balance between stiffness and compliance. This means that you get efficient power transfer combined with comfort in the saddle. All models share the same great endurance geometry and feature an impressive component specification for their price point.

*Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1, Size Medium, no pedals

**Giant Defy Advanced 1, Size Medium/Large, no pedals

Giant Defy Advanced grade carbon composite frame

Frame and Fork

Advanced-Grade Composite frames

The frames on each bike are made from Advanced-Grade carbon fibre composite. The carbon layup is designed to offer both stiffness and compliance in all the right places. The oversized bottom bracket area means that all you pedalling power is transferred straight to the road. On the other hand, the slender dropped seatstays and D-Fuse seat post give you an incredibly smooth ride on bumpy roads. This is a real standout feature on the Defy and few other bikes are as comfortable and efficient as this on rough roads.

Each bike is also equipped with a full carbon fork. Tyre clearance has been increased and there is now room for tyres up to 35mm wide. There are also mounts on the frame and fork, so you can easily fit mudguards for winter training and commuting.

Taking cues from aero bikes the internal cable routing for the brakes enters through the top tube. This makes the lines nice and clean, especially on the Advanced Pro bikes that hide the brake hoses completely through the Contact SL Stealth stem. Unlike most brands Giant manufacture their own frames. This means that Giant can offer these incredible performance machines at very reasonable prices.

Out on the road the bike feels great, proving that Giant’s frame fettling has worked. The ride is plush and comfortable despite the frame’s performance carbon makeup. Cycling Weekly

Giant Defy Advanced Geometry(Click to expand)

 

S

M

ML

L

XL

Seat Tube Length

445

480

515

535

565

Seat Tube Angle

74

73.5

73

73

72.5

Top Tube Length

530

545

560

575

595

Head Tube Length

140

160

185

205

225

Head Tube Angle

71.8

72.5

72.5

72.5

72.5

Fork Rake

50

50

50

50

50

Trail

63

58

58

58

58

Wheelbase

995

998

1010

1025

1040

Chain Stay Length

420

420

420

420

420

Bottom Brackett Drop

75

75

70

70

70

Stack

546

567

586

605

624

Reach

374

377

381

390

398

Stand Over Height

760

786

816

835

856

Handlebar Width

400

420

420

440

440

Stem Length

90

100

110

110

120

Crank Length

170

172.5

172.5

175

175

Wheel Size

700c

700c

700c

700c

700c

                

 

                

 

            

Giant Defy Advanced Shimano groupset

Groupset

Shimano and SRAM

There are 3 Advanced and 4 Advanced Pro models in the Defy range and it is great to see that most bikes get a full Shimano or SRAM groupset. This means that you get full Shimano 105 for under £2,000 on the Defy Advanced 2 and full Ultegra for just £250 more on the Advanced 1. At the top of the range, the Advanced Pro 0 and 1 both get wireless shifting with SRAM AXS electronic drivetrains. All bikes have a compact chainset and wide-range cassette to give you plenty of gear options for riding mixed terrain.

The Defy is disc brake specific and each bike has hydraulic disc brakes to match the drivetrain. The only exception to this is the entry-level Defy Advanced 3 that uses Giant’s Contact semi hydraulic system that combines regular mechanical levers with hydraulic callipers.

Another innovative feature of the Defy is the Contact D-fuse handlebar. This is shaped to give a little front-end compliance in a similar way to the seatpost. The Advanced Pro bikes get the carbon version which absorbs even more of the road buzz. The top-of-the-range models also get a stealthy bike computer mount that sits in front of the stem.

Giant’s Defy range features both Shimano drivetrain and hydraulic discs for every model, making sure the reliability and control is available.

Giant Defy Advanced wheels

Wheels

Giant carbon and alloy options

Giant has embraced tubeless technology, providing improved puncture protection and rolling resistance for the entire Defy Advanced range.

Like their frames, Giant make their wheels in their own factory. This means that you get great performance without paying for fancy branding. The Advanced Pro bikes all get Giant’s SLR-1 carbon disc wheels. These combine DT Swiss hub internals with Sapim Sprint spokes and a high-quality carbon fibre composite rim. These lightweight wheels are fast rolling and stiff giving you rapid acceleration and precise steering control. The wheels on all the bikes are tubeless compatible and are supplied ready set up with tubeless tyres.

Tyres on all bikes are getting wider and all the Defy’s now roll on 32c Giant Gavia Fondo 1 tyres. With a durable rubber compound in the centre and tackier rubber on the shoulders, you’ll get plenty of mileage out of these tyres without sacrificing any corner grip. Race Shield puncture protection helps to avoid flats making the Gavia Fondo tyres ideal for riding mixed terrain in variable conditions.

The Giant Defy Advanced is a sportive machine

Best for

Sportives and general road riding

The Giant Defy Advanced is one of the most comfortable and rapid sportive bikes on the road today. Each bike is built around a carbon frame that is at the cutting edge of modern endurance road bike design. The component spec is impressive for the money especially when you consider that your getting complete named groupsets rather than the mix-and-match you get on some bikes.

Designed for comfortable and efficient riding over long distances on rougher roads the Defy is a better choice for everyday cycling than the more race focussed Giant TCR. Ideal for sportives the Defy Advanced is a great bike for those who want to ride in comfort without sacrificing speed or efficiency.

Giant Defy full carbon fork detail Giant Defy Advanced Pro stem with garmin mount
Giant Defy Advanced Saddle Giant Defy Advanced SRAM Force hydraulic brake lever
Giant Defy Advanced rear tyre clearance Giant Defy Advanced Pro clean font end is more aero

Defy Advanced range models


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