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TECH NEWS
Just in: Giant Defy Advanced SL
The disc-equipped road market is rapidly expanding but one of the biggest launches this year has been Giant’s all-new disc-only (at least on the carbon models) Defy road bike for 2015. The Defy is Giant's best-selling road bike so it's a big deal that it has been redesigned with disc brakes.
road.cc was at the launch for the new Defy earlier this year. We even spent two days riding it, but now have managed to get hold of a bike for an extended test on more familiar bikes. Watch out for a full review soon, for now here’s a look at the highlights of the new Defy.
For starters, this is the top-end Advanced SL with Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and hydraulic disc brakes, complemented by Zipp 202 carbon clincher wheels and 25mm Giant branded tyres. Make no mistake, this sort of kit commands a high price, it’ll set you back a hefty £7,999. Fear not, the carbon disc range does start at a slightly more affordable £1,649, so there are options further down the range.
The most obvious change for the new Defy are the disc brakes. Giant designed the new Defy from scratch with disc brakes a key consideration, there’s no concession to rim brakes here. If you do want a Defy without disc brakes, the aluminium model is your only choice. Giant is taking a serious punt on their customers wanting disc brakes.
Giant have opted for regular quick release axles instead of the thru-axles that some companies are using, a technology borrowed from the mountain bike world. It’s early days for disc brakes on road bikes and we’re seeing a real split between those sticking with conventional axles, and those like Focus and Storck oversizing the axles. It’s a debate that is sure to rage on for some time. At least for now upgrading the wheels on the Defy is going to be easier as there are quite a few aftermarket disc-specific wheels with regular axles.
This top-end model uses Shimano’s impressive new R785 disc brakes, with 140mm TRP rotors at both ends, mated to Shimano’s flagship Dura-Ace Di2 11-speed drivetrain. Giant have made no concession to weight and performance in speccing the Zipp 202 Firecrest carbon clincher wheels, with a claimed weight of 1530g. They have a 32mm deep rim.
With the aim of the new bike also to to increase the comfort, Giant totally redesigned the integrated seatmast, dubbed D-Fuse. While integrated seatmasts do have their detractors, Giant reckoned they could only achieve the desired deflection at the saddle with the new D-shaped mast they developed. This profile is mirrored in the new top tube. Along with the new skinny seatstays, as small diameter as they can be and still be hollow, Giant reckon the new Defy is significantly more compliant than the previous Defy. While there’s no industry standard for measuring deflection in a road frame, Giant claim in the region of 12mm movement at the saddle.
The frame is made from Giant’s own SL Grade carbon fibre with a full carbon fork with OverDrive 2 steerer tube. This features a 1 1/4in top section diameter, the same as that used by Canyon. With the frame specifically designed with disc brakes Giant have managed to make it lighter, and they claim a sub-900g weight for a size medium. That’s lighter than most endurance and sportive bikes which are typically closer to the 1,000g mark. Complete bike weight as pictured without pedals on the road.cc scales is 7.29kg (16 lb).
A load of changes then, but one area where the new Defy is identical to the previous model, is in the geometry. The geometry of the previous Defy was well proven and well received, so Giant felt no reason to change it. This size M/L has a 56cm top tube, 72.5 degree head angle, 73 degree seat angle, 185mm head tube, 420mm chainstays and a 1027mm wheelbase.
Most of the new crop of disc-equipped road bikes are from the same mould as the Defy: a sportive/endurance focused road bike with a longer wheelbase and more relaxed geometry than an out-and-out race bike. It’s clear bicycle manufacturers feel the benefits of disc brakes are a good match for the sort of people buying and riding these bikes, and with no rule change coming anytime soon from the UCI regarding discs in the professional peloton, developing a new raft of endurance bikes is the option open to manufacturers.
We’ll be putting the new Defy through its paces over the following weeks to see how it performs, so watch out for a full review soon. In the meantime you can read a lot more detail about the new Defy from the launch a while ago and my first ride impressions here.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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26 comments
I'm sure it's a lovely bike, but the paint job does nothing for it. Not expressive of the structural function, not 'go faster', not class, just random bits of blue. Looks cheap.
Give it 12 months they'll be £2599 @ Pauls cycles, still OTT commuter mind.
How is this 8000 pounds? the same bike in Australia is $9500 or 5100 pounds... And we Australians like to whinge about being ripped off on bike bits...
You could fly here, buy it, have a holiday and fly home with some change!
Seriously? Got any links to local bike shops where they sell it?!
MRRP
Yep, just found that after I'd posted - unbelievable. If the aussies think they're being ripped off, I wonder if it's even cheaper elsewhere? (I couldn't find an english-language tawainese online bike shop) You could take 3 weeks annual leave to ride the nuts off it before you bring it home!
We complain more about the cost of parts and accessories etc, some people complain about bike costs, but as shown, they are pretty good.
Shimano Australia wholesale prices are higher than wiggle prices.
This might be a splendid bike and all, but it sure doesn't look like 8k.
@Glyn
Surely the number of recreational or sportive riders outnumbers the licence holding racers by a large margin?
I've worked in two specialized concept stores and the Roubaix / secteur bikes outsold the tarmac/allez probably 5:1
I rode this bike in June and was very impressed by the feel of the frame and Zipp wheels, the hydro brakes I found very sharp (even with tiny 140mm rotors) but I guess you would adjust to their modulation over time. As comparison, I have been riding mountain bikes with hydro discs for years.
Before getting on this bike I rode a more affordable version with 105 11 speed and tektro mechanical discs. The mechanical brakes were impressive with good modulation, but you could feel a baggyness in the wheel set compared to the Zipp's on the nice bike. This is common with any disc brake bike with 'affordable' wheels i.e. OE price point.
Its going take someone with Giant's clout to bring disc brakes into the widespread endurance road bike, guess the market will vote with their wallets on this change?
It's still in the UCI hands too, anyone who races won't be able to use discs, there's a good number of people who race and ride with their mates/club on one bike.
If they can't race it they won't buy it unless it's an n+1
Should have tried harder in school then you might be able to afford one...
Come on now, how hard you tried in school is not directly proportional to what you can afford in life - unless I'm advising the kids
I have a Giant Defy Advanced, I changed what didn't suit me (the handlebar, stem, groupset and use different wheels, nice enough bike I'd consider another. The Defy is popular, but I don't see how this one with this price tag would be. Other high end bikes seem to have that certain something, but this doesn't. It rather seems like a fast Mondeo rather than a BMW.
The canyon endurance/sportive bike seems a better prospect. I'm hoping it rides really well, but with the discs the pros won't be riding it on the cobbles like the previous version.
***Full disclosure***
In addition to my previous reply where it might have come across that I have a vested interest in defending one or more of the groups attacked
I am not :-
• a Crook (bent or otherwise)
• in the banking racket
• a Russian or saudi playboy
• an employee of Giant.
But i do happen to ride a Giant TCR and I love it.
8 thousand for a bike,like house prices,these scum are taking the piss and forcing up the prices at the bottom end for us paupers
only people who can afford this crap are bent crooks in the banking racket and russian/saudi playboys
disgusting nonsense
Wow Rich71, someone's feeling hard done by,
Firstly your analogy with house prices is ridiculous, house prices are forced up through supply and demand,
limited supply combined with a large demand means prices go up. There is no restriction on the supply of bikes, (maybe for the odd really desirable model you will get some influence but in general), you pick your bike and you pay your monies.
All that's happening is companies see an opportunity to bring a product to market that people want, they develop it, and they price it as such so they make something to further their business and service their shareholders. Premium gear often affords much bigger profit margins and if the market will support those prices they'd be stupid not to go after them just so Rich71 doesn't feel bad.
Secondly I agree the bike is expensive (probably a little beyond my means too) but it gives me something to aspire to and creates a platform for trickle down technology to the bike i can afford in a few years. It improves the quality of the kit we all ride on.
Why attack the people with nice things that also happen to fund research and development within cycling? We all like riding bikes right?
Anyone who can and does buy a bike like this should be welcomed by the cycling community not derided for being well off. Their patronage creates a decent second hand market for these kinds of super bike when they get bored and as mentioned earlier allows companies to fund the development of new technologies, sponsors a few races / teams and you know make some money along the way too.
If anything, over recent years both ends of the market have expanded. Your much hated 'superbike' has taken off but there is also a much wider spread of affordable quality bikes than there used to be. The threshold for getting 'decent' road bike has fallen in my view from maybe £700-£800 to possibly as low as £300 (B'Twin Triban 3)
Do you honestly think that companies should only sell products that you can afford and deliver them to you at cost and take no profit along the way?
mmmm...
The good news is they can't force us to buy one. TBH bike prices at the lower end seem pretty good to me. I got a lot more for my money this year than I did 20 years ago
One ugly bike.
Dream bike for TCR 2015,
now if i can convince the other half we don't need a car it might just happen!
Woof (as in yum)
£8K on a bike, bikes for the london city lycra brigade, but it doesn't buy you class.
I would rather buy a dacia and use the change to buy a Canyon or a Rose.
This bike doesn't seem worth £8k. I can't see what makes it so expensive. Is it the frame? Is it the disc brakes?
It'll be interesting to see the test ride results. Perhaps then we'll know what it's unique selling point is that makes it so expensive.
Dura Ace Di2 with hydraulic discs, zipp 202 disc wheels.
Probably frame cost is a fair bit too and a lot more.
You'd be hard pushed to build the same spec for less I imagine.
Nice looking bike. It'd look even nicer if it didn't have a huge, garish logo plastered over the frame. If I'm spending £8000 on a road bike, I want class, not crass.
Looks like it's been in a shunt.
Looks alreet to me!