Burn up the pavement with amazing speed on Giant's Defy Advanced 1. But wait, did we mention it's one of the most comfortable road bikes you'll find...
Strengths: Descending, cornering, all around balance
Weaknesses: Not the most responsive climbing bike, but still awesome.
Bottom Line:
I have a Taiwan version of the Defy Advanced 1. I have the same experience of this bike COASTING faster than other bikes. So many races and challenge rides where I discover the same thing.
This bike is great. Corners and descends amazingly. I have a triple crank and just love the huge range of gears for the tough Taiwan mountains. Did a 400km ride across the Taiwan Central Mountain range, and couldn't have been happier on this bike.
Strengths: Ultrega group is light and efficient. Frame is AMAZING: somehow stiff and efficient AND comfortable and smooth. (How did they do that?!) Wheels are just right - light enough, stiff enough - perfect.
Weaknesses: Well, it did cost 3 grand.
Bottom Line:
OMG. I'm too old to use that abbreviation, but my Giant Defy Advanced 1 is making me feel like a kid again.
I turned 50 this year, and I thought that my road riding days were really over. I'd been riding a 1996 Bianchi EL/OS with a Campy Chorus group, but lately I'd been experiencing more pain due to the bike beating me up. 10 years ago I was putting thousands of miles on a bike every year, but this had dwindled down to a hundred miles each year. The 2001 Giant Defy Advanced 1 has changed all that. If I had no other responsibilities, I would ride this bike 50 miles every day.
Strengths: Faster than it feels, plush without being sluggish, climbs like a billy goat compared to my Trek 1200, holds up to the abuse my 250lbs frame puts on it.
Weaknesses: Giant DT Swiss 1800 wheelset.
Base Fizik saddle.
Feels slower than it is.
Bottom Line:
Just picked up this bike a couple of weeks ago after having the stock compact crank swapped for a standard double.
I love this bike!
After spending the last 3 years on a Trek 1200 aluminum bike (that I still love) I wanted to make the jump to carbon so I wouldn't feel so beat up after 50 miles. I wasn't sure if I should buy a racing bike or a plush bike, so I rode the Defy A, TCR A, and Madone 5.2 extensively to figure out which one I preferred. I wanted to keep a feel similar to my 1200 because I love the speed and handling of the race derived bike. The Defy A was the perfect balance between the racy TCR and the slightly too sluggish Madone.
I've only had the chance to put about 200 miles on the bike so far, but so far it's been great. I didn't have a spedometer for the first few rides, and I worried I had actually slowed when compared to my Trek because the bike just didn't give the same feeling of quickness. I was soon shocked to find that where I had felt like I was going 17 on my Trek, I was pushing over 20 on the Defy.
The compact road design where they shorten the chainstays is brilliant. Acceleration is quick, climbs are efficient, and handling isn't racing crisp, but is still quick.
The TCR is a full race rig, and handles like a Lotus. The Defy is more of an BMW M3, still very fast, but gives up true race performance in lieu of leather seats.
The only complaint I have so far is the DT Swiss wheels. I noticed they weren't quite true so I swapped them out for a set of Mavic Equipes I have on my Trek. During the swap I noticed that I'd already dug into the freehub casing under some hard pulls, clocking half the gears out of alignment. Freehubs are NOT an acceptable place for a low grade anodized aluminum. I wish Giant had opted to keep the Mavic wheels used in previous years.
Strengths: Comfortable, but agile. Does a good job soaking up front end vibration without feeling mushy. Superb in descent. Fantastic paint/graphics. Remarkable attention to detail (many red anodized parts) which they didn't need to do.
Great fit and finish. Ultega 6700 group is better than the Dura Ace 7800 I last used. Excellent value for this level of bike.
Weaknesses: The good DT Swiss wheelset is a little heavy, but they do feel solid, and I haven't switched them out with a lighter wheelset I already own. That says something, though I'm not sure what. The bike doesn't have that quick feel under acceleration, although we all know it's in our heads and the bike is only as fast as we are.
It doesn't feel really stiff, but if it did, it wouldn't have such a nice ride. You can't have it all. Overall, I don't think I could have bought a better bike; just another bike.
Bottom Line:
This bike is great for me because it fits like a glove. I like that it has pretty lively steering (especially compared to my last bike a Specialized Roubaix Pro,) and feels solid in a descent. It is very comfortable, but on the flip side, sometimes the trade off is stiffness. It is stiffer than the Roubaix which had a rear end that flexed on rough pavement (not a bad thing per se.) The Giant has very fine fork blades, and I think that it lends the bike it's gentle ride. I don't have a lot of experience on descent on this bike yet, but I was loving it's intuitive feel this past weekend, carving it up on Mt Diablo in Northern California. I totally forgot it's a new bike to me, letting it run free and passing a number of other riders. It felt fast and fluid.
Under acceleration, it doesn't feel as fast as the Pedalforce RS2 I had, but I'm not in as good of shape either. I'm certainly used to a stiffer bike, but I can't find fault in the Defy Advanced in any way.
Similar Products Used: Owned: Cannondale Caad 5 2001, Look 231 2000, Fuji Professional Aluminum 2004, Motobecane Le Champion 2006, Eddie Merckx Team SC 2004, Pedal Force RS2 2008, Specialized Roubaix Pro 2009
Bike Setup: Stock Ultegra 6700, with Giant Brand parts and DT Swiss wheelset. Superb all around.
I switched out the Fizik Arione for a Koobi Au Enduro. It's a personal thing.
I am 56 and an ex college middle distance runner who had a hip replacement due to an auto accident in 1976. Had to give up running, seriously, after hip replacement (total) in 2000. Finally convinced by friends to take up road biking and am still in the learning curve since buying the Giant Defy 1 in October 2009. It is, from what I can tell, every bit as good as the Specialized Rubaix but about a grand less because of the fact that Giant is possibly the largeest manufacturer of bicycles in the world. I have the Fizik saddle which is the most comfortable seat I have ever experienced on a road bike (years ago borrowed bikes for triathlons and might as well been on a Schwin Stingray as I had no knowledge of how to ride a road bike). In any event, for some reason, my Defy 1 coasts faster than some of the more expensive bikes that are owned by people with whom I ride. That is not to say that I don't get spit out by more experienced riders who have slower coasting bikes, but I have noticed it on almost every ride I have taken non solo. Hightly recommend this bike. Never thought I would pay about the same as my first new car, and it is still not considered a really expensive bike compared to other plush road bikes.
I've been riding mountain bikes since 1993 (I was 20 then), and raced for the first few years even. The mountain bike riding season is only about 6 months where I live. A lot of Read More »
I recently purchased the Defy Advanced 1 as my first road bike two months ago. After researching for two months and narrowing is down to two bikes, I decided on the Giant. I'm 5'8' Read More »
So I went off the deep end recently and did a few things to my 2011 Defy Advanced 1. Added 2011 Campy Super Record 11, FSA K-wing compact bars, Specialized Romin saddle and Torelli Read More »
Just ordered a 2012 Giant Defy Advanced 1, complete with SRAM FORCE. It will be here the early part of next week. Can't wait to get it in. I'll take pics of it after I get it home, Read More »
