About to purchase a Giant Defy 4

Ravinder15

DonDaddyD wrote:

If you can I would really, strongly, insist and abolutely advise stretching to the Defy 3.5

Seriously. Carbon Fork. Clear up that road buzz on the hands. Seriously.

DonDaddyD,

Is it really worth the extra?
I will try to go for it if it's going to make a noticible difference.

Thanks for the advice

Rav

DonDaddyD

Ravinder15 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

If you can I would really, strongly, insist and abolutely advise stretching to the Defy 3.5

Seriously. Carbon Fork. Clear up that road buzz on the hands. Seriously.

DonDaddyD,

Is it really worth the extra?
I will try to go for it if it's going to make a noticible difference.

Thanks for the advice

Rav

IMO yes.

You've stated your budget and I'm sticking to it. This is why I'm not pushing you to get Tiagra or Sora.

But you should be getting a carbon fork.

kelsen

Ravinder15 wrote:

Is it really worth the extra?

Maybe.

I've had steel, aluminium and carbon forks on my commute bikes. Steel was the most comfortable. Carbon feels less harsh than the alu. These were different bikes though so not really a fair comparison. They all got me from A to B fine.

Carbon forks on my weekend bike are cushty. But that could be down to the rest of the bike being carbon as well.

Only real way to tell is to try. For commuting, I'd say the benefits are marginal, but if you intend using the bike for longer rides then carbon forks would be desirable.

tailwindhome

DonDaddyD wrote:

Ravinder15 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

If you can I would really, strongly, insist and abolutely advise stretching to the Defy 3.5

Seriously. Carbon Fork. Clear up that road buzz on the hands. Seriously.

DonDaddyD,

Is it really worth the extra?
I will try to go for it if it's going to make a noticible difference.

Thanks for the advice

Rav

IMO yes.

You've stated your budget and I'm sticking to it. This is why I'm not pushing you to get Tiagra or Sora.

But you should be getting a carbon fork.

Or he could buy a Ribble Winter Trainer and get a Carbon fork and Sora for only £40 more than the Defy 4

Ravinder15

DonDaddyD wrote:

Ravinder15 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

If you can I would really, strongly, insist and abolutely advise stretching to the Defy 3.5

Seriously. Carbon Fork. Clear up that road buzz on the hands. Seriously.

DonDaddyD,

Is it really worth the extra?
I will try to go for it if it's going to make a noticible difference.

Thanks for the advice

Rav

IMO yes.

You've stated your budget and I'm sticking to it. This is why I'm not pushing you to get Tiagra or Sora.

But you should be getting a carbon fork.

Thanks DonDaddyD,

I would love to get the Sora or Tiagra but those really are out of my budget.
I should just about be able to stretch to the Defy 3.5 as it's going on the cycletoworkscheme so it helps spread the cost over 12 months.

I will definitely get the Defy 3.5 now
Will be hopefuly ordering the bike on Saturday.

Thanks again

Rav

kelsen

TailWindHome wrote:

Or he could buy a Ribble Winter Trainer and get a Carbon fork and Sora for only £40 more than the Defy 4

Now that you put it that way, it does sound like a good deal!

He only listens to DDD anyway

Ravinder15

kelsen wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

Or he could buy a Ribble Winter Trainer and get a Carbon fork and Sora for only £40 more than the Defy 4

Now that you put it that way, that does sound like a good deal!

He only listens to DDD anyway

LOL

I would love to go for the Ribble it sounds excellent value, but what happens if there's a problem would hate having to send it back by post.

Does anyone here have experiene with this bike on here?

Rav

holybinch

Rav,

A lot of people have the Ribble, and it's highly rated as a commuter/winter bike.

UndercoverElephant

You see what I mean, you delay by only 1 day and it's costing more already

(By the way, I've heard good things about the Ribble bike too)

Ravinder15

UndercoverElephant wrote:

You see what I mean, you delay by only 1 day and it's costing more already

(By the way, I've heard good things about the Ribble bike too)

I am really tempted to go for the Ribble bike now.
How can I go about getting the correct size etc without trying it out first?

Rav :?

holybinch

Ask around here.
Give them a call.
Look at the geometry, then check a few bikes which share the same characteristics and try them?
Obviously, a lot more work that expected at first

UndercoverElephant

Ravinder15 wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

You see what I mean, you delay by only 1 day and it's costing more already

(By the way, I've heard good things about the Ribble bike too)

I am really tempted to go for the Ribble bike now.
How can I go about getting the correct size etc without trying it out first?

Rav :?

Personally, I went to http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CC ... ATOR_INTRO

and got fitted by the Mrs. It worked for me, but probably won't for everyone.

amnezia

If i was you, i'd get the Defy from the LBS

You get the chance to test ride it and it'll be easy to get serviced.

Or you could spend days and months searching the internet for the best deal but then by the time you get your bike summer will be over

You can always upgrade components later.

Ravinder15

amnezia wrote:

If i was you, i'd get the Defy from the LBS

You get the chance to test ride it and it'll be easy to get serviced.

Or you could spend days and months searching the internet for the best deal but then by the time you get your bike summer will be over

You can always upgrade components later.

I think you right, if I get the Defy 3.5 with carbon forks it's a good place to start and can upgrade bits as and when I can afford to and I have a free annual service by the LBS.

Rav

DonDaddyD

I'm not going to confuse matters further.

I've searched at your price range for bikes I know and seem to have a decent enough spec:

Specialized Allez 16 £499
or
Giant Defy 3.5 £525

The Giant Defy frame with carbon fork is exactly the same frame they use for the £825 Defy 2 and the same fork they use for the fully carbon Defy Advance, which retails upto £2,500 (for the Giant Defy Advance 1). So I would say, yes get the carbon fork one.

For my first bike, I found it a bit daunting buying off the Internet so I went to a shop. Glad I did. For my second bike I felt the same way.

coopster_the_1st

DonDaddyD wrote:

The Giant Defy frame with carbon fork is exactly the same frame they use for the £825 Defy 2 and the same fork they use for the fully carbon Defy Advance, which retails upto £2,500 (for the Giant Defy Advance 1). So I would say, yes get the carbon fork one.

And I can vouch for the Defy 2 as I brought one last Friday.

Did test a Defy 4 against a Defy 2 and there was a massive difference in the bikes.

And I say the carbon fork is worth the money as it will probably work out very cheap compared to the amount of time you spend on the bike.

My only other advice would be to buy the bike soon or you comptemplating a Defy 2 within a week

Ravinder15

DonDaddyD wrote:

I'm not going to confuse matters further.

I've searched at your price range for bikes I know and seem to have a decent enough spec:

Specialized Allez 16 £499
or
Giant Defy 3.5 £525

The Giant Defy frame with carbon fork is exactly the same frame they use for the £825 Defy 2 and the same fork they use for the fully carbon Defy Advance, which retails upto £2,500 (for the Giant Defy Advance 1). So I would say, yes get the carbon fork one.

For my first bike, I found it a bit daunting buying off the Internet so I went to a shop. Glad I did. For my second bike I felt the same way.

My LBS in Bedford has the Defy 3.5 for £525
I feel happier buying locally as the sizing etc of the bike is important and if I have any probs can take it back to them.

It's a big purchase so gotta make sure I get it right and have the after sales service too.

Rav

Ravinder15

Coopster the 1st wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

The Giant Defy frame with carbon fork is exactly the same frame they use for the £825 Defy 2 and the same fork they use for the fully carbon Defy Advance, which retails upto £2,500 (for the Giant Defy Advance 1). So I would say, yes get the carbon fork one.

And I can vouch for the Defy 2 as I brought one last Friday.

Did test a Defy 4 against a Defy 2 and there was a massive difference in the bikes.

And I say the carbon fork is worth the money as it will probably work out very cheap compared to the amount of time you spend on the bike.

My only other advice would be to buy the bike soon or you comptemplating a Defy 2 within a week

LOL Exactly

Defo gonna place my order for the 3.5 this Saturday.

Rav

UndercoverElephant

Ravinder15 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

I'm not going to confuse matters further.

I've searched at your price range for bikes I know and seem to have a decent enough spec:

Specialized Allez 16 £499
or
Giant Defy 3.5 £525

The Giant Defy frame with carbon fork is exactly the same frame they use for the £825 Defy 2 and the same fork they use for the fully carbon Defy Advance, which retails upto £2,500 (for the Giant Defy Advance 1). So I would say, yes get the carbon fork one.

For my first bike, I found it a bit daunting buying off the Internet so I went to a shop. Glad I did. For my second bike I felt the same way.

My LBS in Bedford has the Defy 3.5 for £525
I feel happier buying locally as the sizing etc of the bike is important and if I have any probs can take it back to them.

It's a big purchase so gotta make sure I get it right and have the after sales service too.

Rav

DOOOO IIIITTTT!!!! :twisted:

And quick, before you're wanting Ultegra

tailwindhome

Have you considered the Defy 3?

Sorry, couldn't resist it.

Both DDD and I are correct, the question is are you prepared to pay more/ accept lower spec for the added LBS service? In your case the answer is probably yes.

So go and buy the Defy. I will however be very disappointed if you can't haggle discount or get something thrown in for free.

Ravinder15

TailWindHome wrote:

Have you considered the Defy 3?

Sorry, couldn't resist it.

Both DDD and I are correct, the question is are you prepared to pay more/ accept lower spec for the added LBS service? In your case the answer is probably yes.

So go and buy the Defy. I will however be very disappointed if you can't haggle discount or get something thrown in for free.

Hi Tailwind,

I will deinitely be haggling for some discount, they have said they don't give anything for cycletoworkscheme as they are charged 10% by the scheme.

I'll still be haggling for some extras though!

The bike will cost me £308 spread over 12months under £6 per week which ain't bad for the Defy 3.5

Rav

Ravinder15

Ravinder15 wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

Have you considered the Defy 3?

Sorry, couldn't resist it.

Both DDD and I are correct, the question is are you prepared to pay more/ accept lower spec for the added LBS service? In your case the answer is probably yes.

So go and buy the Defy. I will however be very disappointed if you can't haggle discount or get something thrown in for free.

Hi Tailwind,

I have considered the 3 but it's a bit too much at the moment. For my first proper bike I think I'll be fine with the 3.5 for now. I only commuting to and from work 6 mile round trip

I will deinitely be haggling for some discount, they have said they don't give anything for cycletoworkscheme as they are charged 10% by the scheme.

I'll still be haggling for some extras though!

The bike will cost me £308 spread over 12months under £6 per week which ain't bad for the Defy 3.5

Rav

Avoneer

And I'd stick with the Giant pedals and toe clips for now.

I've gone back to them.

SPD's push your foot position forward slightly and you end up with some toe overlap.

Pat...

Avoneer

P.S. I have a Defy 4 2009 with carbon forks and it has been a really good solid bike.

Doing a Duathlon in 2 weeks so will let you know how it performs when pushed - it's fitted with clip-on tri bars as well.

Pat...

Ravinder15

Thanks Avoneer,

Ordered my bike today Defy 3.5
just gotta wait a couple of weeks now for my Cycle To Work Scheme Voucher to come through
Will stick with the Giant pedals and toe clips for now.

Thanks for the advice

Rav

DonDaddyD

Chapeau. Get riding.

When you can get clipless pedals.

SPD's push your foot position forward slightly and you end up with some toe overlap.

Toe overlap isn't dependent on SPD's or SPD-sl

From

Sheldon Brown:

On many bicycles, especially smaller sizes, it is possible for the front fender or tire to bump into the rider's toe or to the toe clip. Some people worry a lot about this, but it is rarely a significant problem in practice.

The only time it can happen is when the handlebars are turned quite far to the side, which only happens at very low speeds.

Many, many people ride bikes with fairly severe overlap with no practical problems, sometimes having to make a slight adjustment to their pedaling habits at very slow speeds.

On smaller size bikes with full size wheels, it is usually impossible to eliminate overlap without causing adverse fit/handling issues.

Avoneer

The SPD's put your foot further forward than the Giant toeclips for sure.

The Giant toeclips have been made (or very coincidental) to just keep your toe short of any wheel overlap.

My SPD put my toe in line with the tire on slow cornering - I had a few offs whilst meandering through traffic.

Just though I'd point it out as it annoyed the hell out of me and I went back to the Giant pedals.

Pat...

DonDaddyD

Sheldon Brown is never wrong.

Avoneer, I'm not disputing that your SPD's caused toe overlap. There is however, no one rule for all.

The toe-overlap that you encountered could be due to the position of the cleat on your shoe. It could be the size of your foot . Or it could be that the SPD's simply do cause toe overlap on your bike. I'm not saying they don't. I'm saying that toe-overlap isn't solely dependent on SPD's or SPD-sl style pedals. Equally the toe-clips could be set up to not allow your foot to be properly positioned on the pedal. However, I'm glad that you found a solution to overcome the issue you encountered.

What the late great Sheldon was saying is that toe-overlap isn't uncommon or unusual and can be overcome merely by adjusting the way a person rides their bike. The article also explains why it happens.

Personally I don't personally think toe-clips are particularly safe as they don't disengage your feet in the event of a crash. I also found them harder to get your feet out of. But as I said before, pedals are a personal preference thing.

coopster_the_1st

I am riding with the Giant toe clips at the moment mainly because it is too cold in the mornings to be riding with my SPD shoes (I do not yet own overshoes).

The toe clips are not as good as SPD's but they are OK. Only real problem I occasionally have is getting my feet into the top clips when starting off. SPD's are much easier to clip into.

I would upgrade to SPD's or similar when you feel comfortable to do so. There is no need to upgrade immediately.

dg lander

Hi Ravinder15, I'd be interested to know how you get on with the Defy as I was looking closely at that range. I've been in the same position as you, about £500 to spend and thought I would get a flat bar sirrus/rapid but have ended up changing my mind after test riding some with drops. In the end I've managed to stretch my budget and have decided to go for an Allez Sport (ordered my voucher today!). The boardman comp was slightly too much and none of the halfords near me does the boardman range. I also considered the ribble however there is a £65 admin charge for getting it via cyclescheme on top of £20 delivery and I'd prefer to buy local anyway. I should really test drive the Defy 3 for comparison with the allez however I'm too impatient.