My bike will need replacing soon, should i get a road bike?

chris_bass

thanks for the advise, i usually carry a mutli tool, chain link remover/replacer, puncture repair kit, pump and various other bits and pieces so i think so roadside maintenence should be ok.

I think it is between the Giant Defy 1 or the Specialized Secteur Elite Apex.

Quite like the look of the Spec but not tried it yet.

chris_bass

ok, i think i may have been getting slightly ahead of myself and the guy in the bike shop may have influenced me a bit too!!

i have revised my budget down a bit to about £750, so looking at:

Spec Allez sport
Spec Secteur sport
Giant Defy 2
Trek 1.2

the local shop near me supplies them all so the after care would be good and handy.

anyone have any of these or any feedback?

bails87

Can't comment on them individually, but check the spec and have a ride on them all if possible. A lower spec front mech is a price worth paying for a better fit, for example.

bakerstreet

Chris Bass wrote:

ok, i think i may have been getting slightly ahead of myself and the guy in the bike shop may have influenced me a bit too!!

i have revised my budget down a bit to about £750, so looking at:

Spec Allez sport
Spec Secteur sport
Giant Defy 2
Trek 1.2

I have had a 2010 Giant Defy 2 since September of last year. Its done just over 1000km of commutes and the odd sunday ride and its just snapped its third spoke on the rear wheel and thats after numerous loose spokes on the front and the back wheel.

Every other component has been aboslutely fine and I have really enjoyed riding it, but the spoke snapped on my ride in this morning and I'm really not happy chap.

There is other stuff written on the interweb about the quality of wheels in the defy range, so I dont think my problems are unique to my bike.

Based on my experience I would take the Giant off the list. QUite sad really as I have been quite happy with the bike apart from the wheels

winel0rd

Hi Chris, I've got a Giant SCR2 (rebranded into Defy 2 a few years ago).

I'd highly recommend it. I was suspicious of road bikes & drops until a year ago, but I'd never consider riding an MTB on tarmac now.

Having been used to heavy MTBs & a hybrid, it was a culture shock, but positive in every way. I know it's only an entry-level road bike, but to me it's a joy to ride.

I'd also class myself as having a dodgy back, but I find being able to get into a low position on the drops a real advantage in bad weather/wind, and on descents.

Underscore

bakerstreet wrote:

I have had a 2010 Giant Defy 2 since September of last year. Its done just over 1000km of commutes and the odd sunday ride and its just snapped its third spoke on the rear wheel and thats after numerous loose spokes on the front and the back wheel.

Every other component has been aboslutely fine and I have really enjoyed riding it, but the spoke snapped on my ride in this morning and I'm really not happy chap.

There is other stuff written on the interweb about the quality of wheels in the defy range, so I dont think my problems are unique to my bike.

Based on my experience I would take the Giant off the list. QUite sad really as I have been quite happy with the bike apart from the wheels

I have a Defy 1 and there is one other Defy 1 and a Defy 2.5 here (all the same wheels bar the colour). I'm the only one who didn't have wheel problems in the first 1500 miles. However, Giant stood by both of the others (who now have Fulcrum and Shimano wheels, respectively) and they both love their Defies (as do I). Approach your dealer with your issues and there's a good chance that you'll end up a happy chappy, IME.

HTH,

_

bakerstreet

Underscore wrote:

bakerstreet wrote:

I have had a 2010 Giant Defy 2 since September of last year. Its done just over 1000km of commutes and the odd sunday ride and its just snapped its third spoke on the rear wheel and thats after numerous loose spokes on the front and the back wheel.

Every other component has been aboslutely fine and I have really enjoyed riding it, but the spoke snapped on my ride in this morning and I'm really not happy chap.

There is other stuff written on the interweb about the quality of wheels in the defy range, so I dont think my problems are unique to my bike.

Based on my experience I would take the Giant off the list. QUite sad really as I have been quite happy with the bike apart from the wheels

I have a Defy 1 and there is one other Defy 1 and a Defy 2.5 here (all the same wheels bar the colour). I'm the only one who didn't have wheel problems in the first 1500 miles. However, Giant stood by both of the others (who now have Fulcrum and Shimano wheels, respectively) and they both love their Defies (as do I). Approach your dealer with your issues and there's a good chance that you'll end up a happy chappy, IME.

HTH,

_

To be fair, the shop in Radlett have been very good and have dealt with the problems that I have had very well. Very friendly in there too.

To be honest, I have reached the point where I would like a new rear wheel. I cant have the wheel break on the my first triathlon in July of this year. It was one of the reasons I bought the bike in the first place

chris_bass

i hadnt heard about the problems with giant wheels ( i mean wheels on giant bikes, not enormous wheels!! just to be clear!).

i think i am leaning toward one of the spec models, we have a decent specialized store near us so for after care and maintenance would be a big bonus.

does anyone know the main differences between the allez and secteur models? the specs seem pretty similar.

Marcus_C

Chris Bass wrote:

oes anyone know the main differences between the allez and secteur models? the specs seem pretty similar.

The allez geometry is supposed to be more aggressive for racing, the secteur is the audaz/relaxed one, it doesn't matter in reality, can you try them both? Which one do you like the look of?

snick

To put a slightly different opinion out there, I started commuting on a kona fire mountain with slicks, then got a Scott Roadster.. which was absolutely awesome, I was in work much quicker with less effort.

However I found that I missed the manoeuvrability and disc brakes of the MTB particularly in heavy traffic around London so went for a Charge Mixer which from my perspective has the best of both worlds, in fact it is absolutely epic.

Must admit, I don't have anywhere near as long a commute as the OP and you probably don't have such gnarled traffic to deal with.

SimonLyons

I have a 2 year old Defy 1.

I had problems with the wheels initially (the ones withmavic cxp22 rims) but it was only down to spokes going loose as they hadn't been set up correctly.
I taught myself how to true up the wheels, its not rocket science.

8500 miles later I have had one broken spoke and no problems with the wheels.

Underscore

Underscore wrote:

I have a Defy 1 and there is one other Defy 1 and a Defy 2.5 here (all the same wheels bar the colour). I'm the only one who didn't have wheel problems in the first 1500 miles.

Just to provide an update on this: I was about 3 miles into a ride last night (luckily a circular ride from home, not my 19 mile commute) when I heard a rattle. I stopped and, sure enough, I had a loose spoke. Slowly limped back home where I re-tensioned and trued the wheel (including increasing the average spoke tension to, hopefully, stop it from happening again). However, the rear non-driveside spokes (also radial) are all over the place tension-wise so I'll need to do a bit of fettling there too before long... Anyway, that's 3 out of the 3 2009 Defys that I know with this wheelset that have had problems with the spokes loosening...

_

yenkee

+1 for unixnerd. I started commuting last year on the C2W scheme and got myself a 'urban mountain bike' from halfords. This was fine for a while until the winter when i started getting problems with the bottom bracket and cassette. Then decided to get myself a second hand cannondale synapse, the difference was astonishing. I'd never previously had a proper roady before but the efficientcy in which it picks up speed is great especially when your constantly stopping at lights.

My MTB is now getting getting new tyres to get rid of the 'urban'. Hopefully I can use it where MTBs really belong... off road and on trails..