Just brought a giant for first road bike

sigorman85

Hi guys I have just brought a giant defy 4 went for a test ride and was all good I'm not all tht clued up on the road scene as I ride Xc an have been using my specialized camber 2011 for the ride to work an a few short trips 12 miles I enjoy it a lot also got strava .addictive!

So decided to buy the giant defy 4 for a 2nd bike and use the camber for what it's ment to be usef for I got a good deal well I think its a good deal i paid 489 cash to my lbs for it

Is this a good bike to start off on ( bit late as got it now) but would like to hear from you guys
Also what do I need to look out for ie wear an all that jazz manny thanks simon

arlowood

You have fortuitously made quite a good choice. The Giant Defy range of Alu bikes is generally well regarded. The Defy 1 recently won a best bike award in a review of £1000 bikes.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 1-12-45849

Your Defy 4 is basically the same frame with cheaper componentry. Ride it and enjoy it through the winter.

Come spring you might want to think about upgrading the wheels and tyres - these are the components where you will feel the most benefit in ride quality from an upgrade.

sigorman85

Brilliant I guess the components can be changed along the line or when they break. Have all the defy 4's got carbon forks? ... I hear bearings tend to wear quicker on road bikes? Is this true?

Do you recommend any upgrades? ( it's standard at the mo)

mabbo

I bought a giant Defy 1 in 2012 to replace my 25 year old Giant speeder. (Over 6000 miles now).Obviously I think you have made a good choice.
My advice if you are going to ride out over the winter is fit some mudgaurds, I put Mr Crud raceblades on mine. They will protect drive train, brakes and most importantly the head set, which on Giants does not have a seal. So they do let water splash up from the road. On your first service with your LBS make sure he packs extra grease into the headset to protect it.Oh, and lights, but we can all go on forever about them !!! Wear what you like as long as it's comfortable...it's winter.............nobodies going to see you anyway.(Get a good pair of shorts though).
Otherwise, get pedalling, the Defy range is brilliant.

sigorman85

Brilliant advice I have got some good shorts and lights from the Xc bike but might be a bit on the heavy side I recently just brought a knog frog light set the silicone type and was well impressed by how bright they are
I'm quite handy on the maint side of things could u tell me the type of grease to use ? I'm willing to learn as much as I can

GGBiker

Congratulations, giant make some nice bikes.

Out of interest, you say in both the title and content of your post that you "brought" a giant, are you aware of this? What does brought mean to you? Not trying to be a smartarse but it's one of those strange things that occurs commonly on Internet forums and nobody knows why.

sigorman85

Sorry spelling wizard it's called spellchecker or iPhone writes what it wants and you knew what I ment so why bring it up did it make you feel better? Gold star for you

Paul 8v

I think we know what you meant...

Have you got clipless pedals? I found they made a massive difference to my riding. I found going from offroad to road, as there's (crazy drivers aside) less things to concentrate on (i.e. not looking out for tree branches, the best line through a bumpy section etc) I could concentrate more on my pedaling technique and getting that right, which has also improved my offroad riding.

GGBiker

sigorman85 wrote:

Sorry spelling wizard it's called spellchecker or iPhone writes what it wants and you knew what I ment so why bring it up did it make you feel better? Gold star for you

No offence intended, a lot of people write "brought" when they mean "bought", just curious why that might be, always wondered if they actually say "brought" in conversation or if it is just a typo. Maybe you're right and it is all down to predictive texting/spellchecker.

sigorman85

I say brought its just how I am lol....

Paul 8 v I have some shimano m530 on the Xc bike and fully understand what you mean about pedal technique I find they help massivly . i was going to put the dmr v12 back on the Xc bike and put the m530 on the giant but i understand the m530 spd's are Xc only? ..... What ones would you recommend

Paul 8v

I use M520's on my road bike (Probably going to get told off by someone for that) That way I can use the same shoes on both bikes. Yeah look stye pedals are more in-keeping but with SPDs you'll only have 1 pair of shoes and if you ever need to get off you won't have to walk around like a retard penguin :-)

sigorman85

Ah gd point

rookieroadie

Bought a Giant Defy 3 last year,triple chainset,which i then sold,and now ive got a TCR Composite 2.
Defy 3 got me well into road riding and got me fit again.Couldnt fault it,great bike, but then as i got more into road riding i wanted something better and to get rid of the triple.
A lad from my cycle club was selling the TCR so bought that in January and i love it.Cant keep off it this year.
Upgraded the Giant pr-2 wheels to Fulcrum Racing 5's and has made a big difference to the bike.Will keep them on this winter as i got them cheap.

bungalballs

Hi sigorman, I brought (hehehe sorry I couldn't resist that) a Defy 0 in the Spring as my first roadie and love it. I'm similar to you - my mountain bike is my real love but the road bike has got me fitter than I've ever been before, especially now I try and commute once a week (45mile round trip). But because I was a mtb'er at heart I didn't want to (and couldn't afford to) buy road specific stuff - so on the road I'm clad in mtb shoes, baggy shorts, helmet etc. This does mean I get some scowls from the OCD roadie club, often as I pass them :-D Not quite got my head around lycra, I understand the benefits but I wear it as underwear!

For pedals, my lbs recommended some A530 spds; then they are road specific (touring I think) but same cleats as your mtb pedals. Although I'm not sure they have any real advantage over the mtb pedals.

I'm considering some new wheels in the spring, possibly Mavics or Fulcrums, particularly if I can get last season's on the cheap. I'm not convinced entirely though - surely the heavy wheels and extra work involved gets me fitter, which is why I bought the bike!! Might make it more enjoyable though and increase my mileage?

Don't be suckered in by all the upgrades until you know you have a real need. Drink a couple less pints the night before, or eat fewer cakes, I know I've lost a few kilos round my waist which is probably worth a few hundred quid's worth of weight saving upgrades!

turbo1191

I too have just bought a giant road bike. Started of a while back with a cannondale synapse that wasnt quite right geometry wise. Had a shot on a friends defy 1 in a large and it was spot on.. that started me looking. Ended up spending a fair bit more than i expected and got hold of a defy composite 1, absolutely love it!

Ricey83

How are you finding the Defy 4? I'm seriously looking in to it as my first road bike along with the Specialized Allez but leaning more towards the Giant. Great looking bike.