Trek Madone 2.1 or Giant Defy 1? Suggestions welcome.

Anonymous

£1000 pounds, this is what I plan to spend on my very first road bike. I initially set out to pay £1500, but I gathered that i could spend the rest on pedals and extras.

I've narrowed it down to 2 bikes. The Trek Madone 2.1 and the Giant Defy 1. I know as much that I needn't go for a carbon frame, as i'm a beginner and probably going to damage it before I get a good ride of it. No comeback!

I have sat on both of them, the most frustrating thing being that it wasn't in the same shop. Both are on either side of the city

If anyone has others suggestions, please feel free to offer your opinion and thoughts.

Thank you

Pepperoni Man

I'm fairly new to road bikes myself so can only offer an opinion based on fairly limited experience but I had a similar dilemma earlier in the year although I was torn between the Giant and the Trek Domane 2.0. I found the set up of these 2 bikes more comparable than the Madone. I eventually went for the Domane 2.3 rather than the 2.0 mainly because I got offered a better deal rather than anything else

mattv

Dont rule out carbon. They make space ships out of it. And have you ever seen the crashes F1 cars take? If you look around, you could get a Spesh Tarmac for a grand.

diamonddog

Planet X/Ribble/Dolan all carbon with a choice of Ultegra, Rival, 105 etc all at the £1000 mark, why pay extra for a big brand and get less for your money. All are good quality bikes.

taon24

Buy something with mudguard/rack eyelets and clearance for 'guards. This gives the bike longer term potential if you ever buy a nicer bike or want to do something a bit different on the bike. This is true of my 2011 Defy 2. I use it as my wet weather/commuting/trip to town bike, while my subsequent bike is kept for best.

Buying a bike without mudguard/rack eyelets would have meant ditching the bike when I felt something better was in order. It would also have complicated me putting panniers on the back for the commute to work.

andyh01

I was in a simillar position nearly a year ago, only wanted something 1/2 decent to replace a £300 viking hybird for a short 5 mile each way commute. I went along the lines of better getting a decent alu frame then a lower quality cf with reduced strands, and lower group set. As we only paid £900 for a car (mainly for the mrs to commute and run round town in) I couldn't justify spending more on a push bike for the same job sort of thing,. As end of season 11/12 model, ex display that I got a very good deal on a Trek 2.1 for about £750 I also took advantage of the c2w scheme so paid abot £563 ish in end.

Re the Trek 2.1 bike itself, it is a good "starter" bike, the groupset mine came with is a Tiagra 10 speed so a couple extra cogs and spaces have been added to the normal Tiagra 8 speed block, the front chainset isn't a compact so misses the higher gear, same with the rear cassette and the chainset is unbranded R seriers ie equivelent to Tiagra. The brakes are Treko. The rider position is quite relaxed designed for longer audex type riding. The BB is an external cup (which depending who you listen too isn't as stiff as the other type of bb) Having said all that it makes a great commuting bike for me. In the 12 months I've had it one of the 105 shifters broke and was replaced under warrenty and the bb had gone recently replaced with a dura ace 9000 for around £20. If I was buying again I'd probably spend a bit more and go for a carbon fiber from like planet X something a bit lighter and more agressive, as it is I'll wait until the block and chainset, rims wear out before upgrading....

markhewitt1978

trailblazer1 wrote:

£1000 pounds, this is what I plan to spend on my very first road bike. I initially set out to pay £1500, but I gathered that i could spend the rest on pedals and extras.

I've narrowed it down to 2 bikes. The Trek Madone 2.1 and the Giant Defy 1. I know as much that I needn't go for a carbon frame, as i'm a beginner and probably going to damage it before I get a good ride of it. No comeback!

I have sat on both of them, the most frustrating thing being that it wasn't in the same shop. Both are on either side of the city

If anyone has others suggestions, please feel free to offer your opinion and thoughts.

Thank you

I had a 2013 Madone 2.1, I found it twitchy and unstable and rough, a world of difference to the Scott CR1 I have now, or even the Madone 3.5 I rode on holiday.

For your budget I would buy this: http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/ro ... mpact_uk/#

w00dster

The Domane is a good call. I ride a Domane 2.0, I got a good deal on it so was well under £1k. But its a decent enough starter bike, but it depends on what your plans are. If your after a bike that is comfortable for long rides, then I have to admit my Domane is up there (I ride lots of other bikes due to my job and not wanting to carry my own bike on trains etc).
That said, a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to ride a Rose bike. It was damn good! I then had a look at an online weight/price guide and they seem to be very high on this. I rode the Carbon Pro-RS 3000, the carbon might be slightly over your original budget, but they do an aluminum frame with Ultegra 6700 groupeset, Mavic Aksium wheels and with an advertised weight of 7.5kgs (that seems light though) - for my money if I was buying my first bike I would be having a look at Rose along with Ribble and Planet X.

If you want any more info on the Trek Domane range let me know, I've ridden most over decent enough distances so can give my tuppence worth.

w00dster

I forgot to say, if your like the other riders I know, every single one of them moans about not spending their entire budget! I know its your money and I don't know your situation, but if you have budgeted £1500, then knowing what I know now, I would be spending it.
The clothing you can get cheap initially and get better over time, the bike is what counts.

w00dster

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-pr ... tchanged=1
Here you go, worth a read.