Trek Domane vs Giant Defy. Is the Domane worth extra ££s?

JH69

After 18 years of kicking around on mountain bikes, I think it’s time for me to buy my first road bike.

As I'm looking for comfort rather than speed (I’ll be riding for pleasure rather than to race), I've been looking at the Trek Domane 4.3 and the Giant Defy Composite 2.

I really like the look of the Domane 4.3, but at £1800 it looks a little overpriced compared to the Giant Defy Composite 2 which at £1300 looks to me like it’s got a similar components for £500 less.

One of the guys in my LBS actually reckons that Giant’s frame is better than Trek’s. Is he right?

Why the difference in price? Would I be paying £500 extra just for ISOspeed, or is the Domane’s frame significantly better than the Defy’s?

I've ridden both on brief “round the car-park” rides, and while there was nothing wrong with the Defy, my feeling was the geometry of the Domane was a slightly better fit for me. So I'm leaning towards the Domane but I'm struggling to justify paying the extra.

Cheers!

Monty Dog

FWIW all but Trek's top-end frames are made by Giant in Taiwan

JH69

Monty Dog wrote:

FWIW all but Trek's top-end frames are made by Giant in Taiwan

Yeah I'd heard that.

According to this article (http://inrng.com/2012/02/who-made-your-bike/) they make Scott's too.

I wonder where the OCLV process fits into all this?

JH69

Thanks oxoman.

I think my heart is telling me to go with the Domane. The Defy looks like it's much better value for money, but I guess sometimes you just have to stump up the extra to get the bike that fits.

And personally I think the Domane looks a lot nicer than the Defy, but I guess that's just down to taste.

bikes`n`guns

I have the Domane 5.9, and tbh, I`ve never ridden a bike like it.


Comfort with a capital Ahhhhh !

Phil_D

When I bought my bike I had a similar thought.

The Defy 1 was £1000 with Shimano 105.
The Domane 2.0 was £1000 with Shimano Tiagra.
The Defy 2 has Shimano Tiagra and was £800.

The Trek frame is clearly £200 better than the Giant one. Must be that little piece of rubber where the top tube meets the seat stay.

w00dster

It really is a case of different horses for different courses.
I have a Trek Domane 2.0 as my winter bike.
Last November I purchased a Giant TCR Advanced 1, I bought it thinking that it is £700 cheaper than the equivalent Trek Madone, so it will be fine. However I had it for a month before I decided that I should have bought the bike I actually wanted, I was lucky enough that my brother took the TCR from me and I went and got the Madone. Lost a bit of cash but much happier now.
Moral of the story, buy the bike that your mind is set on, otherwise you'll be thinking what if for a long time.

From a frame perspective, not sure that the Giant is going to be better than the 4 Series Trek carbon to be honest. Maybe the Defy Advanced eclipes the 4 series, but not so sure about the standard Defy. I find the Madone a much better ride than the TCR, one difference (genuine difference not a mental projection) is that I feel that there is more power being transferred from the crank to the rear wheel. I don't know if that is because the Madone is stiffer or a better BB, but there is a different feel.

6wheels

I've read a lot about the Domane on different forums, everyone who has bought one is very happy, not one single negative regarding comfort/ride.

No, I don't own one, but I might in the future.

markhewitt1978

You should go with the Domane, as you'll just be thinking about it the whole time. If you can't afford the 4.3 then get the 4.0, Tiagra components instead of 105, but they are still good and you can upgrade them bit by bit.

I would still like a Domane really, I regret getting a Trek Madone 2.1 when I should have spent a bit more and gotten the 4.0. Would have been cheaper than swapping the frame out for the Scott CR1 I now have!

JH69

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I've ordered the Domane

bikes`n`guns

Good stuff

You won`t regret it.