Specialized Allez 2014 vs Giant Defy 5 2014 vs Trek 1.1 2014

chriskyam

Hey guys, I'm new to road bikes, but I have been cycling mountain and bmx for at least 3 years +, now I'm finally getting my first road bike this weekend. I do have a budget around 550, after some extensive research, I have concluded that the following bikes seem to be best for their prices.

Specialized Allez 2014
Giant Defy 5 2014
Trek 1.1 2014

As of Trek 1.1 2014, it has carbon forks and therefore I wanted to know if it makes a significant difference at a entry beginner level in road biking and how it compares to the other two. The problem now is deciding which one to get.

Chris87

I was in a similar position with switching back to a road bike about 5 years ago.

The main thing to do is make sure you test ride all three. I was choosing between the trek 1.1 and the allez and ended up going with the trek as it felt the better fit. Was very happy with the choice and I still have it as my winter trainer, I upgraded the groupset and wheels over the years and its been brilliant.

Interestingly I've just bought a brand new Giant TCR Advanced Pro 2, which is very different in fit and feel to my old trek but so far I'm loving it! Considering the Defy is a more relaxed fit and gets such good reviews this would definitely make a good first road bike.

I wouldn't worry too much about the carbon forks, at that price level they will be a nice addition but not a game changer (my trek didn't have them, the Allez did, didn't really notice any difference)

Also bear in mind the innevitability of wanting a newer/shinier/lighter/"faster"/tastier bike after a few months.......

chriskyam

Thanks that was extremely helpful!

iron-clover

Yep, pretty much the same as above, each of their frames and forks are much of a muchness, although the Allez is known for being the best frame to race on out of the selection, the frame may be marginally stiffer than the others, but really they are pretty much equal.
None of these have bad frames in them, and can justifiably be upgraded with better wheels and components over time if you feel like it without having to go and buy another bike.

As has already been recommended, if you can have a quick spin on each to see which feels the nicest, although remember that you can always change the length of the stem afterwards to extend or shorten the reach slightly, but if it feels too stretched out then try a smaller size as its not really possible to reduce the length of the bike.

If you plan on using the bike for some light shopping duties or want to put full length mudguards on look out for rack mounting bolts and mudguard eyelets- the Trek definitely has them and the Giant almost certainly does, but I don't think the Allez does, which would make mudguard fitting more tricky.

After that the look of the bike is fairly important, as the actual feel and specification is likely to be similar it can be worth going for the machine you like the look of the most.

Have fun!