2016 Giant Defy 1 Disc vs. 2016 Merida Scultura 500

WaikeCU

Hello all,
I'm from Belgium and I'm new to road cycling and looking forward to buy my first bike. So I did a fair bit of researching. I came across the following two bikes that have great potential. The problem is I don't know which bike would fit me better. Budget should be €1.100 max for the bike.

Option 1: 2016 Giant Defy 1 Disc
Why: Giant quality, 105 group, love the look of those wheels, love the bright blue colour, Disc brakes sounds attractive
Price: €1.045,00 (order online and shipped)

Option 2: 2016 Merida Scultura 500
Why: Ultegra group, price
Price: €949,95 (local store next town)

At the moment I'm more biased towards the Giant, because of the looks and the brand, but I know the Merida has the Ultegra, which is a better quality groupset and it's cheaper. Anyone here who can push me towards the right decision and tell me more what I don't know about. Is the Merida a lot better than the Giant or the other way around? What's the better investment? Thanks!

thestrand

They're both solid first bikes, so I think whichever one you go for you won't regret afterwards.

However I think if it was me then I'd go for the Merida - the cheaper price and Ultegra groupset make it very tempting. Also the fact that it's from a local store, and therefore you can have a test ride before you buy, is very important, especially as this is your first road bike!

But if you love the look of the Giant, that can make all the difference in terms of your enjoyment on the bike - plus the performance of 105 isn't too far below Ultegra, so if that's the one you're leaning towards then there's no major reason not to go for it. As for disk brakes, I can't really comment as I've never used them.

tjm160

My first road bike was a 2014 Defy 1 (105) that happily saw me through my first 4,000km of road riding.

I then purchased a 2015 Defy Advanced 1 (Ultegra) and still love it as my "best bike".

Presented with the opportunity late last year, I swapped the 2014 Defy 1 (which I had setup as my wet bike), for a 2015 Defy Disc 1 (105).

Whilst I still naturally prefer the Ultegra and smoother 'carbon' ride of the Advanced, I still absolutely love my Defy Disc and inexplicably, am consistently over 1 kph faster than on the Advanced. As has already been said, there is little difference between 105 and Ultegra and I personally wouldn't be put off buying a bike if the rest of the spc is right, having 105 over Ultegra. The opportunity to test ride is attractive although so long as you get the sizing right, you'll hardly go wrong with a Giant.