Was thrown a curve ball yesterday...Add Giant Defy to the contender list?

OUGrad05

I was looking at the Trek Domane and the Cannondale Synapse with 105 kit, carbon and disc brakes. Originally I had sought out Giant but the local Giant dealer which was kind of crappy to deal with said they offered nothing in my size, I'm 6'6. As such I assumed I couldn't do Giant.

Yesterday I was in a store in OKC (I live in Tulsa) and they sold Giant and Trek. The guy there (pretty knowledgeable guy) asked why I wasn't also looking at Giant. I said well the local dealer was hard to deal with and told me that Giant offered nothing in my size. He told me that was not true, that the Giant Defy Advanced in XL frame would fit me, that it was for folks in the 6'4 to 6'8 range and the Giant geometry was slightly different from the others and that it would work just fine.

He then pulled up a chart from a website (don't recall which) and sure enough it had the XL frame fitting a guy of my height and size.

This begs the question does Giant built a comparable frame to Trek Domane and Cannondale Synapse (My current front runner)? The gent I was working with yesterday said he generally preferred the Defy to the other two and said that I would get a lot more kit for the money (which seemed to bear out in my brief look last night). I have concerns that the frame/carbon perhaps won't be as good or as compliant but that stems from my "you get what you pay for mentality" which isn't also applicable or apples:apples. The gent yesterday made mention that Giant builds their own carbon frames, its not outsourced so they have the ability to shave a couple hundred bucks off the cost.

I would really appreciate any thoughts, comments, etc on this.

bristolpete

Giant do make excellent bikes, and yes, the err on the large size due to having geometry slightly out of whack with most other bike brands. They do build, market, ship and have concept stores so can shave the meat from the bone cost wise. You get excellent 'bang for your buck'. The downside ? They do not really inspire people til ridden in my opinion.

I believe from what I have read that Giant produce TREK frames upto and including level 5 carbon. 6 and above in house.

Hope that helps. If it fits, buy in confidence. Life time warranty on the frame.

Pete.

PS - Tulsa a lovely place to live. I tried to get there once, but turns out I was 24 hours away

Red27

I haven't ridden the Giant Defy but after riding the 2018 Domane SL 5 today, it stood way out over the Roubaix and Synapse. That Isospeed is sneaky good to where you don't have a clue it's doing anything until you ride something else over the same rough road (especially cobble pavers). Oh, and it can take 35-36mm tires though the one I rode had 28mm so I can't imagine how smooth it would have been with 32's or larger.

ajkerr73

I'm 6'5"

My first bike was a Giant Defy 1 (allux) in XL.

I then bought a Defy Advanced Pro 1 in XL

I aslo have a TCR Advanced Pro 1 in XL and a CAADX 105 in 61cm.

By far my favourite bike is the Defy AP1. The wheels that came with the bike lasted well (maybe 8,000km then started to give probelms) - I changed to a set of Archetype rims with Hope Pro 4 Hubs (36/36) and the bike is a dream to ride. Currently using Corsa G+ in 28mm tyres. Did the full Flanders ride on it this year and it sailed through it.

OUGrad05

bristolpete wrote:

Giant do make excellent bikes, and yes, the err on the large size due to having geometry slightly out of whack with most other bike brands. They do build, market, ship and have concept stores so can shave the meat from the bone cost wise. You get excellent 'bang for your buck'. The downside ? They do not really inspire people til ridden in my opinion.

I believe from what I have read that Giant produce TREK frames upto and including level 5 carbon. 6 and above in house.

Hope that helps. If it fits, buy in confidence. Life time warranty on the frame.

Pete.

PS - Tulsa a lovely place to live. I tried to get there once, but turns out I was 24 hours away

My biggest concern if I went giant is will it really be a good fit without a bunch of changes? Still mixed reading on that.

Will the frame be just as strong and reliable as the other brands?

The components are generally better.

Red27, I've ridden the Roubaix, Domane and Synapse, the Domane was the smoothest, I agree it was kind of sneaky BUT I didn't feel it was worlds different from the Roubaix or the Synapse. The Synapse felt a touch more sporty if I'm being honest, steering was a touch more responsive, the Domane was a touch smoother.

Ajkerr glad to see that you're on an XL and enjoying it.

letap73

Giant produce frames of the same standard as Cannondale and Trek - I would not be surprised if both Cannondale and Trek produced their frames in the same factories as Giant. At the end of the day it dos come down to which one fits you best and which one you like the ride of. If it is too close to call, then decide on which bike looks best.