Is anyone commuting on a Defy?

lockstock666 · February 2013

I am looking at new bikes again on my company's C2w scheme. The defy 1 has caught my eye every time I have been looking.

I am now of the opinion that if i am buying a new bike it might as well be one that
a) I love
b) is reliable
c) is suitable for commuting but also for long sportives / weekend and evening rides (Strava hunting grounds)

I'm guessing a will be true unless something goes wrong with b or c!

I have read that you can fit specific mudguards to the defy but that they are a royal PITA to fit. (which is why i would get my LBS to fit them)

Is anyone using the defy 1 for commuting? Or any of the other defy range? What are your thoughts on it? Did you manage to fit mudguards and how reliable is it on the whole?

One big concern I have with any bike I get will be the spoke/wheel durability - I seem to have an ability to snap steel without good reason. Other than being 6ft 2, 90 ish kg. which i don't think is excessive. I never bump kerbs, the worst section of my commute is the odd badly surfaced cycle path and yet still they snap.

My journey will be close to 7 miles each way up and down the odd hill. its not a huge commute but long enough.

When I see other bikes on the web that may be £1-400 cheaper than the defy 1 I do wonder if I can justify paying out the full £1000 plus pedals + shoes! Would a lower spec defy make more sense? Apart from the supposedly stiffer frame of the defy 1, are lower spec components going to make my journey much different?

The best thing is that my LBS is a giant dealer so depending on stock I should be able to try a couple of bikes out.

alidaf · February 2013

I had a defy 2 (2011) that I used for commuting 15 miles each way. Perfectly fine. I used it on sportives up to around 60 miles but never bothered with mudguards. It is an ace bike and the new versions are even better. Do it! I double secret probation dare you!

The Defy 2 of that year had ...
The same frame as the rest of the group and the best thing about the bike.
A Sora groupset - workable but not great. Get a Tiagra if it is in your budget range.
A carbon fork but no carbon seatpost. Not sure the seatpost would have made much difference but the fork does.
Kenda Kriterium tyres - the first thing I upgraded because they really weren't that good.

I'm not sure how that stacks up with this year's version. I think there are 5 in the range now.

lockstock666 · February 2013

Hi thanks, what happened to it to make you stop using it?

pete_s · February 2013

I've got a 2012 Defy 2 and it's excellent. I'm replacing mine because, whilst it's good for commuting on, there are a few little things that annoy me. Mainly the fact that you have to use the MK2 Road Racer mudguards which are rubbish, and because with them you're limited to 23-25mm width tyres. Which is OK in the warmer months, but when it's wet and slippery I want something bigger (28mm with lots of tread). Also I don't like commuting in a crouched, racey position.

It's a very good all-rounder and you get a lot for your money.

eyebee · February 2013

I've commuted since 2009 on my Defy 1 (20 mile round trip). Excellent bike the only upgrades in that time have been tyres and just recently wheels (although there's still life in the original wheels).I don't have any problems with using mk 2 road racers and find they give great coverage especially over the drivetrain. Use 23 wide tyres year round except if its bad snow or really icy.
Great for those longer weekend rides and longer daily rides now I've been made redundant!

Go for the highest spec you can afford, you won't be disappointed.

twoshots · February 2013

I commute (10 miles each way) on an old 2004 Giant OCR 3 (the predecessor to the Defy) and I am the wrong side of 90kg. I also do group rides and sportives. I will be riding the Coast-to-Coast in a Day (150 miles) on it in June. I have fitted CrudCatcher MkII's as I ride in a group fairly often. A friend has a 2012 Defy 4 and has Giant mudguards fitted and they seem to do him OK. The clearance for mudguards is tight so you have those two options plus SKS raceblades.

In general the bike is perfectly good vehicle to get about on but it has no braze-ons for a rack (I use a large seat post mounted saddle bag and drive occasionally to top up stuff at work). The 2012 Defy still did not have braze-ons but I haven't looked at the 2013 bikes yet. I looked at the Defy 1 last year but chose (eventually) to upgrade the OCR piecemeal instead.

Being 8 years old the only thing remaining on mine that are original are the frame and fork. The original wheels were heavy (but bullet proof) and have now been changed for some budget PlanetX ones. Chainset and brakes swapped for SRAM Apex but only because the left hand shifter (Sora) broke last summer. It has seen more tyres than I care to remember. New saddle, as the original one was torture to my anatomy (several actually but that's another story). New seat post (damn online 'offers'). New pedals (another online offer). New stem and handle bars (PlanetX budget again, £30 not expensive at all) to make the bike fit me a little better as my mileage went up when 'commuting' turned into 'hobby'.

If I wanted just a commuter, with hindsight I would buy a Revolution Courier Race, but I wouldn't be riding 150 miles a day on that...

alidaf · February 2013

LockStock666 wrote:

Hi thanks, what happened to it to make you stop using it?

I upgraded. A little early in retrospect but I've always hankered after an Italian designed, carbon framed bike. I sold the Defy on but wish I hadn't. I had some really good rides on that bike....sob! I considered upgrading parts like the groupset but it wasn't much more to replace the bike with a new one containing the parts that I wanted. I would have stuck with Giant and gone for a Defy Advanced but my wife treated me to my 'dream' bike because I was having a really hard time personally.

theslowone · February 2013

I have commuted the last 2 years on a Defy 2 (17 miles each way 3 days a week) I have the Defy specific mudguards fitted. I have had no problems with the bike but have been through 2 sets of guards, they always seem to break due to metal fatigue on the top mount. I have repaired the last set using a pop rivet and seems better. I will however say that although mine is fitted with 25s and the clearance seems ok, I will prob switch to 23s next because during the winter when roads are dirty a build up of dirt between tyre and guard causes them to rub slightly.

jongooligan · February 2013

I've been using the flat bar version for commuting (and only for commuting) for two years. I have an SKS race blade bodged to the rack and that keeps my back dry. I don't have a front mudguard and although my feet get wet the down tube seems to be beefy enough to stop crud being thrown up into my face.

The tyre clearances are tiny but I've managed to get a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus (25mm) onto the bike and never p*******d in two years.

Two years ago me and five mates cycled from Contitucion in Chile to Buenos Aires, a distance of 1100 miles in 9 days. We hadn't booked any accommodation so we were carrying camping gear. Two of the lads were on Giant Defy's and they had no problems other than the odd p******e.

Not my favourite bike but can't be beaten for VFM

lockstock666 · February 2013

Fantastic replies thanks guys. C2W opens again in May. I can't wait.

bungalballs · February 2013

I have a 2012 defy 0, which I got for £1100 on C2w (I know my lbs quite well and they let me 'adapt' the c2w certificates to show a £1000 bike, and I topped up the extra); in my opinion the extra £100 is worth it for mostly ultegra parts. I commute in the summer on the bike, 26miles each way a couple of times a week.

When I got the bike I was the wrong side of 90kg - having commuted a couple of times a week over summer/autumn I dropped about 12kg. Never had a problem with the wheels although they don't feel the lightest in the world, I'm tempted to treat myself to some Fulrcrums in the spring.

I have Crud catcher mk2's, easy enough to fit at home and enough clearance on the stock giant 23mm tyres. My lbs advised against the giant specific mudguards, partly because they were struggling to get hold of any.

Mikey41 · February 2013

Defy 2 2012 for me, currently with a set of Crud mk2's on it. The bike's been fantastic, no problems at all, even the Giant tyres seem to be good.

It's great for longer rides and I'll be doing my first Sportive on it in just over 2 weeks time.

ademort · February 2013

I have a Defy 4 from 2011. Great bike , i fitted Schwalbe marathon plus 25c tyres for better puncture protection and a wide crud catcher on the rear. My commute is 10 miles each way, no hills of course. Bike rides really well, am very pleased with it.

MichaelW · February 2013

To summarise:
1. The Defy is really great for commuting.
2. You cant fit 28mm tyres and standard bolt-on mudgaurds
3. Defy-specific mudguards break every year due to stress caused by mud buildup between the tyre and mudguard.
4. The frame probably lacks rear rack eyelets

It looks to be like the Defy is an excellent play bike but falls short as winter commuter. I suggest you explore some "winter training" style bikes that use long-drop caliper brakes rather than std racing brakes. Compare the Defy to a Kinesis TK2 and the other similar tyres from Ribble, Tifosi etc.

Mikey41 · February 2013

I could put 25mm tyres on mine, but yes 28mm would probably not fit. I used the Cruds because I had heard that the Giant guards break a lot. The frames up to Defy 2 do have rack mounts, with the 1 you would need the rack compatible seatpost collar, so they could be used as light tourers if necessary.

pete_s · February 2013

MichaelW wrote:

To summarise:
4. The frame probably lacks rear rack eyelets
.....
It looks to be like the Defy is an excellent play bike but falls short as winter commuter.

It does have rear rack eyelets. It's doesn't necessarily fall short as a winter commuter, it's just probably better to get a specific hybrid as the Defy is more geared towards road cycling in a club then hauling work stuff in the cold and wet.

The OP could commute perfectly fine on one but it just has these little niggley things which make it just less than perfect.

jimmocrates · February 2013

I bought a Defy 1 in July. I initially signed up to get it via C2W, but the deal wasn't as good as first made out. I opted to get it from the same shop (Edinburgh Cycles) in the sale they had on at the same time - worked out as £850.

The defy does have giant specific mudguards which are easy to fit - they just require a bit of time to adjust them to stop any rubbing.

I have used it for commuting - to be perfectly honest though its too good for the commuting route that I take due to the terrible state of the roads and tram lines on route, and I use my MTB with slicks instead.

I did the MCR 100miler last year on it, as well as the wiggo sportive which had a lot of climbing. It climbs really well and feels very sturdy/comfortable - there was a notable difference to my prev road bike (Spesh allez sport).

I've recently upgraded the tyres to Conti GP4 25's. I don't know if it just needs more adjustments for the guards, but it rubbed a lot, so I've taken the guards off now. For the price, it always seems to be between the Giant and Boardman. Have you considered any others?

lockstock666 · February 2013

Thanks, I have considered some other options, The Cube Peloton looks pretty nice but its £1050. The Peloton race is £950.

The Cannondale CAAD8 105 always catches my eye too also at £1050 ish.

The Scott Speedster looks nice too but I really don't know how it would compare to the Defy 1 at the same price?

When buying my trouble is always getting a similar bike at the right size in stock, also the shop that stocks these bikes does not seem to like people taking them for a test ride.

Where as the Giant dealer is only too happy to get you out on the bike with no pressure afterwards.

The Focus bikes look quite nice too but there are no dealers near me, I'd have to order online without even trying one so that's a no-go.

I can't get a Boardman as my workplace is in a particular scheme that Halfords refuse to join. (it may be the other way around). I would consider them otherwise.

I know I don't have to use the C2w scheme but it is handy to pay monthly and my firm 'gifts' the final value to me after 12 months. So I just pay income tax on the gift value.

alidaf · February 2013

I'm pretty sure Giant are one of the only manufacturers that allow you to trial a bike over a day or possibly a weekend. They will arrange it via the nearest outlet to you. I think you can either do it in store at your nearest outlet, or arrange it on the giant web site. But...try a few if you can. The Defy was definitely the one for me after trying a few, including a carbon framed one although I didn't catch the brand because I was relatively new to road biking.

Is anyone commuting on a Defy?

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