fourteenbucks

I checked the previous discussions, and didn't find anyone talking about this bike, so I want to see what everyone thinks about this (Giant Defy 3). Here is the specs:

color Blue/Silver/Black
size XS,S,M,M/L,L,XL
frame ALUXX SL-Grade Aluminum
fork Advanced-Grade Composite, Alloy OverDrive Steerer
handlebar Giant Alloy Anatomic Bend, 26.0
stem Giant Alloy 4-bolt
seatpost Giant Alloy, 30.9
saddle Giant Performance Road, Men's
pedals Caged w/ Clips
shifters Shimano 2200
front derailleur Shimano 2203
rear derailleur Shimano Sora
brakes Tektro R350 Dual Pivot
brake levers Shimano 2200, Short Reach
cassette SRAM PG 850 11/26, 8-speed
chain KMC Z7
cranks FSA Vero, 30/42/52
bb Cartridge
rims Alex DA-22, Double Wall
hubs Formula 32H
spokes Stainless
tires Kenda Kriterium, 700x25

Sorry about the spacing, but if you read down the list you should get a good idea. I put this bike on a trainer and it felt pretty good. I was looking at a Trek 1.5 to compare it to, and IMO the Giant blew it away on price ($859 vs. $773) and value. I'm new to the road biking and this will be my first new bike, so absolute quality (e.g. Shimano Ultegra's) is not a breaking point for me.

nitropowered

Parts a pretty standard for an entry level bike. Any bike at this price range will have similar parts.

The best thing about this bike compared to every other bike in this class is the frame. Giant did a superb job on this frame redesign. I have ridding the old OCR and the new Defy and it is night and day difference (I work at a Giant dealer). The ride is super soft (look at the flattened top tube near the seattube) but still very stiff when you go cranking. The frame also has a 1-1/8" to 1-1/2" taper fork. This allows for a very stiff front end for predictable steering. When we first got our Defys, I thought it was just a typical, letsredesignthetubeshapesandaddnewpaint sort of redesign but Giant really did their homework.

Id go giant

rollin

Even if you are new to road biking you should still aim for 105 level components. Tiagra at the very least.

Enjoy.

fourteenbucks

Thanks for the feedback. The LBS guys said that buying a Trek was 20% name, 80% bike. Is that a fair assumption?

nitropowered

pretty much

Unagidon

I used to ride the Giant OCR2. Didn't like it much. Never ridden the new Defy, and I did notice the new tubing. But I agree with one of the earlier posters - go for better componentry!

roccobike

Unfortunately, Giant doesn't offer a Tiagra option just a 9 speed Sora, and 105 jumps up to $1400, almost double what the OP is paying for the base model. As someone who has both a Tiagra bike, and two bikes with 105, I agree with your comment, but the $$$ difference is significant.

Unagidon

To the OP (and let the flaming begin), but knowing what I know about bikes, I would:
1) Do a thorough self sizing exercise via competitivecyclist.com, and wrenchscience.com to know what size (in particular top tube length) will fit
2) Buy the bike below...
3) Ask bike shop to put it together and get fitting for stem, seat fore/aft, etc.

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...corvus_al8.htm

eminefes

Eh, both brands will sell you similar-spec bikes for around the same price, so I would say this is just salesperson talk. And to be honest, I've never ridden a Giant that I liked very much, whether it was a road bike or a mountain bike. But I've been very pleased with Treks and Gary Fishers.

DirtPedalerB

I test rode one of those (Giant Defy 3), but I'm not really a road biker. It was 800 bucks and was the cheapest thing my bike shop had. I didn't like having to shift with my thumb, that lever was hard to push especially on the front derailer. I dropped the chain on my test ride, but that's probably just an adjustment problem. So, yes the shifting components suck, but it did have a carbon post and decent looking alex rims.

The frame however was real nice I love the cool shaped tubes and the compact mtb like geometry. I'd guestimate the bike to be well over 20 pounds with the cheap stuff hanging off of it. The bar tape was great.. The M/L size seemed a touch big, I'm 5'9 and I didn't ride multiple sizes because I knew I wasn't going to buy it after riding the first one. The sales lady was probably getting tired of talking to me as well.

She was kinda hot though, If your reading this sales lady PM me we can hook up. Wait she isn't reading this she started off telling me the thing was all carbon and kept thumping the tubing. anyway that's my "noob review".

edit.. I ended up with a tiagra equipped bike and am much more satisfied with those shifters/brakes.

weavers

i agree with unagidon, buy this bike but build it yourself. bike shops will charge between 50-200 bucks to build a bike. however i'd spend 100bucks on power coating the frame. man thats one ugly bike. but the price is worth it for the components alone and with that gearing you can pretty much climb any mt.

fourteenbucks

I wouldn't trust an online bike store for anything. Sure you can sell me a frame with top-notch components, but why?

Unagidon

Because the online bike shop (and actually, they have stores in the Texas area I think) makes money by turns (selling many bikes at lower margin) vs. higher margin. Take the specs to your bike shop, and ask them how much they'll charge to put it together. Should be < $100 as the bike is 70 to 80% put together already.

Unagidon

Or a more traditional route... Note Performance often has 15% off coupon codes.
https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=3040

stapfam

Whatever rocks your boat as I prefer Giant to Trek. Matter of preference but Looking at the spec on the Giant- EXCEPT for the inhouse wheels- This is a good bike. The heart of any bike is the frame and in the defy range- Giant has a good frame. Worth upgrading as parts wear out or break.

sunburst

As a satisfied Giant owner (OCR C1), I'd like to add that Giant gets props (from Bicycling) for including the good frames in the low end of the OCR C line, with better components making the difference in higher model prices. Guess that's a long way of saying the frames (in the OCR composite line) are worthy of upgrades.

And my Giant frame (and components, and wheels) feel fantastic!

I'm not Trek basing by any means (I own 3 old ones), but in the category I was looking, Bicycling rated Specialized, Giant and then Trek as 1,2,3. I found the Giant on sale 20% less than the Specialized so I went with that.

gsteinb

I'm sure Treks are fine bikes...Giant makes them, after all.

roadwarrior

I'm chuckling here...Giant makes Trek's aluminum stuff. In fact, Giant now makes 90% of Trek's bikes. This is according to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

The Defy frame is a half pound lighter than the OCR frame it replaced. After that, it's about your budget. If you can't make the leap to over a grand, the Defy 3 is fine. Only difference between the 3, 2, and 1 is components and color.

TriEngineer

yeah I put one together yesterday at the shop, it's basically a ocr3 from last year with sora components on it. They did not do a bike with tiagra rd this year so I would say pick up a defy 2 if you can w/ 105 rd

Haha, Trek 20% name, 80% bike. Last I heard at Interbike, 95.6% of Trek comes out of Giant's factories, be it composite or aluminium.

roadwarrior

It's a totally, completely reengineered frame. Better ride, shaped tubes, and lighter.

Totally redesigned.

TriEngineer

Psss, you know Gary Fisher is a Trek name, and Trek is made by Giant right? The only thing you could not like about a Giant would have been its colour. If you get a Trek that's cheaper than a Giant, it's because of two things...
1. they are selling you last year's stock andyou don't know about it.
2. they are going to get you back in service, tune ups, true wheels, etc.

analogbomb

My LBS has a Jamis Ventura thats full 105 on sale for $880. I would keep looking.