help me make the right bike choice. Giro vs Defy!

[azzasn]

hey all, I'm new to this forum so hi.

Ive been doing a bit of searching for the right bike, its mainly going to be used as a commuter/ fitness style of riding. I know these bikes are fairly different from each other but would love some opinions on how they would go all year round?

Im new to the road scene and i normally just commute every so often on a giant trance, haha i know but i could ride dirt a fair way to work.

So the first bike is a avanti giro ar1 carbon. can get this for $2200
https://www.avantiplus.com.au/products/ ... giro-ar-c1
For the gear this has its quite good but for a original retail of $3600 or so i think the wheel set could be better

and the second is a giant defy adv pro2, hopefully haggle this down to $2500
https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/road- ... /102854671

Thanks

[fergy1987]

that's a lot of bike for commuting and fitness.........Ive got an Avanti and never had any issues with it. but in saying that. I do like what I have heard of Giant Customer Service

I think ride them both - see which feels better...pick that one.

[redsonic]

Hi Azzasn,
Welcome to the forum, and I hope you enjoy your next road bike.
I can't really help you with the two bikes you are looking at; they both look good, although the Giant has the higher spec components.
Have you considered a few factors with your choice?
Are you able to keep the bike somewhere safe at work? An expensive looking carbon bike might be a magnet for thieves.
Do you want mudguards? If you are planning to ride to work everyday, mudguards are well worth considering to keep you and your bike cleaner, especially if there is dirt on your route. Mudguard eyelets on the fork and rear dropouts are the best way to attach them, but you can get strap on ones for road bikes without the eyelets.
How will you carry luggage/ change of clothes? Once again, eyelets for a luggage rack might be a good idea. You can use a backpack, but most serious commuters don't recommend them.
How does the geometry of each bike suit you? This is probably the most important consideration of any bike and the best way to know is to take a few candidates for a test ride. There is a good bike fit calculator here to give you an idea of the frame size you need: Competitive Cyclist, but geometry varies from bike to bike, and you need to get some idea of what you find comfortable. Top tube and head tube length give a very basic idea of how upright or strung out you will feel.
I hope this helps, and again, welcome!

[azzasn]

Cheers guys for the input, I have ridden the Avanti and it seems good but not having ridden a drop bar before makes it all feel a bit weird.
The Avanti is capable of running tyres from 25-38 plus mudgaurds and I read the giant goes to 28. Big difference in tryes alone.

I will just use a backpack for commute and carry bare minimum. The bike will be safe at work and kept inside.

I'm swaying towards the Avanti for its more an all road bike and will take a bit of harsher road/paths but the giant has better components and great reviews but I can't find a review of the Avanti.

I'll go for a test ride on the giant over the weekend.

One thing I don't want to be doing is punctures every week, is the giant more susceptible to this because of tyre size? Or more tyre choice?

[Calvin27]

An expensive looking carbon bike might be a magnet for thieves.

Carbon is not magentic

One thing I don't want to be doing is punctures every week, is the giant more susceptible to this because of tyre size? Or more tyre choice?

For commuting I run 28 and 25c tyres and have about the same rate of puncture. Some people just puncture mroe than others, it might be riding style, pressure, weight or whatever.

I'd try running the normal tyres and if that punctures a bit then move up to durano or gatorskins, then if that still fails marathons plus. I've never had a single puncture with marathon plus. But the only thing to note is runnign marathon plus on either of those bikes is like putting 4wd tyres on a sportscar.

[biker jk]

Are you sure the Avanti has mudguard mounts? Since if they both don't then the Giant is better specified as mentioned. Note also that Giant has moved to 12mm thru-axles with the 2017 models. Both the bikes you are looking at don't have thru-axles. We can get into a debate about whether they are needed but I have a thru-axle on my Merida Ride Disc 7000 and it helps locate the front wheel to prevent the pads from rubbing the discs. Not a deal breaker but something to consider.

[azzasn]

Ok cool. I've read about gatorskins and marathons. I know what it's like to put heavy tyres on because I'm my trance I put dh minions on and they are so heavy that I now hate riding footpath and my strava times now suck.

I'm positive the sales dude said it had mudgaurd mounts on the Avanti.
I would personally prefer thru axles and I actual thought the giant was, I'll check that out.

[Duck!]

One thing I don't want to be doing is punctures every week, is the giant more susceptible to this because of tyre size? Or more tyre choice?

Tyre size in itself has nothing to do with puncture resistance, it's all in the construction. However, to a point narrower tyres tend to be more lightly built than wider tyres, because otherwise they just get too rigid for comfortable and efficient riding. That said, you can get good, very tough 23 & 25mm tyres, particularly the aforementioned Gatorskins and Duranos. My commuter bike rolls on 23mm Gators, and I can't recall the last time in many thousands of Km riding that I've had a puncture.

[li2099]

Coming from a Trance X2 myself, I ride my Giant TCR to and back from work a few times a week.
IMO, a Defy with 25/ 28mm tyres (Durano Plus) will be very suitable for your use.
With Duranos, I get approximately 1 puncture a year.
I've been thinking about upgrading the TCR to the Defy myself so have looked into it.
I want more comfort as the TCR is just a race bike.
Basically like what others have said, the 2017 models now have thru-axle while the previous models were still using quick release.
It's probably not a huge deal if you can pick one up at run out prices. They are approximately 20% off right now with some stores doing 30% off for 2015 models.
The RRP Defy for 2017 is also higher than previous years. This makes the QR vs TA much harder to decide.

[Sparx]

I've got a 2016 Defy, it's a fantastic bike, you can't got wrong.

Zero issues with pad rub even with QR

[azzasn]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll go have a ride of the giant and see how it feels and I'll let you know the outcome and why.

My commute to work is only 12km each way so pretty easy riding and majority is along the eastern. Would like to set a goal like around the bay one day.

[limbot]

You are actually looking at two different "types" of bike.

The Defy is an endurance road bike
The AR1 is more an adventure/gravel bike, the "equivalent" Avanti to the Defy is the Cadent (which I have albeit an older model ) (Actually for this year it's the Giro C )

Haven't looked at the geometry but would assume they'd be quite similar but the AR1 will hold bigger/"knobblier" tires for gravel/adventure riding or ride comfort.

As people say try them both and see which one "feels right"

(If maybe more road orientated maybe try the Avanti Cadent C2 as well ( $1999.95 ) )

[azzasn]

Yeah I know they are 2 totally different bikes but having never ridden anything like it I'm not sure what I want and what to expect.
I will check out the cadent too, thanks.

Basically I want a fast bike that's not to fragile and get best bang for buck.

[azzasn]

So i had a test ride on the giant and I liked it, It rode well albeit was a bit more of a bumpy ride than the avanti.
I am having a really hard time deciding which will suit me better.

The avanti is more of a gravel grinder which i like because it can be ridden on some rougher stuff if needed. Another plus for the avanti is in winter tyre choice will be easier and summer i could run a 28 slick.

The defy will take a 28mm tyre and it felt like it would be a fast bike. The shop I went to the owner said heaps of people ride the yarra trails on them with a 28 tyre, not sure its meant to be used this way. The owner sounded like a genuine person in a family owned small business, so i trusted his opinion. The rims could be setup as tubeless.

Anyway, Im still stuck deciding. If i can get the defy for $2500 i will sway that way.

opinions?

[Stewartwent]

I bought a Defy Advanced Pro 2 back in March for $3,050 and I think it has been money well spent. Just shy of 4,000km and have had very little trouble with it. It is certainly more compliant than my Colnago CLX3 but miles away from being a wet noodle. As per usual the Ultegra group has performed flawlessly and the wheels have stayed very true despite one big 'drop' and more than a few potholes (I'm based in Phuket).

The rear tyre is due to be replaced but I would expect at 5,000km from the front. I have found the tyres to be reasonably soft and sticky but they won't give you the longevity of Marathons etc.

A steal if you can get it for $2,500.

[azzasn]

It's good to hear from some one that has the same bike.
Do you ride in all weather conditions?
have you run a bigger tyre or mudguards?
Thanks.

[Stewartwent]

It's nearly always very hot and often very wet. The Defy has been good in these conditions and I do find the more upright riding position (ie very long headtube) makes for a bit more control in the wet and traffic (for me at least).

I run 25mm and don't see the need go much wider (bearing in mind there are 25s that would inflate to 27) but clearance suggests 28 or 30 would be fine.

[azzasn]

thought i would let anyone interested know that i ended up with the avanti and that was mainly because of the price and it was a bike that could a bit more punishment.

Ive been using this to commute 3-4 days, 80-100km a week and the odd big ride. The bike is going really well and hasn't needed much done apart from a gear tune and i have a persistent issue with the front disc brake where the pads keep getting contaminated and then it doesn't stop and starts squealing. The shop has been good and replaced rotor and pads but every so often it does it again, its been good for a week now.

The rear tyre is already starting to square off so will be wanting to swap them over to a gp4000 and save the ones on it for winter.

Since its the start off my commuting phase i am still getting used to how avoid cars that don't see us, which seems to be everyday that a car cuts you off or pulls across to turn in front. i avoid the road as much as possible and use the bike tracks.

[Yearofthema]

This was a great thread to read as I'm making a very similar decision right now. The Avanti Giro Ar C1 2016 can now be found for $1899 for its last few floor stock. Interested to hear how you're still going with that bike? It's now almost half price on retail which makes it tempting to get. I'm undecided on the gravel tyres. Testing it in shop it deff felt heavier than what I'd expected a full carbon bike to feel like and I am assuming it's mostly in the tyres. Anyway - I could ramble on but would love to get an update on your bike purchase and adventures

[Yearofthema]

How's this bike going? Any update? Loved reading this thread as I'm making the same decision. This Avanti Giro AR c1 2016 is now $1899 which is nearly half price on retail which makes it tempting. Tried it at shop the other day and it did feel heavier than what I expected of a full carbon. I'm a bit undecided on tyres, and assume that's the most of it's weight. Real keen to hear how you're going with this 10 months on and whether you're still loving it...

[Mububban]

Since its the start off my commuting phase i am still getting used to how avoid cars that don't see us, which seems to be everyday that a car cuts you off or pulls across to turn in front. i avoid the road as much as possible and use the bike tracks.

I always ride with a bright white flashing light on the front of my bike, no matter the time of day or the weather. Lots of drivers simply do not turn their head or eyes to near the gutter, where bikes ride, they only look at the centre of the lane for a car sized object. But the bright flashing light definitely helps to grab their attention.

That said, I commute 13km each way so I can ride half on the bike path, if I rode the fastest way (all on roads) it's be about 8km but those particular "faster" roads do not feel safe at all, much narrower and more vehicular traffic. Whereas the roads I ride on on my longer alternate route have very wide lanes, I can safely get passed by a Landcruiser without it having to cross the lane markings.