Giant Defy 4 review

[Doyleyburger]

Not done any biking since middle of December so this ride was primarily a motivational ride in order for me to get rid of the lazyitus I developed over the holidays.
However I have purchased a new giant defy 4 and was eager to give it a test ride and compare it to my previous carrera tdf. ......
Only 8 miles today as the weather was awful and im a bit of a pussy when it comes to cycling in the rain. Anyway the bike felt great, a much smoother ride to the carrera and much more responsive. Perhaps the smoother ride was down to the carbon forks, it certainly felt nicer to ride at the front end of the bike. Surprised by the stock giant tyres, they stuck to the wet surface fairly well. The bike certainly picked up speed a lot sharper than I thought it would when I wanted to put the power down.
The down side to the bike (and there a only couple )......not keen on the thumb shifters so changing to the integrated sti shifters are more of a priority now.
The brakes are shocking !!
Stopping power was reduced significantly against the tdf. Would different brake pads make much of a difference .......I don't know ????
Advice on that one please people.......

 

[Arjimlad]

I got some Swissstop black pads which made a big difference, leave a lot less black gunk, and stop very well in the dry and OK in the wet.

Aztec pads chewed through the Giant rims on my original wheels last winter

 

[Doyleyburger]

I got some Swissstop black pads which made a big difference, leave a lot less black gunk, and stop very well in the dry and OK in the wet.

Aztec pads chewed through the Giant rims on my original wheels last winter

Thank you. Will check those out

 

[gavroche]

Are the stock tyres any good against punctures?

 

[Cuchilo]

No

 

[Doyleyburger]

No, but I think I was lucky as I only had one slow puncture with them in about 200 miles. Only just recently changed tyres, in fact today's sportif was the first time iv used them.

 

[Kies]

Are the stock tyres any good against punctures?

I would say yes if you are running the Giant pr3 tyres. Only two punctures in 2000 recreational miles

 

[MikeW-71]

Are the stock tyres any good against punctures?

They were fine for me, only one puncture in the 1500 miles that they lasted.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I'm still enjoying my defy 4 after i bought it last may.Great frame, the only downfall are the shimano 2300 gears (although on the 2014 models they have the shimano claris)

Found the stock tyres fine,lasted 1000 + miles until i got three quick punctures and then it was time to ditch them.

As good as the defy 4 is i still regret that i didn't pay out a few extra quid and went for the defy 2.

 

[Doyleyburger]

I'm still enjoying my defy 4 after i bought it last may.Great frame, the only downfall are the shimano 2300 gears (although on the 2014 models they have the shimano claris)

Found the stock tyres fine,lasted 1000 + miles until i got three quick punctures and then it was time to ditch them.

As good as the defy 4 is i still regret that i didn't pay out a few extra quid and went for the defy 2.

Total agreement with everything you mentioned there. Frame is fantastic but the groupset let's it down. Will be slowly purchasing the odd bit when I can to replace the 2300, probably to 105 if possible

 

[gavroche]

Total agreement with everything you mentioned there. Frame is fantastic but the groupset let's it down. Will be slowly purchasing the odd bit when I can to replace the 2300, probably to 105 if possible

What exactly do you mean by the group set letting it down? I have the same group set ( 2300) on my Specialized Allez triple and changing gears is no problem, so I am not sure what you mean really?

 

[Doyleyburger]

Oh they work yes, but if you ride a bike with 105 or even Tiagra then you can't fail to notice the difference. I find the shifters a nightmare......how you supposed to reach up to the little thumb shifters to change gears when you're on the drops ?
Just the general quality really.....had shimano claris on my carrera tdf which had proper sti levers and they were very precise. They're not expensive so why can't the likes of the claris shifters be stock on these bikes ??
But hey, you get what you pay for and ill upgrade as and when i can afford it

 

[gavroche]

On the Giant, all the gear levers are on the hood, there is no thumb shifter so should be ok.

 

[inkd]

I have a Defy 3 (2014) and yes the brake`s are poor, I changed mine blocks out to some aztec`s but am not impressed so I will stop messing about and go swisstop. My stock tyres, had 2 punctures in the rear less than 40 miles. Changed them to Conti GP4000s and kept the good front one as a spare. Loving it as my first roadie

 

[Doyleyburger]

On the Giant, all the gear levers are on the hood, there is no thumb shifter so should be ok.

Not on mine
Yes @inkd blocks need to be changed asap. Awful in the wet!