Merida Race Lite 904 vs Giant Defy Composite 1

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In 2012 I bought a Merida Race Lite 904 as my first road bike and really enjoyed riding it over the past few years but, just after Christmas 2015 but before this year I rode a full carbon bike (Specialized) and enjoyed the quickness and more comfortable ride. I decided I would like an upgrade and go full carbon myself. I checked online for second hand bikes and came across a Giant Defy Composite 1 for £900 s/hand. Apparently it had only been ridden for about 500 miles.

I checked the specs of a new one after I bought it and seen that the wheels were a bit heavy and the brakes were not Ultegra, I don't think even Shimano. I have noticed that the bike I have has Shimano brakes on so the last owner may have changed them though I don't if they are Ultegra. A few months ago I bought a pair of Ultegra wheels so I put these on the Giant with the 11sp cassette, so it now has lighter and better wheels.

Today I checked out some reviews for the Merida and the Giant. The weight of the Merida (according to Start Cycles) is 8.8kg and the weight of the Giant is slightly heavier at 8.9kg (cannot remember where I seen this). Eh! my full carbon bike is heavier than my alluminium Merida. It's making me wonder whether the giant is a better bike. Have I wasted my money on the Giant or is it a better bike?
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Comfort and speed comes from you and the set up, not just the frame and a few grams of weight are irrelevant.

Some alu/carbon frames are as light as an entry level carbon frame

Do you like riding and owning the Giant? Better is completely subjective, does it feel better to you? Surely that's all that matters
 
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vickster

Legendary Member
Giant Defy Composite 1 has a carbon frame. If you saying get another carbon frame, I cannot afford that,
I've edited my post I misunderstood that you already bought the giant as you've posted in bike buying advice
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
If the Giant feels better then it is better .My 2012 defy has ultegra brakes I suspect yours would come with ultegra . Sometimes newer versions have different cheaper bits and upgrades elsewhere to keep cost the same
 
OP
OP
GmanUK65

GmanUK65

Über Member
Thanks everyone you've made me feel I've got a better bike, but will have to wait until I'm fit again (this weather and work commitments have stopped me riding as much as last summer) before I can compare it with the Merida. I rode the Giant on new years day and found it more comfortable when riding over bumpy sections of the road and riding uphill, so for comfort the Giant is definitely better, as for performance, I don't know. I hadn't had a decent ride for a few weeks (the ride just after Christmas, I was mostly riding behind another rider which helps in keeping your stamina) so my fitness would have been well down. Roll on the better weather.
 
Unless weight comparisons come from the same place ignore them (shops/ manufacturers often say things are lighter than they are to sell them), even if they do come from the same place you probably still want to ignore them. Comfort/fit is a more important factor. If you are looking at performance position is far more important than weight anyway. IIRC my old scandium frame before it fell apart was marginally lighter than my current Ti but I'd much rather ride the Ti even if the Scandium was still here.
 

Dirk

If 6 Was 9
Location
Watchet
Shimano non named components
can be matched to their equivalent groupset by the first digit of the part number.
2 - Claris
3 - Sora
4 - Tiagra
5 - 105
6 - Ultegra
7 - Dura Ace

I just put some R 451 brakes on my wife's Rapide ie. Tiagra level brakes.
 

bladesman73

Über Member
Mate i have had a merida racelite 904 since 2013. Rather than buy another bike surely you should have just upgraded the wheels and stuck some 25mm tyres on them? I did and the merida goes to another level. It is a great bike,very underrated. I tried my mates neil pryde full carbon ultegra and it wasnt close to the merida for comfort and ride quality
 

outlash

also available in orange
Eh! my full carbon bike is heavier than my alluminium Merida. It's making me wonder whether the giant is a better bike. Have I wasted my money on the Giant or is it a better bike?

Just because it's carbon fibre, it's doesn't automatically mean it's a lighter, nor better bike. You can make great frames from either material (other materials are available) and 100g is nothing. The better bike is the one that you like to ride more.
 
Don't beat yourself up about weight.

I had a giant defy 4 triple then sold that it last year and bought the giant defy 2 composite 2014(swmbo wouldn't let me have n+1!)in january 2015 in a sale.

People would say oh you'll be a lot quicker now because you've got CF,which isn't the case at all as when i check my strava results i still have a lot of segments when i was quicker on the old bike.

There might not be a lot of difference in weight and speed in a bike costing nearly double but what i do have is more comfort with a better frame and components and i am more than happy with that.
 
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