Giant Defy Advanced SL1, an owners review
I have had the pleasure of nearly 12 months riding Giant’s Endurance machine, in that time I have covered over 3,500 miles on it using it for TimeTrials, Sportives and ultra endurance rides and it’s a belter.
Giant Defy Advanced SL on Buttertubs
The model I have is the 2015 but other than a snazzy red paint job the bike is unchanged for 2016. The excellent Ultegra 11 speed drivetrain doesn’t need any more words said on it, it’s been faultless.
The wheelset and tyres are Giant’s own carbon SLR 0, they’ve remained true and running sweet since day one, impressive considering I’m a big rider and the state of the roads. The tyres are pretty good too, the front is still on there but the back wore quite quickly, once I’d swapped out the ultra-light innertubes for something a little more substantial I’ve hardly flatted at all. The bars and stem are also Giant’s own carbon components, they’ve been comfortable on multi hour epics and have just got on with the job. The disc brakes have won me over too, fantastically powerful yet easily controllable with no rim wear to worry about and still on the original pads, excellent.
The frame is the heart of any bike and this is where the Defy Advanced SL really shines.
Fleet Moss at Sunset
The D-Fuse Integrated seatpost really makes a difference with reducing general road buzz and certainly lessens the fatigue from road vibration. You have to be brave when cutting the tube, there’s something instinctively wrong with taking a hacksaw to a carbon frame but with “measure twice, cut once” ringing in your ears it has to be done. The provided spacers allow for quite a bit of adjustment so all is not lost if you’re a little out with the saw.
I can’t really say much about the claims of the oversized steerer other than it goes where you want it to and behaves impeccably even at high speed, the same with the Powercore bottom bracket. Even with my weight grunting up Hardknott at a cadence not far off single figures there’s no noticeable flex in the frame.
Where the Defys really shine are their shock absorbing capabilities and the range-topping frame on the Advanced SL is truly impressive. I have been “blessed” with an ankle with little movement, it has 12 screws and a 6” plate in it, it is, however, the perfect testing mechanism for the harshness of a bike’s ride. To give an example I borrowed a cheap winter bike from a friend, Ribble’s aluminium offering. I could only manage about 2 hrs on it before the pain was too much from the harshness of the ride. 3 weeks after taking delivery of my Defy I rode for 24hrs on it, it really is that comfortable. My other bikes are steel and titanium, the Defy feels similar at first but absorbs big hits far more impressively and is ultimately more comfortable,
Overall I’ve been hugely impressed by the Defy and I highly recommend it. It’s coped with Strava sprint KOMs, the steepest roads in Yorkshire and Cumbria and has taken me on 300 mile epics. All this in a super lightweight package, what’s not to like?
