Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

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Jezza55
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Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by Jezza55 »

Am doing the End to End ride in May next year and need a reasonable road bike for the purpose. My local dealer has suggested the Giant Defy 3.5.
I dont want to spend a fortune and the 3.5 is c£525. Does anyone have any thoughts on this bike or any other recomendations. Thanks
fatboy
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by fatboy »

Are you planning to carry your own stuff or is someone following in a car/van?

If you are planning to carry your own stuff then you'd be better off buying a touring bike that will have mudguards, racks to carry stuff, heel clearance for panniers, low gears etc. Otherwise this bike would be fine.
"Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again so is the bicycle puncture repair kit." - Billy Connolly
Jezza55
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by Jezza55 »

Am carrying clothes etc but aim to stay in B&Bs etc. The dealer said bike is good for rack and rear paniers plus mudguards.
fatboy
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by fatboy »

If you get the bike and load it up it will certainly not have low enough gears for some of the hills that you will encounter. You can lower the gearing most straigtforwardly by substituting the rear cassette for an MTB one and change the rear mech for an MTB one (and you'll need a new chain as the existing one won't be too long).

Consider a Carradice saddlebag if you are B&Bing to keep weight down. Saying all that I travelled light on my last tour with only a saddlebag, bar-bag and a stuff-sack strapped to the lid of my small saddlebag and I struggled on some of the hills even with low gears.
"Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again so is the bicycle puncture repair kit." - Billy Connolly
snibgo
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by snibgo »

What do you normally pedal? How much do you normally ride, and how many miles per day will you do on your E2E?

You've got plenty of time to get used to a new bike. I doubt you need a front rack. I suggest you need rear rack and paniers, and bar bag with map case, all bags being waterproof [EDIT: and mudguards].

One site describes the Giant Defy 3.5 as "... efficiency is the name of this game, definitely not comfort." It probably wouldn't suit me, but might suit you. Don't forget that E2E is solid cycling for day after day after day.

If I was buying new for E2E, I wouldn't personally look much further than the Galaxy Plus at £850.
Jezza55
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by Jezza55 »

I have just got back from a round the world yacht race so have not done much cycling. I am in training (gone back to gym etc) Am riding my rather old and heavy 15geared Marin mountain bike with heavy off road tryes. I anticipate doing c60miles per day ie we are not rushing to break any records.
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Si
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by Si »

I had an old rigid, steel Marin, circa early 90s. Changed it to have slick tyres and a wider range of gears, added rack and mudguards, put bar ends on it, and it proved to be a very good touring bike. Sure, it was a bit heavy, but once you've all the luggage aboard this won't be that much of an issue. It was also very comfortable, reliable, and handled well loaded - which are all more important than weight in my book. Plus it took a sight less than £550 to do the conversion - I used second hand parts and did it for under £30, but even buying new you ought to be able to do it for under £100 if you shop around.
thirdcrank
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by thirdcrank »

When a bike is described as a 'road bike' today it really means either a real racing bike or some sort of copy. There are a few things you need to think about when buying a bike and one of the main ones is what it will be used for. Modern bikes are much more targeted at a particular use than once was the case. If you want to tour, a bike designed for racing and similar uses is not going to be ideal.

The End-to-End could be ridden in several styles, but IMO, if you are carrying your own luggage you are touring and ideally that needs a touring bike. I'm not suggesting it needs to be a heavy duty tourer of the sort that you might use for a three months tour across Asia, but it needs at a minimum: strong wheels, decent tyres, the abilty to carry luggage sensibly (as in panniers or a proper saddlebag, properly mounted) low gears, and I'd suggest mudguards.

Do a bit of research on here and you will see any number of people with a 'road bike' wanting suggestions for mounting panniers, lowering the gears and raising the handlebars. All possible but likely to cost more than you propose paying for a complete bike and you can end up with a real Heath Robinson set-up. Riding position is a personal thing, but there are certain tendencies, the most obvious one here being that racing cyclists adopt a more streamlined position than touring riders. Riding position affects choice of saddle. Touring saddles are generally wider than modern racing saddles, not because tourists have bigger backsides (although it's possible they do) but because sitting in a bit more of an upright position is more comfy on a wider saddle.

Modern bikes of most types represent amazing value for money, compared with a few years ago. Part of that comes from their being made by people on the other side of the planet labouring for peanuts. It's also because some of the components are what my lbs diplomatically refer to as compromises, and those compromises tend to come in the less glamorous parts of the bike such as the spokes wheelbuilding etc. So, if you buy a bike that is not even intended for carrying much weight and go for 'entry level' then you could be asking for endless trouble with broken spokes.

So many people buy bikes mail order that I'd be slow to criticise the advice given in a shop, but I think it's important to recognise how the modern bike trade tends to be organised. Shops are often tied to only one or two brands. They then stock what sells. Touring bikes don't sell in the same way as some other styles. So you have a circle, in which unsuitable bikes are bought and end up unused at the back of the garage when a disappointed newcomer comes face to face with reality.

If that bike was only going to be used for hard riding with a group, training, commuting without much luggage, I'd say OK. It would probably be OK for a supported End-to-End in a fast group (and even if there were wheel problems the back-up would be there to help) but I'll stick my neck out and say that it's not a first choice type of bike for what you seem to have in mind.

Finally, a touring bike of the Dawes Galaxy etc type is more suitable as a training / commuting bike than a 'road bike' is for touring. IMO
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horizon
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by horizon »

Jezza55 wrote: My local dealer has suggested the Giant Defy 3.5.


What more can you say? This is an outrage. Time to name and shame?
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
Russell160
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by Russell160 »

Sorry but the Country Traveller is not without its difficulties: scroll to end to see horrible fork failure. viewtopic.php?f=33&t=39501

I would agree with other posts about getting a full tourer: I did a coast to coast type route on a Specialized Allez, similar spec to the Giant Defy: great for the first day, zipping up the climbs but after three days you start to feel really shaken about and worn out. A steel tourer is a bit heavier but made for the job. YOu could certainly get a good second hand Dawes Galaxy or Ridgeback for £500.
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bigjim
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by bigjim »

Sorry but the Country Traveller is not without its difficulties: scroll to end to see horrible fork failure.

I can' believe in this "sue em all" age that they would still be selling a bike with this problem. I've been riding an EBC revolution bike for 4 years with no problems and I'm a big heavy guy, been off road with it as well. Stll it's personal choice I guess.
fatboy
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by fatboy »



They seem to now use 32 spoke wheels. http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b0s21p1992 would be good for a tour.
"Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again so is the bicycle puncture repair kit." - Billy Connolly
Jezza55
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by Jezza55 »

Thanks to all those that posted a help note. The more I think about this the more I think I will update my old Marin as per post by Sly. Its heavier than the newer bikes but at least its reliable. I will need to change the wheels and tyres for road versions. It has 18 gears so dont know if I need to change to 24 gears. Me thinks I will need higher gearing for the hills esp if I am carrying stuff.
thirdcrank
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Re: Giant Defy 3.5 for John O'G to Lands End - thoughts please

Post by thirdcrank »

Jezza55 wrote:... It has 18 gears so dont know if I need to change to 24 gears. Me thinks I will need higher gearing for the hills esp if I am carrying stuff.


It's not the number of gears that is an issue here, but what ratios they are. If you feel your gears are currently too high (which is what I presume you meant) then bigger back cogs / smaller front chainwheels should achieve that fairly easily, without having to fit more gears (which can amount to a disproprtionate expense.)

Having said that, even quite low-end mountain bikes usually have quite low gears, when compared with their equivalents aimed more at on road use.
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