While some performance-minded road riders are focused on marginal gains and aerodynamic efficiency, others just want a light bike that looks, feels, and handles great while offering just enough capability for a broad range of roads – be they paved or otherwise. For the latter, Giant’s revamped carbon fiber Defy Advanced ticks an awful lot of boxes.
It’s as light as many brands’ flagship road racers and feels just as efficient. It prioritizes rider comfort but doesn’t resort to anything weird to get there. Visually, it presents like a full-blown performance machine but there’s clearance for 38 mm-wide tires and mounts for front and rear fenders. Heck, it even looks good, it offers very good value, and I even don’t completely hate the newly hidden routing system.
So what’s not to like, you wonder? Not a whole lot.
Good stuff: Impressively lightweight, composed ride quality, quick handling, some semblance of cockpit customization, looks brilliant.
Bad stuff: Composed-but-not-cushy ride quality, handling is arguably too quick, questionable wheelset spec, still a proprietary stem.
Going without gizmos
Giant has taken a decidedly conservative approach to its Defy Advanced endurance road bike since its inception in 2008. Although some iterations have perhaps pushed the boundaries somewhat (such as the integrated seatmast featured a few generations ago), the Defy has never been a bike that needed a lot of explanation. There have never been any extraneous moving parts, no mention of “suspension," no funky acronyms.
It’s always just quietly went about its business of boosting rider comfort on the road, and it’s no different for this fifth-generation model.
Once again, Giant hasn’t reached for any physical mechanisms to enhance the Defy Advanced’s ride quality, instead preferring to further refine its “D-Fuse” compliance concept. The new Defy features a D-shaped carbon fiber seatpost and handlebar tops that the company claims flexes more over bumps than a similarly sized round section. Further augmenting that flex is the generous seatpost extension produced by the highly sloped top tube, and a cutout on the backside of the post that makes the the post behave even more like a leaf spring.
Getting into specific numbers, Giant claims the updated D-Fuse seatpost can flex up to seven mm under load, whereas the new Contact SLR D-Fuse handlebar found on upper-end models “delivers 40 percent more compliance compared to the previous generation.”
If that’s not enough for your local terrain, the maximum allowable tire width has grown to 38 mm (it was 35 mm previously) to provide even more cushioning. And while Giant doesn’t pitch the new Defy Advanced as a potential light-duty gravel bike, such generous tire clearances means the bike could nevertheless serve in that role. Regardless, 32 mm-wide tires are included stock from the factory – just like the outgoing Defy – although measured widths are closer to 34 mm.
Interestingly, Giant doesn’t make any explicit mention of the frame or fork itself playing a big role in the comfort equation. There are some proven nods here – such as the slim fork blades, flattened top tube, and the dropped and flattened seatstays – but the implied message is that while frame and fork can (and do) contribute to ride quality, most of those gains are found at the touch points and tires.
Giant also hasn’t included its hallmark integrated seatmast (ISP) into any of the new Defy Advanced models – even the top-tier Defy Advanced SL – despite stressing in the past that it was the best way to produce a softer ride quality.
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