Giant Defy Advanced 1 review

Full review

The Defy Advanced 1 is Giant's flagship-style comfort bike in this comparison. It uses a carbon frame and fork, plus a composite D-Fuse seatpost and handlebar designed to reduce vibration on long days. The geometry is aimed at riders who want to ride for hours rather than race, and the clearance for 40 mm tyres opens up gravel tracks and rough lanes.

The big difference from the cheaper bikes is electronic shifting. Shimano 105 Di2 changes gear with a button press, needs less adjustment than cables and keeps working smoothly in bad weather. It comes with a 50/34T chainset, an 11-36T 12-speed cassette and hydraulic disc brakes with 160 mm rotors. The Giant P-R1 alloy wheels carry 32 mm Gavia Fondo tubeless-ready tyres, which many riders will want to run tubeless for lower pressures.

Giant does not publish a weight, and the alloy wheels mean the Canyon Endurace CF 7 with carbon wheels is likely to feel livelier. Where the Defy wins is the complete package: electronic gears, comfort parts and a big dealer network to set it up and service it.

It is the one to choose if comfort over very long rides and effortless shifting matter more than the lowest possible price.