Took my Defy out today, first impressions definitely made life easier on a route I took in the summer on my saracen vice!

Hopefully a few more rides and my fitness will come up!

Nice!! I brought it for £350 a few months ago and pretty pleased with it! Decent bike for the money!

Worth noting that Sora is now 9 speed, whereas Claris is only 8 speed, so you've got that one extra gear in-between min and max to reduce the jump in teeth between cogs.

Is Advanced-Grade Composite fork with Hybrid OverDrive Steerer the same as carbon forks?

Great find. Heated. Defy 3 is better value in my opinion as 2x9 gear drivetrain is far better than 2x8. Although 2x10 Tiagra is probably the VFM sweet spot.
Bought a Defy 3 from Rutland last winter. Great service and a fantastic entry level road bike. I have upgraded it since, but just bought a second-hand Avail 3 form my wife.
Giant alu frames are fantastic. Even on the cheaper models you're getting a great design and functionality. Very comfy frame with room for 28mm tyres.
Also the deals are much better than they were last year (roughly by £50). So go for it people, you won't find it cheaper unless you're buying second hand.

Also looking into buying an entry level bike for triathlon/dualthlon, possibly via c2w scheme(although also considering a 2nd hand)

​No, but his point was that most people with carbon bikes will not want to use them in winter for many reasons.
Firstly many race bikes won't have the clearance or eyelets (which aren't needed all the time) for mudguards. Secondly the drivetrain wears down more in winter due to the rain and grit and generally more debris on the roads and people will have inferior groupset on their winter bikes. Lastly people in winter will tend to go more slowly (although it isn't the best way) so the less aggressive geometry of a winter bike would suit them.

I applied through my works benefit website but no where did it specify I had to put the name of the shop where I'm buying from, all I had to put the amount required and thats it

Maybe that comes later, not sure first time I'm using this scheme

Yeah I'm considering pulling the trigger on the Giant 3 or 4. First road bike but want something that will last a few years! Also wondering if difference is enough to warrant £70?

Thank You

Tempted to buy this to replace the second hand Carrera TDF I bought to test the water. Thing is, is the Defy 3 worth the extra £70? (hate the colour though).

Nonsense.

Excellent winter bike. for someone with a carbon main bike, or a fantastic bike all year round on its own merits.

superb entry level road bike. The Giant Defy is probably the best entry level road bike there is. it's a comfy geometry (E.g. the shape of the frame is geared towards comfort) but still can do a great turn of speed for a fast commute or ride. decent Shimano gears which will be very cheap to service or replace parts in. total bargain. mega hot.

I bought a bike through the scheme about 3 years ago and policies varied shop to shop, some places would add a admin fee for reduced bikes, one place stated they would only sell the bike at the original rrp if using the c2w scheme, several places including Evans cycles accept the voucher against discounted bikes without any charges

I bought my C2W bike through Evans who price matched Wiggles sale price which dropped three times before the voucher came.

I'd suggest that the Defy 4 on Claris is a better value option, especially as the gear ratios are the same on both despite the Claris having fewer (50/34 on front and 11-32 on the back) which means that both should be equally good at ascending and descending. People I know haven't noticed the difference from 2300 (old Claris)/Claris to Sora, so if you want to save money, go for the 4. Unless you can go to the 2 to get a Tiagra group set. That, evidently, is worth it.

Thanks v much for the reply. Haven't heard of either of those makes so will get researching!

Better groupset (gears) on the Defy 3. Would depend on what you're using it for as to whether it's worth the extra.

I'm starting the Cycle To Work scheme and have a voucher for £600

Can I use part of that to buy this

Thanks

I'm looking for an entry level road bike for a >20 mile return commute.

Been recommended a Canondale aluminium frame nine-speed for £599 and am using c2w.

Would be interested to hear what more knowlegable folk think of this?

Defy 3 for £399 is a pretty good deal as well

Bso

Got my bike from Rutland via Cyclscheme, good service. However they (and all bike shops) will add about 13% admin fee to the price (unless you are buying a bike at full RRP). Also normally your voucher needs to be made out specifically for the shop from which you are buying, sounds like you've already had your voucher issued for another shop?

Great deal, one thing to be aware of with Rutland Cycling If you use the discount code you won't get any cashback from the cashback sites like quidco.

Shame I've just had a new mtb... Buying would result in me having broken arms.



By the missus!