Home > Gear Reviews

Road Test: Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0, dulling the harshness of the road and giving you an edge

Last summer, when Giant unveiled its revamped Defy lineup, every carbon-fibre bike had disc brakes. The Taiwan-based company didn’t mess around: they committed to rotors on their performance endurance machines.

Image: Giant Bicycles
Image: Giant Bicycles

Last summer, when Giant unveiled its revamped Defy lineup, every carbon-fibre bike had disc brakes. The Taiwan-based company didn’t mess around: they committed to rotors on their performance endurance machines. What they didn’t change – or need to change – was the geometry. It had received rave reviews; the company’s engineers were still happy with the Defy’s angles. Yet, they added disc brakes and other features to make a compelling new machine for long rides.

The flagship model of the line is the Defy Advanced SL 0, which I rode at the launch in the Scottish Highlands. I figured the organizers picked the location, known for its precipitation, so the cycling press could see how well the disc brakes worked on rain-soaked descents. The weather defied, if you will, the organizers’ wishes: I tested the new machine throughout three sunny days.

While the Defy was superb on rough roads in the Highlands, I wanted to see how the bike would do on my bumpy local routes. I was also keen on the Advanced Pro 0. The price tag of the Advanced SL 0, $10,499, is stunning, like its performance on the road. The Advanced Pro 0 I tested at home, is about half the price of the SL. It is, however, much more than a mere half the bike.

One of my first tests was on a punchy local circuit that will feature in the Pan Am Games road race. It was a deliciously brutal session. This Defy, like its high-end cousin, doesn’t draw attention to itself when you are in the saddle. It seems to just get down to business. I rode in the draft of others on a long drag, but jumped with tens of metres to go to the top so I could be first into the corner and the descent that followed. The power transfer from the pedals to the wheels when I needed to go was great.

For Jon Swanson, the global category manager for road at Giant Bicycles, the power transfer that comes from a stiff bottom bracket area was never a worry on the Defy. He argues that most top-end carbon-fibre bikes have reached a point that you can’t detect any differences in pedalling stiffness. They are all so stiff that more rigidity doesn’t matter. What did matter to Swanson and his team was what he calls frame stiffness, which features most on the head tube, down tube and chainstays. Stiffness in these parts of the frame make the bike handle better. My test bike was made using Giant’s second-tier composite process, Advanced, as opposed to the top-tier Advanced SL. In the frame stiffness department, the Advanced process was more than enough. On the circuit’s decreasing-radius turn, the bike tracked well, allowing me to corner as hard as I dared.

While the Advanced Pro 0 isn’t billed as a climber and its construction makes it a bit heavier than the SL 0, I had no trouble moving it up the short 10 per cent pitch on the course. The machine is equipped with an 11-28 tooth Shimano Ultegra cassette and a 50/34 Ultegra crankset. I think the gearing options are spot on for an endurance bike like the Defy. I could stay in the saddle and spin up the climbs when I wanted to, or muscle my way up when I felt feisty.

Ever since my rides in Scotland, I’ve been a fan of the Shimano R785 hydraulic disc brakes. The stopping power and control they offer won me over. The descents in my area don’t compare to those of the Highlands in terms of length, but they do require accuracy. I really enjoyed leaving the braking late before switching into familiar turns. I also had the “pleasure” of testing the brakes in cold, rainy Spring Classics-like conditions. (It was a payback for all that sun in Scotland, I’m sure.) The Giant-designed, TRp-made rotors were top performers in the wet, too. They did, however, howl when I braked in soggy conditions. Dragging the brakes did help to quiet things down. The wheels on the Advanced Pro 0 are Giant’s alloy P-SL 0 Disc. They’re designed to be do-it-all hoops: good for training and able to handle the gran fondo ride you want to do well in. A DT Swiss star-ratchet rear hub engages the wheel well for a maximum transfer of power. The Giant P-SLR 1 tires offer great traction, while their 25-mm width can manage the road’s imperfections better than 23-mm treads.

The tires actually complement the vibration-damping features designed into the bike. Defys have the D-Fuse seatpost that debuted on Giant’s cyclocross bike, the TCX. The D-shape tube has a noticeable foreand-aft flex. The seatstays meet the seat tube below the top tube- junction. This arrangement directs some of the road vibrations along the top tube, lessening the damping duties of the D-Fuse. I definitely appreciated these features on my long rides. The high-frequency vibrations were managed well, leaving me less fatigued than a less finely tuned frame would have.

There’s a bit of irony in the name of this bike. Pros can’t ride machines with disc brakes, at least, not until August when teams can begin testing the technology in races. Until then, we can enjoy bikes like the Defy. For now, it’s something we have over the pro riders.

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0

Components: Shimano Ultegra Di2, Shimano R785 hydraulic disc
Wheels: P-SL 0 Disc
Sizes: XS, S, M, M/L, L, XL
Price: $4,499
Website:giant-bicycles.com