[Closed] Giant Defy Composite 1 or Cannondale Synapse 105?

I'd get the Synapse but that's primarily because I've got the ultegra one and really like it. That said, my 105 bike felt a bit agricultural in comparison to the ultegra but it may have just been that the ultegra was assembled at the factory, the 105 in my kitchen.

The Synapse is really comfortable (relatively speaking) for crappy road surfaces and longer rides and so far has been pretty faultless. I'd buy another without hesitation if the time came.

I have a comp 1 and love it. i had an alu synapse before it- night and day.. 🙂

If you liked the Defy, I'd buy a Defy - but then I have one! The Synapse is more upright and you may not like that feel. The CAAD8 is closer in geometry (head tube length) to the Defy, believe it or not. Giant wheels have been much higher quality than Cannondale on our lower-end bikes (Avail and CAAD8). The Cannondale stock wheels were gash, if yor choice comes with Aksiums, that is a bonus, but Giant wheels are excellent (DT hubs and Giant make the alloy rims for DT).

Looking at all those options, the CAAD10 105 in a 58 is a bargain and the best alloy frame money can buy. Might be too big, and too low at the front, but it is an outstanding frame (from a paid up Giant fanbois). For your money I wouldn't worry about groupset, but would go for carbon unless you know exactly what you want - you test rode a carbon Defy, If I recall?

My brother has recently been dithering over a similar decision, he's much more pragmatic than me - plumped for the Defy Advanced 2 with 105 in the end and no regrets so far. I looked up a review when he was looking, and BikeRadar liked the wheels even though they're "generic" Giant own brand. I've got a CAAD 8, which I picked because of the colour - therein lies one of the many differences between him and me. 🙂

Get the better groupset and wheels as you are likely to change the frame later anyway, I would have thought...

I've got a Defy 1 Mark, and the giant wheels have been fine over the last year even clattering over Sheffield's best roads. Spokes on the rear could do with going over but this'll be the first time.

Get the one that you like the look and ride of. They're both good bikes.

bought this Giant (small)end of Jan; and other than a change to a Spesh saddle & GP4000s's it's done over 800 miles without a hitch. Lovely ride and feels fast compared to previous less fitted/capable bikes...

Being carbon it cleans with a wipe too. 🙂

you test rode a carbon Defy, If I recall?

Yep - I also rode a Orbea (Orca?) and a TCR Comp- didn't like either of them at all- fronts very low and the TCR felt stiff?

The Defy felt playful(?)

The Synapse is really comfortable (relatively speaking) for crappy road surfaces and longer rides

Chappy on phone also echoed this - Says its more comfortable than the Defy. A bugger that I can't test the Synapse before though.

Comfort is key- too rigid etc isn't me. Thats why I didn't like the TCR.

I'd have a Planet X but I'm not waiting a month from order.

Neither I'd get [url= http://www.chevincycles.com/bikes/road-bicycles/trek-2013-madone-4-9-c-di2.php ]this[/url]

I don't have £1700 spare plus it'd cost more than my car at that price 😯

My very max is £1300.

Comfort wise the Synapse & Defy are made for the same purpose and not miles apart like your guy suggests. Echoing the above, I have a Defy 3 for winter duty with flappy paddle sora. It's comfy, the wheels are unbranded DT, the tyres unbranded conti's.

It's been brilliant.

it'd cost more than my car

and what exactly is wrong with that?

Nowt but at somepoint I want a AWD beast. 8)

That Trek looks nice, but isn't that the older, 10 speed version of Ultegra Di2? Is that likely to be an issue?

ep - I also rode a Orbea (Orca?) and a TCR Comp- didn't like either of them at all- fronts very low and the TCR felt stiff?

Sounds perfect for a road bike, who'd want a high front end flexy road bike?

Ah, it's Hora 🙂

I'd go for this

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/ribble-r872-105-shimano-equipped?part=SE14R872SHIMA105&sub=conf_SERC

Too stiff though. I'm entering no competitions- this is merely an aid/supplement to mountain bikes.

I am a big Cannondale fan, but I found the Synapse too upright, so instead went for a Bianchi InfinitoCV with ultegra

and yes my bike is worth more than my car 🙂

My Mrs has got a Synapse 105 and loves it. It's a very nice bike.

it'd cost more than my car at that price

Either will be ace and from what I can gather the difference between 105 and Ultegra isn't worth worrying about.

Buy the one you like the look of...buy the one you [i]want[/i].

Another option:
[url= http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3193#tab-reiter2 ]Canyon Roadlite AL7.0[/url] comes in at under £1200 with full 2x11 Ultegra groupset and Mavic Aksium

I want it within days, finance and local backup for any breaks though.

After the Stw Cube story and previous grumbles about Canyon I wouldnt touch those micro' brands

ora - Member
Too stiff though. I'm entering no competitions- this is merely an aid/supplement to mountain bikes.

Consider a hybrid if road bike are too "road bike"

Canyon is a micro brand?

Compared to all the big brands yes?

Direct model a la On One.

What about this:
http://www.merlincycles.com/sensa-giulia-ultegra-6800-di2-special-57854.html

Sorry to hijack, looking at this as my next road bike, any one have any thoughts?

7.4kg / 7.9kg full carbon + Ultegra Be0nes in stock at Merlin (local ish) for £1400 and £1200 respectively.

They bought up the bankrupt Beone stock but are offering 3yr warranty when my Mrs enquired on Monday.

Just get the Defy composite from Paul's Cycles - you said you liked the ride.
If the wheels eventually develop problems then get a pair of lightly used 2nd hand ones off here - there are usually some in the classifieds

Comparing on one and canyon is laughable. Seen many Planet X bikes in the tdf?

That sensa? On your budget I'd get the Trek linked. No doubt.

Re Canyon. Its distance selling from another country. If I have a prob midsummer which bikeshop do I stand in to get a fast warranty decision?

On one here have been great to me on any issues but what if I was in (enter any European country) wanting a quick resolution/inspection?

Thats my angle.

CAAD10 105 in a 58 is a bargain and the best alloy frame money can buy.

I have one of these and bought it in preference to a SuperSix 105. The CAAD 10 frame is brilliant.

That Trek looks nice, but isn't that the older, 10 speed version of Ultegra Di2? Is that likely to be an issue?

It seems to be the Ultegra Di2 6870 (according to the Q&A on the Evans website), which is the 2014 issue isn't it?

Toxicsoks- really?? (Interested)

Comparing on one and canyon is laughable. Seen many Planet X bikes in the tdf?

Didn't you see Valverde storming up the Mur de Huy on his Planet x today ? Oh hang on a bit.....

That caad10 in a 58 will probably be too big for you hora. My caad8 is a 56 and I'm probably a bit taller than you.

I'd love a caad10 though. Pretty much universally accepted as the best aluminum frame on the market.

And yes the cannondales wheels are pants (Maddux 3.0 in my case). I've just upgraded mine to some nice Ambrosio clinchers from Planet X and the difference is night and day.

Didn't you see Valverde storming up the Mur de Huy on his Planet x today ?

He wants a pretend road bike though not a real one

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op (and others, I'm sure) also offer the aluminium Defy 0, brilliant looking spec and the aluminium Defy seems to pick up a lot of excellent reviews.

I've been torn between three similar bikes also, the top end CAAD8 (I loved my CAAD9 but want a slightly less committed position) the aluminium Defy 0 and the Synapse, I don't like the look of the tall front end but rode a rental Spec Roubaix recently and it felt great on the descents.

Can I recommend the Giant, purely on the fact that my TCX Advance is ace, I can ? Ohhh ta 😆

Why not spend the extras and go for the Defy Comp 1 2014. Comes with ultegra 11 speed and retails for £1599. Most shops could give you 10% off too so for £90 more you get an updated bike with a superior group set and the support of a shop not an internet store.

I have a DEFY 1 composite 2012 from Pauls Cycles and love it but I wondered if any one has ridden a Defy Advance frame bike as I would like to know if is feels much better to ride

hora - Member

I don't have £1700 spare plus it'd cost more than my car at that price

My very max is £1300.

In that case get a 'Dale as advised by smelly sox

Bregante - Member

And yes the cannondales wheels are pants (Maddux 3.0 in my case). I've just upgraded mine to some nice Ambrosio clinchers from Planet X and the difference is night and day.

Interested, why do you say that about the 'dale wheels?

The 'dale wheels are heavy and went out of true very quickly. The review of the CAAD8 Sora by Cycling Weekly said that the frame was fantastic (it is), but deserved so much more than the stock wheels. I upgraded my son's CAAD8 to some used Kysrium Elites and the difference is night and day. I also raced on it with some Giant pslr-aero carbon wheels, and again it is a fantastic ride. It looks like it was welded by a blind person, however!

By contrast, the Giant will come with a pair of medium (not heavy) DT-hubbed wheels that will not go out of true immediately, and perform acceptably. My other son's XS Avail (Defy for the ladies) has fine wheels that are pleasant to ride. For a treat, he gets the Ksyriums occasionally, but the stock wheels are so much better. It was also welded by someone who knows how to finish a joint properly.

I wondered if any one has ridden a Defy Advance frame

I have a Defy Advanced SL and could tell the difference between that and the Defy Advanced. But I have not ridden a Composite. The advanced is about 200g lighter, if I recall. The SL is another 200g or so. They all have the stock geometry, so handling will not be very different. Stiffness and lightness increase with price. But all are good. The pros were riding Composite level frames less than 10 years ago.

I could cope with the weight of the standard wheels on mine but as TiRed says they did need truing almost constantly. The wheels I have replaced them with are still not exactly light at 1800g but they are FAR stiffer and more responsive and do the frame justice

So any lower spec Defy or Synapse or CAAD would need new wheelset soon after purchase seems to be the message
Makes them look less of a bargain then
😥

any lower spec Defy or Synapse or CAAD would [b]need[/b] new wheelset soon after purchase

I've got an alloy 105 Synapse, bought 2nd hand (about 4 months old) and crashed at least twice by the previous owner. In the last 12 months I've done over 5k on it, in all weathers on, as you'd expect, poorly surfaced roads. I did have a spoke snap on the front, but that's it. Both wheels are and have remained true...apart from when the spoke snapped, ahem 😀

So avoid Dale stock wheels?!

wont most good LBS's agree to supply the wheels you want (for a price - obviously) rather than the stock wheels that come with a certain bike model? For my most recent bike purchase I just told the LBS what I wanted and there was no "sorry you can only have the basic wheels" or "well we can supply the wheels you want, but you have to buy the wheels that come with the bike as well"

Which you can appreciate/understand though.

hora - Member
So avoid Dale stock wheels?!

POSTED 24 MINUTES AGO

Rusty Shackleford

any lower spec Defy or Synapse or CAAD would need new wheelset soon after purchase

Nah...that's bollox. Want, quite fancy, would benefit from...fair enough!
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO

http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk/Cannondale_Synapse.html

...any lower spec Defy or Synapse or CAAD would need new wheelset soon after purchase

No, read what's been said, it's just the Cannondales with unbranded hubs and Maddux rims. The stock Giant wheels are just fine. I have three sets from low to ultra bling and they have all been perfect. One of my aero wheels was trued 2mm after a crash, the others have been true for years.

So avoid Dale stock wheels?! Yes

In fact I wouldn't give away my Dale rear wheel, it's really is rubbish - and out of true (again). This for a 80 kg rider. If you want good stock wheels, Giant every time. Want the best alloy frame, Canondale. Want well designed carbon do-it all? Buy that DEFY Composite and put us out of our misery 😉

I replaced the wheels on my CAAD 8 within a year.

Numerous broken spokes and re-trues required on the originals (75kg rider). The replacements (Shimano RS20s) are coming up to 15months and have required nothing doing to them at all (going to regrease the hubs this weekend).

Is spending 1.2k+ on your [b]first[/b] road bike (while already considering what upgrades might [b]need [/b] 🙄 doing) really the right approach to this?

Wouldn't a nice lightly used, 2nd hand bike at a fraction of the price be a better starter bike?

If you really take to the road and decide you want something better you'll recoup most of your money selling the 2nd hand bike on again, and if you decide in 6 months that its actually not for you then you won't have lost out much either.

Or should I just shut up and let you get on with it?

Sooooo... Whatcha bought Hora ❓

Wouldn't a nice lightly used, 2nd hand bike at a fraction of the price be a better starter bike?

I'm 'King of secondhand. I thought about this- looked but most of the road bikes 2ndhand seem to be max 200-300 off what you can now get like for like or very similar new. Must be the weather improving/seasonality and sellers trying it?

Also - I was watching a few on Ebay- they went for stupid money, as though the buyers were idiots.

Which one did I buy?

Leaning/going to go for

The CANNONDALE-SYNAPSE-CARBON-105-2012 as it has the Mavic wheels and slightly more upright position and comfier I think.

If you keep looking something will pop up, but if you're in hurry and want new then unless you're just [b]wanting [/b]to spend over a grand, is it really necessary, plenty of Decent framed, Sora/Tiagra equipped bikes for half that and they will still be perfectly rideable.

A 4 year old Alu Trek with Tiagra has taken me through the last year of sunday club runs and midweek rides for <£250 and all it needs is a clean and some new rims.

I keep thinking about replacing it with something posher but I know I can just keep feeding it new drive trains if necessary and it'll keep going, or if the worst happens I can buy another 2nd hand one again, so I probably wont bother, I'm not racing on the road (save that for the dirt!), and it's perfectly comfortable for 60 - 100 mile rides so I'm struggling to see the benefit for me...

Road bikes don't get as trashed as mountain bikes so should hold their second hand value better.

I spent 2200 on my first roadie ( from rosé), and then another 150 on training wheels. 5500 miles later I am very happy I spent the money up front or I would now have 2 roadies and spent significantly more buying another super duper carbon one. If you do look to the distance sellers your money will go much further, for that price I got carbon frame, post and bars, with force groupset and cosmic carbones. It's a lovely bike. Now I want a cx bike!

I spent £500 at Pauls Cycles, on a Sora specced Caad8 about 2 years and 3500 miles ago.

I replaced the wheels after about 10 months, and I replaced the cassette and chain a month or 2 back (It gets ridden in all weathers). I'm currently waiting for the postie to bring a 105 chainset and BB - there's plenty of life left in mine but, well, you know...

So, not including tyres I've prob spent another 250 quid on it.

While it'd be nice to have bling shifters and mechs, it's not the end of the world and I can wait till a bargain pops up.

Well it's good to read stories of bikes being ridden and just upgraded as and when.
As mentioned I bought a Boardman Carbon Comp year before last to use as my Winter bike and it's served me very well indeed. I've changed nothing except tyres to GP4's and squirted GT85 over it after the jetwashing it always gets after dirty rides.
The thing's been ridden hard in proper grotty conditions and it's still running smooth as a nut. It's currently "resting" covered in GT85 and I guess it's glad of the time off.

Any Dale' will be a good bike, the Synapse is a sweet looking and handling ride. You will (I'm sure once you get it) upgrade one or two things on it, but the only thing you should do is get it and ride it. Come back at the end of the summer and ask us "wot tyres for winter boys" Then we'll be happy.

BOL

hora - Member

After the Stw Cube story and previous grumbles about Canyon I wouldnt touch those micro' brands

I don't know about Cube but Canyon sold 65,000 bikes last year.
Add together the 5 biggest German brands Rose,Cube,Canyon,Focus and Radon and the UK bike industry is surely classed as a cottage industry ?

Yep, thanks for the thread.

Despite convincing myself I was going to hold on for a road bike I've just got Evans to price match the Trek Madone 4.9 ultegra Di2 for £1595.

This thread's got a lot to answer for...

Did I hear right up there... you take a large size?

If so, then defo this

www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p4321/CANNONDALE-CAAD10-105-2012

It's Liquigas colours and everything...

I'm not a fan of the look of modern road bikes, I prefer old school steel.... but love dale's in Liguigas colours

You could even pretend your Peter Sagan with that bike

I emailed Chevin about that Trek, they're response:

The Madone 4.9 C Di2 comes with SHIMANO ULTEGRA 6770 DI2.

Thats the old model isn't it?

Thanks Chris. Yep, it's the same one as the Evans one - they'd incorrectly answered the question on their website!

Still, I'm very happy with it and going to push the button after a fitting tomorrow.

pbooker1995 - Member
Why not spend the extras and go for the Defy Comp 1 2014. Comes with ultegra 11 speed and retails for £1599. Most shops could give you 10% off too so for £90 more you get an updated bike with a superior group set and the support of a shop not an internet store.

I did exactly this today, went to a LBS and had a look at both the 105 Synapse and the Defy Comp 1 2014 as they had both in stock. Fit was exactly what I was looking for on the Defy, being just over 6ft2 with a longer torso and shorter legs than many 6+footers, the reach was how I wanted it and that along with the really smooth shifting (esp at the front) of the Ultegra sold it for me, pick it up next week.

So I was ready to pounce. Then someone bid 8.9k...

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=261457437450

On the above. Why would a shop give you £160 off on current stock when everyone else advertises the current model at full RRP?!

wont most good LBS's agree to supply the wheels you want (for a price - obviously

I bought an Orbea Aqua from Epic and updated the wheels at the point of purchase, only paying the difference in rrp between the wheels.

The Giant Defy comp 1 2014. Tell me how to get 10% off? I'll call that shop and order! The colour scheme/graphics is beautiful.

hora - did you buy one?

I'm looking for something similar myself

This one partly based on the presenters review:

but also for my limited budget I wanted something had great kit all round. Where would I find 6800 Ultegra on a brand-roadbike?

The PlanetX frame? I'm not entering any comps and its a comfortable frame which is what I want.

Looks good
You'll have to post some photos when you get it

Shame they dont do a red one, they are much faster than blue

Don't think I'll receive it before the end of the month, meaning I'll miss it for my birthday (it was a present to me) and I'm now without my old steel road bike too as I didn't realise I'd have to wait so long. So if anyone sees a half-decent oldish road bike for sale let me know so I can still keep getting out in the evenings etc after work. The PlanetX will be worth the wait 🙂