[Closed] Giant Defy Sizing

You've already answered your own question. Test ride and fitting will sort it out.

At that height you're likely to be on a M/L, but fit isn't as simple as that. If the shop is discussing stems already, that's a good sign of a good fitting, I reckon.

I'm 6ft2" and ride a M/L with 110mm stem, tried a L & it felt like I was riding my dad's bike when I was 10, huge!

Hmmm thats similar to what the shop said. Seems at least the new defy bikes are pretty blinking long! Definately shop fit time. On the bright side, if its a 'M' its lighter!

back to the old one that S/M/L are letters not dimensions 😉

Very true. And even when they use numbers they rarely seem to mean the same thing. Pretty sure top tube length is akin to the fish that got away sometimes.

Their sizing chart puts you on both a M and M/L, I would be trying both

The whole "brand x sizes up big" thing can be misleading. I have a 64cm Cube Peloton which apparently would be a 62 in most other brands. Just got a 2015 XL Defy which although they "size up big" is within a couple of mm of the cube in every dimension that counts. My issue is that I had an inline post on the cube but the giant D fuse post is a layback - even with the saddle right forward the reach with a 100mm stem is slightly long but any shorter and my knees occasionally brush the bars when climbing out of the saddle. Sorry OP, I know this doesn't help. I'm 6'3" and a bit for anyone other lanky gits considering a big ole' roadie.

Test ride obviously, but Rutland Cycling used to have a great sizing guide for height and inside leg when I got mine that was spot on.

I'm a fraction under 6ft and an m/l is perfect.

Medium and a 115-120 stem. I'm 179 cm and like you, am between sizes. A smaller frame and longer stem will handle better than vice versa. Ask the shop to swap stems. Giant OD2 stems are available in 5mm increments.

I have a Defy Adv SL, two propels (also Medium) and a small Defy, with a 130 mm stem, but we won't go there 😉

A test ride of a medium with the standard 100 mm stem will feel far too small. Add 15 mm and it feels like a totally different bike.

In the original compact specification from the Burrows TCR, Giant made S/M/L. This would have made life easy. The pros wanted intermediate sizing, so M/L came about.

I am 5'10" with 32" inseam and long arms and rode a 2015 medium Defy Advanced Pro 1 with 110mm stem for 8 months.

I work in a Giant brand store and have done 100+ fits for customers buying Defy, TCR, Propel and Trinity as well as aftermarket customers on other brands.

you always want the smallest frame that fits you, to allow +/- options with stem/bars when having it fitted.

with the larger frame you often have to shrink the reach to get a good fit, which can effect handling (steering) and balance (weight distribution)

the head tube on the medium is shorter than the M/L and will allow further increases in effective reach adjustment through more pronounced drop relative to saddle

our findings:

the mechanical brake Defy is fitted with regular length stem as a caliper brake bike

the hydraulic brake Defy is generally fitted with -10mm on regular stem because the Shimano hydro STI hoods sit 10mm further forward

this is something Giant UK noticed after feedback from bike fitters and staff at their dealers.

a session with a good fitter on a turbo trainer on the M and M/L with some spare stems should allay your concerns

r

OcKeTdOg - Member
I'm 6ft2" and ride a M/L with 110mm stem, tried a L & it felt like I was riding my dad's bike when I was 10, huge!

Whereas I'm pretty much the same height and find the L just about big enough

r

OcKeTdOg - Member
I'm 6ft2" and ride a M/L with 110mm stem, tried a L & it felt like I was riding my dad's bike when I was 10, huge!

Whereas I'm pretty much the same height and find the L just about big enough

I'm a fraction under 6ft and tried out an M and M/L back to back - went for the M. The M/L was too long for me.

Whereas I'm pretty much the same height and find the L just about big enough

5ft 8in and totally happy on my medium.

I do have short legs/long body syndrome though, so tend to prefer longer bikes.

Sounds like you need to have a pedal round rather than just sit on top of them.

I'm 6' and the ML is spot on.

5'10" with 31" inside leg on a medium. However, I did opt for a shorter stem by 10mm. My bike has hydraulics, so what esher shore says figures.

Six foot give or take and I'm on a M/L with a 120mm stem. Mines a 2014 with non discs if that makes any difference.

You are way taller than me

An inch Max 😉

 

My defy is my first road bike. At 6ft, I wished I'd bought a large. It just feels a tiny bit short.

chakaping - Member
5ft 8in and totally happy on my medium.

I do have short legs/long body syndrome though, so tend to prefer longer bikes.

Sounds like you need to have a pedal round rather than just sit on top of them.

Same height but ride a small. Medium felt just too stretched out. Your long torso helped you size up I guess.

I am 5'11.5" (I like to round up to 6 foot) and I ride a ML. I tried the large and it felt way too big. I have long legs and a short body (BB to Saddle top is 800mm for me). My previous bike was a Trek 56cm.

Pic here: [url= http://thumbsnap.com/f/1YaLZ6hs ]Giant Defy Advanced 3[/url]

I'm 5'7", 30" leg and ride an M. Feels comfy enough but an S may have been better.

I have a 2012 Composite 1 and may be changing it to a 2016 Advanced Pro 2 in a few months. 5ft 10.5 here and on a medium, but with a 110mm stem rather than the 100 it came with. I had a full bike fit when I bought it (free due to a mix up by Giant on delivery 🙂 ) I am short legs (30.5) and longish back.

Interested to read comments about them shortening stem to accommodate hydraulic hoods, which makes a lot of sense as they are pretty big (I have 105 hydraulics on CDF)

Same height but ride a small. Medium felt just too stretched out. Your long torso helped you size up I guess.

I assume so as I fit better on most current large MTBs than medium ones.

My other road bike has a slightly shorter WB but I prefer the Defy's handling.

My Brother and I got caught out by the Giant sizing. You think to yourself "Ah Medium/Large...that must mean suitable for both medium and taller riders." However, if you look at the Giant sizing chart, they suggest the low end to be 5'11" and even then, not if you have short legs. That can be a bit flexible. For example - I'm 5'10" but I have long legs so when I test rode one the shop said it was okay for me. My brother is the same height but with shorter legs and, straight away, even thought he felt it rode okay, it looked too big on him. My brother and I now both have medium frames, as I felt it was also a better fit for me.

Cheers everyone! Will be getting test rides and fitting on saturday so will report back.

our findings:

the mechanical brake Defy is fitted with regular length stem as a caliper brake bike

the hydraulic brake Defy is generally fitted with -10mm on regular stem because the Shimano hydro STI hoods sit 10mm further forward

this is something Giant UK noticed after feedback from bike fitters and staff at their dealers.

thread resurrection 🙂

I have a 2012 Defy Composite in Medium, which has a 110mm stem on it (output from professional bike fit), rather than the 100mm one it came with.

I am getting a new 2016 Defy Advanced Pro 2 next week and will be selling on the older one. The quote above (esher shore) suggests that on the new one, with hydro hoods, I should be on a 100mm stem to replicate the geometry. I suspect the bike will come with a 90mm stem on basis of above, and LBS are happy to swop around with me.

any updates from folk using them ?

oh well, will just go have a play with them at LBS then !

Take them for a test ride by all means but even that is not sure to make sure you get the right size. I test rode an M and an ML, convinced myself the ML was the right size after a couple of laps around the block on each, but after a good few rides on it I wish i'd gone for the M. I'm 5'9" with a 30" inside leg.