Xicala

Alright guys, so I finally decided to upgrade from my target schwinn road bike which I put in a whole lot of miles into... can't believe it actually held up LOL... So my bike shop offers trek and giant. I am 6'3" 290/300 lbs... I lose weight quick.

Anyway, I was looking into purchasing the following:
1. Trek Domane ALR 5 disc, isospeed, and 100% shimano 105 @ $1889
2. Trek Emonda ALR 5, 100% shimano 105 @ $1580
and then my bicycle seller shows me a Giant Bike...
3. Giant SL 1 Disc with %85 Shimano 105 @ $1350

So a few friends have told me to go with Trek over the Giant... just because it's an American company. I kinda laughed because the bike is still made in Asia... So Fellas, please help me out with the above three options. Thanks in advance.

Alex

Davet

IMO they’re all pretty good bikes. The best one for you would be A: one that fits you well and B: the one that gets you wound up. Ride all,of them, then choose.

Xicala

Unfortunately, he would have to order any bike for my size. He fitted me to a size 60/XL. He has smaller bikes. Thanks for the help, appreciate it.

Doge

Giant makes both. So you are looking at design, not manufacture.

DGlenday

There's still value in spring an American business.

pesty

Don't listen to what anyone says about why to buy one over the other. The BEST thing to do is ride them. Make sure they are setup properly, stem at the right height, seat at the right hight. Get all three bikes setup as close to each other as possible and pick the bike that feels the most comfortable to you.

Based on the price, I'm assuming the Giant is a Contend SL as you only put SL. All three are going to be good bikes that should last you a long time. They will all have slightly difference performance and feel due to slightly different geometries. You will be on this bike for [hopefully] thousands of miles. You want it to be a bike that you love to ride for each and every one of those miles. The best bike will be the one that is the one that makes you want to ride more, farther and longer.

mstateglfr 

Giant- because of price.

You will have $ left over to tailor the bike to you- be it saddle, stem and bars, or quite likely new wheels.
With the savings you could buy a quality hand built set of wheels that are built around you and still come in cheaper than the Domane.

Xicala

Thanks to all for your help. I will ask my cycling store if there is a way I can ride all three and then choose the one that I feel is the best for me.

12strings

Giant is less expensive in every category for similar components...but trek spends more money on marketing, so... :-)

rpenmanparker 

Giant has usually been the value choice. For the price difference you can get the rest of the Shimano parts you are missing and still have plenty left over for the inevitable odds and ends. As far as ride is concerned, Giant simply can't be beat.

Xicala

good one... $400 price difference, except the trek has the isospeed technology which makes dampens vibrations front/rear. all the reviews (like a zillion reviews) I have read have been great about this bike.

The only review I found of the Giant contend sl disc 1 was great overall as well.

So, it comes down to as everyone said, test ride both and see which one feels better.

Xicala

exactly what I was going to do. The crank was fsa but for 2018 they are using shimano. The bike dealer told me that for $50/installed he would change it to shimano 105 which isn't bad.

JGM411

I have a Trek Domane 5.2 and a Giant Defy Advnced sl2. I like the performance of the giant best, but still ride the trek more... a lot more.

kbarch

Giant.
Better value; better looking, too.

ColonelSanders

The Trek Isospeed technology on the front, is only available on the more expensive carbon models and even then, not all Carbon models have it on the front.


What Trek does to muddy the water here, is use the term "Isospeed Fork" for when it is just a stock standard carbon fork that can be found on many road bikes.


Also it has been said that the Isospeed rear on the aluminium bikes, is not as advanced as that found on the more expensive carbon models.


Despite me saying the above, the Aluminium Domane would still be a good aluminium road bike.


Test rides would tell so much more than forum speculation by people who have never ridden any of these bikes, but with that disclaimer said, in Aluminium I would most likely favour the Emonda over the Domane, but if it was the high end carbon version of each, I would likely favour the Domane in that instance.


Have you determined if you want disc brakes or not?

dgunay

Try all of them, pick the one that feels best.

If all feel great, go with the best looking one (for you)

If you think all of them look great, go with the cheapest one.

I'd choose caliper brakes over disc (especially over Giant's hybrid disc brakes), if you only are a weekend warrior and don't ride in the rain. No reason to add weight if you are not going to use 100% potential of it. If you ride in the rain, then definitely go with the disc brakes.

I know there are too many "ifs" in this post because there are little to no info about your riding style.

McBTC

Check out the Giant geo... even the cranks are measured in inches. How American can you get? I've had several MTBs but a Giant was my first and only full suspension off-road bike and we both took a beating. Like Trek, Giant is a great brand. The SL you're talking about I think is Giant's 'comfort' line so... that sounds promising.

SethAZ 

This. Those bikes will come with wheels that no 300lb guy should be riding. If the Trek web page photos are correct, that Domane wheels have 24 spokes, which just isn't enough for your size. I'm just a hair under your weight (currently around 285 and falling) and I ride on 32h fore and aft, and I don't consider them overbuilt. They're fine, but had they been offered in 36h for the rear I would have taken it. The Giant has 28h rear wheel, but still, you should get 32h if you possibly can. Not saying there aren't heavy folks out there riding 28h or weaker wheels, but they shouldn't be. I know forum naysayers may arise and argue with this, and I'll just ignore them.

If you buy through the shop then at least see if they'll make a deal with you where they swap out the stock wheels for something stronger. Or else go with one of the online (or local) custom wheelbuilders, tell them how much you weigh, what kind of riding you do, and whatever else they ask for, and let them advise you on a suitable set of durable and yet enjoyable wheels. Unfortunately most of the product lineups and marketing in the industry are aimed squarely at folks weighing like a hundred pounds or more less than we do.

Afdica

Why do you like the performance of the Defy more.......yet you ride the Domane a lot more??

Xicala

Interesting. So why do you ride the trek more? Thanks in advance!

Xicala

you are so correct, Iso is for the rear not the front. THANKS!!!

Xicala

Sorry, I live in sunny/smoggy Los Angeles, California. I am more of a weekend warrior who wants to start training daily. Weekend rides will include uphill/downhill terrain with the new bike.

Xicala

awesome info, thanks in advance. Making a huge mental note on it. Actually, doing a screen shot of this one.

Iride01 

I'd buy the bike you like after riding all you can. The point on the wheels and rider weight might be a good one, but I'd buy the bike and then if you do have problems with wheels, you can get stronger wheelsets for not much more money. 150 to 300 bucks will get some decent ones that are name brands and strong.

Oh, my son has a Trek Emonda ALR 4 with Tiagra and he thinks it's great. But if it's in your budget, I'd definitely go for the shimano 105 5800 groupset or better.

SethAZ 

Note: there are some good, strong, cheap wheelsets out there. What I'm doing isn't a recommendation, since I'm spending more money than strictly necessary if all one wants is a decent-enough set of durable wheels that will survive being ridden by a superclyde. With that being said...

I'm actually building some custom wheels myself that should be even tougher than what I've got on the bike at the moment. The Chinese carbon rims just passed through customs and will be here in a day or so, but I haven't ordered the hubs and spokes yet. The rims are 46mm deep of that curved aero shape, and are 28mm wide, which will better fit the 32mm tires I'm riding now and the 35mm tires I'll be trying next. I went with 36 spokes both front and rear. I probably should have gone 32 spokes for the front, which would have given me more hub options.

For now I'm going to order White Industries CLD hubs, which are high quality disc hubs that come in a 36 hole offering. The spokes will be of the stronger Sapim models such as CX-Sprint for the front and Sapim Force for the rear (or maybe DT Swiss equivalents, but Bike Hub Store gives you a discount if you order hubs and spokes from them, and they don't carry DT Swiss).

Some may scoff and say why bother with an aero rim or spokes and then put 36 spokes on them, but my desire is for a set of wheels with good components and as much weight and aero benefits as I can, while balancing this against the reality that even if I dropped another 60 pounds I'd still be well into the clydesdale category and above the weight limits most companies design bike stuff for. My calculations based on listed component weights predict that this wheelset will weigh the same or slightly less than the Stan's Grail set I'm on now, while also being stronger, wider, more aero, and with higher quality components. It should be a great set of wheels.

Also, I disagree with whoever said don't go with disc brakes. If you get a bike with disc brakes it will probably also support wider tires. As a "cyclist of size" you will want to go with the widest tires, within reason, that your frame and fork will allow. Trust me on this one. I've been through the transition at this "superclyde" weight from 23mm tires to 25mm tires, added 28mm to the rear of my previous bike even though it barey fit, and now I'm at 32mm on the Lynskey, and will try the 35mm tubeless when these wear out. Each and every step up in width has provided noticeable, even dramatic benefits in terms of both ride quality, and also reduced the potential for damage to the bike or wheels of impacts with things like potholes, rocks or ridges on the road, short curbs leading onto sidewalks, etc. If you could ride some 32mm high quality tires on your new bike it would behoove you to give it a try, and that will be more likely possible with a bike with disc brakes. Also, disc brakes stop a bike more powerfully, and at our size that's not a trivial matter. Lastly, with disc brakes you can be free in the future to try wheel rim designs that don't have to make provision for a brake track. This is a seriously nice benefit when you consider things like carbon rims, for which braking with rim brakes has always presented certain issues. Even now, with well-designed solutions to handle those issues, you still have to worry about brake track wear and whatnot on those expensive rims that you simply avoid altogether with disc brakes.

Unless they create new "superclyde" weight categories in bike racing you or I will never be racers, so be careful listening to guys who want you to design their own dream racing bike. Guys like us want to go fast too, but we also have to have bikes that are comfortable and that we won't crush or break as we get more powerful.