Rides4Beer

Yup, hydraulic discs and a better wheelset/tires would make a big difference.

For fitness, just keep riding as much/often as you can, keep the pace/effort reasonable and your fitness/endurance will improve as you're able to add more time/distance.

eduskator

What exactly you don't like? I owned the Conduct brake system on my previous bike (Defy Adv. 3) and I liked it. User friendly and effective.

With all the upgrades you are thinking of doing, I believe you should have bought an Advanced Pro right away. It would have given you full hydro brakes, CF wheels & depending on the model, DI2. If I were you, I would run the numbers and make sure it's not cheaper to actually sell your current bike & get a used or new Adv. Pro instead.

dmanthree

Ah, OK. I thought he was talking about performance differences.

D-Fuzz

Congrats on the new-to-you bike. I think you have a good base to start out with, so I wouldn't worry about upgrades for awhile. Just by riding your body will shed several times the weight you want to remove from that bike. I was in your shoes 5 years ago, getting back into cycling after about 20 years being away. One bit of advice I was given when I started was it would take about a year for my legs and my lungs to come to an agreement on things. That proved to be true. It will be difficult to ride everyday because your joints and muscles are going to need time to adapt and recover. For me, it was my knees and muscles around my pelvis (hip flexors, piriformis & psoas muscles) that caused lots of issues as they adapted to the new workload. Once my legs were able to handle longer distances, I needed to work on my cardio so I could start to ride faster. Make sure you get a proper fitting for the bike you have. If you are comfortable on the bike, you will be able to ride longer. Good luck!

esuad

Well the reason I chose an endurance was confort and trying to brake (it's just first impression tho) it fells like I need to bend a lot which gives a bad feeling to my tummy
Well for the advanced pro couldn't find from a bike shop, only people selling online. I wanted to buy from a bike shop that I can rely on.
Btw stock tires are also P-R2 are they really 250gr heavier then GP5000s? Because if they are it would be the best value upgrade.

esuad

Thank you man. I'll start slow

Rides4Beer

Yup, I dropped 280g switching from the stock 32mm Gavia Fondo tires to 28mm GP5000s with latex tubes. Figure a lil less if you use butyl tubes and stay with 32's, but the GP5000s will def be lighter and faster, they're a much better tire.

esuad

I don't have gavia fondo tires. They are P-R3 tires. Couldn't find any weight info which is normal I guess since it depends on the pressure.

Carbonfiberboy 

As said above, adapting to cycling is going to take a while. Don't get discouraged! One usually doesn't achieve full aerobic adaptation for about 7 years. So just do what you can do and keep doing that. One tip from back when I was 50 and just starting cycling again: ride away from home until you're tired. Then ride back. Maybe not right to start with, but like you say, start doing that in a couple months. Increase total weekly distance by about 5%/week. If you have issues you can't figure out on your own, come back and ask the folks here.

eduskator

The wheels are P-R2, but your tires are P-SL1.

Did a quick research, and Giant claims that the tire weighs 200g. On their side, it looks like the GP5000 are a little heavier. The difference between the 2 can't be 250g though.

surak

Tires are one of the most cost effective items to upgrade, but not because of any weight savings. Lower rolling resistance and improved comfort from more supple tires are.
​
​​​​OP, rather than shave grams off tire weight, consider getting the widest tire you can fit. Wider tires require less minimum pressure than narrower ones to avoid pinch flats, plus they feel more stable, which are both nice to have for someone just starting out.

You can start gram counting when you get to the point when you're looking to shave seconds off of your PB on a categorized climb.

esuad

I just made made a quick research and I think my bike is 2015 :O Either bike shop lied to me or it's different setup and colors for different countrys. Because I have the red, white blue frame and P-R3 tires

Maelochs

If you have TRP Spyre brakes, they are good but not super (and you won't like them if you expect hydro disc performance.) Mine stop me about as well as Ultegra rim brakes.

I wouldn't worry at all about bike weight though .... the only weight that matters for guys like us is bathroom-scale weight. You could blow $1000 on wheels, tires, new brakes and new shifters.... and gain exactly Zero mph.

One thing always to remember---your muscles grow in recovery, not under load. Not trying to be didactic, but i don't knwo your workout backgeround.

When you ride until your legs are sore, you need a day off. if they are just a little sore, maybe a recovery day---depending on your discipline.

A recovery ride is one where your butt hurts a lot because you are sitting on the saddle and spinning the pedals, instead of pushing the pedals and balancing on the saddle. Recovery rides are super low effort, designed just get a little more blood flowing through your muscles, so they heal and grow faster.

As with any exercise, if you work while you are sore you will kill muscle cells. you will not get stronger or faster .... you will get weaker and sicker.

One of the hardest things for me when I started exercising again was moderating at the gym. On the bike, my lungs and heart kept me slow for a while, but in the gym, my muscles always felt like I had a lot in reserve. As a result, I would do what felt like a solid, strenuous workout ... and then be sore for a week. recovery time was a Lot longer after ten years of sedentary life---even after decades of fitness.

Yo will know what you have left, and how hard you are pushing .... or you will learn fast ... but I would advise setting very loose goals, Nothing kills an exercise plan like burning out in the first month because you thought you could tough it out.

You have a nice bike there. https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/defy-advanced-1-2015

This is the 2020:https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/defy-advanced-1-2020

One big difference weight-wise is the all carbon fork/steerer, which is probably offset by the increased weight of the hydro brakes versus mech. Both are listed with the Giant P-R2 Disc wheelset.I see two weights listed: 2030 grams on this site: https://www.theproscloset.com/produc...-700c-wheelset and 1890 here: https://forums.roadbikereview.com/giant/giant-road-wheelsets-info-weights-263876.htm

This guy spent about $600 on slightly lighter wheels. https://forums.roadbikereview.com/wheels-tires/wheelset-advice-giant-defy-advance-upgrade-361857.htm

If I were you I’d ride for pleasure, and see what’s up in a year or so. Then, if you are still riding a lot, get a leftover 20202 Defy for low dollars.

eduskator

You have the 15. There are some differences between the two years. I hope you did not over pay your bike.

esuad

Paid $1245. Well just talked to the shop he said It's 2015, but sold in 2017. So It's used like 2 and a half year. Hope It's not overpaid I honestly have no clue about prices

SethAZ 

esuad it's easy to get sucked into the upgrade vortex, but consider your current state: you said you're exhausted at the 7th mile of your rides. That's nothing to be ashamed of, btw, and will improve rapidly if you keep riding. The point is that you've got a new (to you) bike, it has what it has, and spending a lot of dough right now isn't going to meaningfully improve your endurance past that 7th mile. Only more riding and conditioning your body will do that. I'd forget all about doing lots of upgrades, or any upgrades (aside from maybe tires) and just ride the bike you have. Ride it a lot, and when you've ridden it a lot and gained a lot of experience with it, and are able to do those longer 25 or 30-mile rides that you want to do, at some point you'll revisit the idea of upgrades, only this time you'll have a much better idea of what you do and don't like about your bike, and what would make the most sense to upgrade.

At the beginning of your cycling conditioning, you're going to see massive improvements over relatively short time. These improvements will come from your own body. They will dwarf what you see on your speedometer due to making upgrades to your equipment. You may as well put the miles in and really get to know your bike, so that when you look into upgrades you'll have an idea what you're upgrading from first of all, and some idea of what an upgrade to something else would actually mean.

I'm unfamiliar with the P R-3 tires personally, but they're probably not bad. Wear them out, then do your comparisons. I've always loved the Conti GP4000s, and now that the GP5000s are out I'm interested in seeing in what ways they are better. I'd second the suggestion made above about going wide. If you want to swap your tires, see how wide that new bike of yours will handle, then put those on. 28mm if you can fit them even. I think you'll be glad you did. Other than that, just lay down some miles, and worry about upgrades later. Your bike sounds fine for this phase of your riding career.

noodle soup

That will change fairly quickly

I had a serious wreck(hit by a truck) several years ago. I was hospitalized for almost 6 weeks, and unable to walk for the four weeks. I lost 35 pounds of weight(I was 6'2" 170lbs) and all my strength. When I started riding again. I could barely maintain 13mph on flat ground, and 10 miles would wipe me out. 90 days later I finished a century in 5:58 . 6 months into my recovery I rode 1438 miles in October.

grizzly59

$3100 for Tiagra? You can do better than that.

eduskator

I wouldn't be able to tell since there are many unknown factors to consider (your area, country, price currency, bike availability, etc.). As long as your bike was maintained properly and is in good condition, it's good.

I personally believe that you have a great bike and that you should continue riding it for a while! You're trying to shave off a few grams by buying expensive components, but keep in mind that you will most likely also lose weight in the process. It is the least expensive way to lighten your ride!

ultrarider7

That's the endurance bike I own and love it! Glad someone else suggested it.

GeneO 

Yeah, probably a bit much. There is a bluebook for bikes that can give you an idea. But forget it and ride!

Caliwild

I have one myself... I must say that the Counterveil technology really helps smooth out the roads. I forget how good it is until I ride it... smoother than my steel bikes even.

esuad

So It's been my third ride today. I'm getting use to the bike and today I achieved 10 miles on a plain route. I realised that climbing changes the ride a lot. With a little climbing I can't even achive half this route. About brakes; I hated these mechanical brakes, every time I'm breaking they sound like I'm scratching a fork to a plate. So I ordered hydraulic brake set since I spared it's money when I buy the bike and also a set of continental 4 seasons tyres (bike shop said gp5000 are good tyres but they go off easier). I leave the wheelset for now as a gift to myself in future as you guys advised [perhaps after losing 15-20 kgs ]. I still can't post the bike due to my lack of entries. I will post it soon and thanks again for every bits of advice by everyone who wrote here.

finally the picture:

rafazx10

When I first started riding, I realized how big of a difference climbing and wind make. Its much more than I previously imagined. Trick is just to keep going, eventually the climb ends.

You seem to be keen into upgrading the bike, what I did when I first started riding was setting goals, most were distance goals, ie. when I get 500 total miles I would get a bike computer. Once I hit 1000 was clipless setup.

noodle soup

Be sure to use resin pads. They are much quieter.