Haff

I've tried contacting Giant and an LBS, but in two weeks nobody has come back with any information. I'm hoping somebody on here knows what the max rider weight can be on these bikes. I guess I should probably get two answers. The max as built, and the max with better wheels on it.

Thanks!

Podagrower

I can't find the chart now, of course. I think the limit was 300 or 325 (this might have changed with the new frame, not sure). I've been riding my Advanced 1 from 290 pounds down to 270 this year. I broke 1 spoke nipple on the non drive side in the back, which I've chaulked up to "just one of those things", I don't think it's my fluffiness that caused it. I am riding on 25mm tires, 23mm are a bit on the small side for me, 28mm GP4000SII do not fit on the rear of this frame.

JerrySTL

I've been up to 230 lbs and have been riding an Advanced since 2010 which means I'm nearing 20K miles on it. The only problem was the factory wheels. They were a set of reduced spoke Mavic CXP-21s. They were too flexy for me so I swapped them out for Mavic Open Pro rims on Ultegra hubs with 32 spokes. I also ride on 700x25 tires.

dr_lha

Denial, it's not just a river in Egypt.

dagray

pick up a 32 spoke rear wheel and swap it with the one on the Giant. You should be just fine if you are under 400 pounds. My bike shop sells them. Me I ride an Orbea Orca and am 360 pounds. The Orca came with 32 spoke wheels and I haven't had issue other than occasionally tightening spokes after hitting a pretty good bump (wasn't able to slow as much as I would have liked crossing train tracks).

Jarrett2

Here's a spitball for you. So apparently Giant makes Specialized's frames for them. The Specialized Roubaix has a max of 240 lbs. The Defy Advanced is Giant's version of the Roubaix. Ipso facto, maybe a Giant Defy Advanced limit is around 240 lbs as well.

Of course, I've ridden my Roubaix as heavy as 285 lbs and no problems as long as I have good strong (well built 32 spoke) wheels on it.

JerrySTL

Compare the Defy against the Roubaix side-by-side and you'll see that they aren't the same frame. For one thing, the Defy doesn't have the Zerts in the frame.

Often such things as weight limits are more about lawyers.

Jarrett2

Yep, I've ridden both. Not the same frame. Just same manufacturer and class of frame. And yes, I've found the published weights to be CYA's and warranty limiters more so than actual structural limits in my experience.

dr_lha

I thought Merida made Specialized Frames. Given that they own 49% of Specialized that would make the most sense.

I'm not sure that your logic is applicable, even if the two frames were made by the same factory though, given that the designs are different.

Jarrett2

Oh really? Several folks told me Giant made their frames. Would be nice to know for sure.

dr_lha

It probably depends on what vintage and what bike. Certainly I believe that Giant made frames for Specialized in the past. However, I thought that Merida's investment in Specialized essentially meant that they took over manufacturing. Merida are pretty huge (although nobody has heard of them in the USA as they don't sell their own brand bikes here), up there with Giant in terms of size I believe.

EDIT: Online sources suggest that Specialized bikes are made by (or have been made by) Merida, Giant and Ideal Bike (never heard of the last one). Trying to guess who made your particular bike is probably not possible.

Haff

The warranty limiter is what I worry about. I would hate to crush a $2k bike and then have no way to get it back. I'm currently somewhere between 280 and 290 lbs, so the 240 number would be unfortunate, especially since not all the roads near me are without bumps and when its hill time I'll be putting a lot of oomph on the pedals.

I'm not sure I'll even like the thing, I need to find a place to test ride it too.

dr_lha

Probably the best way to deal with this is to talk to the LBS about it, as they would be the ones handling a warrantee return on it if you broke it.

Haff

Yeah, The first shop isn't returning emails apparently, time to cast the net a little wider. Also a little surprised that Giant themselves hasn't answered my emailed question.

Jarrett2

It's a great bike at a great price, not much not to like.

When I asked my LBS what the weight limit on my Roubaix was, they said no limit. I had already looked and knew it was 240 lbs, but the guy that sold it to me told me that weight was not an issue. And since they are the ones that do the warranty, I took them at their word. 2600 miles later, the bike is holding up well. I ride hard on some really bad country roads as well. I've accidentally come off a two foot curb on it. Was forced to take it down a beat up gravel road for several miles on a mini tour, the carbon had no problems with any of that. The wheels and tubes are where the issues can come in, not typically the frame/fork.

dr_lha

I'm not sure how well my LBS answers emails either. Tried calling them?

They're a massive global corporation, I'm not surprised in the slightest!

Haff

Haven't called yet. But i will later in the week if needed. As for Giant, as a massive corp I kinda expected them to have a public relations group. Maybe they expect the LBS to manage that.

dr_lha

How much email do you think they receive? It annoys me that companies have these support forms you can fill out on their web pages, when you clearly are never going to get an answer, but it's pretty much par for the course. Someone told them "you have to have email", but they're not willing to invest in the staff needed to support it.

Haff

How is this for good timing... Giant just answered my question I posted to them on Facebook. They said "Giant does not have rider specific weight maximums listed but the product team has communicated 300 pounds. Thank you for your question and let us know how we can help further."

dr_lha

My confidence in humanity is somewhat restored!

RubeRad

I agree with most above; make sure you have 32 or maybe even 36 spokes in the rear, and don't worry about it!

Orbea makes some beautiful bikes, but Orca is kind of an unfortunate name for a clyde bike!

dagray

Hey now I can joke about being the great white whale Orca may be big animals, but they are nimble and fast.

scrming

I started riding my Defy Advanced when I was around the same weight at you and had no issues what so ever. Absolutely love my Defy... then again I love ALL my Giants...

sstorkel

The latest PDF product manual available online would seem to suggest that 275lbs is the limit on "High Performance Road" bikes, which almost certainly includes the Defy Advanced. The 300 pound limit is for everything else they sell. Even with these numbers their warranty, like everyone's, still allows quite a bit of "wiggle room" to deny claims. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. I can't remember seeing many/any reports of Clydes breaking carbon frames (without crashing)...

scrming

I picked up a left over 2014 Propel a while ago... i was concerned about riding at 250ish pounds... mainly concerned with the wheel... but appears the concern was unfounded!