18 Defy Advance 2, 19 Defy Advance 2 or 16 Felt AR5?
#1
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18 Defy Advance 2, 19 Defy Advance 2 or 16 Felt AR5?
HELP!! I am a Felt Fan but also like the ride of the Giant Defy line. I am converting to a road bike after only 3-4 months of Fitness bike riding and need some advice.
All 3 bikes ride and feel great. i understand all will have to be dialed in over some time in the saddle, but i want to do this only one time. I like the Defy line of bike and it would be great for long rides but does anyone have any tips or suggestions on the 2016 Felt AR5? I test rode this one as well and it felt great and had a great price, less than 1600.
Rides would be 10-20 miles during week and 30 plus on weekends with weather permitting.
I also plan on training indoors in the coming weeks as the weather is changing as well.
Suggestions and advice are appreciated.
All 3 bikes ride and feel great. i understand all will have to be dialed in over some time in the saddle, but i want to do this only one time. I like the Defy line of bike and it would be great for long rides but does anyone have any tips or suggestions on the 2016 Felt AR5? I test rode this one as well and it felt great and had a great price, less than 1600.
Rides would be 10-20 miles during week and 30 plus on weekends with weather permitting.
I also plan on training indoors in the coming weeks as the weather is changing as well.
Suggestions and advice are appreciated.
#2
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Felt and defy is slightly different style of riding.
defy is endurance bike and felt AR5 is aero bike so probably more like racing oriented bike.
when I see cassette felt has 12-25 and 18 defy has 11x32 and 19 defy has 11-34.
if you ride hills, 12x25 cassette will not be easy ( I got new road bike a few months ago and the bike is racing oriented bike with 11x25. My neighborhood has many steep hills and it was hard so I changed cassette to 11x30).
Defy vs AR5
if you need long range riding, Defy might be more comfortable since it’s Endurance bike.
if you need better brake performance, Defy’s disk brake will benefit.
Also felt components might be 5800 105 components vs new 7000 105 components if it matters to you.
Looks like defy might fit better for you but if you are felt fan AR5 is not bad choice.
personally, I might go with AR5 since I like aero bike but probably change some components such as cassette etc....
18 defy vs 19 defy
I don’t really compare between two but looks like cassette is only different.
cassette is not expensive parts and easy to replace so if you can get 18 defy for cheaper price, 18 defy will be better unless you have specific color preference haha.
black Friday is coming so you might find many close out deals. Good luck.
defy is endurance bike and felt AR5 is aero bike so probably more like racing oriented bike.
when I see cassette felt has 12-25 and 18 defy has 11x32 and 19 defy has 11-34.
if you ride hills, 12x25 cassette will not be easy ( I got new road bike a few months ago and the bike is racing oriented bike with 11x25. My neighborhood has many steep hills and it was hard so I changed cassette to 11x30).
Defy vs AR5
if you need long range riding, Defy might be more comfortable since it’s Endurance bike.
if you need better brake performance, Defy’s disk brake will benefit.
Also felt components might be 5800 105 components vs new 7000 105 components if it matters to you.
Looks like defy might fit better for you but if you are felt fan AR5 is not bad choice.
personally, I might go with AR5 since I like aero bike but probably change some components such as cassette etc....
18 defy vs 19 defy
I don’t really compare between two but looks like cassette is only different.
cassette is not expensive parts and easy to replace so if you can get 18 defy for cheaper price, 18 defy will be better unless you have specific color preference haha.
black Friday is coming so you might find many close out deals. Good luck.
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If you can get the 2019 Defy Advanced for a decent price, that would be my choice. Giant has made some changes for the 2019 model to improve comfort. It also has more tire clearance and can fit 32mm tires(32mm is the width I start to feel fairly confident on gravel.) I like the 34t cassette, too.
The 2018 Giant and that Felt are nice, as well. Gearing on the Felt is too road racy for me though.
The 2018 Giant and that Felt are nice, as well. Gearing on the Felt is too road racy for me though.
Last edited by Pendergast; 10-21-18 at 03:39 PM.
#4
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Felt and defy is slightly different style of riding.
defy is endurance bike and felt AR5 is aero bike so probably more like racing oriented bike.
when I see cassette felt has 12-25 and 18 defy has 11x32 and 19 defy has 11-34.
if you ride hills, 12x25 cassette will not be easy ( I got new road bike a few months ago and the bike is racing oriented bike with 11x25. My neighborhood has many steep hills and it was hard so I changed cassette to 11x30).
Defy vs AR5
if you need long range riding, Defy might be more comfortable since it’s Endurance bike.
if you need better brake performance, Defy’s disk brake will benefit.
Also felt components might be 5800 105 components vs new 7000 105 components if it matters to you.
Looks like defy might fit better for you but if you are felt fan AR5 is not bad choice.
personally, I might go with AR5 since I like aero bike but probably change some components such as cassette etc....
18 defy vs 19 defy
I don’t really compare between two but looks like cassette is only different.
cassette is not expensive parts and easy to replace so if you can get 18 defy for cheaper price, 18 defy will be better unless you have specific color preference haha.
black Friday is coming so you might find many close out deals. Good luck.
defy is endurance bike and felt AR5 is aero bike so probably more like racing oriented bike.
when I see cassette felt has 12-25 and 18 defy has 11x32 and 19 defy has 11-34.
if you ride hills, 12x25 cassette will not be easy ( I got new road bike a few months ago and the bike is racing oriented bike with 11x25. My neighborhood has many steep hills and it was hard so I changed cassette to 11x30).
Defy vs AR5
if you need long range riding, Defy might be more comfortable since it’s Endurance bike.
if you need better brake performance, Defy’s disk brake will benefit.
Also felt components might be 5800 105 components vs new 7000 105 components if it matters to you.
Looks like defy might fit better for you but if you are felt fan AR5 is not bad choice.
personally, I might go with AR5 since I like aero bike but probably change some components such as cassette etc....
18 defy vs 19 defy
I don’t really compare between two but looks like cassette is only different.
cassette is not expensive parts and easy to replace so if you can get 18 defy for cheaper price, 18 defy will be better unless you have specific color preference haha.
black Friday is coming so you might find many close out deals. Good luck.
The 18 defy is around 1500 and the 19 deft is 2000! Most of my riding would be on county roads as the city riding is terrible in my area.
#5
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If you can get the 2019 Defy Advanced for a decent price, that would be my choice. Giant has made some changes for the 2019 model to improve comfort. It also has more tire clearance and can fit 32mm tires(32mm is the width I start to feel fairly confident on gravel.) I like the 34t cassette, too.
The 2018 Giant and that Felt are nice, as well. Gearing on the Felt is too road racy for me though.
The 2018 Giant and that Felt are nice, as well. Gearing on the Felt is too road racy for me though.
The drawback if the felt is that it’s the 2016 model but other than that it looks and feels good just not a fan of the red trim. The 19 giant is slick with the grey and black color way.
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If you need unpaved road capability, 19 defy is the one since the other poster said new 19 defy can handle 32mm tire.
if you only ride good paved road, you need to chose between 18 defy vs 16 felt AR5.
18 defy vs 16 felt AR5
I guess, felt might be lighter than 18 defy (not sure about weight of both bikes.)
if you want better brake performance, 18 defy might be the one.
price difference is $200-300 so if you go with 18 defy, you will have extra money to upgrade wheelset.
Since defy is endurance bike, it should be more comfortable than felt especially longer distant riding.
negotiate with felt store to match 18 defy price. If you can do, I might go with felt AR5 (also I don’t often do long distant ride and prefer speed so that’s why I might go with felt). Felt AR5 (racing oriented) and defy (endurance) is different so you can make the decision from these aspects.
this video from GCN might help your decision.
if you only ride good paved road, you need to chose between 18 defy vs 16 felt AR5.
18 defy vs 16 felt AR5
I guess, felt might be lighter than 18 defy (not sure about weight of both bikes.)
if you want better brake performance, 18 defy might be the one.
price difference is $200-300 so if you go with 18 defy, you will have extra money to upgrade wheelset.
Since defy is endurance bike, it should be more comfortable than felt especially longer distant riding.
negotiate with felt store to match 18 defy price. If you can do, I might go with felt AR5 (also I don’t often do long distant ride and prefer speed so that’s why I might go with felt). Felt AR5 (racing oriented) and defy (endurance) is different so you can make the decision from these aspects.
this video from GCN might help your decision.
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Here's an article from April 2018 announcing the release of the 7000 group: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/04/shim...-what-to-know/
The 2018 defy had already been out for a good 6 months or so by then. The question is what the 2019 defy will have. I'd guess 7000, but I don't know that for sure.
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I'm pretty sure the 18 defy was out well before the 7000 components were announced.
Here's an article from April 2018 announcing the release of the 7000 group: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/04/shim...-what-to-know/
The 2018 defy had already been out for a good 6 months or so by then. The question is what the 2019 defy will have. I'd guess 7000, but I don't know that for sure.
Here's an article from April 2018 announcing the release of the 7000 group: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/04/shim...-what-to-know/
The 2018 defy had already been out for a good 6 months or so by then. The question is what the 2019 defy will have. I'd guess 7000, but I don't know that for sure.
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From the photos on Giant's website, the 2019's brifters & derailleurs look like R7000 and the 2018's look like 5800. They both appear to have the same older style crankset.
#13
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Well things changed since my last post. My first road bike will be the Felt VR5. I changed directions for a couple of reasons: 1. versatility, the VR5 and the Defy provided better Versatility with the ability to get wider tires and disc brakes. 2. price point - i got a pretty good deal on the VR5. 3. Color - the bike has a color way is from Europe so there should not be too many in my area.
I pick it up today and will post some pics when i get some time. thanks for all of the input and advice.
I pick it up today and will post some pics when i get some time. thanks for all of the input and advice.