Defy Endurance Road Bike | Giant Bicycles Slovenská republika

The next generation endurance road bike

Defy is for going longer. It’s for climbing higher, riding faster, and doing it all with confidence and smooth control. It’s for reaching your limit and blowing past it.

This fifth generation Defy range takes everything riders love about it—namely its unbeatable blend of lightweight efficiency and smooth compliance—and levels up. It’s now lighter, smoother and more efficient. It’s the perfect companion for an all-day sportive, an ambitious gran fondo, or an epic solo day on challenging roads.

defy endurance bike photographed in studio

The Blueprint for Defy

One of the hallmarks of Defy is a commitment to improving performance without overcomplicating it. Based on market feedback over the years—plus input received from top pros who have raced Defy bikes at events like Paris-Roubaix—the development team chose not to rely on shock absorbers, bushings and other add-ons used in many endurance road bikes.

LIGHTER WEIGHT

The frame for the flagship series of the new range, the Defy Advanced SL, is a feathery 785g (medium, no hardware), weighing a full 195g (19.9 percent) less than the previous generation’s top-of-the-line Defy Advanced Pro frameset. Tests show that the new frame also boasts 28 percent greater pedaling efficiency. At the front end, the new fork used on the new Defy Advanced SL and Defy Advanced Pro series weighs 350g, 15 percent lighter than the previous generation. And the new Contact SLR D-Fuse handlebar is now 8 percent lighter.

Details Matter

It’s the raw carbon fiber layup (carbon sheet) that’s handcrafted in Giant’s own factory. It’s the detailed layup schedule, using up to 132 intricately shaped swaths of composite to meet specific weight and stiffness parameters. It’s the touch points and components, all designed and integrated for endurance road performance.

Key Performance Factors

Functional Simplicity

Free of cumbersome gimmickry, the frameset is one of the lightest in its category. With a perfect balance of high-performance reactivity and all-day comfort, it offers a “less is more” experience for modern endurance road riding.

ENGINEERED COMPLIANCE

Advanced-grade composite frame and fork are specifically engineered for endurance road riding, delivering a smooth and efficient ride quality that minimizes fatigue on long rides. The new D-Fuse components work together to further absorb road shocks and vibrations.

TOTAL CONTROL

New D-Fuse handlebar features ergonomic shaping and an 8-degree flare for comfort and control on all-day rides. Wider rims across all series are optimized for high-volume tubeless tires (up to 38mm), providing predictable handling and stability from asphalt to cobbles.

D-FUSE TECHNOLOGY

CONTROLLED COMPLIANCE

Each new Defy features integrated components with a focus on compliance. The first is the D-Fuse composite seatpost, created by Giant a decade ago and now commonly used by other brands. Originally used for Giant’s pro cyclocross racers, D-Fuse seatpost technology made its way to Defy bikes in 2018.

The heart of the design is a D-shaped composite shaft that absorbs shocks and adds a small amount of flexing action (up to 7mm). This significantly reduces the energy of bumps and vibrations that travel up through one of the bike’s key contact points, the saddle. Testing shows that the new Defy Advanced SL frameset and seatpost produce 42 percent greater compliance (combined) than the previous generation Defy Advanced Pro series.

This technology is also applied to the front of the bike with new D-Fuse handlebars. The bars use similar D-shaped composite tubing on the tops, which creates greater downward compliance while at the same time increasing upward stiffness. This means you get shock-absorbing qualities and also better efficiency for hard, out-of-the-saddle efforts like sprinting or climbing. The new D-Fuse SLR handlebar, which comes on Defy Advanced SL and select Defy Advanced Pro models, delivers 40 percent more compliance compared to the previous generation.

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Advanced SL & Advanced Composite

Two Levels of Carbon Layup to Choose from

Advanced SL Composite

Professional Grade raw carbon fiber is woven in our composite factory to produce our lightest, stiffest and highest quality frames. This is the technology used by Giant’s pro racers in almost every cycling discipline. These frames feature the most advanced engineering and construction methods.

Advanced Composite

High-performance grade raw carbon material is used to produce this custom frame material in our own composite factory with a high stiffness-to-weight ratio. The front triangle is assembled and molded as one continuous piece in a proprietary manufacturing process called Modified Monocoque Construction.