Upgrade my Defy 4......?

crosstownk · 24-10-2014 10:22pm #1

I've a 2014 Giant Defy 4. I like the bike but I'd also like to upgrade it.

I've been considering just buying a new bike (n+1 and all that) but I probably don't need a carbon frame just yet. I do about 400 to 600km per month. Weekend warrior stuff.

My Defy 4 has 8 speed Shimano Claris (11-32T). It's OK but the differences in ratios is, well, big gaps. I'd like to upgrade the wheels to Campy Sciroccos or Zondas and upgrade the groupset to Shimano 105 5800. Maybe at a cost of €650 which is what the bike cost me last year.

My long term plan is to upgrade the Giant then maybe buy a carbon frame next year, swap the decent bits to the new frame and bring the Giant back to stock as a Winter bike.

Will a 105 groupset be a 'straight swap' for my Claris? I'd like the 32 on the 105 because I'm crap at hills but what about things like BB? Will it swap easily?

Any opinions or suggestions are welcome.

rollingscone · 24-10-2014 10:45pm

N+1.

If you're carbon shy buy a nice steel bike.

crosstownk · 24-10-2014 10:48pm

rollingscone wrote: »

N+1.

If you're carbon shy buy a nice steel bike.

I'm not carbon shy, I'm just trying to upgrade one step at a time.

The sorriest thing I ever did was sell my old Raleigh Road Ace Select 600. Cars, drink and women :mad:

Russman · 25-10-2014 3:08am

If it was me, I'd soldier on with the existing setup until I had saved another €650 ish to go with the €650 planned on the upgrade, and buy a complete new bike when that time arrives. I'd assume (rightly or wrongly) that you'd get more bang for your buck buying a compete bike than essentially spending a lot right now just to put a new gruppo on for the length of time it will take to save the difference. It gets expensive doing it piecemeal, and I'm guessing/predicting that having used 105 on the Defy frame, you won't want to go back to 8spd, even if it is on the "winter" bike.

lukegjpotter · 25-10-2014 9:03am

I've been getting "Upgrade-itus" too. I got the Zondas and want the 105 5800. I've also replaced the brake pad holders, stem and handlebars, which soothed me for a while.

I had a look at the Canyon site. They are selling their Ultimate CF, with new 105 and decent wheels for a lot cheaper than the sum of its parts.

rtmie · 25-10-2014 9:43am

Bear in mind that for in around 1k you should be able to buy a 2015 defy1 or a cube peloton race in an LBS, both of which have 105/5800 and may have other improvements.
If you are comfortable with online your 1k would get you something tasty from roseversand.de , canyon or radon.
I'm assuming you're not planning the bike to work route.
I went the online option and hope to have my Rose Pro SL arriving in next couple of weeks.

browsing · 25-10-2014 10:37am

like other posters here I think you should hold on and just buy a complete new bike when you have the money! in the meantime you could just change the cassette. get a 12-26 or something. the ratios would be a lot closer and you'd still get up hills with a 26-39? if it's a tripple you'd definitely have no problems with a 26. then you can buy a sweet piece of kit when you've more saved!

ted1 · 25-10-2014 10:46am

Sell your bike for 300, add the 650. And that's 950 which will get you a bike listed above

H.E. Pennypacker · 25-10-2014 10:59am

Just a different perspective - its roughly €370 to upgrade your Defy to 5800 from Bike Discount if you just change shifters, front and rear derailleurs, chain and chainset. I'm not sure how brake indexing will work but you might get away with keeping the original calipers for a while. I think it would be hard to go back to 8 speed on a winter bike - if you find it gappy now its really going to bother you when you're used to 11 speed on your summer bike. A good set of wheels is never a bad purchase as you can swap between bikes - you'll probably still want to use them on longer spins on the winter bike (conditions permitting) and such swaps are more straightforward when both bikes can use the same cassette. That'll knock a reasonable amount of weight off the Defy and might allow you to take more time over the purchase of a second bike. Most of the entry level carbons will come with something like Aksiums which are fine but not in the same league as something like Zondas or Racings 3s.

11 speed and decent wheels should make a big difference to your hill climbing, especially if you find the current setup gappy.

Edit €413 for the complete groupset from Merlin

crosstownk · 25-10-2014 1:24pm

Thanks for the replies. Interesting points of view and lots to consider!

rollingscone · 25-10-2014 1:41pm

If you have a separate winter bike you won't have to defile your good bike with mudguards...like...I....just...did.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

slap/dash · 25-10-2014 2:00pm

As people have said, minimise outlay and use money to get a new bike from someone like canyon or rose. I've a rose xeon rs which is very nice alu frame. I'd maybe get some zondas and a cassette that suits you better if I was gonna spend anything, but honestly I'd recommend saving the cash and just investing in a couple of good tyres and other winter consumables.

For all the time you really get out in the winter it's kinda unnecessary IMO to buy new gear now.

crosstownk · 25-10-2014 4:57pm

slap/dash wrote: »

For all the time you really get out in the winter it's kinda unnecessary IMO to buy new gear now.

Agreed. I'll probably wait (and think hard) until early in the new year when my finances will have recovered after Christmas!

crosstownk · 28-10-2014 9:40pm

OK. I'm still thinking but would like some technical info.

Will my current frame (Giant Defy 4) take a Shimano 105 BB? The Giant website lists my stock BB as an 'FSA Cartridge'.

I've had a look at my BB and can see nothing that indicates it's size or type.

Any help or advice appreciated.

EDIT: Sorry if this sounds like a dumb ass question but I did a lot of searching on line and finding compatibility among BBs is confusing.

H.E. Pennypacker · 28-10-2014 10:00pm

crosstownk wrote: »

OK. I'm still thinking but would like some technical info.

Will my current frame (Giant Defy 4) take a Shimano 105 BB? The Giant website lists my stock BB as an 'FSA Cartridge'.

I've had a look at my BB and can see nothing that indicates it's size or type.

Any help or advice appreciated.

EDIT: Sorry if this sounds like a dumb ass question but I did a lot of searching on line and finding compatibility among BBs is confusing.

I've a 2011 Defy 4 that had a square taper BB and that I replaced with a 105 BB. Its very straightforward once you have the right tools.

crosstownk · 28-10-2014 10:09pm

H.E. Pennypacker wrote: »

I've a 2011 Defy 4 that had a square taper BB and that I replaced with a 105 BB. Its very straightforward once you have the right tools.

The non drive side that I can see certainly looks square taper on my bike. So can assume that the BB shell is OK to take a 105 BB?

Assumption 2: The frame on a Defy 0 is identical to other Defy models..........? With the exception of the alu forks on a Defy 5?

H.E. Pennypacker · 28-10-2014 10:25pm

The BB shell will take the 105 BB.

I don't have an in depth knowledge of the Defy range but I think that the frame is common to the non-composite models with the difference being better components on the more expensive models.

My 2011 Defy 4 had a Sora groupset with an FSA square taper crankset and an alloy fork.

crosstownk · 28-10-2014 10:42pm

H.E. Pennypacker wrote: »

The BB shell will take the 105 BB.

Sound.

I'm suffering from what the guys in the musicians forum call GAS (Gear Acquirement Syndrome).

I'm thinking of going with the upgrade at the moment.............

H.E. Pennypacker · 28-10-2014 11:12pm

I upgraded my Defy from Sora to a 105 groupset and very slightly better wheels. It improved it immensely and knocked a bit of weight off it but its no substitute for a new bike. If you're going to keep the Defy then I reckon its worth upgrading but you'll be missing out unless you buy something nice for longer spins.

If you need to buy something soon, you could buy a nice wheelset like Fulcrum Racing 3s/Zondas assuming that they'll take an 8 speed cassette (think HG hubs will take 8 speed upwards) and then you could build something nice next year and put the good wheelset on that. It won't address the 'gappiness' of the 8 speed setup but should improve the ride and maybe help on climbs.

Upgrade my Defy 4......?

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