Giant Defy Advanced SL0 is a smooth operator that goes the extra mile

Owen Rogers finds Giant’s range-topping endurance bike does exactly what it says in the tin, but is it exciting?

Giant Defy Advanced SL0
(Image credit: Future)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

Giant’s promise that the Defy is lighter, faster and more efficient holds true, and you can add comfort and good looks to those characteristics too. The Defy is a fabulous endurance bike that delivers brilliantly.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Comfort

  • +

    Lightweight - just over 7kg

  • +

    Looks

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Price

  • -

    Less than sharp handling

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

The endurance bike category is a long-established niche in the road bike sector, with rideability the key attribute for those of us who have finally accepted that we’re not going to make it to the WorldTour. 

Giant’s Defy, which has occupied a corner of this market for a decade, recently underwent a facelift, with the Taiwanese brand creating a bike, ‘specifically engineered for endurance road riding, delivering a smooth and efficient ride quality that minimises fatigue on long rides’.

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