Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 review | Road Bike of the Year winner

Giant’s latest generation of its endurance-focused Defy got sportier, smoother and lighter at the flagship SL level, and this Pro model is just as impressive for a lot less cash.

The original Defy, released in 2008, was Giant’s take on delivering road-race performance and geometry in a package that would appeal to non-elite level racers. Essentially, bringing the heart and soul of the legendary TCR race bike to the rest of us.

For every iteration since, Giant has stuck steadfastly to the Defy’s road-focused roots. Meanwhile, plenty of its rivals, including the Specialized Roubaix, Trek’s Domane and even Cannondale’s Synapse, have embraced a more all-road outlook, taking elements of gravel and meshing them with a road-bike approach.

The latest Defy doubles down on its road roots, and while Giant has upped the tyre clearance to 38mm, that’s more about running modern wider road tyres with mudguards, as opposed to squeezing in a set of gravel tyres.

The Giant Defy is our Road Bike of the Year for 2024

The Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 is our Road Bike of the Year winner for 2024, also winning the Endurance Bike of the Year award in the process.

Head to our Road Bike of the Year announcement to find out why – and to see the rest of our winners. We'll also be publishing all 54 reviews from our test over the next month – head to the Bike of the Year 2024 hub for more.

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 frameset details

The Advanced Pro level Giant Defy frameset follows the same design and geometry as the Advanced SL-level bike.

However, while the SL frame has a race-bike baiting 785g weight, the Pro uses a more affordable carbon-fibre mix. It's heavier, but still comes in lighter than the previous-generation SL model at 860g (claimed, in a size medium).

It shares the same Advanced SL-grade fork at 345g (claimed). The previous-generation fork was said to weigh 406g.

The Advanced Pro is still a seriously light frameset and it all adds up to a total weight of 8.48kg (with two bottle cages and an out-front mount).

The Defy's Lauf (8.08kg) and Canyon (7.98kg) 2024 Bike of the Year endurance bike category rivals are both lighter, but they are £959 and £1,500 more expensive, respectively.

The Specialized Roubaix SL8 Comp (£5,000) tips the scales at 9.17kg in a 58cm, and Cinelli’s new Pressure ADR, at £3,799, weighs 9.18kg.

The frame also gets much more attention in the way of aerodynamics. The head tube – and its junction with the top tube and down tube – use similar shapes and surfacing as the aero Giant Propel (albeit less extreme).

The fork legs get an aero-shaped leading edge and a flat back. The shape at the back of the seatstays is similar.

The seat tube again has that signature flat-back profile, and the down tube resembles a chopped-tail aerofoil shape.

The idea was to make the Defy a pure road ride with the ability to be raced, but with a focus on comfort and stability.

Some of this can be attributed to the D-Fuse seatpost and bar, and some to the use of larger tubeless tyres.

Plenty, however, will come from the frame design, with its skinny flattened and dropped seatstays, sculpted seat tube and slender fork – all of which are designed to absorb road buzz.

Even though it’s a lightweight frame, Giant hasn’t skimped on practicality.

Unlike both the Lauf and Canyon bikes in this category, Giant has included mudguard mounts on the Defy (with a removable rear bridge). Giant also makes a specific set of fenders, the RGX38 (£54.99).

Giant has stuck with press-fit for its bottom bracket, so there appears to be confidence in the standard even if many brands are shifting towards a threaded design.

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 geometry

The Defy's geometry hits the sweet spot between endurance and race bikes with its 72.5-degree head angle and 73-degree seat tube angle.

The 58.6mm trail means quick steering responses like a race bike. However, the 596mm stack is taller than a typical race bike, although it's 10mm lower than the older bike and lower than most of its endurance bike rivals.

By comparison, Canyon’s similarly sporty Endurace has a 611mm stack in a size large.

The reach is also longer on the Defy than the average endurance design at 392.9mm – the Canyon is 387mm.

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 specification

The Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 comes with a raft of Giant’s own parts.

A Giant Aerolight stem routes the brake hoses and gear cables under and into the head tube. It clamps an ergonomically shaped D-Fuse alloy bar.

This provides a flattened D-shape on the tops, and is comfortable to hold for long, steady climbs.

The compact reach of 72mm is balanced by the longer 110mm stem. The 44cm width (centre-to-centre) on my size-large test bike broadens at the base of the drops, thanks to the 8-degree outward flare.

At the back, Giant specs its D-fuse carbon seatpost, slimming and flattening in profile through its top third (just below the saddle clamp).

It’s a smart design that offers significant flex at the saddle, making for a smooth-riding rear end that’s a match for the Roubaix Comp’s more elaborate low-set clamp system.

It’s topped with a short-shaped Giant Fleet SL saddle; its flat profile and minimal but multi-density padding brings comfort without bulk (although saddle comfort is very subjective).

The bike rolls on Giant’s SLR 2 36 Carbon Disc wheelset. With a depth of 36mm, the wheels feature a hookless design with a progressive 22mm internal width.

The SLR hubs use lighter hub shells than the previous-generation wheels. The three-pawl freehub has a 30-tooth ratchet for an engagement angle of 12 degrees. Sapim Sprint spokes complete the build for a claimed weight of 1,535g a pair.

The wheels are backed with a two-year warranty and, aftermarket, would set you back more than £700.

In comparison, the £5,000 Roubaix gets DT G540 alloy rims on Specialized hubs, at a touch over 1,750g a pair (claimed). The £3,799 Cinelli’s alloy Mavic Ksyrium wheelset comes in at a claimed 1,790g.

The Lauf Úthald’s Zipp 303S wheels and the Canyon Endurace’s DT Swiss ERC1400 hoops are more competitive, but the latter is on a bike retailing at £1,500 more.

The wheels are wrapped in 700x32c Giant Gavia Fondo 1 tyres, measuring 33.5mm wide.

The textured tread is aimed at adding all-weather grip and the tyres come set up tubeless from the factory.

The drivetrain is Shimano’s latest mechanical 105 R7100 groupset. This new 12-speed, cable-driven group is impressive and Shimano’s top-end mechanical groupset on sale today. The gearing is ideal for endurance riding – pairing a 50/34T chainset and wide 11-36t cassette.

Some might think of mechanical 105 as a bit ‘low rent’, but it’s a superb groupset – accurate, smooth and ergonomically excellent. It’s easily the equal of the mechanical Ultegra R8020 groupset the previous-generation model sported.

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 ride impressions

The range-topping Defy Advanced SL0 has previously impressed me, especially with its race-bike low weight of 7.52kg. With this £8,000-cheaper model, weighing in at a full kilo more, I expected the thrills to be muted.

I noticed that extra mass on longer climbs, although the difference is hardly worth complaining about when the Advanced Pro 2 model costs so much less.

The Fondo 1 tyres don’t have the same sprightly nature as the Cadex tyres on the SL 0, or the zip of the Continental GP5000 S TRs on the Canyon Endurace.

They do provide superb grip in poor conditions, though. On one rain-sodden test ride, I still had the confidence in the grip to go full-tilt into corners, while the big volume simply swallows up and softens the rough edges of poor surfaces and pothole edges.

I (and I suspect many others) can accept a little loss of pace when the trade-off is such a high level of comfort and grip.

The ride position is in the sweet spot between sporty and comfortable – it's only 15mm taller than a TCR and 9mm shorter in the same size.

It makes for a bike that can be very quick when you want, but is also calm and relaxed when you want to sit up and take a breather.

The steering is quick and responsive, making the bike a stunning descender. When you add that nimble feel to the grippy, big-volume, buzz-reducing tyres, plus the outstanding power and feel of the 105 brakes, it becomes incredibly confidence-inspiring.

The swift, accurate gear shifts are also a boon, and a frameset that blends compliance where you want it with high stiffness where you need it makes for a remarkable bike to ride.

Point-to-point, over varied terrain, the Defy is about as quick as they come. It’s race-bike fast on rolling terrain, no slouch on the flat (and with a faster tyre, it’d be even better), while it’s extremely good on prolonged climbs and descents.

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 bottom line

Mid-priced endurance bikes are usually taken to be the cruiser option, steady distance bikes – comfortable, versatile and sensible without drama.

The Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 meets this criteria, but without losing the excitement.

It handles as quick as a given race bike, but layers on handling stability and compliance. This translates into ride confidence and, therefore, real-world speed.

It doesn’t have the light-gravel/all-road versatility of some of its rivals (stand up Lauf and Specialized), but as an endurance bike focused on the road, it's almost without peer.

The Canyon Endurace runs its close, but it notably lacks mudguard mounts and can’t quite match the Defy’s overall smoothness.

This light and fast bike is a class leader and outstrips rivals costing much more. If you're seeking your next endurance road bike, I can’t think of a better place to start (and finish) looking.