Giant bike frame size

SqualidChimp

SqualidChimp

SqualidChimp

Associate
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
602
Location
Glasgow
I'm 5'8"ish and 29" inside leg. According to Giant's website, this places me in the realms of a small or medium sized frame. I'm sort of worried about the reach/top tube length of the smaller frame, but it still _is_ recommended as a "fit" for me on their website. I've been to 5 local and not so local stockists and none have had the small frame in stock so (inevitably?) the sales staff all except 1 tried to sell me on the medium frame, the exception dude insisted the small would be better for me than the medium. The medium frame's top tube is in contact with the jewels when I stand over it. Stumpy legs are go... The reach on the medium seemed ok, but I'm not an expert. I'd just like to see what the reach was like on a small so I could see if it was the right bike for me.

Apart from frame size, my other decision was trying to decide between the Giant Defy 2 (tiagra setup) or the Giant Defy 1 (105 setup with carbon seat stem, nicer looking welds but otherwise pretty similar).

I quite liked the light green colour of the Defy 1 , but the original red/white/black is still nicer than the silver with blue lettering of the Defy 2. Looks arent everything of course... :)

Any opinions? Bear in mind, where I live either of these nice bikes will probably be stolen within months, so insurance recommendations would be equally well received as well as the other advice. I wish I was kidding. :rolleyes:

The Defy 1 RRP is £999, and the Defy 2 RRP is £799. It's completely likely to get a 10% discount on either of course as standard at most of the bike shops around here, if you ask nicely.

http://www.shopgiant-bicycles.co.uk...green-silver--performance-road-bike.aspx#size

http://www.shopgiant-bicycles.co.uk/3195/products/2013-giant-defy-2-performance-road-bike.aspx
 
Last edited:
I bought the defy 2 in June last year, when it was in the far nicer black/red colour scheme. It's a good bike for the money - I've done about 5000km on it since then and it's been pretty solid. I've had no issues with the tiagra setup, from what i've read there is a slight weight improvement going to 105 and the cabling is under the bar tape so a bit tidier. Not sure it's worth £200 extra tbh, but it's up to you if that matters.

The frame is fab for the money, so is a good basis for any upgrades you might want to do. I ran the stock wheels right through the winter, they do the job but are a bit heavy and not amazingly responsive. But that's pretty standard for bikes at this price point. Also, the stock tyres are crap - ditch them asap. I've recently put some Fulcrum Racing 5s with Continental GP4000s on it and the different is very noticeable. It's like a new bike! Wish i'd swapped the wheels/tyres out sooner.

Sizing wise, I have the medium and am 175cm/5ft 9 tall with a 30" inside leg. It's fine in terms of my leg to pedal reach but as a new road cyclist without much core strength i struggled with the reach a bit on the stock setup. I had a bike fit done about 6 months ago and the one major change was to go from 110mm to 80mm stem - this sorted the reach but the short stem has made the handling twitchy. I'm fine with it now, but it took some getting used to and won't suit everyone to have it set up like that.

Ultimately, that's made me think that perhaps i should have gone for the small frame size as well. I had a similar situation, where they only had the medium in stock and as i was a complete noob i didn't really push the issue.

So imo, given that you are slightly shorter than i am, i would definitely be looking to at least sit on a small frame and see how it feels. If it's comfy and you can keep the stock stem length (or something only slightly shorter/longer) then that would be better. Losing 30mm off the stem like i have had to is a significant change, so if you can avoid that i definitely would.

Hope it helps.
 
Last edited:
I'm sure I saw something somewhere which said the welds were different (smoother/better) on the Defy 1. Am I imagining this? haha anyway... From the website:
Key Upgrades (Over Defy 2):

- Shimano 105 10-speed shifters and derailleurs
-Giant Connect composite seatpost
-Giant P-R2 double wall rims, sealed bearing hubs, DT Swiss Competition butted spokes wheelset

EDIT: tedmaul yeah thanks for the advice. I really need to find one to sit on - some of the dealers were giving me the impression that there were stock issues with the Small, but I had thought that was typical sales tactics of "buy the flippin one I have in stock". Given that the 2014 models will be released in September, I wonder if its even worth waiting?
 
Last edited:
I had a good experience in a slightly further off bike shop today. They let me have a go on a small and a medium giant defy. At first the medium made me feel like I was having to stretch really far (to the point of locking out my elbows) on the drops, whereas the small made me feel that my knees where getting to close to my elbows when riding on the drops. Proper adjustment/setup made the medium feel much better, and I felt the reach was perfect, though while in the standover position I was only able to lift the handlebars up about 2cm. Proper adjustment of the small wasn't as well done (I didnt want to put them through completely setting up the bikes) but I'm sure if the stem was extended by about 3cm the reach on that would be perfect too and this would probably take care of the "knees too close to elbows" thing. In the standover position with the small I could raise the front wheel 5 or 6cm.

I've decided I do want the defy 1, but now feel that either the S or M would be workable with fine setup tuning. How to decide?

Also, they let me have a go on this: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb...t.defy.advanced.1/11830/56794/#specifications but it's a little out of my league right now - very nice and feather light though. :)
 
I'm now thinking small frame again due to the competitive cyclist fit calculator haha... the French fit seems to say Id be suited to the medium frame whereas the other fits suggest small - lol.

Geometry table from Giant website:
25zhyqs.jpg


My "fit" dimensions:
2rpeb03.jpg
 
You seem to be answering your own question here. Sounds like you want the small with a longer stem, I wouldn't jump 3cm straight away though. Making a smaller bike longer is better than making a big bike shorter.

It's hard to decide without riding for a longer period of time. I'm 5' 11" and ride a 56cm Cannondale, would ride a 56cm Felt and obviously then a 53.5cm Giant. At first it did feel long but when I actually feel relatively fit it feels great after small tweaks.

My boss is not far off your height but decides to ride a 51cm Felt whereas some people prefer the 54cm.

I'm assuming you've been to Dales, Thomsons and maybe Pro AM? Pedal Power are through in West Calder if you want a Giant.
 
I'm 5'8" with an inside leg of 29". I recently bought a giant defy to commute on.

After trying a colleagues medium frame I went with the small. To be honest you could probably ride either. It depends on how you want it set up. As a novice rider using it for commuting mostly I went with the smaller frame as it allowed a more relaxed riding position, giving me better vision and stability with weak core muscles. If I was to build a bike purely for racing I'd probably use the medium frame.

I think proper setup makes more difference than a couple of cm frame size.
 
its probably worth your while jumping through to west calder to see me today squalid, im almost certain we have smalls in stock and will do you a better deal than elsewere.

ps you and me are the only 2 people in the world that like the apple green :)
 
Last edited:
If I wasn't set on getting a Giant, that's the bike I'd probably have gone for (although probably the 52cm frame). :) Definitely sitting on the bike and seeing what you are comfortable with is the way to go. As it turns out, either the S or M sized Giant defy would have been fine for me with a little adjustment, but I'm going to go with the Small to save my goolies. :D Also 105 setup rather than Tiagra and a slightly more comfort oriented ride than the Allez. If I was 1" taller I probably would have sided with the M defy. I dont think that weight necessarily means you'd need to go up a frame size, though heavier load on a smaller bike might be more unstable. The only real way to be 100% sure is to go sit on them. Ideally sit on a few of them - different sizes. Different bike companies 54 frame can and will feel totally different sizes.
 
ive got a few local bike shops so il get out and have a look, its a shame i wont be going over to my parents for a couple of months as my dads got 3 road bikes, although hes 1-2" taller than me itl give me some idea, hes got an alluminium cannondale caad 4 winter bike, a cannondale super six Ultegra carbon summer bike and a carbon Look bike, lots of my inheritence gone there :/ lol
 
Last edited:
well im off to check out a few bike shops tomorrow, my parents have come down for a few days so im taking my dad around a few shops for a look, il report back with what i think about sizes after that :)
 
update,.didnt go out to any bike shops today, after chatting with my dad he's going to build up the carbon Look frame/forks he has with some spare parts he has knocking around for me for free :)
2003 Look KX light carbon frame + forks 55cm
Shimano Ultegra groupset (older model with 9 speed)
Mavic cosmos wheels
he's going to build it up over the weekend for me to collect next week, he said if im not keen on it just to sell it and put the money towards a brand new bike :D
EDIT: found this.. same as my dads but dads is black (bare woven carbon)
2s6nima.png
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom