Lost confidence with descending on my rim braked roadie and spotted a couple of good deals recently.

Looking at the giant defy advanced pro, probably the ultegra spec pro 2 for 1800£ or pro 1 with carbon wheels and di2 at 2500.

Or cube agree c63 disc slt which looks a little more aero and for the 1700£ black version it’s 7.9kg opposed to the defy 8.5 for the pro 1 . The c62 slt which looks a bit more bling with dura ace and fulcrum racing zero carbon wheels is 7.7kg, current price £2600.

Anybody got either or advice with considering.

Tried a few disc bikes around that price, they were all anchors, totally dead. Unless you can spend big bucks stick to what works.

The best advice is to stick to the rim brakes, discs are currently not allowed in some major European sportives.

If you are lacking confidence i’d be looking at what’s wrong with your current brakes, as with the exception of big mountain descending in the wet, modern rim brakes are quite awesome.

they were all anchors, totally dead

and what does this actually mean?
I’m currently looking at the Defy 1 (Alu disc) as it’s a steal at the price, not much to swap the levers and brakes to Ultegra either.

If you dont know it wont matter, buy one.

Lol. I know what I mean by dead and anchor but it doesn’t actually make that much sense, they worked? They stopped you? No feedback?

I have four road bikes, all similar weight, seat and bars in the same place etc but all have completely “feel” which is down to geometry and frame, wheel and component rigidity?

I dont see any reason you couldn’t achieve good results in a disc bike but IME of trying ones you can get for the money the op is talking about they were very dull.

I suspect there is good reason UK LBS’s are full of heavily discounted 2016 disc road bikes and its nothing to do with the UCI its just they are not very nice to ride.

Try £2k defy disc and rim bikes back to back would be my advice.

I have a 2016 Defy Advanced Pro 2. It replaced a 2012 Defy Composite 1. I really like it, the newer Ultegra is a different class to the previous version(though not a huge step up from current 105). Bike is a lot stiffer at the front than old one, I think combination of carbon steerer and stiff disc specific fork and hub. It is just under a pound heavier than the non disc old one.

Very comfy and confidence inspiring bike and I wouldn’t change anything about it (apart form the white bar tape eventually !)

Brakes are same as non disc in the dry, and same as MTB brakes in the wet. I won’t be going back to rim brakes to make the road ‘come alive’, and I don’t race at a UCI level…. 😀

Maybe thats why these theads always go this way, we are all looking for something different. For me road bikes are a fun way of keeping fit, so they need to feel and look good, that’s about it really.

You dont have to be Lewis Hamilton to enjoy a track day but you wouldn’t want to do it in a Mondeo.

I have a Roubaix SL4 and I love the ride; they seem to have achieved the perfect compromise between stiffness and a slightly springy lively feel, although that may be down to the Veloflex tyres more than the frame. Fitted with mudguards it makes an excellent all-year bike and when the wheels wear out I’m going to consider swapping it for the same bike with Ultegra hydraulics, as that would seem like the ultimate all-purpose bike to me.

For me road bikes are a fun way of keeping fit, so they need to feel and look good, that’s about it really.

Me too really, though I don’t understand the point about the disc versions feeling dead. Have you ridden same bike in disc and non disc guise ?

I’ve had a 2016 Giant Defy Disc 1, the aluminium one, for about six months now. The TRP cable disc brakes are great, a lot better than BB5’s that I’ve had in the past. The aluminium frame can be quite rigid on rough roads, so I’d guess the carbon models will be a bit more comfortable. Only thing I’ve changed on mine is the wheels. The original deep rimmed wheels are quite heavy (circa 2,050g a pair). I changed these for some Cosine disc wheels for £175 and knocked over 500g off the weight of the bike. From the 9,500g original weight it’s now below 9,000g. Great bike though, is highly recommend one.

Me too really, though I don’t understand the point about the disc versions feeling dead. Have you ridden same bike in disc and non disc guise ?

wilburt did say

Try £2k defy disc and rim bikes back to back would be my advice.

No reason for threads like this to become an argument. My current bike is the same as ( frame anyway ) as couple of teams are racing all over Spain at the moment, and despite being a middle age biffer very much agree with this.

You dont have to be Lewis Hamilton to enjoy a track day but you wouldn’t want to do it in a Mondeo.

I’ve got the Cube and I’m near you if you want to take a look. PM me.

Taxi25, I agree, no arguments required. Having had a non disc Defy for 4 years and now a disc one I simply question the inference that the different brakes make it feel dead or wooden. It’s more about the frame and geometry, hence my query about riding same bike in disc and non disc versions, which as you rightly say, the other poster suggested also. If a bike is going to be a ‘mondeo on a track day’ I can’t see how changing from discs to rim brakes would change it into an F1 machine.

Interesting how different people want different things. All good news for the bike shops I guess.
I for one don’t give a stuff what a bike looks like as long as it works well.
Clearly others don’t as when I bought my road bike the vendor did say “are you sure you don’t mind that it is white?- many people would”
For the same reason I don’t care that I am using mountain bike pedals, shoes and helmet on the bike as they work and I don’t have to spend extra. I don’t race, I just go out to get fit and enjoy the countryside.

Another one to look at here cannondale synapse disc , I looked at the cube as they were giving them away relatively speaking against RRP and the same with the giant

Whilst the two are different I prefer the Synapse to my Tarmac

If/when I buy a new road bike I will look at ones with disk brakes but not exclusively as I’ve never really had any issue with the rim brakes on my current road bikes. Top of my list would be one of the Specialized Roubaix’s (I’ve got an older one and really like it) but whether I’d go disk or not would be down to the kit differences between equivalently priced disk & non-disk braked bikes – especially the wheels.

Thanks for the replies guys much appreciated.

I did expect some replies more along the lines of debating discs versus rim brakes rather than feedback on the two bikes listed, however this is also welcome in a way.

Interested in Wilburts comment about being like an anchor, do you mean the modulation of the brakes coming on like an anchor or the overall bike weight or the disc wheel weight? One of the biked I’m looking at is 7.6 kilo with carbon semi aero wheels at 1595kg which are well reviewed so I can’t see too many problems there. I expect I might get a slightly lighter rim braked bike for the same or less money but not sub 7kg so the difference is like a bottle of water but I know I’ll ride it faster down hill. My current bike is around 7.9 with pedals, bottle cages fitted so would be a similiar weight.

Risk bar, thanks for the offer however I don’t want to impose to ask to test ride it, even though I c ouldnt at the moment anyway, and the chance of being the right size and cleat type would be unlikely. However can I ask how you find it and what you may be comparing it to.

Along with a little loss of confidence after hitting the wall of the moorcock inn descent heading slaidburn direction at around. 30/35mph (you hit 55mph and I struggled to scrub enough speed off before the tight off camber right hander at the end of the first leg steep descent and hit the wall). I also find my Planet X pro carbon a little flexy or sponge like under heavy pedalling or climbing out of the saddle. This may be a trade off against the overall comfortable ride feel however I don’t like to feel like I’m wasting my effort. I ain’t got that much to lose.

@Kirky the bikes I tried were all around £2k can’t remember exact models Trek, Spech and Giant for sure. All considerably over 8kg, so as per my post if you’re looking at one thats lightweight maybe it’ll better than those.

Should also add to my view on this that I dont ride in the rain unless caught out. So disc really have no value to me, if I was commuting or wanted a winter bike to ride in wales it would be discs all day long.

@Kirky the bikes I tried were all around £2k can’t remember exact models Trek, Spech and Giant for sure. All considerably over 8kg, so as per my post if you’re looking at one thats lightweight maybe it’ll better than those.

Should also add to my view on this that I dont ride in the rain unless caught out. So disc really have no value to me, if I was commuting or wanted a winter bike to ride in wales it would be discs all day long.

I’ve a Canyon Endurace CF SLX and it bloody ace.
very comfortable, faster than my old Focus and the brakes are awesome.
7.4kg without pedals. cant complain at that.

@kirky the planet x is a great bike for a price point but it isnt the best frame to say the least. When I changed to a decent carbon frame and decent rim brakes the difference was night and day.

That said I also have a disc brake road bike for commuting and winter that said – in the wet and grime and in traffic it is worth having. If for dry stuff not in town just needs a decent stiff frame and good rim brakes.

I am currently wrestling with my conscience over the new Focus Paralane. The 105 carbon model is in your price range. A stupid light carbon, disc brake endurance bike with mudguards.

Like a Diverge but without the Flasheart. 😀

@kirky, from what you describe, discs aren’t going to help you. They don’t offer any more power in the dry vs a rim brake. A decent rim brake offers enough power to lock the wheels already. The advantage is in the wet (i really hope you weren’t doing 55mph in the wet 😯 )

I have just bought a Defy advanced Pro2 and very happy with it. Feels stiff but with a bit of give to aid comfort. Riding position is slightly more upright so good for an old geezer like me. Spec is ace for the price and wheels not a bad weight although not super light. Discs are very good, I love them on my mountain bikes so why not on a road bike. If you are looking for one they are selling out fast at the sale price. Next years model is more expensive, has 105 instead of Ultegra but does have better wheels with through axles.

How about a carbon Scott solace disc? I bought one last year and after changing the tyres i really like it.

@Kirky, The bikes is a 56cm if that’s any use to you. First disclaimer, I’ve not had a road bike before so I’ve not even tried to make comparisons. I like the one finger braking and the control on corners. I’m also a big fat bloater so the extra stopping is good on descents, ymmv. I run mine on 28mms and I’m surprised at the comfort on rougher surfaces. It seems to transfer power well and there seems to be some good deals around. This years models hasn’t changed a great deal

HTH

I am currently wrestling with my conscience over the new Focus Paralane. The 105 carbon model is in your price range. A stupid light carbon, disc brake endurance bike with mudguards.

Like a Diverge but without the Flasheart.

😀

They look ace, it must be said! If I didn’t already have my Diverge, they’d be on the list.

Slight bump but pay day is coming, it’s been a very good month and the sales have kicked in..
In my price range there is the current 2016 Defy 1 Alu (105/Disc) for tiny bit more the 2015 Carbon 3 Disc (Tiaga 10sp) or for a bit over budget the current Advance Carbon 2 is about if I’m willing to travel to pick one up (about 200 quid more)

With a bit of fiddling abround I can get a good price on 105 shifters & mechs& cassette, would that swap straight out on the Tiaga 10sp bikes without changing the crank?

Longest most vague what road bike for a non road biking bloke who will spend most of the time going up and down mountains on it.

Yes the crankset will be fine, but if theTiagra is the new version with hidden cables I wouldnt be in a rush to change it, function is better than previous 105 or Ultegra and it usually has long cage derailiuer.

10/11 speed doesn’t really matter you just need a big cassette, the rest is you.

Cheers, one is the 15 version the other is the 16, going to grab my fist full of $$ and go negotiate. The final factor is the cost of nipping to Melbourne for the real bargains

Congrats, dont forget to ignore mtb’ers once you are a “roadie”.

Been riding a road bike for a few years now but as it’s an 08 Allez Elite which is a chain snap away from the bin it’s time for an upgade

An update of sorts.

So after more research and checking every deal with every retailer I took the plunge and ordered a Synapse Hi Mod ultegra disc. Cracking reviews and picked up the hi mod version with carbon wheels, lighter parts and the hollow gram crank. Weighs in at 7.6kg so not too podgy, and pedalon didn’t do a great job of the cabling, can probably lose at least 6 or 7 cm off 3 or 4 cables.

First ride today and the road buzz was much higher than expected however the tyres were pumped pretty hard, I’ve let a bit out ready for test ride 2 tomorrow. A quick 36 mile loop with 2500ft climbing this morning and I eventually got a good feel for the brake modulation which work great. The power transfer especially when climbing out of the saddle is much improved over my Planet X. Speed is easy to maintain. Felt a little bit more skittish which I put down to being a particularly windy morning around Pendle, tyres too hard and bars narrower than my previous ones.

Riding position is really comfortable but the bike came set up with the stem set a top the two massive spacers, looks better that way and very comfortable but may try dropping it down one spacer into a slightly racier position as the head tubes combined with just one spacer is still pretty tall.

I felt a bit leggy before the ride as recovering from an hilly mtb ride around. Grizedale on Wednesday and it takes my old legs a few days normally to fully reset. So pleased that without intentionally trying to hammer it today I ended with around 20 PBS over a mixture of long and short sharp climbs, long undulating sections. Rather interestingly not on any of the really steep fast descents but I think that mostly down to getting hammered by crosswinds.
Negatives.

Road buzz, hopefully will be sorted with a little less air in the tyre, and reduce some of the buzz and discomfort through the hand with a bit more or a thicker bar tape.

Wasn’t impressed that the seat post dropped despite being nipped up as much as I felt comfortably doing, had too tighten it more than it feels right to do so,

I have to say so far the gear changes aren’t as smooth as the SRAM force out I had on the other bike especially the front mech.

Try some carbon grease on the post? Also what tyres are fitted, could be OEM rubbish?

It had some carbon paste in there from the shop but imitate take it out and had some more.

Tyres are schwalbe One.

Just had test ride two with some air out of the tyres, not super soft just move a little when squeezed felt a lot more planted and not as rickety.

Really enjoying it so far.