2013 Defy Advanced SL2 (ultegra). Bought with our generous cycle to work scheme. I’m 179 cm and bought a Medium with a 115 mm stem. I agonized over the size but took out a demo medium and raced it and we clicked. My height is between M and M/L. I went smaller and long stem. It does feel better. (Measure lots cut the ISP once!)
It is a truly wonderful bike that has no faults. Scored 10/10 in Cycling Weekly, Bike of the Year in C+ etc… I’ve raced it competitively (27 mph average), rode that Ride London in four and a half hours been out on club runs and commuted to work, just because it is nice to ride.
Lower spec models all have the same geometry. Composite is heavier than Advanced is heavier than SL. But the total weight difference for the frame isn’t even a full water bottle. Buy any with confidence. Components to suit budget. We also have Tiagra groupset equipped bikes and I am perfectly happy with those too – raced one last Saturday and if anything the shift is lighter and faster than 6700 ultegra (it’s the external cables). Your selection is spot on. It was £1299 this year when I was looking for son1.
And forget the “relaxed” nonsense, it’a a race bike with a slightly longer head tube and half a degree slacker head angle.
EDIT : Boardman geometry is the same as the TCR. No prizes for guessing what his “sportive” geometry might be 😉