Giant defy advanced 1 or advanced pro 1
- Thread starter sgerbman
- Start date
I think it depends on how much you ride and what kind of weather you ride in mostly. If you ride in an area that rains a lot and you ride in the rain, or not a big time rider, I would buy the cheaper one because it comes with disk brakes which the only advantage those have is rainy conditions. If your a big time rider into performance and ride in mostly dry conditions then I would go with the more expensive bike since you'll be using it a lot and for a long time. The only problem I struggle with is if the Pro 1 is really worth the $1,000 difference and I can't see it, they both have the same frame but the Pro will be a bit lighter due to it's carbon fiber steerer tube and no disk brakes, also the Pro 1 had a larger diameter head tube which makes it stiffer which means handling will be better, but not a lot better. Again if you're a performance rider then the Pro 1 may be for you.
The Pro 1 does have the disc brakes which is where I see a lot of the newer models heading. I guess the question is whether the tubless tires and the larger full carbon head tube is worth the upgrade.
I did explain that in my answer. It boils down to what kind of riding you do, if you are a strong, aggressive, fast rider, either alone or in a group it doesn't matter, perhaps doing a lot of mountain roads, then you should choose the more expensive bike; if your none of those things and you do a fair amount of riding in the rain, and or will be at some point using carbon fiber rims then chose the one with the disk brakes.
Disk brakes only have an advantage with carbon fiber rims and in the rain, that really is about it. Some will say that it saves wheels from wearing out fast but I don't think that's an advantage considering I use to ride, train, and race in the mountains of S California long before there were disk brake and my rims lasted between 30,000 to 40,000 miles, you will spend the amount that a rim cost over that same period of time for calipers and rotors! Really the only reason they put disk brakes on bikes was due to CF wheels because rim brakes used a felt pad and didn't stop the bike fast plus the CF rim does not dissipate the heat and would build and build till BOOOM a tire blows or the rim delaminates (which was the biggest reason), and not the rain because I had no problem stopping in the rain without them and neither did thousands of others including pro racers, except in the first full revolution of the rim, which is the same with disk you have to wait for the one full revolution of the rotor which happens quicker due to being smaller. You cannot convert a rim brake bike to a disk brake bike.
Tubeless tires, if you get expensive ones, do have less rolling friction than standard tube tires, but you can offset some of that lost wattage in tube tires by using ultralight butyl tube or latex tube, and make sure with both types that you use talcum powder on the tube this helps lesson some friction. So the difference between say a latex tube tire with talcum powder vs a tubeless is about 1-2 watts...2 watts is something you'll never feel, ultralight weight butyl will take the watts to 2-3 again you can't feel it. Selection of tubeless tires is more limiting, there is more maintenance too due to having put flat goo in the tire about every 3 months to keep it active, but before you do have to clean out the old goo, and if the sealant fails to fix the flat on the road you're in for a world of pain and time trying to fix it, they're much harder to put on and take off, you have to buy sturdy tire irons like Soma Steel Core levers because you'll probably snap plastic ones, you need a different pump that can initially deliver a blast so the bead will seat and one you can take with you like CO2 which limits your air supply. Get the picture? They make more sense in mountain bikes then road bikes, but marketing is pushing hard to get these on more and more road bikes.
So it is all about what you think you need and how much hassle you want.
Was in your exact situation. I went with the advanced 1 and am thrilled with the results. I am 240 and there are a number of things that didn't sit right with me on the more expensive bike. The brakes on the pro are a definite step up. Good luck in your search. For me the bike I got is pretty much perfect.
The rim and the rotor will take the same amount of time to complete a revolution. The rim's velocity will be faster than the rotor's speed. Time will be equal for both.
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