A 2019 Defy I stopped using as a road bike as I buy too many damned bikes sat in my basement for over three years. It has been reborn as a light gravel bike and it turns out it's perfect for the non-technical gravel in my area. I think the Defy is one of the most versatile and underrated bikes on the market. You could probably squeeze a measured 38 into this frame. 11sp Ultegra Di2 with Giant's own power meter. 50mm Farsports Revo / DT240 wheels. Specialized Romin Evo saddle. Wacky looking proprietary stem I'm forced to use and Giant's steerers are weird. Flamepoint ragdoll kitty lurking.
by hiro111
2 Comments
I have the same frame have the same frame. I run 35’s on 25mm (inner) rims, tires measured 38mm. It was tight but doable. Actual 38’s might be too much. I ran Schwalbe G-One allrounder 35’s and had trouble getting the rear wheel in, but once it was in, there was room….but probably not enough to be safe. I agree that it’s an incredibly versatile bike, but there are more and more bikes coming out with more tire clearance. There are better stems. I use a Zipp, Giant has some more normal stems as well as one piece sets. Synchros uses the over sized steerer too and there are some options on AliExpress.
Hell yeah – modern endurance bikes can fit light gravel tires and you can definitely hit up the trails. I have 35mm G1 RS Pros on my Roubaix SL8 and the damn thing flies on gravel.