Defy 0 upgraded?

[vickster]

What wheels wud u recommend and tyres

What do you have at the moment?
How heavy are you?
Do you ride in all weathers? Do you commute? Would you prefer a 'faster' tyre and fixing more punctures potentially or a 'slower' tyre and less punctures?

What is your aim with the switch to Ultegra? Weight saving (minimal) or having everything matching. If the latter, you might as well stick with plan A

Wheels wise, these are a good bet at this price - decent tyres like a Conti GPS 4000 will add around £60

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Mavic/Cosmic-Elite-23-Clincher-Wheelset-2017/9MWK
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/continental-gp4000s-ii-twinpack/

 

[dave147]

The standard wheels and tyres that came with the defy 0

Around 16stone

Don’t commute

Ride in all weathers

Don’t really wana be messing with punchers

With the ultegra change was just thinking they would be better components and also to match a bit. And I guess saving any weight helps but I need to get more of me than anything else

 

[vickster]

They might be lighter components if that’s how you define better. However, lighter higher end components will potentially wear quicker and cost more to replace although that’s more the case for cassette, chain, possibly chain rings

If you want lightish puncture resistentish tyres for winter riding you could look at the Vitoria Rubinos, Michelin pro4 endurance, continental 4 seasons among others

At 16 stone the light wheels with less spokes might be a bit more fragile

If the money is burning a hole, new tyres, mechs, cranks, brakes for me in that order

 

[Andrew_P]

Uh Oh, Wheels....

Personally I would like everything to match purely aesthetically! 105 or Ultegra I would never buy a bike just for the Ultegra ridden both and not worth the extra dosh IMO might look a bit nicer, a bit lighter but not worth the money involved. 105 is brilliant workhorse to weight to performance when I used it commuting parts are ok price wise etc. Some Ultegra\Dura-Ace\SRAM Red parts are eye watering for what you get and save in weight.

I have heard or read cannot remember which the Shifters you have and I have (RS-ST685) on a "Ultegra" bike were pretty crap accuracy on gear changes and I thought this as well never felt as smooth as a 105 non Hydro the gears seemed to have a long throw on them and not much of a re-assuring clunk going down the cassette a bit flippy floppy to get technical.

Also I find them pretty uncomfortable both in comparison to a non hydro 105 bike and to a SRAM but I have small hands. It felt to me that these were rushed out and not well thought out. I also get terrible cable rub inside the rear changer shifter.

From the Shifter point of view I would hang fire for a 105 as the Ultegra ones, actually branded as Ultegra are £500+ even in their advertising they say better gear changing accuracy and more ergonomic!! Should get our money back on the RS-ST....!

 

[Andrew_P]

Although..... https://www.vanillabikes.com/produc...MIosy98Jj02AIVxxXTCh3lGg8rEAQYAiABEgIQ3fD_BwE

 

[dave147]

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/defy-0-2016 Is the bike I have

 

[dave147]

Find the shifters great was only thinking of making the bike all ultegra but if it’s not worth it or gona cost a bomb I may blank it or do it over time

 

[bpsmith]

Definitely worth getting better tyres. As above, you can’t go far wrong with GP4000S. They are fast and puncture resistant too.

Personally, I think wheels are worth it too, but some disagree. I went from the standard wheels to Campagnolo Zonda on my Defy 1. Sold the Defy a while back, but Zonda wheels were going strong on a newer bike until a certain ongoing incident put pay to them.

With respect to the rest, brakes made were a great upgrade to my Defy. Went from Tektro to 105 on that bike. Made a much bigger difference changing the calipers, than just pads.

 

[dave147]

The bike cost a fair bit so will be keeping it for a while I went for that bike as it had a gud base for a gud group set. I know there isn’t a great step between 105 and ultegra for the front mech. But the brakes and crank are shimano but not 105 just seem to be a standard set so want to see if I can get a nicer bike with out spending loads. Tyres seem a gud up grade. Had no probs with the standard ones as of yet. And wheels are quite a big investment would like a set of deeper section wheels but think they have to wait

 

[Heigue'r]

Merlin are doing some deals on ultegra 6800 at the moment.Wiggle have 53/39 ultegra crankset for 122 pounds at the moment.