During the presentation, Bicycling gear editors mentioned that the Defy 3 model they tested, priced at less than $1000, was right at home among some of the other award winners costing up to $10,000. That feeling was backed up in Bicycling editor Bill Strickland’s review of the bike:
“Sitting in with the lead group on a long, flat stretch, spinning along as easily as those on $10,000 bikes, responding to potholes or gravel with little flicks of the bike to either side, trimming speed to stay on pace, and dropping back to pull two other riders up to the group—what I had underneath me was a capable all-rounder.”
Strickland summed up the Defy's capabilities writing, “This is a full-buy recommendation—have fun, get fit, go places, change your life, wear out those components, then upgrade in a couple of years. The frame is a beauty and a keeper, and the bike is the start of something beautiful for a great price.”
The Editors' Choice Awards mark the highest honor for Bicycling, the world's largest cycling magazine with more than 2 million readers. You can read more about the Defy and other winners in the June issue, or online at Bicycling.com. And to learn more about the entire Defy series, click here.
