EATING UP ENDURANCE BIKE TEST THE MILES

With aero road bikes getting lighter, race bikes getting more comfortable and gravel bikes becoming so road capable, the endurance bike category is often overlooked. But here at 220 we think endurance bikes offer some of the best all-round rides, particularly over the distances you’ll be covering when training for and racing middle or long-distance events.

So, we’ve decided to test two options around £4,000. For that sort of money, we’d expect a bike that’s equipped with a Shimano Ultegra groupset, quality wheels and great finishing kit – we’re not looking to make upgrades any time soon.

That brings us to our first bike: the venerable Giant Defy in its Advanced Pro 2 form. Giant offers the Defy in two ranges, the standard Defy from £2,099 to £2,499 and the Pro range from £3,299 to £5,499. At £3,999, our Pro 2 is second in the hierarchy. On paper it’s impressive: a full Shimano Ultegra group paired with Giant’s latest SLR