Upgrading my giant defy 5, disc brake a must?

I ride the Defy Advanced 2 with discs and absolutely love it. Just saying...

A week later, so you may be sorted now, but here's my 2p worth

Best bike is a defy advanced, ultegra and ultegra rim brakes

Previous commuter (up until last month) was a 531 steel framed Orbit, with ultegra drivetrain and long drop rim brakes rebuilt about 15 months ago

Current commuter is a steel Equilibrium disc with 105 and the new mechanical gear/ hydraulic brake shifters

The defy is comfortable and fast, and the brakes are good, I've done long days on it and had no problems at all.

My commute is 20+ miles each way, and not flat, so the braking is important. The long drop callipers are definitely less responsive, and I have had a few nasty moments in the wet with unexpected stops when I've thought 'I'm not going to stop here!'. I also wore out a set of rims in c 1year (c7k miles). The frame got damaged and so I got the new commuter. I decided that I wanted discs, hence couldn't just rebuild on a new frame.

Similar feel to the defy, but not quite as fast. The brakes however are terrific. It's a much nicer experience knowing that I can stop easily in the rain.
So that's a long winded vote for a disc defy!

I would always have mudguards though, (we don't have a dry season in the UK) and I don't know if crud catchers would fit.
Let us know how it goes

Well I'm 53, really fat and really slow.

I have loved riding bikes all my life though, I have cycled a lot of miles over the years, for fun and to commute. I have had many different cycling holidays over the years. Some with big heavy bikes and panniers, some with lightweight road bikes and a credit card, some with a mountain bike when I have bashed more bits than I wish to bash now.

I've had 1 gear, 3 gears, 5 gears, 10 gears, 14 gears, 18 gears, 20 gears, 22 gears and 27 gears.

I've had mechanical gears and electronic gears, dérailleurs and hub gears.

I've had rim brakes and disc brakes on both mountain bikes and road bikes.

At this moment I own 6 bikes of various types

And you know what? I've loved it all. There has not been a single new bike that I haven't enjoyed.

I love my new toy with electronic shifting and disc brakes (which confirms my status as "all the gear and no idea"). I'm not sure it is hugely better than the bike I last saw as my "best" bike (which I still have), with it's rim brakes and mechanical shifting. So I would absolutely agree with the people who would say you don't need a bike like my new one.

However, there is always more to the story than just need. I really didn't need my new bike. But I really do love it, electronic shifting is so cool and the disc brakes are fantastic.

So when I ride along and people think, "who is that fat git on that expensive bike with all the bling"? I wonder if they realise that I get that, I know what they mean? But do they know how much pleasure I get from riding such a lovely bike? I know I'm never going to be the fastest at anything, I ride because I like it and have liked it for as long as I can remember, and I like my new bike - with its disc brakes and electronic shifting!

Is it really me that is missing the Point?

Disc brakes look crap on a road bike and are unnecessary. But then again the bike manufacturers need to churn that market..

Come on folks, the OP asked disc brakes and opinions have come forth. As said earlier, it's a Marmite question. There's a bloke who did the giro on a retro bike with cork brake pads - whatever floats your boat.
Any piece of design and engineering is going to be a compromise, personally I will favour reliability, durability and cost effectiveness over weight for my riding.

Quote:

I don't even know why I bother.

Give over, you sound like a petulant child.
It's a new kind of brake not the return of the Messiah.
It may well become the new standard, but it doesn't mean that everything that went before it is rubbish.

This thing about choosing disc and rim is getting stupid.

Just get the disc and get all the benefits and you are not restricted to summer long rides but you can go urban and commute.

No mountain biker will even think about getting rim brakes anymore. Why even bother with that question.

Use your head and then apply a bit of IQ.

Disc no brainer.

How on earth have we managed without disc brakes up until now?
How did |I manage to get up and down Snowdon using rim brakes?
How did I manage to get round the 3 Peaks cyclocross 3 times using rim brakes?
How did I manage to ride 300 miles a week training for road racing?
How did I manage to race across Europe?

They are a slightly better way of braking.
That's it.
That's all.

They won't make you faster, thinner, more attractive or taller.

"Rim brakes just didn't work" Sorry but that isn't true. Rim brakes don't work instantly in the wet, that is all, they just take a bit longer. I've ridden all my life with rim brakes and not yet had a problem in the rain that made me think I needed disc brakes. If there was no difference in price or weight then I would have disc brakes, and like I said before if I commuted every day in the city then perhaps I would choose discs.
Oops I may upset the pro discs brigade.

I have the Defy Advanced 1 - review here; http://reviewmybike.com/bike/GIANT/giant-defy-advanced-1/13673.

Overall I love the bike and would still go for again at the price. My only gripe is that the mechanical disc brakes fell short of expectations, compared to even the entry level hydraulics on my mountain bike. Initially I felt I should have saved longer and gone for the Advanced Pro 1 to realise the benefits of hydraulic brakes, Fizik Saddle (now purchased for the Advanced 1), better wheels and the other component upgrades. However, I'm now glad I spent almost £1k less for the standard Advanced 1 as I will put the extra towards much better wheels and possibly upgrade the discs to hydraulics in due course.

As others have said, unless racing (and that won't even be an issue in a year or so once the pro's move over), I would choose disc brakes anytime and especially if riding at all in the wet. Riding my old Aluxx Defy 1 over the winter, I had several very scary experiences when the rim brakes just didn't work. This winter, the Aluxx Defy 1 will almost certainly be replaced with a Cross Bike with disc brakes, even if 'only' mechanical.

One other comment based on others experience with the Defy Advanced 2 posted on the forum, the gap between 105 and Ultegra has very much reduced, with weight apparently the only real discernible difference this year.

If you're commuting in all weather's on calipers and racking up lots of miles, I would strongly urge you to check your rims regularly. I came within a whisker of total failure of the wheel due to complacency. All rims will wear under calipers, it is purely a question of when they get dangerously thin. If there is a noticeable concave feel to your rims, get them checked out at your LBS straight away.
My commuter is the alu synapse 105 with mech discs. It is heavier (and sturdier) which makes it ideal for winter/commuting. I probably would not want this bike as a summer steed due to weight. That said, there are plenty of good carbon bikes with discs to contemplate including the cannon dale synapse range. It really comes down to budget and given planned commuting, I would definitely say go for discs.

I commute every day on a hybrid with rim brakes and have never had a problem. I really don't buy into rim brakes doing as much damage to rims as people say as long as you keep the bike clean and replace the brakes frequently. Callipers and v-brakes are easy and cheap to maintain so win on many fronts.
I've had the same rims on one bike for probably 15-20k miles and they still have plenty of life in them.
For a weekend roadie or racer then rim brakes are all that's needed. Disc brakes are a marketing team's dream but totally unnecessary on the road bike and even for commuting unless you're living somewhere very hilly and wet.
Perhaps on a cyclo-cross bike they would have a place because then you can run with very light carbon wheels but not on the road.

If you brake a lot in the wet or want to run carbon rims then disc brakes. If you want to stop in the dry for less money and avoid the wrath of the anti disc brigade then nothing wrong with rim brakes. IMO

I get why disc brakes are the coming thing, especially if you do a lot of urban riding as has been said above. However, I think good rim brakes can be very good, and you can mitigate the delay you get when they are wet to a certain extent. Remember that in the wet your tyres have less grip too, so the benefit of the extra braking may not be that much.

I've done over 10000 miles in all weathers on my old bike; don't think the rims are overly worn but will look to be sure.

In your case it sounds like the Defy is pretty much no 1 choice anyway. Can you get a Trek Domane with discs, it's very similar to the Defy/Synapse, and may be a little lighter.

If it's the 2015 model, the 'dale Synapse 105 has discs..

FWIW - ex MTB/Downhill to roadie convert here. I'm happy with rim brakes in my all weather chain gang, solo and commuting rides but I can see why discs appeal for many.

That's a great answer Arfa,

I mainly ride rural A/B roads and find rim brakes are fine, even with the sharp descents to East Devon, however, if I was commuting in a big city, I'd be inclined to go with discs just simply for the reliability of always knowing for sure that you're going to be able to stop.

A marmite question !
I wouldn't buy anything other than disc brakes for the simple reason that I have to brake a lot (urban riding) and often in wet weather (UK commuting). For me there is no comparison in braking consistency in all conditions with disc brakes plus there is the added bonus of not grinding your rims away. I typically would get c 3-4000 miles ouconventional rim brake wheels et before they became dangerously degraded. I have done a similar distance on my disc equipped synapse and my wheels are as good as new. The downside is that the model I bought is heavier and only mech discs.
The answer to your question lies with what type of usage will your bike get. If it's fair weather rural riding then calipers are just fine. If braking and wheel longevity is an issue then discs it is