I got a Giant Defy 1 several years ago. That is supposed to be an awesome endurance bike. In many ways it was. However, coming from a MTB background, the 25 mm always felt a little sketchy to me. I ended up selling it 2 years later and got a Giant Toughroad 1. I have about 4000 miles on that bike and still love it. It is basically a hardtail 29er with rackmounts but the way it lays down the road security is second to none. I always thought the Defy (or other road bikes were too fragile for our potholes), but this thing just eats them up. I even took it out for the Vermouth challenge, which was 4 days of hilly road riding with toughest day being 108 miles with 8k gain. Also, feels right at home on the D2R2.