Novice42

My bike guy is thinking it is figured differently these days.

hokiefyd 

The "speed" nomenclature is vague and means different things in different contexts.

Bikes with two chain rings in the front and five sprockets on the freewheel used to be marketed as "10 speed" bikes. The race was on, figuratively, to increase that number more and more. Next came "12 speeds" (2x6), "14 speeds" (2x7), "15 speeds" (3x5), "18 speeds" (3x6), "21 speeds" (3x7), etc. This type of nomenclature is not often used to describe the total number of combinations anymore. Giant doesn't market this Roam as a "30 speed" bike. Road bikes with 2x11 aren't marketed as "22 speed" bikes.

The "x speed" nomenclature is more commonly used today to describe the number of sprockets on the rear cassette, especially now that 1x drivetrains (with only a single chain ring) are gaining in popularity. You could say that Roam has a "10 speed drivetrain", and that's often used to describe a 1x10, a 2x10, a 3x10, etc. In this context, "10 speed" is referring more to cassette sprocket spacing, the type of chain required, and that sort of thing. With "8 speed" and below, the chains are basically the same. But "9 speed", which is a cassette with nine sprockets regardless of the number of chain rings, uses a specific chain, "10 speed" uses a specific chain, "11 speed" uses a specific chain, etc.

Referring to the drivetrain as "3x10" is the least vague because it tells you in no uncertain terms how many chain rings there are, how many cassette sprockets there are, and which chain you need.

Tony_G

I’ve now had my 2017 Roam 1 for one year. In that year I’ve ridden it 6,302 miles (more miles than I drive my car in a year!).

It has been a great bike. Last month, I rode my first ever Century on it. In the past two weeks alone, I’ve ridden six half Centuries. Real Centuries, not metric.

My only compliant about the Roam is minor. The paint, in my opinion, is soft. In a clumsy dismount, I deeply nicked the paint on the square edge of the top tube with my soft soled sneakers. Additionally another new Giant owner (with same charcoal color paint) told me he scratched his down tube when washing tiny crushed snail shells off of it.

The bike has been nicely reliable. I did have to buy a new cassette at 4,000 miles, but that was my own fault for not checking the chain wear. I’m now on my 3rd chain at 6,300 miles.

I’ve replaced both front and rear brake pads. It was an easy and cheap (got the pads on e-bay for less than $10 per set) DIY, even for a noob like me.

I’ve done less off roading than I expected. But on the woods trails I’ve done, the Roam has performed very well.

The bike is either well accessorized, or badly loaded down with crap, depending on how you prefer to look at it.

I replaced the original Giant seat with a WTB Rocket Pro. When the original Giant rear tire wore down, I replaced both front and rear tires with Schwalbe Marathon Mondials, 40mm on the rear, and 35mm in front. These tires are excellent, but the rear tire centerline is wearing quicker than I had hoped.

List of add on accessories:

Bell seatpost mounted bag
Kickstand
Ibera seatpost mounted Carrier IB-RA1
Iberia IB-BA1 bike bag
handlebar mount flashlight holder
LED flashlight on strobe with aaa rechargeable batteries.
Velo tire pump
water bottle holder
Reduce stainless vacuum water bottle
Serfas blinker tail light
mace holster & mace, mounted on handlebar
passing bell
(2) Roam (not Giant) handlebar cell phone holders

I have two cell phone holders because I use one cell phone as my bike computer (Galaxy S5, my everyday phone), the second cell phone (Galaxy S4) is used as a bike cam. I ran a USB cable to a power bank battery in the Iberia bag, and the improvised bike cam records 6 hours of 780p video and sound before disk space and battery gets low.

The S4 bike cam runs a dash cam app called Daily Roads Voyager Pro, and I use Bike Computer Pro on the S5, as that suits my needs better than Strava.

The bike bags contain tools and first aid supplies, and usually ride snacks, commonly a banana or two.

So much for traveling light. :-) All the above brings the bike weight, including a filled 28 oz water bottle, to over 41 pounds.

im_joel

Hi everyone. So after reading and reading and testing different bikes (trek DS, specialized crosstrail,..) I walked out of my lbs with a roam 2 disc. Did my first 10 miles on it and I just can't wait to get on it again. The only con I can find; I wish i had considered the size of my car. This bike is huge for little corolla lol

hokiefyd 

Congrats on your new Roam. It IS a big bike. Mine's a large size, and it sometimes feels like a motorcycle to me!

im_joel

That's the size of mine. I think the next upgrade will be the grips and the seat. I'm eerie about riding it longer (20-30 miles) as is.

hokiefyd 

I have these grips and this saddle, both of which are recent adds to mine. I like the grips a lot, and I'm still getting used to the saddle. I think I'm going to like it pretty good.

im_joel

I like the grips. Do they feel ergo-like?

I just picked a rack (deluxe bike rack 102dn) was on sale. It's not great but I think it will suffice.

hokiefyd 

I like the grips a lot. I have used a number of grips from Ergon before, and I like these at least as well.

Nate1991

I didn't realize this either when I was at my LBS. Then when I brought it out to the truck my XL almost goes from front to back of the box of my truck, and no longer can fit it in the back of my Durango like I used to with my MTB.

I have put 250 miles total on mine and I've made some adjustments to seat position along the way and that helped the seat from hurting. It's still stiff, but it's better. Don't have much issue with grips as of yet. One of these days I'd like to try a 30 mile+ ride.

im_joel

The grips are fine. I just have issues with my carpal tunnels, so after a few minutes they bother me a little. I was looking forward to put in a few miles today but mother nature decided it was a good day to rain lol

finch204

Glad to see more people getting the Roam. I stopped riding for a bit because summer temps here in Texas are ridiculous. Even at 9 pm, temps can still be in the 90s. I have found that I can only do morning rides, which is what I've started doing this week. The challenge is getting up, since I am not really a morning person. Also the clicking on my right pedal is getting annoying, I will need new pedals soon. Since I ride when it's dark, I want to get one with some reflectors. Other than the pedal issue, the bike is great. I love how comfortable the ride is.

finch204

Before buying new pedals, I decided to try and tighten the right pedal on my Roam. That was all that was needed. No more clicking and ended up saving money.

One thing that confused me though since I'm a noob with working on bikes, is that I thought pedal wrenches are 15mm. When I tried to tighten the pedals on my Roam, I had to use a 17mm wrench, since the 15mm and 16mm wrenches were too small. I did not have a pedal wrench, so I was just using regular open end wrenches.

im_joel

Anyone using a computer with the roam 2? If so which one? I'm starting to put more miles into it and tracking with a phone app is not as accurate.

@finch204
hey at least you figured it out. I think there's a time when everyone changes/upgrades pedals, but the stock ones are fine for hitting some trails.

hokiefyd 

I use the sub-$8 Bell Dashboard 150. It's $15 at Walmart, but less than 8 bucks on Amazon Prime. I have one of these computers on three of my bikes, and they each work great. I prefer wired connections to the sensor, and it's getting harder to find wired computers like this one. The only real metric I track is trip distance and total distance, and this model does that well. It also includes other things that I rarely use (average speed, max speed, clock, etc). If you're looking for simple and reliable, I recommend this one.

finch204

The stock pedals are definitely adequate on all of my riding so far. I would like a larger wider pedal in the future, but the stock ones will do for now.

I use an old Garmin Edge 500 bike computer. I bought it when I was just getting started into cycling and was deep into the "buy cycling gear" phase. I even bought a heart rate monitor back then. In hindsight I would have bought a cheaper bike computer. That said, I do like the Edge 500 as it allows me to pair up other ANT sensors to it and it can also upload my ride to Strava. So I do not need to use the Strava app on my phone on my rides. I still use the phone for location sharing, so my wife knows where I am.

mwl001

I use a cateye strada, has a cadence sensor as well as speed, which is nice. Can't transfer data and doesn't sync to phone but batteries last forever.

im_joel

Everyone, ty for your response. I will use this as a starting point. I should probably clean it before I do anything else with the bike though. I can't believe how dirty it gets. I'm not mountain biking for crying out loud.

jackC68

Hello All,

After managing to procrastinate the spring away I have finally purchased an 18 Roam 1 disc. Excited would be an understatement surely but the wait from my local bike shop is maddening. I thought I had it all under control really. I rationalized that it would allow me ample time to further research in general and begin to set up some of the related accoutrement but I am starting to crack. This is all new to me and is pushing aside some comfort zones personally but i'm up for it.. Hoping It will be less than a week when I can report being a happy Roam owner! Much has changed since the last time I sat upon a bicycle and therein lies the fun.. Heres to the adventure..

hokiefyd 

What a sad, and so familiar story! Welcome to the club (Bike Forums, and Roam riders)!

badger1

Giant has kicked it up (Roam) again for 2019. The '19 Roam 0, which should be available here in Canada, retains the fantastic NCX-E air fork, and moves to 11 spd SLX/XT mix with a 42/34 crank, and Alivio-level brakes. Yum. https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/roam-0-disc-2019. If we (Canada) get this, I'm in.

But wait ... there's more: U.S. will certainly get the Roam 1, and that is kicked up as well to the NCX-D air fork (at long last). https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/roam-1-disc-2019

ColonelSanders

The Giant 0 for 2019 sees a AUD$150 price increase for the switch from a triple crank to a double crank and for an XT rear derailleur over the previous SLX rear derailleur.

The Giant 1 for 2019 is the big improver, because for an extra $AUD100 over the 2018 model, not only does it come with the Air Fork that the 2018 model lacked, it also switches from a triple crank to the same double as the Giant 0 and even though the wheelset is supposedly a lesser set, the 2019 Giant 1, goes back to having 32 spokes, vs the 28 spokes on the 2018 Giant 1.


The Giant 1 is the best looking Roam in the 2019 range in my opinion too.

finch204

Doesn't look like we have a 2019 Roam model yet for the US. We do get a new fitness bike, the Giant FastRoad SL.

badger1

The website will slowly update in the U.S. as in Canada. There will be a new carbon Fastroad as well, for example. More of the 19s are on the Australian site.

finch204

What grips do you guys/gals use on your Giant Roam?

Has anyone tried switching the handlebars to a slightly narrower one?