hokiefyd 

Changing to an adjustable stem won't cause problems, no. Some bikes come with adjustable stems from the factory (I think the Specialized did in this case, right?). I generally prefer adjustable quill stems because you can adjust them for both height and reach independently of each other, without having to buy additional parts. Having said that, this is, fortunately, a one-time deal where you get it set to your fit and leave it there; threadless setups often require you to buy parts to adjust them, but it should just be a one-time cost. In any event, it shouldn't effect geometry much, unless you really go crazy with it.

ColonelSanders

If you get more serious with your riding, the Roam allows you to upgrade to high quality hydraulic disk brakes, as it has all the mounting points.

Esthetic

Have you considered instead a wider tire and an adjustable stem for the Sirrus?

Maybe its just me because i can't buy every bike i like, but see little point as the Roam is not all too different in riding geometry from the Sirrus, and they overlap a wide range of uses. I already feel that bike covers the city bike/comfort/fitness and mild trail/gravel space quite adequately.


As a Roam owner (or if i were a Sirrus owner), a complimentary bike for me to add to my stable would be in the road bike category. Giant Contend or Fastroad SLR, Spesh Langster/Allez for instance that when you hop on from one to the next you have the change of geometry and have a clear choice between family/recreational riding and putting some work/miles in on the road.

Don't blame you for wanting another Hybrid, just food for thought...The one thing the Roam adds over the Sirrus is more of a MTB feels.

cycling705

I agree with you. I went back to the LBS today (which sells both Specialized and Giant), and I've effectively ruled out the Specialized Crossroads. Although it's a little more casual (adjustable stem and 38c tires (vs. 32c)), it's really not much different than the Sirrus Sport that I have. I don't like the grip shifters on the Crossroads, and the Roam 3 comes with disc brakes for the same price.

Thanks for your input. It was very helpful.

cycling705

Novice question here...

How can I tell if an adjustable quill stem will work on the Giant Roam 3?

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/roam-3

cycling705

Good point. Thanks!

cycling705

I did consider a wider tire and adjustable stem early on but when I contacted Specialized, they said that the max recommended tire size for the Sirrus Sport is 35mm. The LBS today did say that depending on the brand, I may be able to use 38mm. That seems to be the max though. I'm wanting to use a minimum of 38mm with the flexibility to go higher if desired (e.g. 45+mm) so that's why I was leaning towards the Roam 3.

Thanks for the suggestions.

cycling705

I hate to open up this discussion, but I saw on another thread that you are a Roam owner, so I'm curious as to your opinion...

I've noticed when riding my Sirrus Sport that the road vibrations are more than I anticipated. I realize the fork on the Roam 3 isn't the best (i.e. designed for mountain biking). That being said, nearly all of my riding will be done on city streets, neighborhoods, and paved bike paths. Very rarely, I may find myself on a flat dirt path or road.

Since I won't be doing any MTB trail riding, I'm hoping the fork on the Roam 3 will add some level of comfort for the bumps and cracks that will inevitably come up on streets and paved paths.

Do you find that to be the case on your Roam?

In other words, if you had the option to buy again, do the forks on the Roam help soften the ride, or do they bring no added value for street riding? (I'm not concerned with the added weight of the fork...I'm 6'0" 240 lbs - another few pounds for the fork isn't a big deal.)

Is there much movement in the suspension when you aren't going over bumps, or is it mostly firm until the suspension is needed?

Thanks for your input.

andrei_r

It won't. A quill stem is for threaded design. Giant roam 3 uses the threadless design.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headset_(bicycle_part)

At one moment you said it was for leisure family rides at 5mph. In my opinion you're overthinking it way too much and a new bike for that is an overkill. An adjustable stem and 35mm tires is plenty enough. Maybe lower your saddle a bit too... Just my opinion.

cycling705

If you guys don't mind, since you both are Roam owners as well, I'd like to ask you the same questions that I posed to TheRealJoeBlow regarding the Roam suspension fork.

As context, nearly all of my riding will be done on city streets, neighborhoods, and paved bike paths. I won't be doing any MTB trail riding.

As such, I'm hoping the fork on the Roam 3 will add some level of comfort for the bumps and cracks that will inevitably come up on streets and paved paths.

Do you find that to be the case on your Roam?

Do the forks on the Roam help soften the ride, or do they bring no added value for street riding? (I'm not concerned with the added weight of the fork...I'm 6'0" 240 lbs.)

Is there much movement in the suspension when you aren't going over bumps, or is it mostly firm until the suspension is needed?

Thanks for your input.

cycling705

Thanks for the link. I'll definitely check it out.

I hear what you're saying about the family rides, but the current neighborhood rides will be replaced with longer rides as my son gets older. I'm trying to factor in current needs, as well as future needs. The Roam 3 seems to offer the most flexibility.

Appreciate your thoughts and input.

cycling705

How did you like your Verve? I looked at one today. Although I'm leaning heavily toward the Giant Roam 3, the Verve was a nice bike.

Esthetic

Its mostly firm on smooth pavement, but also the bike is fairly new with ~ 100 miles of use. I dont think its mushy at all.

The only time I can say the suspension is working against you is on an incline where you raise your butt off the seat shifting the weight forward on the bike a bit, but even though i don't have a remote lockout i find i can lock it out on the move by reaching over just fine. There is not much resistance to the lever.

But Yes it does soften the ride nicely, specially on chopped pavement and road imperfections. No time more apparent during my night ride last night as i had the fork locked and had a jarring reminder over chopped pavement from my hands up to my skull coasting down a decline at about 20mph. Had i had it unlocked I would've barely felt it.

I have a river path by my house that i take it on gravel/river rocks right off the path and riding right up to the water and the suspension is gravy over all of it.

dbf909

Sure, the suspension provides some relief of bumps and cracks in the road. I've ridden it on some pretty rough sidewalks with many 1" or greater mismatches in cracks or driveway joints and it made a big difference. However, most roads that I ride on are pretty smooth and thus find pretty minimal difference between locked out or active.

At a leisurely pace (you mentioned 5mph), the suspension will move very little on the smooth road but will be effective over bumps and joints. If you stand up and pedal hard, the suspension will move noticeably with your pedal stroke - in other words, you can bounce it but when riding on the saddle at a leisurely pace, it really doesn't move unless it is pushed.

hokiefyd 

The Verve is a nice bike, though it's really closer in concept to a Giant Cypress than a Giant Roam. The Trek DS series of bikes are closest in concept to the Giant Roam. They'll have more of a "mountain bike" geometry to them, whereas the Verve and Cypress both offer a rather upright riding style. The Verve and Cypress both have slightly wider saddles (Bontrager's Boulevard saddle is sublime), and they both offer an adjustable quill stem (which I like over a fixed threadless stem).

Unfortunately, the "upright hybrid" concept isn't the sexiest style of bike out there, and it's not as easy to market, so they don't seem to get the nice things like disc brakes and such that their showroom siblings do. Both the Cypress and the Verve are available only with rim brakes (though the ones on my Verve stop the bike RIGHT NOW, and I don't have any objective complaints about them).

If I were in the market for a new upright today, it'd probably be a Cypress. Giants are often good values, yes, but Trek ditched the suspension forks on the Verve line; it's rigid fork only. I don't agree with that (there are plenty of choices with rigid forks already), so my money, buying new, would go to Giant.

hokiefyd 

If you like this style of bike (Verve/Cypress), also consider the Specialized Crossroads line. Their "Sport" is about on-par with the Cypress DX and the Verve 2. Like the Trek, it's sans suspension fork and, like the Trek, comes with large volume 45mm tires. As with both Trek and Giant, Specialized do not see the value in fitting ANY Crossroads with disc brakes.

therealjoeblow

Yes, I find that is exactly what they help with - the typical jarring bumps from bad pavement joints, cracks or potholes. They provide a softening of those which would otherwise go directly to your wrists, elbows and neck. I'm 52 years old with joints that don't appreciate the harshness of a fixed fork.

IMO, these forks are extremely well designed and effective for use on rough pavements and MUP trails, which is their intended use. As you note, they are not MTB forks, but that should never be a criticism because they aren't marketed as such. Again, you need to use them for what they were intended, and for that, they are completely fit for purpose. There is literally zero movement when the fork is running over smooth pavement. The chatter you hear from some people about them being pogo-sticks that constantly sap energy are simply just myths and not true.

I've posted these video links before, and will again, specifically to answer your question. These are the exact same Suntour NEX forks that the Giant Roam and many other similar hybrids have:

1) In this first one, at about the halfway point the rider goes out into the sunlight - you can see his pedal strokes in the shadows, and there is no movement whatsoever from his pedaling - the fork only flexes when it hits a curb, or pavement defect, demonstrating how effective it as absorbing the moderate bumps:


2) In this video, you can see how effective the fork is at absorbing much more intense bumps from a very rough dirt trail, likely a lot rougher than most will ride with this bike, but still, very effective. And then at 1m 07s the rider hits the smooth MUP asphalt trail, and again, there's zero bobbing or movement from the fork until he gets back to the rough trail at the end.


Those videos are the same as my experience. The NEX forks work very well for these types of terrain.

Cheers
TRJB

finch204

I had an older Verve model, maybe 2012 or 2013, it was a Verve 2 with suspension fork but no lockout. I think it is perfect for recreational riding, riding leisurely around the neighborhood/sidewalks and bike paths. The suspension fork soaked up a lot of the bumps and the ride was just generally comfy. The only reason I sold it is because I was using it to do fitness rides. It wasn't really made for that. When I tried to go fast on it, the front suspension fork would sometimes flex up and down when pedaling hard, the seats would restrict my thighs and the upright position just made it hard to go fast. As a recreational bike though, it was great.

The current Verve model no longer has a suspension fork but it comes with wider tires. I haven't tried it yet so I can't really comment on how well it rides.

cycling705

Thanks to each of you. Your responses were very helpful and encouraging.

Just a few of clarifying questions...

1. If I'm riding a flat, paved path or neighborhood street that transitions into a moderate hill, is it recommended that I lock out the suspension? Or, is the "pogo-stick effect" in the suspension, while noticeable, not a detriment to your efficiency when pedaling out of the saddle?

2. Whether my pace is 5 MPH (with my young son), or 10-15 MPH (on solo rides), does the suspension react the same as you guys described above (no movement on flat surfaces; occasional flex when going over a bump/hole)? Or, does the suspension respond differently when you are pedaling faster in a seated position?

3. After watching those YouTube videos (thank you TRJB for providing those), it seems to be the best of both worlds - solid and firm fork action on flat pavements, and a much-desired cushioning effect when you encounter an occasional pavement bump or hole. I can't see a single reason for not wanting the flexibility that the suspension fork provides, ESPECIALLY if the fork offers a lock-out feature. At 45 years old, and 240 pounds, an additional 2 lbs in fork weight pales in comparison to the benefits it provides.

Any opinions as to why there is so much negativity in the forums towards suspension forks on pavement bikes? I could understand it if all pavement-type riding was as smooth as glass, but it's rarely smooth.

Thanks again, everyone.

cycling705

Finch204 kind of hit on this, but I'll ask both of you as clarification...

Since the older Verve models do not have a lock-out feature on the suspension fork, did you find the flexing in the suspension to be annoying, or not a big deal?

Now that the 2017 Verve models have gone away from the suspension fork, in your estimation, will the 45mm tires soak up the majority of the road jarring, or am I better off with the 38mm Roam and the lock-out suspension fork?

I realize the Roam and Verve are two different styles of bikes, but if I add an adjustable stem to the Roam, I'm guessing it aligns the two styles more closely. Is that a fair assessment? (I still have my Sirrus Sport if I want to take a fitness ride.)

Thank you, both.

prj71

This rules out needing a suspension fork. Generally, you're better off with a bigger tire at lower pressure for road use to improve comfort than the cheap suspension on these bikes in the price range you are looking at.

MRT2

I agree with others you are overthinking this, and possibly overbuying. If I really had the N +1 bug, and I have in the past, I might look for something used as it makes no sense to spend $400 or $500 for a New Roam or Crossroads that overlaps your Sirrus for 95% of your riding. 5 MPH is really slow, and as soon as your kids become proficient, they will pick up speed in a hurry, and you will be struggling to keep up with them. Or they won't and you won't be going on family bike rides for long.

prj71

Have you considered the Giant ToughRoad? Carbon fork and wider tires.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/bikes-toughroad-slr

ColonelSanders

I love my Toughroad and it is a very comfortable bike that soaks up the bumps(or maybe that is just the 50mm wide tyres), but it is a fair bit over his budget.

Also I needed to fit a 40 degree angled stem of 130mm length to make it fit me to my liking.

hokiefyd 

You cannot use an adjustable quill stem on the Roam, because it uses a threadless headset. But you can certainly change out the fixed stem for an adjustable stem. Here's an example of one:

https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Z-STERN-.../dp/B001V5CF60

It would completely replace your current stem (the part that bolts around your steerer tube and holds the handlebar). With this type of adjustable stem, you can adjust reach (how far the handlebars are from your saddle) and you can adjust height, but they're necessarily dependent upon each other, because the stem can only pivot at one end. As it angles up to raise the handlebar, it also shortens the reach (moves them closer to you).

A quill stem can slide up and down inside the steerer tube, because the steerer tube is already fixed to the bike frame with the threaded headset. The quill stem only positions the handlebar. An adjustable quill stem has the same pivoting mechanism as the one linked above, but it can also slide up and down within the steerer tube so you can adjust reach and height independent of each other.

I would say that, in general, you should be able to find a comfortable position with the combination of adjusting the saddle height and the addition of an adjustable stem on a bike like the Roam, but you do have to buy additional parts to make it work.