2021 Roam E+ GTS

[conix67]

Since the Covid lockdown hit my area (greater Toronto), I've been working from home most of the time much like everyone else around the world. On rare occasions I had to go to the office which is around 9Kms away, I decided to use my old no-name bicycle. I enjoyed it very much and decided that I'd commute with my bicycle as primary transportation method. Getting some exercise done along the way with a bit of adventure, and the idea of helping the environment by avoiding the commute by car are main attractions. However, there were few concerns:

• Arriving in the office in a sweaty mess on hot days
• there are some long stretches of hills (not too steep) that contributes to the above, don't mind getting bit of exercise done on the way back but would be nice to avoid it to the office
• When it's windy, it's usually NW or W which means I'd be cycling directly against the wind on uphill which gets very annoying.

I had thoughts of getting a new bicycle for commute, but most of the concerns above would remain with any bicycle. This is when I started considering an E-bike as an alternative. I looked at some conversion kits and many reviews of various e-bikes available in the market today. As most of us are aware, bicycles in general are in short supply. In the end, I looked around what's available in GTA area, and settled on 2021 Giant Roam E+ GTS. The reasons are:

• Reputable brand
• Mid drive with decent power (sync drive core)
• Yamaha motor and controller
• Decent range
• relatively good price

Well, it has been exactly what I expected so far (except few issues) as an e-bike. My idea of e-bike is the assistance it provides when I want it and need it, instead of an electric moped. Even at the lowest power level (Eco, 50%) it provides decent amount of boost that more than negates added weight of motor and battery. The bike rolls well on flat or downhill, and there's typically no need for the assistance in those cases. Here's my first long trip on this bike:

Started with full battery and at the end of the trip I had 48% left. so I was happy with overall battery consumption.

I have also started battery consumption comparison of all 5 assistant levels on my commute route. I will post the results here once I collect them. This has been delayed due to the chain drop issue

 

[clyde8452]

I was gonna go with one but read the "Life" motor was the bottom of the line ? Going for a Vado 4.0 now it looks like .

 

[conix67]

I was gonna go with one but read the "Life" motor was the bottom of the line ? Going for a Vado 4.0 now it looks like .

ROAM E+ has Syncdrive Core, bottom of the line up with 50nm torque. It's relatively low but I cannot compare against other models or makes. It's more than plenty for me though which is what matters. It provides me more than sufficient assistance when I need. My bigger complaint would be the max speed cut off which is 32Km/h. I am constantly hitting the limit on downhill or flat ground when i'm pushing it since the speed would be well over the limit.

 

[clyde8452]

 

[conix67]

By the way, Vado 4.0 looks very nice but also at much higher price vs Roam E+. Being class 3 is also nice since you can get assistance at higher speed but at the expense of the battery life. I am very happy with the battery life and motor power on my Roam E+.

 

[conix67]

Roam E+ is called an adventure bike. I'm having my own adventure of the new bike ownership, however something that I'd very much like to avoid. 2 weeks into the ownership, I get flats twice! For all my life of owning bicycles, I had gotten a flat just once.. Here's the cause of the latest flat

actually there were two of them on the tire, one was responsible for the flat.
After the initial incident a week ago (caused by a small glass bit), I had purchased spare tubes from Amazon and was prepared for this. Since I'm a newbie when it comes to replacing tubes on the bicycle tires, especially on these tubless ready rims, I had a lot of fun taking the tire off and on the rim. The cheap tire levers that came with tube repair kits were useless.

Anyway, put the new tube in and the ride is bouncy. Tire was out of round, I thought it wasn't seating properly, deflated, adjusted, inflated a few times but it wouldn't be fixed. Finally, took out the tube and checked. I think this is a bad tube, lightly inflated to inspect and the new tube (Conti, on the left below) has bulges and dips .. the stock tube (Kenda brand, right) looks perfectly round and even all around. I'm actually surprised the unevenness in the tube shows through the tires.

So ended up putting the stock tube back in, after applying a patch to repair the hole. It is definitely better but still not perfect, I suspect it's due to the initial repair that was done on it, the patch could be too thick (upper one with orange edge, the bottom is the new patch)?

I'm sending back these conti tubes. I bought a set of 4. opened 2 and they both look bad. Ordered Schwalbe tubes along with schwalbe tire levers. I will need to be fully prepared for flats on long trips.

 

[st0ut]

I was gonna go with one but read the "Life" motor was the bottom of the line ? Going for a Vado 4.0 now it looks like .

I have the explorer with the Life motor. you really don't need anything more for pavement or rail trail type terrain. i am currently averaging 19mph with 34 mph top end.

It is not like comparing a 6cyl Mustang to a GT. i would suggest you ride both then make up your mind.

 

[conix67]

It was very nice day last Sunday. Tried another long trip to the east of city, covering mostly trails along the way. The wind was heavy from NW, so the trip was challenging coming back but still made it back safely. Battery consumption was 89% for this trip. Again, the assist was on mostly for hills and head winds, or when I had to quickly speed up to beat traffic lights.

Part of the route had to be covered with shared road with cars. Nothing happened but having dedicate bike lanes or trails is much better.
Anyway, the trouble with tire puncture continues. The day before this trip, got another flat.. and the cause of puncture isn't even a sharp object this time.

This can't be happening. I think what happened is that the wooden piece went through the previously damaged area. I couldn't find a way to fix this better, and cannot find a replacement tire either. (not listed on Giant website)
Anyway, the tube was done this time around. I tried to repair it on the spot and tried the tiny portable pump to inflate it and broke the inner pin(?) of the presta valve right off.

Next time in the same situation (hope never happens), I'll be using an adapter to protect the valve. Since I had no spare tubes yet, tried the local dealer and luckily found couple of Giant branded tubes in stock. These are made in Taiwan and looks to be way better than the Conti tubes from Amazon.

Anyway, the long trip was made with this tube in the tire. No more flats... yet.

Does anyone know how to repair the tire properly or replacement is the only solution?

 

[conix67]

I ended up getting a pair of Schwalbe Marathons to replace stock tires. Got 2 more flats after my last post so I've had enough of flats. I would like to ride rather than fixing up the flats all the time.

Anyway, while replacing the tires I noticed the hub/wheel bearings aren't very smooth, both wheels. Does anyone know if they are adjustable (cone) or fixed? The bike still runs ok but I feel the bearings in this condition will add a drag.

 

[conix67]

after 2 months of ownership, I learned what I need to do next time I purchase a bike from Giant (or any other vendor especially if they don't accept returns).

Check out the bike thoroughly, inside the store if possible before picking it up. Also, if you can make the payment only if all checks pass, do it.

• disk brakes - make sure either pads are not rubbing against the disk and the disc is centered.
• wheel hubs - pull the wheels out, feel the bearing by hand. With the wheels installed, they will rotate even if the bearing is packed overly tight. This will eventually damage the bearings and you'll be wasting energy unnecessarily.
• tires/wheels roundness - both my wheels are ok, but my rear tire definitely had some deformity that couldn't be corrected (thought it was the wheel but new tires look better).
• tire pressure - mine was delivered with front at 10psi and rear 40psi.
• pedals - Roam E+ comes with basic pedals, I replaced them right away but they can still be used on other bikes.
• shifter - check if it can shift to all gears smoothly (test ride it outside if possible)

If you discover issues after picking up the bike, getting the warranty service to correct the issue is the pain.

You may think all of these are already performed by Giant before delivery. Maybe you'd get lucky or this varies from dealer to dealer, but clearly I did not receive a bike that went through these checks.

After all, Giant does not guarantee your satisfaction.

 

[CatKing]

@conix67, can you tell where is the dealer you picked up the ebike?

 

[conix67]

@conix67, can you tell where is the dealer you picked up the ebike?

It's very close to the start/end point on the map shown on the first post here...