RickyBikes
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The Giant Roam E+ is a series of hybrid cross-country electric bikes from one of the largest companies in biking. This is a class-one electric bike, meaning pedal assist only up to 20mph. There are two models, the high-step Roam E+ GTS and the step-through Roam E+ STA. The GTS offers four available frame sizes whereas the STA offers three. They each retail at $2,450 on Giant’s website. The quiet SyncDrive Core motor from Yamaha is a 250W mid-drive unit which produces 50Nm of torque and generates a 300% support ratio. It compliments the 10-speed Shimano Deore drivetrain to make for a stable, enjoyable riding experience.
Here's Giant’s official website for the Roam E+; I'd love to hear your thoughts below, especially if you own either the Roam E+ GTS or the Roam E+ STA or plan to buy them!
This is court's previous video for the Explore E+ - there's just not much out yet on the roam, so it was hard to find videos covering it.
While I haven't reviewed this electric bike myself, I have covered similar eBikes and I wanted to provide some insights and open things up for your feedback. I hope providing several sources, with varying perspectives, allows everyone to come to their own conclusions. Sometimes short reviews and those created by shops only cover the good aspects and can come off like a commercial, so I've tried to be neutral and objective with these insights:
Pros - things that stood out as good:
As always, I welcome feedback and additions to these pros and cons, especially from people who have tried or own the bike. If you see other great video reviews for the Giant Roam E+, please share them and I may update this post ongoing so we can get the best perspectives and insights.
Here's Giant’s official website for the Roam E+; I'd love to hear your thoughts below, especially if you own either the Roam E+ GTS or the Roam E+ STA or plan to buy them!
While I haven't reviewed this electric bike myself, I have covered similar eBikes and I wanted to provide some insights and open things up for your feedback. I hope providing several sources, with varying perspectives, allows everyone to come to their own conclusions. Sometimes short reviews and those created by shops only cover the good aspects and can come off like a commercial, so I've tried to be neutral and objective with these insights:
Pros - things that stood out as good:
- The Giant Roam E+ GPS and Roam E+ STA are quality builds from a large, reputable company. This bike maximizes stability, pairing their signature Aluxx aluminum frame with a mid-drive motor. Giant chose 27.5″ tires here, which provide a low attack angle and smooth ride feel. They are tubeless ready, for those who wish to reduce weight, and have some puncture protection built-in.
- I love the dealer support, two year comprehensive warranty, and lifetime frame warranty when buying with Giant. These bikes may cost more than some lesser priced online-only bikes, but there is a vast global network of dealers and repair shops, so you’ll get in-person advice, fitting, post-purchase tuneups and warranty support almost anywhere you go. Not having to put a bike together, if you’re new to eBikes, is also a luxury.
- Giant’s SyncDrive mid-drive motor powered by Yamaha has SmartAssist technology, so it doesn’t utilize pedal assist modes. The SmartAssist has terrain and slope sensors as well as an accelerometer. These sensors gauge the input and determine how much assistance to provide. Giant’s website claims this is the only such eBike system to utilize both rider input and terrain feedback. SyncDrive is designed to replicate the rider’s natural pedal stroke. If you want your eBike to feel as natural as a traditional bicycle, and to ride casually and quietly, this is perfect for you.
- The control pad has a handy WALK+ mode. So, if you’re around town and come across snow or an unexpected flat tire, you can walk your bike and it will give you some minor assistance. This latest version of the control pad includes Bluetooth and Ant+ for use with their RideControl smartphone app and ANT+ wireless devices like Garmin. This shows a more precise battery readout, which is always handy.
- Giant brands their products in a tasteful manner. This is an all-black metallic paint job with black accents, and compliments the motor, hubs, spoks,handlebar, ets. This creates for a sleek, aesthetically attractive bike that fits the quiet mid-drive motor well.
- The Roam E+ STA & GTS both utilize RideControl ONE. It is an integrated controller which substitutes for a display. This is a tradeoff simply because the lack of added display might be confusing for some riders. These are popular features particularly in europe; I’ve seen them on bikes like the Orbea Vibe and Desiknio Pinion Classic and Desiknio Single Speed Urban. There’s an option to use a smartphone app. In theory this is great, but something I think leaves a bit to be desired in practice. Unless you use the app, you won’t know how far you’ve gone or how fast you’re going.
- The battery is a fast-charging charger, so I hope that their cells have a high C Rating and don’t get degraded by the speed and heat. They are designed to use lower voltage, so the cells are used in a less energetic way. Fast charging has been a concern for automobiles and other devices. It would be a bummer to have the battery experience fewer cycles or have to be replaced early.
- There’s no shift sensing built into the Giant (Yamaha) motor controller, and this can lead to increased chain and sprocket wear if you don’t back off a bit on your pedaling while shifting.
- As much as I like the performance and quiet nature of the Yamaha mid-drive motor, it is larger and hangs down more than competing products from Shimano, Bosch, Brose, and Mahle.
As always, I welcome feedback and additions to these pros and cons, especially from people who have tried or own the bike. If you see other great video reviews for the Giant Roam E+, please share them and I may update this post ongoing so we can get the best perspectives and insights.
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