Hybrid Bicycles - Giant Roam 1 W Upgrade Help

Hi everybody,

I recently got my gf into riding with me. Picked her up a 2011 Giant Roam 1 W a few months ago. Well, to make a long story short she's graduated from strictly commuting to riding the dirt trails. She's having trouble keeping up with me on the singletracks. I know it would probably cost less to get a new bike but it took us months to find a frame that fit her right and allowed her to stand over the TT comfortably (she's 4'11"). Based on her observations she seems feels more comfortable my 29er because of how light it is (22lbs) and how much more stable it feels in the dirt. Now the frame wont allow 29er tires so I'm thinking about a 26er setup. Here's where I need help.

1) I'd like to replace the fork. Stock is a Suntour 63mm fork. Would a 26er fork with 80mm travel be ok on the bike? Or would I need one with more travel to compensate for the smaller wheel? I don't want to change the geometry too much.

2) I have a Shimano XT groupset I'd like to migrate over to save her some weight. Everything would fit fine except for the BB. The Roam has an internal BB while the XT has an external BB. Stock, the Roam comes with the Acera cranks. What's an upgrade to this that will work with the stock BB? Or, is there any way I can get an external BB to fit the Roam?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Changing to 26" wheels will lower the bottom bracket. In most cases the pedals will be too close to the ground and will strike the ground when pedaling through turns even when the bike is not leaned over very far. Low bottom bracket off-road is a bad idea.

You can put the XT bottom bracket and cranks on her bike, but you need to face the BB shell first. External bearing BB needs to butt up against machined surfaces precisely parallel to each other or the bearings can bind.

Wife/girl friend should always have the nicer bike. Even so, she will have trouble keeping up. If you ride together you should adjust your speed accordingly. An easy way to make sure you aren't going too fast is to let her lead and you follow. Have you tried that?

I never thought about the lower BB issue. That may be a problem even if I do go for shorter 170mm pedals. I may just have to rethink this. This seemed the better route since I could gradually upgrade rather than just drop another $1500 on a bike after I just paid $650 for this 2 months ago.

It's not really the keeping up part she's having trouble with. It's more of the terrain. I wish the chain stay were spread out a little wider. I'd be able to just add 29er tires. The 40c tires just aren't doing the job on the trails were on. Thanks for your advice!

If she is 4'11" on a stock bike, she prolly already has 170mm crank arms. You may change and find them no shorter.

Your right. They are 170mm. I'm pretty much screwed into buying a new bike I guess. I might just try a 29x1.9 tire in the rear. If that works I can just get a newnfork in the front and she'll have her 29er. If only they made a 700c tire larger than 42c.

The Specialized Crosstrail and Ariel series come stock with 700x45c tires. Not quite as big as 1.9 in, but it's closer. Worth a look.

I might just try a 29x1.9 tire in the rear. If that works I can just get a newnfork in the front and she'll have her 29er.

That might work. She is a beginner on the technical terrain, so you can't expect too much. She would be struggling on any bike. Be patient.

You say she prefers your bike, think about letting her ride your bike and you ride hers. Your bike maybe too big for her but it's lighter and has tires more suited to the terrain you're trying to get her to enjoy. Maybe a dumb idea.

The Specialized Crosstrail and Ariel series come stock with 700x45c tires. Not quite as big as 1.9 in, but it's closer. Worth a look.

Will have to look at those tires, thanks!


That might work. She is a beginner on the technical terrain, so you can't expect too much. She would be struggling on any bike. Be patient.

You say she prefers your bike, think about letting her ride your bike and you ride hers. Your bike maybe too big for her but it's lighter and has tires more suited to the terrain you're trying to get her to enjoy. Maybe a dumb idea.

Well the 29er tire was a failed plan. Didn't even come close to fitting the rear.

We've swapped bikes in the middle of a ride and she's left me in the dust, literally. She's actually a lot more confident on the 29er. I guess I rushed into buying her first bike and thought we'd be ok with the hybrid because we didn't think we would take riding so seriously. I should have dropped the extra money and got her a mountain bike.
Looks like I might have to get her one now but at least it's an excuse for me to get a second bike as well.