Originally Posted by
Pinhy
You have my interest piqued. Any specifics that make it worth the extra $120-ish?
9 speed vs 8 speed. that big a difference?
Hydraulic vs mechanical disc brake. again, big difference?
Yes. Hydraulics make a big difference, a nice difference. Then there is the drivetrain
CRANK
Roam-3
SR Suntour XCT
Roam-2
Shimano M371
The shifters are better on the 2, as is the front derailleur, even the hub is a nice little upgrade.
Going from bike brand to different bike brand these differences can be misleading but on the same bike they are obvious. The fork is what lets this bike down though and the same fork is on all 3 models. It's a very cheap fork, just a spring in a tube. The bike would be better served with a rigid fork but not as many people would buy it then because the average buyer of these low end bikes equate suspension with "Good" and "Cool". That's how effective the marketing has been.