Firstly, "Liv" is Giant's female oriented line of bikes and they are built to the same quality as the men's range, which just go by the name of Giant.

The suspension debate is a hotly contested one and thankfully therealjoeblow has shown up to offer some good insights into suspension forks.

However in chosing between suspension and non-suspension forked bikes, it isn't always so easy to do an Apples to Apples comparison.

If you want to compare a Trek FX to a Giant Roam, you need to be mindful of a few things.

Yes the Trek FX is 5 or so pounds lighter, but it also comes with narrower tyres and does not have disc brakes.

The Roam has a stronger frame than the Trek FX, not because the Trek FX is weak, but because the Roam is strong and may even be overbuilt for your needs.

I'm not sure how old you and your husband are, but you might appreciate the wider tyres and suspension of the Roam whilst you get back into cycling, as the vibrations and bumps take a few weeks to start getting use to.

If your husband is going to be doing trails, I would go with the Roam for him, for sure.

Fair point - I live in the prairies and rarely pedal up (significant) hills.

Cheers
TRJB

I agree with [MENTION=364284]ColonelSanders[/MENTION], the Trek FX series is not a fair comparison to the Roam. It's a light-duty mostly road intended bike, much closer to the Giant Escape series. You would be better to compare the Giant Roam to the Giant Toughroad if you want to more comparable frame and component levels for suspension vs non. Both of those are heavier duty frames than the Trek FX or Giant Escape series. I don't know exactly what the Toughroad weighs compared to the Roam, but my guess is stock, it would be closer to the 2lb difference I noted.

Cheers
TRJB

I would say weigh the pros of cons of each And what you want to get out of this bike. Crappy suspension is still suspension and will make for much less jarring ride over bumps especially for beginer rider that hasn't learned to handle bumps. With shocks youll beable to run higher psi on pavement over bumps to acually go faster. My first serious bike was trek fx (shockless hybrid) and it was not great on the bumpy recreation paths I was riding it on should have had a dual sport type bike. Then I starting riding it in the road and it was amazing the end. You prob want to consider type of terrain if it's pretty bad get wider tires or suspension. Narrow tires are best for pavement

After all our answers they probably decided to get a canoe instead :lol:

Canoe forums probably as bad. Wood vs fiberglass fights daily

Bah! Aluminum's the way to go with canoes ;-)

What about wood and canvas? What about dugouts?

:lol:
Best comment ever... :p
What an awesome forum.

So wow, that's great Info. You guys are so helpful, as I expected.

The YouTube videos are great, I love that.

So many things I didn't think of....
Now you all have me thinking about what kind of seat the bike has, but I guess that's easy to change right? I do want something comfy.
I'm deffinatetly not affraid to "ride" the bike, I wont be whining if I hit a bump.

Even so, watching the video even just with the guy going over speed bumps and what not the suspension looked nice. And then am I understanding correctly you have to adjust it? That guy called it "Sag"?

Another concern is the maintenance, how often do you have to oil it or whatever it needs?

I'm going to look at some of those other suggestions too (a fixed fork, is that how you call it?)

Just a little extra so you understand our needs, we are mid 30's, live in Las Vegas. We have a ton of paved paths, again if we did dirt it would be probably be pretty smooth or desert like.
I like the idea of different size tires or adjusting the air, I never would have though of that.

Our riding will be part exercise/activity and recreational, I could see us taking a trip to Sedona or places like that with them. Possibly a little trailer for some kiddo's down the road.

I think we may be leaning towards no suspension based on the variety of suggestions, is it normal to test ride some bikes? I guess it's only logical it's just a little intimidating all those brand spanking new ones I didn't even think to ask.
They did not have the Giants they recommend in stock anyway so we would have to go back and test something similar.....

What would be the limit for terrain that the Roam can handle?
When you consider the price point is a lower quality suspension, what are the main problems you would notice compaired to a higher end?

:roflmao2:
I'm sure it's so true.
I understand how many times you guys have probably taken on these same questions. I'm a moderator on a Parrot forum so I'm used to hearing the same things over and over too. Thanks for putting up with yet another noob. :D

I actually wish they had them, but they weren't in store. I think everything in the shop was out of our price range.
Things like tires and seats are already stock right or do you have options? I guess what I'm getting at is would changing that stuff require add on?
I know we're already going to want to customize little things anyway like lights or what not.

Such a simple way of putting it. The latter sounds a little more appealing.

Ok I just told a peak at the Sedona. Not gonna lie, that bike looks cushy comfy. :o
A few things though, it dosent appear to have a lock out, and seems a little less specific with the brakes and gear shifting than the Rove.
I've never seen a bike without the top bar it looks funny (the Sedona)

Mostly i think though it's the seat i like. My but hurts a little just looking at the seat on the Rove 3. How hard is that to change?

Still thinking of no-shock options just haven't gotten that far yet.

Swapping saddles is one of the easiest jobs on a bike. A breeze.

A couple of suggestions...
In my opinion, you get the most bang for your buck with Giant bikes.
I wouldn't be concerned with the saddle right now. Get you some padded cycling shorts instead and start riding. "Comfy" padded saddles aren't what they appear to be, and can be worse for you.

Changing out the saddle isn't difficult at all, and you may even be able to get the LBS to swap out your saddle for take-offs of past bikes they've sold. Definitely go do test rides. Your local shops will let you try any of the bikes they sell which will give you a feel for what you want. Even if they don't have the exact bike you're looking for, you can get a feel for the difference between rigid fork and suspension, cruiser v. road bike v. hybrid, etc.

Keep in mind that higher end suspension costs more than the Roam/Rove itself and applies mainly to hard core mountain bike use.

The functional criticism of the sort of suspension forks on the Roam are that if you were to get airborne to say a height of 30cm or more, that the Roam fork would bottom out upon impact and thus transmit a lot of vibration back your way, but plenty of people never ride like that in the first place.

The below is a video that impressed me when I was looking at the Giant Toughroad SLR 2 that I ended up buying, and the Roam would arguably be able to handle this kind of riding even better than the Toughroad.

Wide, cushy saddles aren't necessarily what they appear to be. Remember, it is a saddle, not a seat. And you don't sit on it, but rather you ride the saddle. Wide, soft saddles are often less comfortable, not more. It all comes down to riding position, and how wide your sit bones are. That said, saddles are easy to swap out. On most seatposts, it is just a single bolt you need to loosen to remove it and replace with a different saddle. (though making minor adjustments to the saddle can sometimes be frustrating)

See what your shop offers in terms of exchange on seats. But do keep in mind that, as your butt toughens up from riding, you will probably start to prefer less padding. A lot of padding can absorb energy, get in the way of your thighs, which is why you see most roadies using those thin seats. You can also buy an inexpensive padded seat cover (or padded shorts) if the original seat is too hard for you in the beginning and just discard it once you get used to a firmer saddle. Gloves are inexpensive and a great way to absorb a little road vibration and protect your hands in case of a fall. Ask the shop about swapping out your tires to something a bit wider, or you can wait until you wear out the tires it comes with and then go wider. Tires have a pressure "range" imprinted on them - for more comfort run them closer to the lower pressure number, that might suffice with the stock tires depending on what they are.

Had a friend that bought a Giant Roam a couple years ago. I thought it seemed like almost the identical frame to the Escape except with suspension? It was a medium sized frame, and weighed in at 28lbs, which I thought wasn't too shabby, but don't believe it had disc brakes. Maybe they are more robust frames now, not sure. That said, I've done hundreds of miles of gravel on lightweight aluminum hybrids...with chromoly forks, and with carbon forks, and tires from 32-38....I prefer a really cushy 35mm tire I think for all-around road/gravel riding.

I don't go airborne on my hybrids or gravel bike if I can help it, but I do ride non-technical single and double-track trails without issue. I'd probably put the fattest tires I could fit (I think my hybrids will accept 42's) if I were doing a lot of those types of trails, mostly for the float when I encounter sandy areas...those can be tricky when encountered at speed on skinny tires.

The solid fork on my MTB was 2lb 4oz. I bought a new takeoff Suntour XCM suspension fork at a LBS garage sale for $5 that I was thinking about putting on it. It is found on lower-end name brand bikes. It weighs 5lb 11oz. So, there can be nearly a 3.5# difference in the forks alone.

I'm not a weight weenie, but my fiancee has an aforementioned lower end name brand hybrid, and the amount of times her forks are unlocked are minimal. I wouldn't personally bother with suspension for such trails. That said, if I got a good deal on a suspension model, I wouldn't let it keep me from buying the bike either, it is just not something I am seeking out and would slightly prefer to not have.

What's tricky about falling over?

My kayak will blow the paddles off your canoe