Jimi77

I'm looking at the Giant Roam 3 vs the Roam 2. The big difference is the hydraulic disc brakes. I rode the 3 and liked it alot. I didn't bother riding the Roam 2 because I assumed the discs were low end mechanicals and I gave those a try on another bike and didn't think much of them. I'm not sure why cantilevers seem to have disappeared, but I liked the canti's on my old MTB better than today's V-brakes.

Anyway, I'll be towing 1-2 kids and maybe hauling some gear on a rack, doing some errands and riding for fitness. I doubt I'll go farther than 10 miles round trip very often. I don't see alot of riding in the rain in my future and Denver tends to be pretty dry anyway. Just not sure if the Hydraulic's are worth the extra $100 and ~1-2lbs. Or should I just upgrade to Kool Stop pads on the Roam 3.

Are the hydro's really that much better - if you can lock the tire up does it really matter if you locked them with a disc or rim brake?
What's maintence like on Hydros?
Are lower end Hydro's reliable?

dynaryder

First,the brakes aren't the only dif between the 3 and 2;the 2 also has a slightly nicer groupo,cranks,and BB. Since you're going to be towing kids,you'll be interested to know the gearing is also lower;26/34 granny on the 2 vs 28/32 on the 3.

The Tektro's aren't high end,but they're not junk either. They're a mineral oil system,which are pretty reliable and go a long time between bleedings(just sold a bike that had gone 4yrs and the brakes were fine). They'll need much less regular maintenance than V brakes,and the pads will last longer.

BTW,you can keep your canti's,and do your own bloody work on them. I run a free bike clinic,and hate working on canti's. Pretty much the only reasons they're still around are because until recently they were the only brakes allowed for cross racing,and because the curmudgeons in the touring forum won't have anything else.

Jimi77

The canti's went away when I sold the bike. They definitely locked up my tires faster than Vs, which doesn't make sense (to me) since it seems like the average V-brake enjoys a leverage advantage over a canti. Maybe it was just higher end pads that were responsible for the instantaneous braking response, but I assume the touring crowds affinity for canti's has some factual basis even if it's just anecdotal.

krobinson103

I don't see the advantage in cantis. I have 3 bikes, one with cantis, one with v's and cools stops, and one with deore hyrdos. hyros>v's>cantis. The v's will stop the bike almost as fast as the hydros in the dry, only with a little more lever pull. The cantis are... safe enough but no where near as nice as the others.

Jimi77

I plan on loading up on a rack ~ daily when the weather permits, do Hydraulic lines get caught up in racks and damaged?

Dilberto

Keep the hydraulic lines closest to the frame as possible and everything should be fine. I had mechanical discs for years(Avid BB7)...until I got a set of high-end Magura Marta SL hydraulic discs. I'm NEVER going back to anything else....I've gone thru countless brake pads in their 7900 mile life - but these brakes has not been bled since 2006!

dynaryder

The Roam's caliper is on the chainstay,so nothing should be anywhere near a rack,and you should have no trouble mounting a regular(non-disc-specific) rack. Realize,MTB's get banged around all the time with hydros without failures. The motorcycles they use in supercross have hydros,you don't see them sweating losing their brakes.

Jimi77

Makes sense, otherwise there'd be lots of complaints about hydraulics.