Ingram

I'm pretty new to the scene, having just started biking for 3 weeks. I currently have a Specialized Sirrus Elite I use for fitness riding daily on nicely paved road. Last week I took the Sirrus to a trail and while it performed admirably well over the rough gravel, debris and people blocking the path, I felt that the poor thing rattled quite a bit after I got back.

I really like how my Sirrus is riding and so don't want to put in wider, knobby tires only for occasional trips to a trail. Therefore I'm thinking of making some budget for another bike that may not go very fast, but provide softer ride and allow me to not worry about somewhat rougher road and just enjoy the ride.

After some research, I'm quite interested in Giant Roam 2 and Fuji Traverse 1.3.

The nearest Giant dealer is quite further away from me and the store's reviews are not exactly great. There is a Performance Bike store not too far away and the store appears to have pretty good reputation, so I'm really leaning toward the Fuji, which seems like a lot of bike for the money.

I searched the forum, but not much talk about Fuji bikes or the Traverse. Any thoughts, insights or comments are really appreciated. Thanks.

ColonelSanders

Fuji isn't as popular a brand as any of the big three in Trek, Giant or Specialized, but it does appear as though they do make very good bikes, as attested to by a few of the Fuji riding members of this forum.

That Fuji looks very well equipped for the money & is a much better looking bike than the Giant Roam 2 in my opinion.

Out of the two of them, I would be very comfortable in choosing the Fuji Traverse 1.3


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Edit : Looking at the respective specs of each bike, I'm not sure if there is anything on the Giant Roam 2 that I could say was better than what is on the Fuji Traverse 1.3(they appear to have the same model fork), but the Fuji has the following which is better than the Roam 2:

The crank
The gear shifters
The rear derailleur
And possibly the brakes.

Grey.

Personally I would get a real mountain bike rather than another hybrid bike if you've already got one.

Wanderer

Fuji makes nice bikes, and you can't beat Performances guarantee. Everything on the Fuji looks nice, from wider tires, 9 spd, triple, hydraulic lock out, it's even got hydraulic disc brakes = a great buy for the money. If it fits you, and rides nice under you, and you like the looks, you can't lose. We see a lot of Fujis on the MUPs around here, partially because Performance is so close.

Ingram

Thanks for the comparison. That was my impression as well that Fuji seems to offer quite a good value for your money, and Performance has it for $650, making it the same price as Roam 2. Though, I actually like the charcoal/green Roam 2 over the Traverse 1.3 a little more. I went to the PB store hoping to see and have a test ride, but they didn't have it in stock.

Ingram

I'm not planning to do any off-road riding though. Just gravel paths. I wonder if I should consider a gravel grinder bike, but they cost more also.

Grey.

The advantage of a hybrid dual sport bike over a standard mountain bike will be in areas that your Sirrus already covers. A mountain bike can do what a dual sport bike can do, and more.

Here's an example for roughly the same price as the Fuji. Marlin 7 - Trek Bicycle It has a higher quality fork with a longer suspension travel, beefier tires and otherwise largely identical components. Fuji makes great bikes and both of the models you listed are excellent choices, but I think your money might go farther getting a purpose-built bicycle for a specific use rather than a second hybrid that's just a bit more trail oriented than your Sirrus. Up to you, of course!

Ingram

Just figured out how to multi-quote.

Thanks for the comment! That's quite reassuring, both the bike and the store.

You just had to give me more choices to think about, didn't you. That Trek is quite a nice looking bike. With better fork and tires, but is the Atlus good derailleur?

Grey.

It's the lowest entry in Shimano's MTB group. Atlus - Acera - Alivio - Deore, Acera and Deore being whats on the Giant and Fuji respectively. It's not bad but it is a downgrade from the other two, it's a give and take situation. Some parts are better, some parts are worse. I guess it depends on where your priorities lie? If you're sure you'll never want to do anything more than light trail riding, and you can get the Fuji from a dealer you're comfortable with, it may be your best choice.