* New thread* Giant Roam 0 or Whyte Malvern

[Alex34]

I decided to start a new thread due to my priorities changing since posting my previous thread http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/hybrid-for-couple-specialized-or-marin.161593/

My wife is set on the Whyte Malvern for her bike and now it's just up to me to decide which I prefer. After taking availability, cost, aesthetics, build quality and "premium feel" into consideration from several different makes and styles, I have decided to go with either the Giant Roam 0 or Whyte Malvern. Yes I have decided to go with suspension forks after testing out different styles of bikes.

The two bikes are very similar in all the catagories listed above with the Whyte edging out the Giant in aesthetics and "premium feel" (IMO) very slightly. However, they both have their strong points and although the Whyte looks and feels more premium the Giant looks more masculine. Cost; the Whyte is £699 and the Giant £749 but with a £75 gift voucher with purchase of Giant it effectively becomes £674.

When chosing between two very similar bikes, if the rides are very similar as well, what other deciding factors should I consider (spec wise)? I am not very good with drive train components and other specs but from just googling parts listed for both bikes' drivetrains and brakes it seems the Giant has the better components which I have listed below:
Giant Roam 0
Shifters Shimano Deore
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore Trekking
Rear Derailleur Shimano M781 XT Shadow RD
Brakes Shimano M395 hydraulic disc
Brake Levers Shimano M395 hydraulic disc
Cassette Shimano HG62 11-36, 10s
Chain KMC X10 w/ Missing Link
Crankset Shimano T521
Bottom Bracket Shimano Hollowtech II

Whyte Malvern
Shift Levers: Shimano Acera, 9 Speed
Front Mech: Shimano Acera, 9 Speed
Rear Mech: Shimano Deore, 9 Speed
Cassette: Shimano HG-300-9, 11-32, 9 Speed
Chain: Shimano HG-53, 9 Speed
Crankset: Shimano M391 Acera, 48-36-26, Octolink, 9 Speed
Bottom Bracket: Shimano ES-25, Octolink
Front Brakes: Shimano BR-M355, 160mm Rotor
Rear Brakes: Shimano BR-M355, 160mm Rotor
Brake Levers: Shimano BL-M335

Should I take These specs into consideration when making my decision or are these differences so suttle I won't really notice it? The frame material I am assuming is similar as well, Whyte have listed 6061 Hydro Formed T6 Aluminium for theirs and Giant ALUXX-Grade Aluminum for theirs.

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again folks! :-)

 

[vickster]

I'm biased but Mr Paul is correct

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Giants components are higher up the food chain.

Both decent bikes.

Toss a coin?

 

[Alex34]

Giants components are higher up the food chain.

Both decent bikes.

Toss a coin?

Lol... it might just come down to that!

 

[Alex34]

Updated development... Lol.

I know you guys must think I'm madd by now. :-)

Whyte Malverns have been ordered, one definitely for my wife and one was a 'maybe' for me. The LBS were kind enough to order it with out a deposit as they wanted for stock anyway. After many hours of weighing the pros and con of the Roam 0 and Malvern I cam across another bike (surprise, surprise :-)) that ticked all the boxes for me but is an old, no longer produced 2013 model and it's "new price" was a lot more than I wanted to spend (£1200). I thought, hmmm... maybe there are some old stock laying around on the internet and as it's a 2013 model it should be massively reduced. The model is the Whyte Coniston.

The 2013 Whyte Consiton has far better specs than the 2015 Whyte Malvern, better specs than the 2014 Giant Roam 0 and IMO looks better than both. It has the same frame and construction as the 2015 Whyte Malvern but far better components. Specs listed below:

Shift Levers Shimano SLX, 10 Speed
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore, 10 Speed
Rear Derailleur Shimano XT Shadow, 10 Speed
Cassette Shimano CS-HG62, 11-34, 10 Speed
Chain Shimano HG-54, 10 Speed
Crankset Shimano T780 XT, Hollow Tech II, 48-36-26, 10 Speed
Bottom Bracket Hollow Tech II
Brakes Front Shimano BR-M596, 160mm Rotor
Brakes Rear Shimano BR-M596, 160mm Rotor
Brake Levers Shimano BR-M596

http://whyte.bike/2013/product.php?xProd=6

I scoured the internet looking for one and found nothing.... until literally 20 minutes ago. I happen to stumble on a picture on google and clicked on it. It brought me to a LBS website that had it listed under "Clearance Rack". I thought it was going to be just an old ad floating around online but dicided to call anyway. Well, they have it and its my size! Also reduced by 400 quid to £800! I was assured that the bike was brand new and had never been ridden. They said it's been on the top shelf in their show room since they assembled it. Needless to say I will be making the hour and change journey to their bike shop tomorrow morning to pick it up.

Really excited about finding one but wanted to run this by you guys first just in case I have overlooked something.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Updated developement... Lol.

I know you guys must think I'm madd by now. :-)

Whyte Malverns have been ordered, one definitely for my wife and one was a 'maybe' for me. The LBS were kind enough to order it with out a deposit as they wanted for stock anyway. After many hours of weighing the pros and con of the Roam 0 and Malvern I cam across another bike (surprise, surprise :-)) that ticked all the boxes for me but is an old, no longer produced 2013 model and it's "new price" was a lot more than I wanted to spend (£1200). I thought, hmmm... maybe there are some old stock laying around on the internet and as it's a 2013 model it should be massively reduced. The model is the Whyte Coniston.

The 2013 Whyte Consiton has far better specs than the 2015 Whyte Malvern, better specs than the 2014 Giant Roam 0 and IMO looks better than both. It has the same frame and construction as the 2015 Whyte Malvern but far better components. Specs listed below:

Shift Levers Shimano SLX, 10 Speed
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore, 10 Speed
Rear Derailleur Shimano XT Shadow, 10 Speed
Cassette Shimano CS-HG62, 11-34, 10 Speed
Chain Shimano HG-54, 10 Speed
Crankset Shimano T780 XT, Hollow Tech II, 48-36-26, 10 Speed
Bottom Bracket Hollow Tech II
Brakes Front Shimano BR-M596, 160mm Rotor
Brakes Rear Shimano BR-M596, 160mm Rotor
Brake Levers Shimano BR-M596

http://whyte.bike/2013/product.php?xProd=6

I scoured the internet looking for one and found nothing.... until literally 20 minutes ago. I happen to stumble on a picture on google and clicked on it. It brought me to a LBS website that had it listed under "Clearance Rack". I thought it was going to be just an old ad floating around online but dicided to call anyway. Well, they have it and its my size! Also reduced by 400 quid to £800! I was assured that the bike was brand new and had never been ridden. They said it's been on the top shelf in their show room since they assembled it. Needless to say I will be making the hour and change journey to their bike shop tomorrow morning to pick it up.

Really excited about finding one but wanted to run this by you guys first just in case I have overlooked something.

That's rather nice. In fact it looks *loody nice! Looks like you have bagged a bargain there if the size is right etc.

Suspension fork is better quality than the others you have been looking at.

The drive train (shifters/FD/RD/crankset) is all good quality MTB kit so will be very durable. Good brakes too.

Snap it up and get riding!

2010 model review (slightly different forks/brakes):

http://road.cc/content/review/27295-whyte-coniston

 

[Alex34]

Thanks for taking a look at it for me Spokey!

 

[Alex34]

Picked up my 2013 Whyte Coniston this morning.... and I am a very happy chappy!

It was exactly as they described over the phone. When I got there it was still on the rack with months, if not years of dust on it. The bloke took it down for me and cleaned it off quickly and did a check up to make sure everything was in working order... Not a scratch on the bike, it even looks like its never been test ridden. I took it up the road for a bit of test and all is in tip top condition.

I was also assured that the Whyte warranty starts from the date of purchase and was told if there is any problems at all bring it back to them and they will sort it out. Also a free first service included, not sure if I will be able to take advantage of it though... they are over an hour's drive from me.

My wife's bike will arrive tomorrow and we have made plans for a Richmond Park ride on Saturday. Can't wait!

The LBS was Les's Cycles, Canvey Island in Essex. They have quite a few new old stock available with a discount, you guys might want to check out their website under "Clearance Rack".... http://www.lescycles.com/
All in all, it was a good experience at the LBS and If I lived in that area I would definitely go back. Loads of top notch MTBs there as well.

Thanks again everybody for your help and I will definitely post up pics as soon as I can and promise I won't be a stranger!

-Alex