Which bike is better?

[ooberandy]

I'm looking at a couple of bikes & wondered if anyone had any advice about which one was better. Plus how the brands compare in terms of quality.

The 2 bikes that i've seen are the;
Merida Crossway 100
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2014.giant.roam.2.dark.grey/14992/66581/Giant Roam 2

Both would be the 2014 versions.

I haven't ridden for quite a while and am looking for a bike to ride to work & take on trail paths (nothing overly adventurous). If anyone knew of any other alternatives I'd be open to those also.

Many thanks

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi and Ooberandy.

Those bikes are very similar in terms of the spec. The main differences are in the drivetrain: The Merida has slightly higher spec derailleurs but the Giant has a 48-36-26 tooth crankset rather than the 48-38-28 on the Merida which will offer a slightly wider gear range at the bottom end making it a little better for climbing really steep hills.

Merida and Giant are two of the biggest cycle manufacturers in the world so there should be no issue with build quality. The choice really comes down to which one you like best and whether you want that little bit of extra climbing ability.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I would personally look more towards Tricross or Cycle Cross bikes if I was looking for a bike to ride to work & take on trail paths (nothing overly adventurous)
Bikes with suspension make horrible road bikes imho

 

[ooberandy]

Thanks for the replies. The suspension has a switch to turn it off & make the front fork fixed, this is on both bikes. I was told in one shop that the cheaper Merida bikes aren't of that good a build quality, I was presuming the one linked would fall into that cheaper category.

Mr Haematocrit - could you recommend a cyclocross/ tricross bike for my £550 budget?

I dont have a favourite and was hoping someone would plump for one over the other

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I was told in one shop that the cheaper Merida bikes aren't of that good a build quality

Would this be at a shop that doesn't stock Merida by chance?

As mentioned they are one of the big names in bike manufacturing, producing bikes for other people, including the well respected Carrera bikes for Halfords that definitely fit into the cheap section of the market.

I dont have a favourite and was hoping someone would plump for one over the other

Difficult to when they are so alike as to be almost clones.

See what you think of these cyclocross bikes for starters. The Jamis Nova Sport looks pretty decent for the money.

This is a good time to look for a cyclocross bike - it's a niche that's suddenly becoming more mainstream as the mountain bike crowd discover road cycling but don't want to lose the off road ability.

 

[ooberandy]

You were right, the shop didn't sell merida bikes ;-)

That jamis looks great and gets good reviews also. That could be the one, many thanks for your help