It has Shimano 24 gears, a high riding position and it is an excellent base machine.
I almost bought the Giant updated model for about $900 with the hydraulic disc brakes and 28" wheels and composite frame but why buy a bike just because it stops better?
Or the Bianchi similar model for $760...(mind you, the Bianchi is a nice Italian design, made in Taiwan)
after thinking myself out of buying a road-racing bike...
and it was a good decision...for now.
We have two bicycles still in Thailand and my wife rides the Orange Giant Rincon to work each day and it is a very nice machine, indeed, which is why I was interested in the Giant Brand. They're good bikes when new and just as good 6 years later. The Orange Giant was made in Taiwan whereas the new Model Roam is made in China, but the quality is the same: very, very good.
Meanwhile, the bike I bought about 3 years ago, the Black Messina- a Chinese-Italian Hybrid (aka the "Funky Black Messina", without a doubt the most beautiful design for a bike I've ever seen) with standard brakes, 26 inch narrow wheels, and Shimano 21 gears lay forlorn for 2 years after the spokes on it succumbed to 'spoke cancer' caused by the wet salty air of Cronulla and Cairns.
My good wife talked me out of throwing it away and instead having the wheels replaced.
This was an excellent decision. It's hers now.
With new lighter alloy wheels, this Black Messina is a very beautiful machine indeed... the ride is firmer than the Giant and the gearing isn't as advanced, but it does have a lighter alloy frame, and it is still a faster and lighter delightful machine...so my Dear Beautiful Wife now rides past me into the beautiful future on it...and certainly looks much better than I ever did on a bicycle.
Bicycles are the most wonderful things.
We went for a 10 kilometre ride tonight in the dark cool tropics...down the back streets to an area where kangaroos jump about...thousands of them...just 10 kms from the city centre.
The wonderful thing about the bike ride was: the sensation of the Motion + the Silence + the Wind.
This is a wonderful way to enter into the most profound and lovely meditation, indeed... it is like being part of the night, and part gliding hushed angel...it is heavenly experience...so easy, and free.
The Funky Black Messina
The Giant Roam