Giant - should I roam or escape?

[vickster]

Thanks for that. I'm obviously too trusting of bike manufacturers! I attach the 2 spec sheets if they mean anything to you - £475 being the new model, £449 the old.

Wait a month if you think stock will be available. Last year’s will be reduced

 

[vickster]

Indeed already is, £359 here all sizes

https://www.cjperformancecycles.com...MI-dGA85704wIVyLTtCh0dQQTBEAQYASABEgIXnPD_BwE

 

[Justinitus]

Can't see anything too out of the way except the brakes have changed to a different model and it now doesn't say they are hydraulic so that might be worth checking.

Yes they are still hydraulic on the 2020 model but are now flat mount as opposed to post mount.

The only notable difference I can see is that the 2020 model now has the D-Fuse seatpost, which allows some flex over bumpy terrain.

Other than that it’s the slightly wider tyres for 2020.

Personally I’d just choose my favourite colour!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Following your advice, I'm now settled on the Giant Escape 2 disc bike. BUT they've just announced the new 2020 version in the UK today. Would that be a better solution than the 2019 model I was going to get? RRP goes up £26 to £475.

I don't play the "new model year game" that manufacturers of all sorts of products from cars to consumer electronics, try to get the customer to participate in. Model years mean nothing to me, I look at spec, usefulness, and value for money. I generally keep stuff a long time, so there is no practical difference in 10 years between owning a 2019 model as opposed to a 2020 model. When I bought a new car some years ago I deliberately bought the old outgoing model, not the new one. Firstly, the old model had been around for years so all the faults were well known and had been ironed out, thanks to all "early adopter" guinea pig customers. The second reason was I saved 20% on the price!

 

[Kev999]

Hi Mr Skipdiver John. I'm with you 100% on that - although the new 2020 model does look very smart and I am just little hesitant whether I'll be missing out if the new 2 gear crankset will have made old 3 gear sets obsolete in years to come? - but I don't know enough about it yet! But the old model is still nice and expectation is that local dealer will give 20% discount on that when new stock arrives. I'll be happy with that - it's still a new bike!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I am just little hesitant whether I'll be missing out if the new 2 gear crankset will have made old 3 gear sets obsolete in years to come? - but I don't know enough about it yet!

My bikes have a mixture of single, double, and triple cranksets - triple being the most common and ultimately the most versatile. My oldest triple is on a very early example of a Raleigh hybrid style bike and was made in 1988/9, so is over 30 years old and exactly the same tooth count (28/38/48) triples are still being made today. If I do have any concerns about component obsolescence, my solution is simply to keep my eyes open and pick up any silly cheap donor bikes I see on offer locally. I do this for my old MTB's, because I intend to continue running rigid steel framed 26" wheel bikes and I am not going to adopt suspension and 27.5" or 29" wheels. I know what bikes I like and I know which types are durable and can be kept going for a very low ongoing maintenance cost. Whatever type of bike is the latest flavour of the month that the manufacturers want to sell me is a complete irrelevance, because I have no intention of changing bikes just because they are not the latest fad.