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E-Bike models - which one is best for you? We get daily questions about the key differences between models and their respective prices. Here is a comparison of our most popular Giant / LIV Mountain e-bikes compared to our most popular Giant / Liv Multi-Terrain models.
MOUNTAIN E-BIKE MODELS:Why am I comparing a mountain bike with a paved trail/gravel bike? There’s actually a good reason as many people find themselves debating between these two types of bikes. I went through the same internal process with picking an E-Bike for myself last year.
The Roam E+ comes in two different frame styles: The Roam E+ GTS (Step-Through) and the Roam E+ STA (Step-Over). The women’s version is the Liv Rove-E. The Giant Talon E+ and Liv Tempt E comes in one style each.
Both bikes are mid drive, which is much better for off road riding. The mid drive bikes keep the weight in the middle of the bike and have more of a natural feel than a rear hub driven bike. In essence, a rear hub driven bike feels a bit like you’re being pushed, while a mid drive bike feels more like a regular bike, just with extra power. You’ll quickly notice that a comparable mid drive bike is a solid $600 - $700 more than its rear hub driven counterpart. Why is that / what’s the benefit to me, and is it worth it? Other than the description of the ride above, a mid drive bike will be a solid 10+ lbs lighter than a comparable rear hub driven bike, generally will get you quite a few more miles per charge, as the mid drive is more efficient. This also means it can use a lighter motor and battery to propel it. The rear wheel is also much easier to change in the event of a flat, compared to a rear hub driven bike.
The Talon/TemptBoth bikes are designed for riders who want to mountain bike or ride on gravel/dirt. However, since it has pedal assist, the Talon/Tempt are as good as any other E-bikes on the pavement, with the only real difference being the knobby tires, which make the ride a bit less smooth. So if you want to ride the paved trails, then hit a mountain bike trail or gravel roads – these bikes will do it all.
The Roam / Rove, have skinnier tires than the Talon / Tempt, but also have a front shock like the Talon / Tempt. They’re great on pavement and gravel/dirt, and will do just fine on easier mountain bike trails. When you get onto rougher trails, the skinnier tires on the Roam/Rove really aren’t suited to that. So similar to the Talon, but a bit more of an adventure bike, and less of a mountain bike, primarily due to the skinnier tires. The ride on pavement will be a bit smoother than the Talon/Tempt.
Both have pretty much identical shifting and brakes and other mechanical components, so there is no difference there.
SPEED: All these models give you pedal assist up to 20MPH (Class I).
COMFORT: There is not a tremendous amount of difference here. You’ll be sitting up a tad more upright on the Roam / Rove compared to the Talon / Tempt. The Talon / Tempt have a slightly longer wheelbase and slightly shorter cranks (what the pedals are attached to), all advantageous to mountain biking. But overall, we are talking about very similar riding positions, just the slightly more upright position on the Roam / Rove, which better suits them to paved trail riding. Again, there is a step through version of the Roam and the Rove only comes in step through.
STEP-THROUGH VS STEP-OVER DESIGN: It used to be that the step through design were female specific bikes. Now, many men’s / unisex bikes come that way so that when you add racks on the back, it’s a bit easier to get on, with the step through versions. The mountain bikes do not come with a step through option, as you really need that extra rigidity for mountain biking.
RIDE / PEDAL-ASSIST: All these bikes have the same Yamaha motor, providing 50nm of torque and all have the same 400wh battery. So no difference in how they perform there. Both are 20 MPH. The controls are a bit different. The Talon/Tempt has a nice LED screen while the Roam/Rove have push button controls with LED lights. The color LCD screen is nice, but certainly not essential. It can be added to the Roam/Rove if desired.
Overall, both bikes are a blast to ride. Both have 5 different power settings from low to high, so you can adjust how much pedal assist you want.
As far as how far will the bike take me on a charge, all these bikes give identical ratings. Essentially, they’re rated at about 65 miles average, and up to about 90-95 miles on a charge (I’d say that’s stretching it a bit – you could pull that off using the motor intermittently). This is again, one area where mid drive bikes shine – you can get more distance on a lighter bike.
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES / PRICE/PERFORMANCE: What are you getting for the extra $150 on the Talon/Tempt? A nicer screen and beefier wheels/tires allowing you the ability to go more places. The Roam/Rove do have more braze-ons (where they’ve welded points for you to fasten racks) on the rear, so you can add racks. The Talon/Tempt don’t have these as most people don’t put racks on mountain bikes. That means if you’re wanting a bike for adventures from travelling the back roads with some gear, to hauling groceries from the store, the Roam/Rove are a better choice. Weight – the Talon/Tempt are maybe 2 pounds heavier due to the wheels/tires, so no real difference. All the bikes are about 48 – 50 pounds.
It really all depends on if you’re doing mountain bike trails or hauling stuff. If you never plan on doing mountain bike trails (or at least anything beyond a beginner trail) and you think maybe you’ll put racks on your bike to haul stuff, then the Roam/Rove is the better option. Again, each also comes with a step through option. But if you want to do all types of riding, including mountain biking, the Talon/Tempt are a better option. As to gravel and pavement riding, there’s not much difference here. The Talon/Tempt will be a tad less smooth on pavement, just because of the knobby tires. On gravel, the Talon/Tempt will be a bit more smooth, just because of the additional cushion provided by the wider tires.
BATTERIES/MOTORS: Again, they all have the identical Yamaha motor and Giant battery, so there is no difference here.
DISPLAYS/CONTROLS: Again, the Talon/Tempt have a nicer, full color LCD display. But there’s no difference in the performance.
QUALITY/WARRANTY: Giant has been around since the 80’s and is the largest bike manufacturer in the world. The design, finish and quality of all the bikes is great. Giant has a lifetime warranty on the frame for as long as you own the bike. For the mechanical components, it’s one year and for the battery and motor is two years. We’ve had very few issues with their E-bikes over the past 5 years. How long will the batteries last? No one really seems to know yet. Theoretically, a lithium battery should last for 1,000 charges. If you’re getting 60 miles a charge, well, that’s a very long time.
Both are great bikes that will get you riding more often, more miles and having more fun. In effect – more smiles per hour. You can’t go wrong with any of them. It really just comes down to where you want to ride and use the bike for. I went through the same process last year, and because I ride mountain, gravel (my favorite) and pavement (sometimes all of the above in the same ride!) I got a mountain E-bike. However, my next E-bike will be more of an adventure/commuter bike so I can attach racks and carry more stuff.
FREE LIFETIME TUNE-UPS: As with all Lewis & Clark bikes, these models come with professional assembly and our Free Lifetime Tune-Up plan. Any time your bike isn’t shifting gears or stopping like it should, just bring it in, and we’ll take care of it. This includes our Standard Tune-up and adjustments. If you bring an E-bike for us to build that came from elsewhere, we charge $150. So the difference between buying a direct to consumer bike and one from us, is about $150 cost to build, then another $100 to $150 you’ll save in tune ups each year.
30 DAY TEST RIDE: It’s hard to know which bike you like until you’ve ridden it. Lewis & Clark has a 30-day test ride program with every bike you purchase. That means you have 30 days to see if it’s the right bike for you. If not, you can bring it back to trade for any other bike we have. Plus, if you’re a rebate member, you’ll get 5% back on E-bikes in store credit (10% on everything else).
Get 0% interest for 24 months when you sign up with our partner, Unify Federal Credit Union, or get 0% Interest for up to 18 months through Synchrony Financial.
