Jamis Sputnik review
I've built a few of these bikes over the past week, and on Wednesday the streets were clear enough to take one out on a fast test ride. Here are my observations and opinions:
The Good:
The frame is the best aspect of this bike, hands down. Reynolds 631, clean welds, thoughtfully designed track ends, w/ paul-style tensioners, simple brake bridge, understated paintjob.
Weight is 16lbs w/o pedals. Light! This is quite apparent when excelerating.
A very smooth ride- the combination of carbon fork, quality frame, and alloy cockpit add up to plush handling.
The hubs are Formula, which IMO are the best entry-level track hubs. Cartridge bearings, decent track nuts.
"No-name" parts are absent from this build.
Uncut steerer tube. Your first reaction will be "Ugly!" but then you will be happy that they gave you the option to cut it to your prefered height. This is really a big plus.
The Bad:
Alex rims, while double-walled and light, are not reputed for their quality.
The cog and lockring are not very good. Cog is stamped steel, lockring is soft aluminum. Be careful when you instal these.
Cranks are Truvativ, which means durable yet ugly.
The gearing is a bit steep for street use. Fortunatly the bike is light and responsive, but i would gear it down for daily riding.
Picky - They ship this bike with a chain that is too short! Any good mechanic will fix this problem when building, but pull the wheel off in the shop, just to make sure.
Overall:
Not only do they have the best product name(aren't we a little tired of Italian by now?) out of all the off-the-peg track bikes, but they feel much more like a "real bike" than the scores of entry-level rides on the market. Of course, at $300 over the other offerings, they should. I could see upgrading the wheels at some point, and you will probably want to swap out elements of the drivetrain, but this frame should last you forever. Depending on how much you need to modify, this may or may not be the best thing for your money. As I am a bit of a bike snob and require top shelf parts, so I wish these were availible as a frameset. Decked out with high-end bits,they would blow the competition out of the water. As is, they are a rock-solid value for the rider who wants a ready-made rig with more to offer than the Bianchi Pista.
(This is a quick reveiw, feel free to comment on anything I've missed.)