Jake Vs. Jake the Snake

[velvetunder66]

After a few months of looking around, I have decided to get a Kona (will not be used for racing, but for a lengthy daily commute and occasional light touring). Just wanted to know if you all think it is worth the extra few hundred to upgrade from the Jake to the Snake. Either bike is going to be a big step up from the 7200 i'm riding now and with enough overtime, I could stretch the buck enough to get the snake...unfortunetely, no bike stores in my area (Tucson, AZ) carry them in store for me to take a test ride. If anyone knows the exact overall weight differences between the two that would be helpful. Also, was wondering if anyone has tried a thinner tire on their Jakes, maybe a 700x32, and how does it handle? Thanks for any input.

[Urbanmonk]

The Snake is equiped with 105, while the simple Jake comes with Tiagra, I believe. Also, check to see if you will be hitting your heels on the panniers. That was my mistake with another frame I thought I could use.

Cheers

[DogBoy]

I have an '05 JTS. I got it over the jake for the 9sp shifters and frankly the primary reason was for the color. I don't like the red and the blue has grown on me. I don't imagine any weight difference would matter that much by the time you put a rack and panniers on the bikes. I can say that either is a heckuva lot lighter than a volpe.

I use my JTS to commute/tour/club ride and pull the kid on the trailer. I swapped the crank and front derailleur to a triple (28-39-50) (FSA pro team scavanged from a road bike w/ ultegra derailleur) and changed the back to an 11-32 with an LX derailleur. For tires I run 700-25s. I have a blackburn city rack on the back and don't hit my heels on my arkel bug pannier. My cranks are 175 and my shoes are 44.

Either way these bike kick butt. I have nothing bad to say at all... ok one thing. the seat-stay bridge doesn't have a hole on both sides so its difficult to mount a rear fender. No problems up front though. I've just foregone the fender and let the rack do the job. It works pretty well.

[velvetunder66]

I like to keep it light and simple so I don't use fenders, racks or panniers. It all goes in the bag..im not all that familiar with road components, is Sora all that terrible?