Touring - Jamis Coda

Since I am only doing 1-2 week tours, pulling a trailer, once a year, I'm not sure I need to sink 1K into a LHT.
The Jamis Coda looks adequate for my needs. Has anyone toured with these ?

Since I am only doing 1-2 week tours, pulling a trailer, once a year, I'm not sure I need to sink 1K into a LHT.
The Jamis Coda looks adequate for my needs. Has anyone toured with these ?

Well, I've never done extensive touring on mine, but I have done some pretty long rides. Mine is tricked out with a Girvin Flexstem, which although a bit unstable, absorbs rode bumps like you wouldn't believe. I wish they still made them....

The only problem I have with my Coda is the flat bar. On long rides, the lack of hand positions makes my hands go numb (even with gloves), and even though I added bar ends, that still doesn't help very much. I would highly caution AnYbOdY against doing a long tour with flat bars. Just my opinion.

Everything else about the Coda is perfect for touring...unless you're gonna be doing lots of loaded touring with steep hills. In that case, the road triple (52/42/30) probably won't give you a low enough granny gear. I love my Coda, but am in the process of upgrading to an Aurora or Aurora Elite...

I considered buying one and fit the same criteria as you. My concerns were the wheels and tires; having been a victim of broken spokes on not quite tour ready wheels while out on tour. If you need to get a better rear wheel at least, add the cost in when you are comparing bikes. Plus, will you be happy all day on 28mm tires all day?

I believe the base Coda is 48/38/28. The Coda Sport and higher is 52/42/30... At least, that's how it was in 2006 - the model year mine is from...

I have the base model and I think it would work fine for touring, and in fact I'm planning to use mine as a touring bike. I bought a pair of trekking bars to add more hand positions, and I might swap the wheels/tires. (I have another bike without wheels, so I need to buy a set of wheels anyway).



Well, I've never done extensive touring on mine, but I have done some pretty long rides. Mine is tricked out with a Girvin Flexstem, which although a bit unstable, absorbs rode bumps like you wouldn't believe. I wish they still made them....

The only problem I have with my Coda is the flat bar. On long rides, the lack of hand positions makes my hands go numb (even with gloves), and even though I added bar ends, that still doesn't help very much. I would highly caution AnYbOdY against doing a long tour with flat bars. Just my opinion.

Everything else about the Coda is perfect for touring...unless you're gonna be doing lots of loaded touring with steep hills. In that case, the road triple (52/42/30) probably won't give you a low enough granny gear. I love my Coda, but am in the process of upgrading to an Aurora or Aurora Elite...

With a sub $500 pricetag, I could certainly afford new wheels,wider tires,smaller chainring and trekking bars, but then you are probably getting close to the price of a Aurora.
I weigh about 200, so I need beefy wheels even pulling a bob as opposed to panniers.
I wonder what is the widest tire that would work the Coda frame ?

I think it's interesting that people want to upgrade from a Coda to an Aurora when it's the same frame material. What am I missing ? You can upgrade from Aurora to an Aurora Elite frame with 631 tubing, but then you go from 36 to 32 spokes.

Major differences between Aurora and Aurora Elite BESIDES higher cost and better componentry:

The Elite (identical to last year's Nova Cyclocross) has ½-¾" shorter chainstays, wheelbase, and headtube, and a slightly higher BB. Anybody think that makes an appreciable difference in ride quality?

Oh yeah...the Elite also has that BIG 53/39/30 crank, and only a 12/27 cassette. Most folks on this forum would probably laugh at 12/27 for general touring.

I'd really be curious to hear folks opinions about the Aurora vs. the Aurora Elite. Maybe I'll start a thread....

This has come up before. Someone posted that they were certain the coda could handle tires up to at least 32's.

I guess it's the price, but something is drawing me to a Coda with trekking bars and 36h wheel upgrades.
Are there any other glaring weak spots in the specs that you would want to replace right off the bat ?
It's steel with acceptable gearing, rack mounts and workable 435 chainstays, so most of the bases are covered. BTW, I hear that it will take 37's.

It definitely takes BIG tires, fenders, etc.

My Coda setup;

Avid shorty brakes
Girvin FlexStem
SRAM GripShift 8-speed
Deore LX front derailler
SRAM 5.0 ESP rear derailleur
Shimano 105 Crank 52-42-30
SRAM cassette 11-32
Shimano STX-RC/Parallax hubs
Conti Top Touring tires
Brooks B17 Champion Special seat

It'll be my backup bike to my Jamis Aurora.

This has come up before. Someone posted that they were certain the coda could handle tires up to at least 32's.

I have 32mm Panaracers on mine and I got room for 35mm at least, maybe more.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0392.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0391.jpg

Out of curiosity, what do your Panaracers actually measure as? My Conti 37's measure as Conti 32's.

Out of curiosity, what do your Panaracers actually measure as? My Conti 37's measure as Conti 32's.

I've read where some people measure 30mm, but I measure mine at 32mm, right on the money.

These folks trekked all through China on Coda Sports:

http://www.cyclingsilk.com/equipment/index.html

So, it looks like you could. I have one and it would seem perfectly adequate, especially if you used a trekking handlebar.