Cyclocross - Jake vs. Jake the Snake

It seems the main differences between the Jake and Jake the Snake bikes are the Tiagra vs 105 shifters, the fork, and the wheelset. I'm looking at these for commuting as well as some longer road club/charity rides and possibly some not too competitive cross racing. Given that my current commuter has lower end shifters than either and they haven't ever bothered me do you think the price difference (looks to be around $400) would be worth it for the fork and wheels alone?

if you can afford it get the Jake the Snake. The quality of the components are worth it. Also, the 105 stuff is 10 speed so if you want to upgrade you can do it piece by piece. with the Tiagra stuff you'll need to either use older parts or upgrade the whole thing in one shot.

If you're happy with the Jake the way it is then you may as well save the money. If you see yourself upgrading the fork, wheels, going to a double instead of a triple, etc., then you'd be much better off getting the JTS.

The frames are identical this year, I believe (same geometry, same material). That wasn't true in the 2007 models and possibly earlier.

The big difference you omitted is the crankset. The Jake has an FSA Omega triple (50-39-30), while the JTS has an FSA Gossamer double (46/36). The Gossamer is higher up FSA's heirarchy, but the difference between a double and a triple is probably more significant. The double on the JTS is definitely better suited to cyclocross, but the triple on the Jake is arguably better suited to general riding like commuting and charity rides (especially if you're a weak climber).

I've got a 2008 Jake, which came with a Gossamer triple, but otherwise is the same as the 2009. Last winter, I upgraded it to Ultegra components and Ultegra-Open Pro wheels. I got some good deals (Wiggle rocked last winter), and so my total investment is about $1400, same as the JTS. The way I look at it, for the same cost as the Snake I have a bike with better components plus a box full of Tiagra spare parts and a second wheelset.

The fork is an interesting point to consider. The Snake comes with a "Kona Carbon Cross" fork. I can't speak to the quality of this, but it's evidently not as good as the Alpha Q on the Major Jake. I'd guess it's comparable to the kind of carbon fork you can get from Nashbar, but I could be wrong. My own feeling is that because I use this bike for cross, I'd rather have a steel fork (which is what the Jake comes with) than low-end carbon. Obviously Kona sees it differently.

Sounds like an economics question. Work out the value of the component upgrades. Compare that to $400.