dwmckee

Hello.

My wife is looking at both the Jamis Xenith Race and the Endura Elite for a new distance bike. Obviously the Endura is better suited for endurance riding but we can get the Xenith (previous model year) for about $900 less. Any first hand experience riding either on distance rides would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

milkbaby

I've ridden a Xenith for century distances no problem. I think the biggest difference in the two bikes is probably the geometry. The Endura has a shorter top tube, taller head tube, slacker head tube angle, and a longer wheelbase. It'll probably track more stable, less race nimble than the Xenith. You'll probably be able to have a bit more upright fit on the Endura, although I bet the Xenith when new comes with enough steerer tube to get a similar fit though you may need a shorter stem which could negatively affect the steering feel. I would go with whichever one allows the best fit and position on the bike for your wife's personal body measurements and riding style.

dwmckee

Thanks. Knowing you rode the Xenith on a century comfortably is helpful. The Endura is the best choice on paper, but as you say it really comes down to best overall fit of either bike.

dwmckee

Thanks. Knowing you rode the Xenith on a century comfortably is helpful. The Endura is the best choice on paper, but as you say it really comes down to best overall fit of either bike. By the way, may I ask how old you are? We are both over 50 now and I am curious if the Xenith is still comfortable on longer rides if you are an old fart.

Chris_W

IMO, frame construction makes very little difference to ride comfort. More important than that are all of the following factors (not necessarily in this order):

bike fit
tire width/pressure
saddle comfort (which is a combination of appropriate fit and appropriate padding for the rider and riding style)
flex in the seatpost and amount of exposed seatpost
handlebar tape / gel padding / bar-grip type

The flex that exists in the frame and fork is less important than all of these things (despite how important the marketing guys make it sound), so as long as you can optimize comfort in the above aspects then I wouldn't worry much about the frame/fork design.

milkbaby

I am younger at 43 years old. I ride on 23mm wide tires, but I'm sure the Xenith frame will accommodate a 25 mm tire, probably even 28 mm which should help make the ride more comfortable by allowing your wife to ride lower pressure in her tires.

My Xenith is an older model, 2008 I think, and it seems like a lot of the bike development since then has been to find ways to make the ride more comfortable versus simply getting lighter and stiffer, so the newer model is probably slightly more comfortable. Though as Chris says above, the fit, tire pressure, and contact points will probably be an order of magnitude or two more important in making a more comfy ride.

dwmckee

Well this turned out differently than I had planned. My wife got the Zenith Endura Elite and I got the Zenith Race for myself. If you want to get a new bike just buy one for your wife first! We got a great deal on old model year closeouts and saved combined almost 2 Gs off list.

Andrey

I am using the Endura and it was more comfortable than the steel bike I used before. It is very stable, because of the geometry, plus you can mount a rack on it. I think it is the only carbon relaxed geometry frame that you can mount a rack on it without any compromises.

dwmckee

Cool!