I vote for the Jamis because I'm a steel frame sort of guy. Out of the 30'ish bikes I've ridden since I became a "born again cyclist" some 20 years ago I found myself enjoying my steel bikes more than the aluminium ones. About two years ago I converted the fleet from alloy to steel and I'm all smiles. The only alloy frame in the lot is the full suspension trail bike. The rest are all good quality steel. They ride more smoothly and seem to give back all the energy to the wheels that I put into the pedals. Two things that the alloy bikes just never did quite as well. At least that's my two centavos for you to ponder.


Have you looked at 29'er forks as well as hybrid forks? A 29'er is pretty much just a hybrid in MTB clothes. The wheels are 100% compatable so a suspension corrected rigid 29'er fork would be applicable to your project.