I purchased a new Jamis Aurora a few weeks ago and thought I would share some thoughts.

The pros:

The bike itself looks beautiful. Fenders and rear rack are painted to match. The 2014 model comes in something called Forest Black. I really wish bike manufactures would turn out bikes in only, black white and some of the primary colors. It makes touch ups to much easier. And bikes on tour seem to get their share of scratches. But the Forest Black is black enough that a few small scratches can be touched up with a permanent marker and won't be noticed too much.

Over all the bike is fairly well equipped (exceptions below) for the sub $1000 price and that all sits on a 520 steel frame. Wheelset seems to be adequate for factory wheels. The frame is a very comfortable ride and appears to handle well though I have yet to ride it loaded. The spoke holder complete with extra spokes is a nice touch


The cons:

The bike is geared WAY to high to be a touring bike. I had the LBS swap out the small chain ring for a 22T and a 11-32T cassette at no extra cost. They installed a Deore RD for $40 to better accommodate the larger cassette. I got to keep the Tiagra.

The frame needs a set of water bottle bosses on the underside of the down tube as how many other touring bikes are equipped.

The rear rack is too narrow IMHO. Nice that you get the bags closer in to the center of gravity but it is going to be a tight squeeze for a tent and certainly way to narrow for a trunk bag for day trips.

The biggest or most dangerous disappointment is the cool looking strap on the rear rack. The rack is even designed to accommodate the strap. It came loose on me 3 or 4 times even after I made certain it was fastened as securely as possible. It came very close to getting caught in the spokes.

Over all a great bike. I doubt it would please the purists but for those looking at spending sub $1000 on a touring bike i think it would be a difficult search to find something that beats it at that price.