Originally Posted by
blujosh
i'm in the market for a new (complete) bike to be used 80% of the time for commuting and long weekend rides w/ rear rack and pannier, and 20% for medium loaded touring w/ two panniers on the rear and a small front rack w/ rando style bag+supplies.
my riding tends to be comprised of 80-90% on pavement (including rough roads), and 10-20% on gravel/dirt/trails.
the two bikes i currently have my eye on are the (2016) Jamis Aurora Elite and Salsa Marrakesh.
besides the gearing, the quality of components look to be fairly similar on the two.
the one thing i'm noticing that differs greatly between the two is the 12mm in BB drop.
Aurora Elite = 65mm BB drop
Marrakesh = 77mm BB drop
i'm wondering what sort of advantage one would have over the other, and what sort of real world difference i could expect to feel on each bike. i've heard that the lower the bottom bracket the more stable the ride is, especially when loaded, but is that enough of a reason to choose a bike with a 77mm drop as opposed to 65mm?
In a word, no, BB drop is not enough of a reason to choose one bike over the other.
I ride an Aurora with a 65mm drop and a Rivendell Sam Hillborne with a 78mm drop. Yes, the lower bracket of the Sam feels closer to the ground or stable in that sense, but it's such a small factor in the overall ride experience. The Jamis is far easier to ride with no hands - if that's not a test of stability, I don't know what is. I prefer the Jamis for pavement and commuting (my commute is 9 miles pavement, 4 miles gravel bike trail, each way.) It 'feels' like I sit higher and a bit taller compared to cars. I'm 6',190lbs and I just feel more imposing out there. A bit more like I mean business and a bit less vulnerable. I dig the sport touring geometry as well, it can handle a load without being too pokey.
The Hillborne feels more at home on trails, dirt roads, or even urban settings w/ curbs and whatnot. I have it set-up with thicker tires, 38mm vs the 32mm on the Jamis - which actually measure closer to 28.
I think that the Sam feels a bit like a trail bike that I can ride on the pavement whereas the Jamis feels like a road bike I can ride on some light trails. The Sam is for fun and the Jamis is for speed but like I said, there are so many factors that contribute to the overall ride other than BB drop.
The Marakesh looks nice, I looked into Salsa myself at one point (the Vaya) .Don't quote me on this but I'd be wary about the the frame's compatibility with other racks and more importantly, fenders. For some reason I remember reading a review that pointed out the owner's frustration with the lack attachment points near the rear dropouts. Maybe it's been resolved since then.