Originally Posted by dwmckee

Man, I'd buy the Jamis Renegade. It is maybe $600 less that the niner and has a lot more pedigree than the Raleigh. What ever niner says, there is no proprietary magic to a steel frame, they are great if well made and if the geometry has been evolved over several generations and they spec good steel, anyone can make a great steel frame. Jamis has been making and selling steel frames longer than anyone else selling bikes in the US (since 1905) And the rest of the components are made by Shimano or Sram, etc. Niner does have a nicer paint job but if your bike is appropriately muddy no one will ever see that...