beemboy

Hello all,

I've been mulling over the Jamis Coda Elite, Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra, Specialized Sirrus, and the Kona Dr. Dew models. I have a 12 mile (roundtrip) commute daily that I've been doing on a POS $140 Target-bought Schwinn SX 2000 "trail tuned" mountain bike :-) and want to upgrade to a lighter commuter bike such as the ones I've mentioned.

I just found the Jamis Coda Elite 2005 listed for $749 here and I'm wondering if there is a big diff between this and the '07 model which retails for 1200ish?

Thanks!
beemboy

bsyptak

I just bought the 05 there too. I don't think there's much of a difference at all besides paint. Weight is about the same. Certainly not enough to justify the price difference. I wouldn't say the silver is a spectacular color, but with all silver and black components, it looks fairly tough. I do like it better than the 07 color, and touch-ups should be easier.

It is a nice bike. I've ridden it twice so I can't say much about it's long term. But I have another Jamis road bike I've ridden for 4 years and it's perfect. It fits Planet Bike Freddy Fenders just fine, and this rack fits well too:

https://www.rei.com/product/717273?vc...HP_CYCLING_TOC

It's going to be my winter/foul weather bike, as I have other bikes for sunfilled days.

beemboy

Thanks for the helpful info, bsyptak! That makes things a lot easier for me. I will test ride the Coda Elite '07 model to get a feel for the bike before I plonk it down. Do you have any thoughts on customer service/delivery of bicyclebananas.com? Did you have any trouble at all or was it smooth sailing?

thanks
-beemboy

PS - I would still love some opinions on the other bikes, if anyone out there is reading this...

bsyptak

I had no problems. Probably took 2 weeks because I don't think they stock the bikes. They secure the order from the customer (you), then they order the bike from Jamis. Jamis ships to them. They unbox and build it up and adjust it. Then they box it back up and ship it to you.

Mine was packed relatively well, but not perfectly. The bottom of the fork was unprotected and has a few scratches on it, where you would set it on the ground if it didn't have a wheel on it. No biggie, can't see it now. Also, something rubbed against the downtube in shipping and there is a small scratch on it where it says Jamis. Not sure if this was before or after the store reboxed it. I chalked it up to the fact that I got it for $450 off. More than that when you figure no tax.

You might mention these things to them when you order it and maybe suggest that you'll send it back (30 day guarantee) if it's scratched...maybe they will take a little better care.

Owner

I think the most noticeable difference is that the stem is higher on the '07. I looked at the '05 for a while, but ended up going with something from Craigslist. The Elite is a nice looking bike, for sure.

bsyptak

Possibly so. A shop told me Jamis is starting to leave the entire steer tube on their bikes to let the owner decide where they want the stem. This is a good thing. The bikes do come with an adjustable stem though, and there are lots of high rise stems available as well.

M_S

Does the 07 come with eggbeaters as well? Pretty nice, since stock pedals are almost always junk.

dynaryder

I've got an '05. Only real diffs is the brakes and bottom brackets. I don't think there's any huge difference between ISIS and MegaExo,but the '05's BB7 brakes are nicer than the '07's BB5's. I like the color better too.