Jamis Bikes for College & Exercise
 

I've recently been looking into buying a Jamis for college. I'm new to cycling and I'm not sure what model I should get. I'm looking for something that will get me to class, but also something I could use for exercise. Any suggestions?

I would use a mtn bike. But i guess it depends what you get by whats around you. If you have nice rodes and like to go fast. Then a rode bike. If there are places to go off rode and you like to ride up curbs. Then get a mtn bike. I ve used a mtn bike for years and I'm still not board. Although there is a section of rode I like to ride on and I'm think of buying a rode bike.

Ive never had any problems with my old trek 3700. My giant revel is about the same bike and it is also still going strong.

Here are some tips.
Wear a helmet
Use lights at night
Use your hand signals
Watch for cars, people, dogs, potholes, anyting that would be bad to hit.
Wear bight color cloths, neon green, yellow, red and white.

Why a Jamis and not any brand of bike, considering you don't know which style you'd like?

It's all about proper fit of a bicycle anyway.

+1

I have a discount with them, otherwise I obviously wouldn't limit myself. Any idea if the bikes under the "Fitness/Commuting" section at http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebik...eet/index.html would be a good choice?

I would go with the Aurora, but I'm prejudiced to drop bars.
http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/la...3_5675crx.aspx
I've heard good things from a fellow commuter that rides one.

The auroras are great, I ride a 2010. Unfortunately they've gone away from STI shifters and now use barend shifters... not bad if that's your thing, of course.

Jamis Durango Sport... it's great for urban and rural riding in all weather and all seasons, it's comfortable enough to do a century on and it comes with disc brakes and fork lockout. Street price is usually around $580.

I'll definitely check it out. I visited a few bike shops today and many dealers recommended the Allegro or Coda. Any thoughts on those? I really have never done any cycling before, so I'd appreciate any information on options and materials.

I started with an Allegro 1.0. Still have it. Its my back-up to my back-up. Great starter bike for the money. Understand I added fenders, rack, lights and a computer 'til I was done.

Any of them would be suitable for your needs. The Commuter line is better suited for car replacement type of transportation and the Codas and Allegros are more fun and fitness.

The Commuters will probably be a little less attractive to the bike thieves...

Just from looking at the two. The coda is definitely more of a road bike and the allegro is more of a hybrid. The coda reminds me a lot of the specialized sirrius, and I have a friend that has put many thousands of miles on a stock one of those.

In short: both good bikes. Want to curb hop and go short distances? Allegro
Want to go on major roads for 5+ miles? Coda

I would personally go with the coda. I am very biased in what I want out of a bike though : P

I've had experience with both and they're great bikes. But IMHO the Coda offers more bang for the buck (it's less expensive) and would be the one I'd choose out of the two. Mind you, I'm not one to put much credence into the specifics of a bike's list of components, I judge a bike according to how it functions and feels so 'better' components don't really mean much to me.

I have a 2010 Coda and I love it. best bike I ever owned. Not only is it basically a flat bar road bike (great for commutes or going all out) but the 700X28 tires make it possible to do some off road as well although that is pretty much limited to crushed gravel trails.
I think the 2012 models have 32's so you would have more options.

Sounds great. What would the difference in the Elite/Comp/Sport models be? I think the guy at the bike shop said the comp had a carbon fiber fork that was a little nicer?

Carbon has the disadvantage of possibly being rendered useless on impact where an aluminum or steel fork may merely get tweaked but is still serviceable. It's a point worth considering.

But do you specifically know teh diff between elite/comp/sport?

I have the Commuter 1 at my campus, and its all I need. It doesn't have the best components but its gets the job done. The rack and fenders make it definitely commuter ready hints the name. The tires aren't really good but those are easily replaceable. Just take care of it and it will last a while. Oh and don't get to caught up in what material the bike is. These guys just like to argue for the fun of it. Good luck at school.

Does it really matter? No offense, but keep in mind a couple of things:

-You're going to be using this for college. College/university are 'target rich' environs for bike thieves. The more the bikes value and/or parts specs, the greater the odds are that it will be stolen and parted out for CL and ebay buyers.
-Parts are just bits that are attached to the frame. The parts can be swapped out over time as they need to be replaced if you have the itch to upgrade.
-A proper fitting frame is crucial. If you're not comfortable riding the bike, it doesn't matter what parts are on it.

easy choice ...

Commuter 3 would be my choice for the following reasons:

serious pros:
1. integrated fenders (year round)
2. 7-speed internal geared hub in the back (no maintenance year round)
3. rack on the back (to give ladies/beer crates a ride when needed)
4. smaller market; less likely to be stolen
5. this is the bike that any urban commuter (at least in Europe) would choose out of the box from Jamis.

serious cons:
1. not really cheap at 700USD
2. no dynamo hub for built in front/rear lights
3. not made from 4130 steel
4. no chainguard to keep pants free from grease
5. no integrated rear wheel lock welded to the frame

questions:
1. does it have to be Jamis as their commuter selection looks, well, ummmmm, quite limited, so to say?
2. how much do you save, if only like 50USD, you could do much better elsewhere.

Specs are on Jamis' site along with frame geometries.

for example, the Breezer Uptown 8 is a much better bike than the Jamis models (although it is approaching 1000 USD). it has won the best commuting bike 2 years in row ... however, by European standards it's still roughly 2x too expensive

http://www.breezerbikes.com/bikes/details/uptown_8

The OP has stated that there is some sort of discount that only applies to Jamis...

see #2

It's enough that I'm limited to buying Jamis.