I have two Jamis bikes. I like them both. I’ve rarely heard complaints about Jamis bikes

Me too. I've a Jamis Quest Elite, and although it only has @ 600 miles, it rides great. I love it.

One small quibble about Jamis, however. I emailed them last July with two questions. I've yet to hear back.

Both perfectly respectable brands.

As far as those two bikes, I like the one without the suspension fork. Don't get a bike with a really crappy suspension fork. If you can't get a decent suspension fork, go rigid.

Agree. Both models in question have versions without a suspension fork.

That is a sad state of affairs.

gaint

No, it isn’t. Paul Rivers’ comment is one man’s experience. I could say the same thing about a steel Breezer Radar that I rode recently. It didn’t work for me, but a lot of people love that Breezer bike and it sells very well. Same is true for the Jamis Coda, which is the bike that Paul was likely talking about. It’s been Jamis’ best seller for 35 years. If the ride quality was as poor as Paul says, then it wouldn’t be selling so well or for so long. It just didn’t work for him. Nothing new there. In biking individual fit matters as much as anything. Besides, he was comparing apples to oranges - a steel bike to an aluminum bike with an unknown number of other factors such as tire and wheel size, etc.

The 2 bikes being compared here are the Giant Cypress and the Jamis Citizen, which are actually 2 very similar bikes, both built to a very similar price point and with the ability to be similarly equipped. I doubt that there’s much difference between them, which I suspect is why the OP asked about the relative merits of the 2 companies in the first place. When comparing these 2 bikes, I like the fact that Jamis offers a little more choice by offering 4 versions of the Citizen while Giant offers only 2 versions of the Cypress. I also like the fact that Jamis makes more of a difference with the little details like their handgrips, chain guard, and kick stand.

But bottom line is that he should pick a version of each bike, test ride it, and see which one is more comfortable. After all, he’s talking about using it to ride around the neighborhood park and bike trails for fun and exercise. Who knows, but it may be the bike that has the more comfortable seat that wins out for this purpose.

I had (still have, actually) a 2005 Jamis Comp Sport that, while a boat anchor in weight, rode beautifully and smoothly over bumps, rough roads, etc., with very little road vibration. Head and shoulders above any aluminum bike I ever rode.

I've owned two Jamis and so far so good. Highly dependable bikes.

Jamis Coda sounds familiar.

Aluminum frame ride quality has improved a lot in the last decade in bikes from the big manufacturers. It's gone from "annoyingly buzzy ride" for me to "pretty good ride".

If Jamis as not changed it's frame design I wouldn't be surprised. They're still a bit buzzy. Jamis hasn't necessarily gotten worse, aluminum frame design has gotten better while Jamis's design has stayed the same.

And I agree with you completely here. If you can test something out in person, that should always trump the opinion of anyone on the internet.