Well, Jamis finally has their specs out for the 2015 bikes on the website. It's been 20 years since I've looked seriously at new bikes and I had finally narrowed down to a Jamis Coda Comp after testing Fujis, Raleighs, Giants, Specialized, etc. Now it appears they've changed enough in 2015, including lowering the overall price, that it's difficult for me to tell whether I should wait until they're available, or try to find a (slightly more expensive) 2014.

I should say I primarily intend to use the bike for local/around town errands, an occasional 7 mile commute to work, and taking my 2 year old son to daycare/on rides using a Topeak Bike Seat (most likely).

I would appreciate if other experts on the forums could weigh in on the quality of components in the 2015 versus 2014. Jamis has conveniently listed the bikes spec sheets and a previous year spec sheet can also be pulled up.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

The Front & Rear Derailleurs on the 2015 model, drop down two levels to Altus, compared to the 2014's Alivio F&R Derailleurs, plus the 2015 model has a lower grade Crankset and one that looks a bit ugly in my opinion.

The 2015 model is a 9 speed, vs the 2014 model's 8 Speeds, but without hesitation I would choose the 2014 model.

I disagree with the good Colonel...

"drop down" is relative as the name on one group varies from year to year. Just looking at the two bikes, I can tell that the rear derailleur on the 2015 model is a higher quality than the 2014 model. How can I tell, the number of teeth on the pulley-wheel. Shimano uses the extra large wheels with 13t on their cheapest RD's; the 2014 is a step down. Granted, we are splitting hairs.

Piece for piece, aside from the RD, the two groups are practically identical (if not actually identical besides the printed name). If you start with 9 speeds, you'll have an easy time upgrading to any of the common 9speed Deore, LX, and XT components still floating around on the discount racks. The only upside of the 2014 is that the silver crank arm looks better... but the two cranks are identical beyond that.

Go with whatever gets you the best deal.

as the importer-brand-Product manager, tries to keep prices like last year, but the component supplying companies charge more, what do you expect?

you can always spend more for the higher priced models.

Wow, what subtle markings on the Coda line for 2015. Are they really devoid of the Jamis name except for the head badge? And I thought the faint script of previous years was hard to read. Maybe my monitor isn't adjusted right and I just can't see them.

I think Jamis just made a mistake with the photo of the bike. I think I've seen pics of the 2015 coda and it had the nice silver stripe and Jamis brand logo.

I take it back. The 2015's have no branding on the down tube like the 2014's do.

I recently read that the main difference is that the 2015 is NO longer built with the Reynolds 520 steel. They are now using a more generic chrom-moly 4130 (not sure of the number). To me this is a game changer, as the 520 frame IS worth the price of admission alone! You can always upgrade/change components.

I just bought a 2014 from someone who had not ridden it much & needed $$$ more than bike. What a sweet ride. I'd look at Craigslist and/or, call around to shops to find one (good luck with that!)

I don't think there is a difference between the 4130 chromoly and 520 Reynolds. Isn't it the same thing? Type of steel vs. brand.

I would like to know more about this, however.

https://www.bikeforums.net/framebuild...us-4130-a.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/hybrid-bic...lds-steel.html

Here's another. I read these threads months ago, and just ran into them again.

I'm no expert but from what I can gather, Reynolds has a certain manufacturing process and tolerances for the size and diameters of the tubes of the bike frames. Getting a frame that has 4130 means that Reynolds did not manufacture it. So, IF the manufacturer of the 4130 used different sizes and diameters of the tubes in their 4130 frames, then there could be a difference in the 'quality' and possibly the ride of the 4130 compared to the Reynolds 520. But I would think this would have more to do with the specs the manufacturers client (Jamis) gave the manufacturer.

So, maybe a better question to ask is, did Jamis change the specs of the frames for the Coda Comp (or, in my case of interest, the Coda Sport) when they switched from Reynolds to steel manufacturer X? If yes, maybe there is a measurable difference in the 4130/520 frames. If no, then the two frames should be identical.