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Jamis Sputnik - why not?

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Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Jamis Sputnik - why not?

Old 03-06-09, 07:37 AM
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With the temps above freezing I went to pick it up yesterday. I hit up Mountain Equipment Co-op first and scored some Shimano PD-A520 pedals:


This is a conventional SPD so it works with my existing Lake MTB shoes but it's got a nice sleek road look. I had some concerns about the fact that they only take the cleat on one side, but I got used to it very quickly and so far I'm very happy with them.

I had some errands to run so my introductory ride ended up being ~15k of back-and-forth through the city with a backpack getting steadily heavier. The short story is that I love this bike. I have never bought myself a really nice bicycle that I had a lot of lust for before. And the experience of riding fixed so far is everything it's cracked up to be - it's so smooth and silent, so simple, direct, and elemental. The experience of riding this bike in traffic was the same mix of excitement and nerves that I had when I got my first motorcycle.

I actually had dreams of riding the bike as I was drifting off last night, and I woke up an hour earlier than I normally would and my first thoughts were of the bike. Jesus - a 38 year old man with a new bicycle but my emotions are more like a 12 year old girl with a new pony.

I've got some work to finish up this morning, then I hope to go out for a ride of ~50k or so. I've got a couple of trips planned for the spring and summer (one 180k day in the spring, and ~140k twice in 3 days in the summer) - my Cypress R hybrid set up for touring is the logical choice for those rides, but I can't stop thinking about how much I'd like to take the new bike. Time will tell.

Pics to follow.

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.
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Old 03-06-09, 08:16 AM
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patiently awaiting pictures.
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Old 03-06-09, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
With the temps above freezing I went to pick it up yesterday. I hit up Mountain Equipment Co-op first and scored some Shimano PD-A520 pedals:


Those are great pedals.I started out with SPDs, moved to eggbeaters and then finally returned to SPDs, installing PD-A520's on my road bike. I use real road pedals on other bikes, but SPDs are great for commuting or just basic riding.
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Old 03-06-09, 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
With the temps above freezing I went to pick it up yesterday. I hit up Mountain Equipment Co-op first and scored some Shimano PD-A520 pedals:


I actually had dreams of riding the bike as I was drifting off last night, and I woke up an hour earlier than I normally would and my first thoughts were of the bike. Jesus - a 38 year old man with a new bicycle but my emotions are more like a 12 year old girl with a new pony.

I've got some work to finish up this morning, then I hope to go out for a ride of ~50k or so. I've got a couple of trips planned for the spring and summer (one 180k day in the spring, and ~140k twice in 3 days in the summer) - my Cypress R hybrid set up for touring is the logical choice for those rides, but I can't stop thinking about how much I'd like to take the new bike. Time will tell.

Pics to follow.

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.
Nice...i was 38 when I got my Sputnik too...My first ride on it was 150k (i bought it in Toronto in the Beaches and rode it home to Kitchener on the back roads)...You can definitely do long rides on the Sputnik and you'll appreciate the carbon fork's muted feel in the later stages of your ride...

How much is MEC charging for the Shimano 520's?...I'm using Look road pedals with the cheap black and white Exustar road shoes that MEC sells with mixed results and I'm thinking about doing a switch to something easier to walk in...
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Old 03-06-09, 09:50 AM
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Originally Posted by chriskitch
Nice...i was 38 when I got my Sputnik too...My first ride on it was 150k (i bought it in Toronto in the Beaches and rode it home to Kitchener on the back roads)...You can definitely do long rides on the Sputnik and you'll appreciate the carbon fork's muted feel in the later stages of your ride...
I read your review & ride report as part of my research before pulling the trigger on this purchase. One of my trips planned for this year is a Toronto-KW round-trip with my brother-in-law. He started cycling last year after I did that trip for the first time so now he wants to train for it and have a crack at it himself. Of course, if I do it on the Sputnik this year, I won't be doing the climb up Appleby to Rattlesnake like I did last year on my Cypress!!! I can't imagine doing that climb without the assistance of a super granny gear.

How much is MEC charging for the Shimano 520's?...I'm using Look road pedals with the cheap black and white Exustar road shoes that MEC sells with mixed results and I'm thinking about doing a switch to something easier to walk in...
Ooops - I left the receipt in the MEC box which I left at the shop when I picked up the bike. I think they were around $50.
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Old 03-06-09, 10:56 AM
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Originally Posted by ZiP0082
patiently awaiting pictures.
Your patience has been rewarded. Of course, the pics include me too so it's kinda one of those win/lose dealies.

No sexy close-ups of the componentry because the components aren't sexy. It's stock + cheapie Easton bullhorns, Cane Creek brake lever & perch (on the right side), TEKTRO R530 dual-pivot brake, and the aforementioned Shimano PD-A520 pedals.





Proud owner - so proud and distracted that the bike is facing the wrong way.




I love you SO MUCH!

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Old 03-06-09, 11:17 AM
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awwww....so cute!
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Old 03-06-09, 09:36 PM
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Hokay, I had my first genuine riding impressions today - I was out for about 55k and it was really hard for a few reasons:

1) First time out doing anything like a real ride in about 7-8 months and more than a bit out of shape.

2) The fixie factor - it is different and it is difficult, but enjoyable. You learn new things about the cadence you can hit and sustain on a long downhill, and you learn just how long you can stand up and crank on a long uphill. My normal position is that riding a bicycle isn't a leg exercise as much as it's a cardio exercise. On a fixie, it's a leg exercise!

3) The ergos on this bike are soooooo much more aggressive than the hybrid set up for touring that I was riding the last couple of years, and the road bike with straight bars for commuting that I had before that. My wrists, neck, and sit bones were f'n killing me.

So, very difficult for an out of shape guy who's new to this kind of riding, but very fun and rewarding. I love the feeling of riding this bike, it just whips around and every sensation is so immediate and direct. It's hard to describe but I'm very happy with my choice so far.
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Old 03-06-09, 09:47 PM
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glad to hear you're having fun with your sputnik. i'm sure a few months down the road, you're going to look back and realize how much of a better biker you've become as a result of riding fixed gear.
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Old 03-06-09, 10:04 PM
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awesome! don't put so much pressure on your butt - kinda stand on the pedals, that should help the sit bones. that or the fit or saddle may be a little mismatched for you.

the bike looks so awesome.
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Old 03-09-09, 06:36 AM
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Originally Posted by cc700
awesome! don't put so much pressure on your butt - kinda stand on the pedals, that should help the sit bones. that or the fit or saddle may be a little mismatched for you.
I have read about keeping pressure off the butt a few times on Sheldon Brown's website... Do people really do that? It's not like I'm just sitting with all my weight on the seat all the time, but if you're spending 4, 6, 8 hours on the bike, can you really be supporting your bodyweight with your legs? If I unweight the seat for a bit of relief, I feel my legs pumping up and burning out in minutes.

I guess it's a fitness thing, like every other part of riding a bike.

the bike looks so awesome.
Yes, I'm very pleased with it. It's probably the prettiest thing I've ever bought - I don't even have any desire to customize it (for now, at least).
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Old 03-09-09, 07:50 AM
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in my opinion, your legs should be used to turn the pedals, not support your weight. your weight is mostly on the saddle, partially on the bars...the split is what you are comfortable with.

proper bike fit has a lot to do with comfort as well. if your shop didn't fit you, there are numerous basic guides on the web (https://www.cyclemetrics.com/pages/Do...t_formulas.htm, https://www.coloradocyclist.com/BikeFit/index.cfm). be aware, this is a religion...lots of fervent support for a wide variety of 'formulas'. here is my personal take on it...

i think the lemond .883/KOPS guideline is a simple and perfectly acceptable place to start, especially if it's your first ever attempt at improving your fit. many find that a small (1/2"?) move back behind KOPS allows a little more power. i definitely like it for the seated grinds that are so common when fixed.

also, put a level on the saddle...it will only touch at the nose and the base and should be perfectly level, and while on the bike your, uh, 'taint' should be in the cradle (where the level isn't touching). the pressure there should be even (no hotspots) and stable (no need to slide forward/back). if you find yourself wanting to slide, don't move the saddle (if you've used KOPS to set the fore/aft), move the bars (by changing the stem).

now you're close...bar height left. how strong is your core? how big is your belly? a loose guideline here is to ride on the tops and try to stay in that position while completely unweighting your hands. if you can't do it for more than a second or two, you're probably tipped too far forward and should raise the bars a bit (or maybe do some situps). you want to be as low as possible while still being able to comfortably unweight your hands.

in my experience, many, many folks (even experienced riders) tend to have their saddles too high and their bars too close.

anyway, my $0.02. hope it helps you get comfortable.

PS: if you've not ridden in 7-8 months, there's no getting around the break-in phase for your ***!

Last edited by dookie; 03-09-09 at 09:49 AM.
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Old 03-09-09, 09:15 AM
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I've had good luck with the KOPS system as well...It eliminated a few aches and pains which I had always thought were a normal part of riding...At first, it felt like the bars were really far away, but once I got used to it, it was great...

You might also want to consider ditching the san marco ponza saddle...I don't care what body type you have or how level you get that thing, there will be far less painful options for you...For me, the perfect saddle as far as comfort goes is the San Marco Regal (though the pricetag on the regal is a bit painful...especially with our struggling Canadian Peso)...I've had good luck with some of the Terry saddles that MEC sells as well (i can even hook you up with a gently used-never crashed ti-railed Terry Liberator unisex for almost no pesos at all) but once my ass gets on a Regal, it's like it has found its perfect match...

As for riding from Toronto to Kitchener and attempting the climbs along the way, I've found that I've had more issues going down the descents than climbing the climbs...The Sputnik is light enough that if you just stand on the pedals in a climb and focus on the road in front of you whilst going to your special meditative place, you'll get to the top of the hill before you know it...Unless your legs give out...Fortunately, it looks like you've altered the stock 48x15 gearing of the 2007 Sputnik for something a little more long distance leg friendly...

Enjoy your bike!
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Old 02-15-12, 12:08 PM
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Just a little update... In the years I've had this bike, I've made the following changes:

1) Black Velocity Deep V's front (machined) & rear (unmachined), both are laced to stock hubs, still black spokes. In both cases I made the change as a result of accidents (being hit by a car killed the back rim, hammering into a sewer grate and going over the bars killed the front rim).

2) 42x17 gearing, both cogs black. It was 48x19 when I got it and I hated the big ugly cog, rode 48x16 for a while, got out of shape and had some knee probs so I swapped to 44x17.

3) Shiny chrome chain.

4) Easton EC70 carbon seatpost. After a test ride on a Cervelo RS with an FSA carbon post, I thought that this change might increase comfort. It didn't. Not great value for money, but no way am I taking it off.

5) Terry Falcon Y saddle. I wore out the stocker, and thought that the black seat with grey graphics would look good on a black bike with grey accents. Also, I wanted to try a split saddle. Having ridden it, I think they're BS, no more comfortable than a traditional saddle. Also, the top of my seatpost doesn't look great from above, and crud gets in there when the bike is left parked outside. Next saddle will be traditional style.


I've had a lot of fun on this machine. I'm building another bike now because I'm a bit too out of shape to ride good old Nicky, and I'm nursing some knee injuries. I've done a bunch of 100k days on it - too many to count, and did back-to-back century rides (100 miles/day 2 days in a row), out to the Niagara Escarpment and back. I've never once regretted the purchase and if I was ever physically unable to ride the bike for some reason, I'd probably hold onto it and hang it on my wall. It's a beautiful machine and I have a lot of love for it.
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Old 02-15-12, 05:34 PM
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What year sputnik was that? I just picked up the 09 and I love it except a couple of things.

Did you have any problems pedal striking? I'm really not confident in cornering because my clips would scrape the floor and I just recently got my pedal caught when I was turning and I did an accidental nose pivot. A good chunk of cage and pedal are gone just from that.

Also, you said the rims were sub par, yet the hubs made up for it. I feel the opposite because mine came with loose ball hubs and they were so crunchy and stiff I could not even spin the axle with my hands, I serviced them myself and they are much better, but are no where near as smooth as the cheapest sealed bearings.
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Old 02-16-12, 07:30 AM
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Mine was a leftover 08 or 07, bought in the spring of 09.

I've never had a pedal strike problem, either I'm slow & lame on the corners (definitely possible), or my cranks are a bit shorter than yours (although mine are whatever came on the bike), or my slimmer pedals make the difference. The pedals I'm running give probably almost 10mm of extra clearance at the outside edge vs. platforms with cages.

BTW, I did end up putting some small lights on the bike, but no computer, bell, or mirror. For riding in the city, I learned that I prefer not having a computer. I got warned once by the cops about the lack of bell, I told them that my bell had been stolen and I had a replacement on my dresser at home that I hadn't had time to install yet. And I wear a helmet-mounted mirror, which I've been doing for years - love it.
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Old 07-19-16, 11:31 AM
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This bike was living with a buddy of mine as a backup bike since I got my Gios Compact built up with IGH. This spring I finally took it back. It wanted a new set of tires, bartape, and brake pads, but with those things taken care of it's been a treat to get out and ride it a bit. I am hoping to find the time/dedication to work my way up to doing a metric on this bike before the snow flies. I'm fatter than I was when I last rode it, but after a year of barely riding in the wake of having a kid, I've found that my knees protest less. I think that with some careful route choices I should be able to manage a 100k ride on this thing still.

It's certainly been nice riding it again and remembering why I loved it so much in the first place!
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Old 10-07-16, 01:21 PM
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Went out for a 75k ride yesterday and brought my good camera. Shame that the bike is filthy:



According to the Runtastic GPS data and Sheldon Brown's gear calculator, I can still spin into the 160's for a short time.

I really love this bike. It's the least versatile set of wheels that I own, but it's probably my favorite.
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Old 10-07-16, 02:01 PM
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It's pretty cool that you are still around here (at least ATM) to report on riding your old faithful bike after all these years.
You are lucky - you got yours back in the good old days - it is a damned shame how Jamis cheapened more recent versions of Sputnik (& Sonik too) over the past several years...
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Old 10-07-16, 02:05 PM
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Someone on CL just posted a cro-mo beatnik for $50, tempted.
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Old 10-07-16, 07:09 PM
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Back in the day when Jamis fixed gears were solid machines. Why they had to go to friggin' pipe steel is beyond me. They still use 520 and 631 and even good ole' 853 from the venerable Reynolds, for their other bikes why not for their SS/FG?

Glad the bike is still working out for ya, keep it well maintained and hopefully we will see it forever.
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Old 10-10-16, 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
Back in the day when Jamis fixed gears were solid machines. Why they had to go to friggin' pipe steel is beyond me. They still use 520 and 631 and even good ole' 853 from the venerable Reynolds, for their other bikes why not for their SS/FG?
I assume it's because the SS/FG crowd are very budget conscious. I think that the old/good Sputnik was one of those hidden gem kind of bikes that you just don't see very often - where a manufacturer stumbles onto something good before they realize it's not really sustainable.

It's not just the materials, though - the new ones just don't look as nice to my eye. I kinda wish that they had changed the name when they changed the look and spec, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a very lovely bike.

It's light, lively, responsive, and not too too punishing. The only thing I kind of wish was different was the head tube - an internal tapered headset would give a wider variety of options for an upgraded fork (and a move to disc). But I have so much fun when I ride it, even though these days I have to be careful about how hard and how long I push myself on climbs.

Glad the bike is still working out for ya, keep it well maintained and hopefully we will see it forever.
In priniciple I'm planning to sell it and my Gios next year. We'll see if I can actually do that...
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Old 10-10-16, 07:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
I assume it's because the SS/FG crowd are very budget conscious. I think that the old/good Sputnik was one of those hidden gem kind of bikes that you just don't see very often - where a manufacturer stumbles onto something good before they realize it's not really sustainable.

It's not just the materials, though - the new ones just don't look as nice to my eye. I kinda wish that they had changed the name when they changed the look and spec, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a very lovely bike.

It's light, lively, responsive, and not too too punishing. The only thing I kind of wish was different was the head tube - an internal tapered headset would give a wider variety of options for an upgraded fork (and a move to disc). But I have so much fun when I ride it, even though these days I have to be careful about how hard and how long I push myself on climbs.


In priniciple I'm planning to sell it and my Gios next year. We'll see if I can actually do that...
They always do that. Play to the lowest bidder with bikes that aren't road or mountain race bikes. It is sad. They could make top quality stuff and still sell it to the people that care about quality and then they could make cheap-o pipe steel or 4130 models and sell those as well. Have a range of stuff like a lot of brands already do frequently going up in price which gets you better frame and forks sometimes or at least better components.

Internal/integrated headsets aren't so good. I know they are the future and sometimes the future is cool but sometimes it is garbage. I can see some benefits but just figure out a way to do it and still use external cup sealed cartridge bearings (no more caged loose ball garbage). I get that the race crowd needs to have a back so flat so the Brits can have tea service on their backs and so they can build more wind tunnels to find out if farting negatively effects a tailwind and loses you watts, but most people don't need any of that.

One day things might change for the better I hope.
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Old 10-11-16, 11:21 AM
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
Internal/integrated headsets aren't so good. I know they are the future and sometimes the future is cool but sometimes it is garbage. I can see some benefits but just figure out a way to do it and still use external cup sealed cartridge bearings (no more caged loose ball garbage).
I care more about a tapered headset than about internal bearings, but this bike will never have either and it's fine.

I would like to put a nice modern road disc carbon fork on this bike, but it looks like the only choice I can find with a straight steerer is Wound Up. They look OK, but not as nice as the prettiest modern road forks I'm seeing these days.
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Old 10-12-16, 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
I care more about a tapered headset than about internal bearings, but this bike will never have either and it's fine.

I would like to put a nice modern road disc carbon fork on this bike, but it looks like the only choice I can find with a straight steerer is Wound Up. They look OK, but not as nice as the prettiest modern road forks I'm seeing these days.

The great thing about Wound up is they are a different manufacturing style (they do wound filament carbon if memory serves me) so they are purported to make stronger forks that are less like to asplode like other carbon can.
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