In my quest for a touring bike I've mostly ignored this bike. For reasons unknown it never struck me as exciting. However lately I been checkin' you out baby and I like what I

see.

Ive read that the 520 reynolds tubing can become flexy under a full load, but all steel flexes right? Isn't that its charm?

Is the Jamis Elite really worth the premium over the standard model? (631 tubing and disc breaks, not that wild over disc breaks but I'm curious about the improved tubing)

If anyone can give me some testimonials or talk about experience with this bike I'd appreciate it. Also what else would you call similar?

I'm drawing parrallels to bikes like the All City Space Horse and Surly LHT but the Aurora strikes me as a more lively ride.

Anyway, thanks!

Dave

Jamis bikes tend to be good value. Frankly, I'd get the Aurora over the Elite. You don't get much for the $700 price difference. Reynolds 520 is fine stuff and cantis work just fine for touring. I'm not that excited about the rims on the aurora elite (mavic a119s on a $1650 bike). In fact, I wish Jamis had spec'd better wheels on both bikes but manufacturers often cheapen out on the wheels. The Aurora is tough to beat at $950 for a new touring bike. Also the 9 speed set up is probably better for touring (stronger chain) than the 10 speed on the elite. I like it; I'd think about buying it if I were on the market for a new touring bike.

Edit: I just saw 2 Auroras sell on ebay for around $500 each; 1/2 new is about right and a good deal on a nice touring bike esp. if you can get one that has seen little use.

I got a Jamis Aurora Elite, this past May. My commute is 50 miles, round trip and this is a very comfy ride. I haven't loaded it for touring, yet, but I've hauled home loads of groceries.

I don't see the disc brakes as a huge advantage, for me, anyway. I've doubted my decision about that. They're cool as hell, but probably unneeded, on the dry-climated plains of North Texas.

The one suggestion I make is look at the past year models. Mine is a 2010 and since I ordered it in May of 1013, it was almost half-price. I ordered the 2010 because it had more of the features that I wanted than the newer ones. The price break was just a bonus. Your local Jamis dealer can log into the Jamis warehouse inventory and tell you if they have the year you want, in your size.

My girlfriend just picked one a 2006 on craigslist for $400 and I feel like she got a steal on it. (no pun intended :-P)

I have an LHT (26") and while I have racks and fenders, I still feel without those the jamis is a lot more lively and quick. She still plans to ride it fully loaded with me and It's still an awful sturdy bike. The wheels are 32 spoke, but the rear may get an upgrade if we do any long tours.

I like them both, but I may have been a little jealous when she got it, especially at that price. It's a lot of bang for the buck.

I think the Jamis Aurora is a extremely under rated touring bike, I rode every touring bike I could find over a period of several months trying to decide what the "perfect" bike for me would be. I kept coming back to the Aurora but I would try and talk myself out of it, surely there had to be something wrong with it. No way could it be a good bike for the long haul with such a cheap price tag. ( I paid $795 for mine on sale).

I have about 1700 miles on mine now and I can tell you it lacks nothing. I commute 50 miles on it everyday rain or shine and it always makes me smile. I am a big guy about 240 lbs plus my gear. My bike always has rear panniers on it. I came from a aluminum frame bike and at first the steel frame seemed flexy but now I can't feel it, the ride is very comfortable.

So I guess what I am saying is I am very happy with the Aurora and I don't think you can go wrong especially for what they sell for. I could of bought any touring bike I wanted ( Surely, Trek 520 etc etc.) I chose the Aurora because it fit me the best and I couldn't find the reason the others cost hundreds more, they didn't ride any better.

Here is a pic of mine.

The Jamis Aurora is a nice value with a geometry that works better for me than other more popular options, like the Surly LHT. Unfortunately, Jamis only sells them as complete bikes, not as frame/forks. I was considering getting one a few years ago and emailed Jamis about this, and they confirmed that they only sold complete bikes -- at least at that time.

Bought this Aurora Elite new in 2008 with intentions of using it for touring. I still haven't gotten around to touring but it was good bike to get back into cycling after quite a few years off the bike. The last couple of years it's mostly been just sitting in the garage collecting dust while I've been riding lighter road bikes. This summer I thought I'd breath some new life into it - and thus started the partial repaint project which I just finished last week. Maybe now I'll be a little more motivated to considering taking it on an actual trip.

you have to choose lively, or heavy load bearing steady.

Very nice! Love the color scheme.

The low gear of 26x28 could be too high depending on gear weight and terrain. By way of comparison, the stock Surly LHT coems with a 26x34 low gear. I just crossed PA with mine. Wasn't ultralight but wasn't carying the kitchen sink either. There were a few hills where a 24t chain ring would have been appreciated.

The 2008 the Aurora Elite came with a 53/39/30 with an 11-28. Not exactly touring gears. I was thinking of changing the crankset to a mountain bike setup with possibly as low as 22 and then keeping the cassette. In the mean time I need to get the bike set up on the trainer for winter.

I have a 2009 model, same gearing. I changed the small chainring to a 26 and changed the rear cassette to a 12-32, I also changed the RD to a shimano Deore XT RD-M772 SGS to take up the extra chain length. So my low gear is a 26 x 32, my low gear changed from a 28.9 to 21.9 gear inches. The shifting works fine with the 26T small chainring.