Advice needed on Jamis/Cannondale road bikes

[Pootling]

Hi everyone, I've just joined the forum and hope some of the ladies here can help. I'm looking for a new road bike and am considering a couple – the Jamis Ventura Race (women's) and the Cannondale Synapse 5 105 Compact (alloy,women's). I'm after an aluminium/carbon mix which I think gives a good combination of weight to comfort. I also ride all year round and am anxious about the possibility of crashing a carbon bike especially in the winter months.

I want to use the bike for my daily commute of about 15 miles and club rides of 40-50 miles and eventually work towards an audax. It would be an upgrade from my basic Trek road bike.

I have absolutely no experience of either brand and can't test ride as none are available in my size. The Jamis sounds like very good value for money but this is not a common brand here in the UK. It seems that the they are better known for their mountain bikes. Does anybody out there ride a Jamis road bike and would you recommend it?

Cannondale is a well-known but difficult to test ride especially in a small size. The write-up on the Cannondale seems to focus on comfort so I'm keen to know whether it's still a lively ride. Also, how well do their bikes fit small women?

It would be great to hear from anyone who rides these bikes or has experience of the brands.

Thanks for your help.

[Owlie]

Welcome to TE!
I'm looking at a steel Jamis road bike (the Quest Femme), and it seems like a great bike for the money. I've never seen one of their aluminum offerings in a shop, so I don't know much about those. I'm not a fan of relaxed-geometry aluminum bikes (they seem to be harsher rides than their more aggressive cousins), but I obviously haven't tested everything out there. I prefer aluminum to an overbuilt unisex carbon bike, though!

As for either brand being good for small women: It depends. How tall are you, and what's your inseam? I'm the opposite end of the size spectrum (so I know that it's not always easy to find something to test-ride), but I have a short torso. Because of that, Cannondale (even their women's offerings) aren't so friendly to me, at least in my measured size. A full size smaller might be great, but I've yet to try it out.

ETA: They're both great bikes. Find a shop with a good fitter who can work with you to find the bike you need. Don't be afraid to consider others like Specialized, Trek, Giant, or smaller manufacturers.

[Koronin]

I've never looked at Jamis so can't say anything at all about them. Cannondale's smalled WSD bike is has too high of a stand over height for me to even bother with. Also the smallest men's frame which is what my husband bought just never fit him right and we ended up selling it. We are in process of buying him a Felt which is in layaway and we are paying on it. So that's our experience with Cannondale.

[Reesha]

Hi Pootling,

A number of my student riders ride Cannondale CAAD frames (8 or 10 respectively). They are lively, accelerate fast, but they wouldn't call them the most comfortable over very long distances.

I'm not sure about Jamis, but steel bikes are like butter!

[Owlie]

Hi Pootling,

A number of my student riders ride Cannondale CAAD frames (8 or 10 respectively). They are lively, accelerate fast, but they wouldn't call them the most comfortable over very long distances.

I'm not sure about Jamis, but steel bikes are like butter!

The BF has the forerunner to the CAAD series (R2000), and he would disagree. But he's a Cannondale fanboy.

[OakLeaf]

I think the aluminum Synapse frames have the same geometry as the carbon ones, but what I don't know is whether the current ones have the same geometry as my '07... Anyway on mine the small frame size (50 cm - so not even the smallest) is achieved at the expense of a pretty steep seat tube angle, which means I need a seatpost with mondo setback and to set the saddle way aft. I can make it a decent fit for me, but that geometry negates a lot of the shorter top tube that you see on paper.

Just one reason why it's important to ride one if you can, and if not, look at ALL the frame geometry specs, not just tube lengths. Preferably have your fitter look at them for/with you.


ETA - I don't race and haven't for decades, but I did for a while, and actually I rode my old race bike for a season when I returned to riding, before I had to get a modern bike just to be able to get gearing that my old lady legs would push - so I think I know a mushy frame when I ride one, and I don't have any complaints in that department.

[ny biker]

Just curious, what's wrong with the Trek you are replacing?