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?

[Owlie]

As far as Cannondale, I have one. It's not truly women-specific, and I've had to struggle to 'make' it fit. There are better options. But that doesn't mean it would work for you.

What year is yours? I tried out a new carbon Synapse (very short ride), in my measured size. While it was a short ride (because it was COLD and I wasn't dressed for it), I wasn't as stretched out as I thought I'd be. I'd still go with a 51 rather than a 53 cm, though.

[Pootling]

Hi all, thanks for getting back. There's nothing wrong with my Trek besides being a bit scuffed up after 6 years of being my workhorse. I'm just looking to upgrade to a better groupset and frame and let's face it, who doesn't want a new bike? Joining a club also means I'm riding more and comfort is getting more important – I'm not exactly young any more.

I've test ridden the Trek Lexa slx (liked) and the Specialized Dolce Comp (ok) and a Scott Contessa (didn't do it for me) – they're all in the same price range but you get quite a lot more for your money with a Jamis and I've heard good things about Cannondale which seems a good option for an audax bike in the longer term. Though now that I've seen some of your responses I think the fit may be a problem. I am 5' 2” with a short torso and arms. An effective top tube of more than 51cm is a reach for me without a short stem. I hear what you say about test riding first.

I'd love a steel road bike but with my height and proportions, I don't think I can afford a lightweight one right now. I haven't seen a decent off the peg model that will fit me so it would have to be bespoke or at least have a frame built up and that is more expensive than some of the carbon bikes out there with the components I'd like. But I didn't notice the Jamis Quest femme which seems a real possibility. The only place that sells Jamis here only does the men's version though. I need to look into that and Felt too, which I didn't consider either. I've just done a search and there is one (the ZW line you mentioned) well within my price range with a SRAM groupset.

Thanks again for your suggestions and advice. It's been really helpful.


K

[CyborgQueen]

FWIW - I had Jamis Ventura Elite 48cm, then after two years, a second fitter told me the bike is just a tad bit too long (standover was fine, but, the reach was too long/big), so I got Jamis Ventura Race 44cm frame (just the frame, since it's same carbon/alu mix like the Elite) with 700c wheels. I'm 5'. I'm MUCH more comfortable with a shorter reach bike. Next time if I ever get a new road bike, I'll be looking for one that has a short reach.

I have NO idea what it feels like riding other bikes on the road, and I *am* curious what a steel bike feelsl like. It SUCKS not to be able to ride a bike in MY size.

I got the Jamis purely because I was getting a FULL Ultegra bike with Alu/Carbon mix for much lower price. If you're just starting out, I would do the same thing. Buy a Jamis, and it'll last you a long time.

If I'm getting a tri-bike, I definitely would be test riding. So, if you could, I would test ride bikes.

Good luck!! I do get comments on my bike because there's only about two people I know that has a Jamis bike in two of my bike clubs. Makes me feel special. :-)

[Pootling]

Hi all, thanks for getting back. There's nothing wrong with my Trek besides being a bit scuffed up after 6 years of being my workhorse. I'm just looking to upgrade to a better groupset and frame, and who doesn't want a new bike? Joining a club also means I'm riding more and comfort is getting more important – I'm not exactly young any more.

I've test ridden the Trek Lexa slx (liked) and the Specialized Dolce Comp (ok) and a Scott Contessa (not for me) – they're all in the same price range but you get a lot for your money with a Jamis and I've heard good things about Cannondale which seems a good option for an audax bike in the longer term. Though now that I've seen some of your responses I think the fit may be a problem with Cannondale. I am 5' 2” with a short torso and arms. An effective top tube of more than 51cm is a reach for me without a short stem. I hear what you say about test riding first.

I'd love a steel road bike but with my height and proportions, I don't think I can afford a lightweight one right now. I've yet to see a decent off the peg model that will fit me so it would have to be bespoke or at least have a frame built up and that's more expensive than some of the carbon bikes out there with the components I'd like. But I missed the Jamis Quest femme, which sounds like a real possibility. The only place that sells Jamis here only offers the men's version though. I need to look into that and Felt too, which I didn't consider. I've just checked and there is one (the ZW line you mentioned) within my price range with a SRAM groupset.

Thanks again for sharing.


K

[Caddy]

My husband was able to test ride many different bikes before purchasing since he is smack dab in the most common bike sizes and funny enough, narrowed it down to the Jamis Ventura Race and Cannondale Synapse alloy 105 He went back and rode both bikes again and eventually settled on the Synapse because he felt it responded better and had a more comfortable/plushier ride.

Of course, it would be whichever bike fits you better and I can't speak from the WSD models, but that was his experience (he took both of them out for 30 minute rides because the bike stores were very generous).

As a side note, the Cannondale CAADs are meant more for racing while the Synapse is built more for comfort, I believe. That's not to say the Synapse can't go fast - we average over 18mph on long Sunday rides without too much effort.