Jamis Aurora - all steel

[Kathi]

How much do you love the Kona frame? Think long and hard about the upgrade. It might make sense to tide you over until you can afford a new bike but for whatever reason you may be happier with the new bike now.

I have a Cannondale, my first small road bike, I loved her so I spent the money upgrading shifters, derailleur, cassete and put a carbon fork on her. A year later I bought a carbon frame because I was tired of being beaten to death by the harsh ride. I still have that bike, she's my trainer bike and the one my out of town friends ride.

Then 2 years ago I made changes to my cf bike. I have over 10k miles on it since the changes so it was money well spent, however, I'm not sure it was money well spent for the Cannondale.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[KnottedYet]

I kick myself for ever selling my steel Trek. The Jamis was dreamy, and a smaller frame than I would usually take.

The chickie at the shop said I might like a Surly Long Haul Trucker even more, but didn't have one in my size. And in my size the Surly is gonna have 650c wheels rather than 700c. She thought I wouldn't like the 650c's.

The geometry of the Jamis was lovely. Just lovely. Dunno if a Surly LHT would be lovelier.

Ideally I would keep my Kona as a borrower/commuter/rainyday bike, and use the steel for longer trips. When SKnot outgrows his (steel!) Trek 800 in a couple years I can give him the Kona.

I should just wait. Pay down my debts, leave the Kona alone, and wait. Dang. I'm not patient when in the grip of bike lust.

[tulip]

I have to agree that steel bikes in general, and Jamis in particular, are wonderful to ride. I have a Jamis Coda Comp, which I THINK (but I'm not positive) is the same frame as the Aurora. The Coda is my commuting bike--it takes me everywhere. It's truly like riding butter--just smooth and wonderful!

I don't think that steel bikes are appreciably heavier than aluminum, at least when you get to a certain level. My steel (with carbon fork and seatstays) Luna is 18lbs. or something like that (without pedals). That's pretty darned light. Most of us, but not all, really wouldn't notice the difference in weight on our rides, anyways.

Knotted, if you really like the Aurora, is there a way you could sell your Kona and purchase the Aurora? Or maybe someone with a 50cm Aurora is selling theirs (and wants a Kona). Or trade it in for the Aurora and perhaps a little cash? There's gotta be some way to make this work!

[KnottedYet]

The Kona was $400. The Jamis Aurora is $825.

The shop would give me $125 for the Kona on trade in. Ummm, no....

I think I will just have to wait. I can get a built up (bar end shifters, but I'd rather have downtube shifters) Surly LHT for $1,000. Aurora has Sora gruppo with brifters. If I can be patient, I might be able to find out if the LHT geometry is even better for me and if the 650c vs. 700c really makes a difference.

Keeping the Kona makes the most sense at this point, especially as SKnot will be needing a bigger bike one of these days.

I hate being patient....

Isn't she beautiful?

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/bikes/06_aurora.html

[Bikingmomof3]

The Kona was $400. The Jamis Aurora is $825.

Since I am up in the wee hours of the morning looking at cool bikes (read: not mine), I was wondering what style Kona you had. I would love to find one in the $400 price range. May I ask what you do not like about it?

[Selkie]

I'm a steel girl as well. Carbon frames scare me (probably an unfounded fear, but one to which I admit, nonetheless). My Bianchi and Luna Eclipse are both steel and my yet-to-arrive Luna Orbit likewise is steel.

How heavy is the Jamis?

[KnottedYet]

BMo3 - I love the Kona Dew for little trips (under 30 or so miles) for buzzing around town and commuting to work. On longer trips the jolts from the stiff aluminum frame are driving me nuts and the upright bars are torturing my hands. Nothing wrong with the Kona, mind you, just it doesn't match the use I'm trying to put it to.

MC - dunno the exact weight of the Jamis Aurora, but it was about the same as my Kona. Surprisingly light, actually. My next bike will be a loaded tourer, so I'm not terribly perturbed about weight; but the Jamis was light!

SP - I looked at the Randonee. Gotta love it when you tell the clerk at REI you'd like to see a Randonee but don't see one on the floor, and he searches through the computer and asks another clerk and then tells you they don't carry that brand!!!!! Hello? It's an REI bike! I did find one to look at. This year's style has a paint scheme "borrowed" from the Jamis line and gigantic tubes to make it look like the aluminum of the other Novara bikes. And I do mean silly huge diameter tubes!

Since I really can't be buying a bike right now (oh I hate to admit that!) I can wait until the 2007's in all the bikes I desire come out.

[eofelis]

The chickie at the shop said I might like a Surly Long Haul Trucker even more, but didn't have one in my size. And in my size the Surly is gonna have 650c wheels rather than 700c. She thought I wouldn't like the 650c's.
The geometry of the Jamis was lovely. Just lovely. Dunno if a Surly LHT would be lovelier.

I ride all steel also.
I just love my Surly Pacer. The Pacer is the road bike. It's an old style road bike, I think of mine more as a sport touring bike. The Pacer takes 700c wheels in all sizes. The LHT takes 26"/650c wheels in sizes 54cm and smaller.

I also have an LHT.
The LHT is a dedicated touring frame, and it's a heavy bike. Mine (42cm) weighs about 30lbs! The Pacer weighs less, but it's not as light as the "racing bikes."

You might check out the Novara Randonee if there is an REI near you. It's a steel frame bike. Sometimes they have really good deals on them.