Jamis Aurora vs. Aurora Elite vs. Something Else

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

(maybe that will keep me from ordering one and building bike number FIVE, when really I should just be riding the bikes I have and leaving my wallet locked in a safe somewhere! )

Remember the other thread where I decided that once you hit more than 5 bikes it falls into the addition category and calls for intervention.....

[xeney]

Knotted, I have five bikes that are actually rideable (a road bike, a trainer bike, a grocery-getter mixte, a go-fast single speed mixte, and a mountain bike), plus some old beaters and of course this new frame. So you are fine in my book.

I think I will try to order the mixte direct from Soma because the LBS route was ridiculous. In fact they told me not to bother trying to order through them, to take my chances with Soma. I am subscribed to the Soma blog so hopefully they'll post there when the Buena Vista is released. I probably won't be able to jump fast enough, but I really want that bike and I'm going to try.

[uforgot]

Remember the other thread where I decided that once you hit more than 5 bikes it falls into the addition category and calls for intervention.....

Pretty good Lisa! It falls into the addition category. I know you just forgot the c, but it's good enough for me. I'm going back to craigslist again. It's just another addition, no bid deal, Lisa said so!

I teach math and I know that addition does not require intervention. Man, I can justify anything!

[xeney]

AND it took a month to determine that they don't have another 50cm in the blue, just the silver, so screw it. This bike is not meant to be. I canceled the sale.

I cannot believe that after all this I still don't have a bike.

[Blueberry]

Did they at least give you your deposit back?? That sucks

[tulip]

Too bad! Time to revisit the Jamis option? They are fantastic bikes (but not mixte to my knowledge).

[xeney]

I will probably apply the deposit to a set of wheels, or to having some work done on my single speed mixte.

Soma is sold out of the frame in that size/color, as well. If I hadn't had doubts I'd just go with the silver -- obviously color is the least important issue -- but at this point I don't want to wait another month to get a frame that isn't even the one I wanted.

The Aurora doesn't come in my size so I am not going that route. I'm back to square one and probably just dropping the issue for now. I kind of hate my road bike but I can pull the baby trailer with it. (I tried pulling it with my much more comfortable single speed, but the gearing is too high and I was worn out after a couple of miles.)

[elk]

http://cgi.ebay.com/austro-daimler-w...QQcmdZViewItem

pretty RED mixte!!! 10 speeds....

[xeney]

I saw that but I am holding out for modern components.

Which I am getting! A big part of my buyer's remorse over the Soma was the fact that I was having second thoughts about the 50cm fitting me. My husband had the same second thoughts. Once we started thinking about a 52cm, he suggested a Soma Speedster ... same geometry, but the smallest size available is a 52cm. And it is lugged steel and it's RED.

He went to a different local bike shop just to see if they could get one (since they are sold out at Soma), and lo, they had a 52cm Speedster frame hanging up in the shop. He put down a deposit for me and I am getting a new bike! And a much prettier one, too.

Since this frame is a bit more expensive (but still really cheap in the grand scheme of things) and since we are now smack in the California budget crisis that means I am not getting paid again until August or September, probably, I am going to do a component swap from my Bianchi to this new bike, and if it fits and I like it, then I'll worry about outfitting it with exactly what I want.

I am really excited, because secretly? I wanted a sparkly red bike.

[KnottedYet]

Hooooray!!!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sounds like it was meant to be.

[KnottedYet]

Oh, mama... look at that fork!!!!! <drool, drool>

[xeney]

I thought you'd approve!

It really is a gorgeous bike. And I think it is going to fit me fine now that we have spent more time pondering my fit on the two bikes that fit me best. The shallower seat tube angle should be good for me. I hope!

[dex]

The Speedster is really pretty. (Knott, there's one built up at Counterbalance on the Burke, if you're feeling the pull to drool in person.)

I'm a little confused, though. The geometry chart shows a 535mm effective top tube on it, and that doesn't seem to solve your top tube length problems. Am I reading that right?

I really, really hope it works out for you. You've been way too frustrated for too long over all of this.

[xeney]

That top tube length is exactly the same as the effective top tube on my Bianchi, but I have to use a seatpost on the Bianchi with a 3.5 cm setback in order to get my knee in the right spot over the pedal. It wasn't until I got the setback seatpost that I had trouble with the reach. This bike has a shallower seat tube angle so I think I can avoid the setback seatpost, and thus it will really be an effective top tube of 535.

We figured this out when we measured the reach on my new single speed build. That bike fits me really well and is super comfortable, but my husband had been riding it around without a problem and decided to measure the reach because he couldn't believe it was fitting him. The effective top tube on it is also 535, and I also have a 10cm stem on it. So I can ride a longer top tube than I was thinking I could; I just can't do it if I have to also have the setback seatpost.

Someone -- TriskelionGirl, I think -- explained this to me a couple of years ago, but I am not so good with the visualization and it never made sense to me. Now I get it.