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I am presently contemplating adding a third bike to stable, because as they say you can never have enough bikes.
I tried, actually bought a Giant AC and rode it for a year but hated it because it was too freakin heavy. I called it my 40 lb pig.
I think I need a FS bike now that my riding abilities have improved and I actually know how to ride now. My riding style is primarily XC but I like to mix it up a bit and ride skinnies, do some little drops, and rollerramma.
So the question is, should I look for a lighter All Mountain frame, I am interested in the Jamis 2.0 XLT Dakar or should I just get a true XC frame like the Iron Horse Azure. By the way, those are the two frames I am interested in.
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I’d recommend the Jamis Dakar as you All-Mountain/All-Purpose rig over the IH Azure. The XLT 2.0 isn’t a lightweight by regular trailbike standards, but it isn’t for a reason. The Dakar XLT is a heavy-duty trailbike, it’s meant to take equal bashings up & down the mountains. I wouldn’t say that it’s on the same level as say, the SC Nomad or Ellsworth Moment; but it’s definitely in the same league and it plays on an equal footing.
I’ve seen more than a few guys here on Dakar’s do some pretty amazing things on black-diamond trails.
I wouldn’t consider using the IH Azure for anything but groomed singletrack and XC racing. Nice bike and all….. but it’s scope is definitely limited.
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I’d recommend the Jamis Dakar as you All-Mountain/All-Purpose rig over the IH Azure. The XLT 2.0 isn’t a lightweight by regular trailbike standards, but it isn’t for a reason. The Dakar XLT is a heavy-duty trailbike, it’s meant to take equal bashings up & down the mountains. I wouldn’t say that it’s on the same level as say, the SC Nomad or Ellsworth Moment; but it’s definitely in the same league and it plays on an equal footing.
I’ve seen more than a few guys here on Dakar’s do some pretty amazing things on black-diamond trails.
I wouldn’t consider using the IH Azure for anything but groomed singletrack and XC racing. Nice bike and all….. but it’s scope is definitely limited.
That is what I thought, thanks for the confirmation. I think I am going to check one out this weekend. Initially, I was thinking of just getting a frame, but I may go for broke and get the whole bike.
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Good luck with that. 😎
I’ve always been impressed with Jamis as a mid-sized bike manufacturer, and in the beginning considered one of their bikes for myself….
It wasn’t that I found them lacking, it’s just that I had a LOT of $$$ to spend on a bike…. 😼 😉 -
Well, I haven’t quite ruled out Jamis at this point, but if I do go with a Jamis it will have to be a Dakar XLT 1.0 or 2.0 (I like the green color on the 06 2.0), as for the XC Comp, lets face it, if I race it will be on my 29er as a SS or my hardtail. I want a fun, All Mountain Trail Bike.
So, what are your opinions on these two?
Right now, I think I am leaning towards an Iron Horse MKIII but then there is the Specialized FSR Comp, which I find attractive as well.
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If you can swing it, I’d definitely go with the Jamis XAM 2.0, for your All-Mountain needs. I see that they’re roughly in the $2300-500 range, and for that, you get a lot of good stuff on a good frame. It’ll be heavier than the Specy, and the IH, but if you like it rough, Jamis makes good, durable frames. The new Jamis XAM model really caught my attention when I first saw one.
The IH MkIII is a 5" trail bike with the DW-linkage, but from what I’ve heard & read, it’s a more XC-oriented ride than the Jamis. The IH suspension IMHO would be a bit more pedal-friendly, and is in the same price range as the XAM, but I think you get a little more for your money with the Jamis.
And the Specialized FSR Comp is the cheapest of the three, and is also a in-the-wool XC bike. It has the least travel, and not much in the way of components. The Fox Triad rear shock has never impressed me, and for the FSR to reach it’s full potential, needs either a better rear shock, or the Triad sent to PUSH for a rework. Avid Juicy 5 brakes are good, but I think the Hayes El Camino on the Jamis are a much better bet.
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Hmmm, those are good opinions. Yeah, the Jamis XAM is something and I looked at the Species last night and you are right, they are basically just XC bikes and I definitely want something with a little more beef, especially after last night’s ride.
I was hitting some really nice stuff at this place called Bennetts Pond and my Fetish Fixation was eating it nicely but I can see where a fully would perform much better in this stuff. On one particular climb, my chain kept skipping and jumping off the front crank. After the second time and putting it back on, I started the climb and my rear der exploded. Turns out I had a bent link and when it hit the rear der, it pulled it into the spokes, ripped open the cage and gutted the fly wheel!
I has about two miles from the car. I rigged it for SS but couldn’t get a good chain line and it kept dropping. So, I was able to coast on some of the hills, and I hit a nice drop along the way, but it was kind of like the walk of shame and it was hot and humid, to boot.
I think I have an old Deore rear der laying around that I will try to put on and see if it will work – otherwise the Fixation is going back to SS and I am going to move up my window, if I can to get a fully.
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[quote]
And the Specialized FSR Comp is the cheapest of the three, and is also a in-the-wool XC bike. It has the least travel, and not much in the way of components. The Fox Triad rear shock has never impressed me, and for the FSR to reach it’s full potential, needs either a better rear shock, or the Triad sent to PUSH for a rework. Avid Juicy 5 brakes are good, but I think the Hayes El Camino on the Jamis are a much better bet.[/quote]I’ve never had the Jamis or IH but I can agree to this, regarding the FSR COMP since I have one. The frame is really nicely built, and i have no complaints about it, geometry, welds, pivots, bearings, etc..
The components definitely need a step up, I broke the SRAM chain in the first month, managed to mess up a link and so on. It’s hard to fine tune the SRAM and Shimano combo they put in, it takes a little bit of patience or add more money to it and get something better :).
Like Bombardier said, the Juicy 5 brakes are good, but in my opinion I still can’t find the Juicy part hahaha. Avid phased out Juicy 3 so now, the 5 is the bottom of the line. For what its worth its stops the bike at a dime, but you need to get used the modulation since there are no external adjustments
Fox components are always or for the most part top notch. Keep in mind what they have on the FSR Comp are the OE versions. So that one feature that’s missing in the fork or shock might be something you would like to have.
Over all it’s a great bike to start with, I would rate it in the agressive XC/all mountain bike, it really depends on how you ride it. But in the end you will find your self doing upgrades anyway, the way to go might be an Expert or Enduro SL.
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On one particular climb, my chain kept skipping and jumping off the front crank.
That’s why the E.13 DRS is so cool…. 😎
The thing with upgrades, is that it’s [i:1nkxwid9]always[/i:1nkxwid9] more expensive to do so, rather than buying a bike with top-grade OE components already there. Trust me, I know…. 😀
If my Santa Cruz offered the Nomad with the parts that I wanted OE, the bike would’ve easily cost at least $1300 less than what I ended up shelling out. Forks and brakes have the biggest price differential between OE & retail.
Specialized bikes are very nicely made, but Iron Horse is definitely a step down in build quality. Not that it’s a huge difference, but it is noticable.Also, when considering a full-susser bike, you gotta look at maintenance. A single-pivot bike will be a lot more hardy and easy to service than something like my Nomad or the IH MkIII. All those pivots make for a lot of time invested in keeping them tip-top, especially if you ride in wet/grungy conditions.
You know, if money is an issue, and you don’t mind an older bike, the ’05/’06 Gary Fisher Cake would be a great start. You get 5" of single-pivot travel on a really lightweight but strong frame, and Fisher fixed a lot of the bugs that plagued the Cake design before 2005/2006. The final run top-of-the-line Cake 1 came with Avid 7’s, Shimano XT drivetrains, and a good selection of Bontrager parts. Plus, the Cake frame itself is a work of art. You can probably find one from a Fisher dealer at a great price, now that the Cake has been replaced by the Hi-Fi.
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I worked on my Fixation last night and found the hanger was trashed. So the Fixation is back to being a Single Speed again. In fact I really like as a single speed with front squish. I can’t wait to take it out, probably tomorrow morning.
I am totally psyched!
Iron Horse MKIII Comp
FRAME 5" TRAVEL dw-link TRAIL FRAME, 1-1/8" ZEROSTACK HEADTUBE, REPLACEABLE DERAILLEUR HANGER
REAR SHOCK FOX FLOAT R AIR, 7.5"X2"
FORK MARZOCCHI ALL MOUNTAIN 3 W/ ALLOY STEERER, 140MM TRAVEL
HANDLEBAR EASTON EA30 PG LOW RISE, 31.8MM CLAMP
STEM EASTON EA30, 31.8MM CLAMP
HEADSET FSA ORBIT Z, ZEROSTACK
BB FSA MEGAEXO, 73MM
CRANK FSA MOTO MEGAEXO 15-17"=170MM,
19-21"=175MM
RINGS FSA 44/32/22T ALLOY/STEEL
PEDALS CRANK BROS SMARTY CLIPLESS
CHAIN SRAM PC-951 W/ POWERLINK
SADDLE WTB ROCKET V COMP
SEATPOST EASTON EA30, 30.0MM
F. HUB ALLOY DISC, 32H
R. HUB ALLOY DISC, 32H
F. DER SHIMANO DEORE, 34.9MM CLAMP
R. DER SHIMANO DEORE XT
SHIFTER SHIMANO DEORE LX RAPIDFIRE
CASSETTE SRAM PG-950, 11/34T, 9 SPEED
BRAKES AVID JUICY 3 W/ 6" ROTOR
BRAKE LEVER AVID JUICY 3
RIM DT/SWIWISS E540
SPOKE DT/SWIWISS COMPETITION 2.0/1.8/2.0
TIRES MAXXIS HIGHROLLER, 2.35" FRONT/2.1" REAR
SIZE 21"
COLORS Brown Satatin
WEIGHT (LB) 30.8 (K) 13.9 -
So the Fixation is back to being a Single Speed again. In fact I really like as a single speed with front squish.
I am totally psyched!As long as you don’t turn that MkIII into an instrument of the Dark Side…. 😏 😎
Exhibit A-
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NO Porntrager parts for me. That looks like the MKIII Team which is super bling, bling. The 07 MKIII is a $2500 bike that I am getting for $2000. I will know more on Monday.
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NO Porntrager parts for me. That looks like the MKIII Team which is super bling, bling.
And I thought my photochop of a MkIII into a SS wasn’t even that good…. 😃
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And I thought my photochop of a MkIII into a SS wasn’t even that good…. 😃
Is that what that was? I couldn’t figure it out. Ugh! I rode SS all mountain today and it sucks with a capital F! I am going back to my 2.1 SS specific set until I get a new hanger for my fixation. Of course, by that time I might have my iron horse and the fixation might have have seen its last days.
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if you want a frame with quite a bit of travel you could try a Giant Faith 3 frame. 200mm of rear wheel travel with a suspension setup that really catches your eye. a Giant Faith 3 frame can be had from wheelworld for $600 walk in sale or $1,200 regularly. for a fully built 2005 Faith 3 it would run you back about a grand for a walk in sale or about 2 grand online ordering. the Faith 3 is more of a downhill/freeride bike but the price is really tasty for a bike with that much travel
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Spoke with the Bike Mechanic at Manchester (CT) EMS and next week he’ll be bringing down my IH MKIII Comp next week! Can’t wait. In fact, I am going to pick it up from him at my club’s fall fiesta and get to ride it that day!
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