Submitted by
Animal
a Weekend Warrior
from Arvada, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2011
Strengths: Overall Value, quality components
Weaknesses: Frame, Shifting
Bottom Line:
Was happy with bike for most part, always had problems getting the shifting dialed in but learned to live with it. Recently the frame broke. Very surprised. I am not small but weigh about 210#, I am not very hard on it. Normal cross country. At this point very disapointed on frame quality. Hoping Jamis will stand behind their product.
Submitted by
Backwoodsguy
a Weekend Warrior
from Middle Tennessee
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2010
Strengths: Solid bike, rides, handles, and looks great. Great components and weight.
Weaknesses: Avid Juicy 5's are okay but I am no fan of them since I use Magura's
Bottom Line:
Never ridden a FS bike before until now and this is supposed to be my entry level one. I ridden HT bikes all my life and did not know what to expect. This bike is by all means one solid bike and no entry level either at least to me. Read all about the pedal bob thing and so far very little noticed. It climbs well and rockets down any terrain. Its weight is great and its geometry seems perfect. It fit right with very little effort. Its Medium size and I am 5,10.
Similar Products Used: Custom GT Backwoods HT, and Specialized Stumpjumper HT. This is my first FS bike after riding HT bike my entire life.
Bike Setup: Stock with exception to tires upgrade. Front is Panaracer Fire 2.4 and rear is WTB Epicwolf 2.35 or so. Also added Stans tubeless.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dbiscayne
a Weekend Warrior
from PBG, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2010
Strengths: well balanced, fairly light, handles nice,
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
great frame geometry for a do it all XC bike, the newer kinesis frames are lighter & beefier than the older Jamis frames though I never had a problem with the '96 either. Bike does great through the technical sections & fast rollers, can't say much for it's airborne abilities I've always sucked at jumps. With the frame being as light as it is I wouldn't go for huge drops either but who knows? What more can I say? It's light (19" frame +/- 27 lbs even with an anchor of a frt shock) and handles great. Had to give the value rating a 5 cause my '96 was rode hard till just last year & expect this one to do the same, and an overall rating of 4 cause theres always room for improvement?
Similar Products Used: 1996 Jamis Dakar, 2002 Specialized full susp.,
Bike Setup: hyd discs, Mavic XM719 rims w/XT hubs, Stylo cranks, LX derailleurs/shifters, Fox Float RL rr, Marzocchi 4" front, slightly better than average bars - stem - seatpost - seat - pedals - tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
bltz78
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2010
Strengths: lightweight. Strong climber. Cushy ride. Handles both climbs and descents like a champ!
Weaknesses: Older bearings seem to squeek - I'm guessing that the bolts tend to work themselves loose. Think I solved the problem with new bearings and some loctite on the bolts.
Bottom Line:
Great bike. Built it for my wife. It's her first full suspension and she loves it. Life saver for those with sensitive backs. Handles well and keeps power to the rearwheel during agressive pedaling. This think is lighter than my hardtail Trek with the same components! Only giving four chili's b/c I've never had another full suspension to compare it with.
Similar Products Used: Trek 8500, Fetish Discipline
Bike Setup: X9, Fox, BB7, Truvativ crank.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
captdee
a Cross Country Rider
from Alabaster Al. USA
Date Reviewed: January 14, 2010
Strengths: Great ride and good comps.
Weaknesses: Rear chainstay broke after two years of use.
Bottom Line:
The bike rides great and I've owned and ridden a lot of bikes, but with the chainstay breaking it has me worried about the design. A local Jamis dealer was quick to get me a replacment, but I'm an older rider and the ground hurts a lot worse these days. So I'll be looking for another frame. It's a shame because the bike really rides great.
Similar Products Used: Several full suspension bikes
Bike Setup: Fox 100 xt/xtr comps.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
rsturm
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Monica, CA, US
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2009
Strengths: ok bike initially
Weaknesses: Noisy frame, always had some clicking and creaking. Eventually, after 3 years of use (a few tumbles, but no hard crashes and no other abuse), the frame just fell apart: Chainstay broke at the weld while going UPHILL! No response from Jamis (dealer would look at it, but shipping to Colorado wasn't worth it).
Bottom Line:
Stay away from Jamis, sloppy manufacturing, no support
Similar Products Used: Trek Fuel EX8, a few hardtails
Bike Setup: Replaced derailleurs
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
rhilten
a Cross Country Rider
from Athens, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2008
Strengths: Relatively light - good value for frame with Fox RP3. Plush ride with a Fox F100 up front.
Weaknesses: The frame was always quite noisy - lots of clicking. Already had to replace whole set of rear triangle bearings. My LBS noticed that the rear triangle was off by a few mm and had to add spacers to prevent binding and keep the bearings from imploding again. Last week, the aluminum chainstay broke completely - not even at a weld! I only weigh 165 and don't do any drops, but the frame has crapped out on me in less than a year.
Bottom Line:
Not had much luck with this frame. Already spent a quarter of the price paid for repairs and thats without yet purchasing the rear triangle lower. Don't plan on getting too many endurance races out of this one.
Similar Products Used: NEVER COULD AFFORD A NEW BIKE OF THIS CALIBRE
Bike Setup: STOCK..WITH SOME KENDA POLICE TIRES..NEW CUMFY SEAT
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2008
Strengths: Light, durable, comfortable, and most of all very affordable compared to equivalent competition.
Weaknesses: Fox Float RL AVA, that came on bike is NFG. Not sure if I should blame it on the geometry of the Dakar or the shock. But either way, it bobs every pedal and sucks up any of my engery that it can on the flats and hills.
Bottom Line:
I am happy with the bike and would definately build another jamis. The bike is great for the price.
Weaknesses: The wheelset is garbage. The saddle is kinda lame too.
Bottom Line:
I really wanted a Yeti 575 and looked high and low for one on ebay and Craigslist. Unfortunately the 575 is pricey even when you are looking at the used market. That being said, I decided to try to find the next best thing that fit my budget. I got really lucky and found a brand new (never been ridden) Dakar XC Expert for a measley 1,000. I quickly acted on it and have not regretted the purchase ever since. I have ridden it 20 times or so in the past 3 months. This bike is well worth the money. It is a fast XC bike. My setup weighs just over 27 pounds. This is a XC bike. If you are looking for a All Mountain or Freeride, you probably want to look at something with more travel.
Bike Setup: The bike comes stock with a very good component set except for the wheelset. I changed out the wheelset for Mavic CrossRide. Then I converted the tires to tubeless. The hutchinson tires are garbage. Got IRC Mythos UST.
Weaknesses: I don't really like the dull finish,seems like it will get a beaten quicker than the gloss.(Not a big deal though)
Bottom Line:
I bought the frame alone with just the rear shock & Truvativ crank(which replaced)Ridden it a couple times on the trails so far & boy can this thing handle anything from roots to drops to racing!I'm a big boy too! (Only 4 Chili's because well there's always something better out there no matter what)
Similar Products Used: K2 Flyin Monkey,Gary Fisher XO,Cannondale,Pro Flex
Bike Setup: Xtr top to bottom,Fox Vanilla R Fork,Fox Float rear,Easton Carbon Handlebars,Easton Stem & seatpost.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Marc McCarey
a Cross Country Rider
from Pgh, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2007
Strengths: Fox Float suspension eats everything thrown at it. Trigger shifters are lightning fast and super smooth. Carbon fiber rear fork-added bonus. This machine is very very light, durable, and incredibly responive. Hell ya.
Weaknesses: Stock tires slip on extreme verticals but otherwise have great XC qualities.
Bottom Line:
This bike is sick. It goes anywhere and eats anything the trail throws at it. It should be a $3000 dollar bike but the price is unbelievable and a total steal. This bike isnt for the weekend explorer on flat mulched trails; buy it if you plan on blazing balls out on some serious dirt. Could'nt be happier with this machine.
Similar Products Used: GT i-drive 4.0 5, Mongoose Comp.
Bike Setup: Easton bars, Kinesium frame, Carbon rear fork, Fox float front and rear suspenion, Crank Bro's candy pedals, Juicy 5 hydro disks.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Lemont,IL USA
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2007
Strengths: everything! the front and rear suspension rock, adjust the sag and go. Can't beat the price and the components that Jamis has put on a bike at this price, amazing!
Weaknesses: Really none so far, rear brake is making noise but I think cleaning the rotor and pads should take care of it.
Bottom Line:
What a solid bike and great price. This is the second Jamis that I have owned and I bought the second one for the same reason I bought this one, PRICE!!! I did my home work and this was by far the best deal out there, if you are looking for a FS, well spec'd and at a good price look for a new 06. Guys I ride with have more expensive bikes and after riding the EXPERT can't believe the ride. Rides like a Caddy and handles like a Vette!
Bike Setup: I had a lighter set of wheels installed, time pedals and cyclo/HR computer. Like I said above great parts spec'd on this bike.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
rick
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Fe, NM , USA
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2007
Strengths: Lots of greta components out of the box. Strong design and quality welds.
Weaknesses: To much money for a bicycle!
Bottom Line:
After being away from Mt Bikes for 12 years I went bike shopping. Looked at a lot of bikes, wanted to keep it under a grand,saw a lot of nice hardtails in that price point. The salesman showed me this 05 leftover in a 19" frame and I loved the way it looked and rode. Ok the hell with eating for a week, I sprang for the FS bike. Out the door with tax, shoes, helmet, wider front tire water bottle and cage for just under $1800.00 I must be crazy but I love the new bike!
Strengths: Great components for the price. nice colours.
Weaknesses: Bulldog tires had to go. Bike is a bit heavy--but the ride makes up for that.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. I raced this for the O-Cup Season and it felt great. It is point and shoot, and climbs flawlessly. I added better tires, crossmax wheelset, and replaced the fork cartidge with the Fox FX. I will and carbon seat post, stem and bars to finish the job. This is the best bang for the buck. You can race it right out of the box. 5 chillis for value. 4 chilli's overall due to weight and crappy tires.
Similar Products Used: Iron Horse Azure team, Specialized Stump Jumper
Bike Setup: XT deraillieurs & shifters/juicy 5 brakes/ Trvativ Stylo team crank/crossmax slr disc wheels, continental explorer pro tires. fox FX 100 fork/float RP3 with pro pedal shock.
