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IB15: Jamis road, cyclocross & adventure bikes – more thru axles, more alloy, more value

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2016 Jamis Supernova carbon cyclocross bike gets thru axles

Jamis’ SuperNova carbon race cyclocross bikes gets updated to thru axles front and rear with self-centering dropouts for quicker, easier wheel changes…and their Xenith road bike finds another way to speed up wheel swaps.

For 2016, the Supernova’s carbon frame options become the same, using the 2015 Pro’s standard mod and doing away with the more expensive hi-mod Team frame. There are still Team and Pro complete bikes, it’s just that they’re now sharing the same frame. That was done to bring their top end down a notch in price, and it drops $200 while still getting the thru axle and other upgrades. Not to worry, the base carbon frame is still made using silicone and hard polystyrene molds on the inside with a vacuum purge to pull all the air out, resulting in a dense-yet-light carbon structure that eliminates voids and wrinkles. And they’re still doing size specific tubes and layups, but the Elite’s price hops down to $4,299.

All cable housing runs inside the frame, but there’s one less cable to run for all 2016 cyclocross bikes thanks to 1×11 upgrades across the board. That includes the alloy Nova Pro, which also gains the rear thru axle. All three bikes also get tubeless ready wheels, making them ready to hit the start line right out of the box…

2016 Jamis Supernova carbon cyclocross bike gets thru axles

Color and graphic updates are slapped on all the bikes, with the dashed lines and squares carrying a brand motif across most models. The colors look way better in person than come through in these photos.

2016 Jamis Supernova carbon cyclocross bike gets thru axles

You’ll still be able to add a front derailleur if you want, but all CX bikes come with SRAM 1×11 groups. The Supernova Pro gets top of the line Force 1 (aka CX1), and the middle child Supernova Elite ($2,899) and Nova Pro ($1,999) get Rival 1. Both carbon models get Enduro Evo bottom brackets, and the sole alloy bike gets a standard Enduro BB. Carbon bikes use the BB386 EVO standard to push the chainstays out as wide as possible for better stiffness…

2016 Jamis Supernova carbon cyclocross bike gets thru axles

…but the stays were brought slightly inboard toward the rear to improve heel clearance.

The rear of all three bikes now have a 12×142 rear thru axle, which ups the package stiffness and improves safety compared to running disc brakes with standard quick releases.

2016 Jamis Renegade Elite carbon adventure gravel road bike

For 2016, one of my favorite bikes I’ve reviewed gets even better. Introduced at Interbike last year, the latest version upgrades to a thru axle in the rear. The fork already had it, now they’re on both ends.

2016 Jamis Renegade Elite carbon adventure gravel road bike

A 12×142 Maxle connects the dots now, and their thread-in stealth fender mounts remain. Other updates to the Elite model include a switch to Centerlock hubs on the American Classic wheels and an Enduro Evo bottom bracket.

Below it, the Expert uses the same molds but with a less hi-mod carbon fiber blend, Alex wheels (also Centerlock), Shimano 105 mated to TRP HyRD mech-to-hydro brake calipers, and Ritchey handlebar and stem.

2016 Jamis Renegade Elite carbon adventure gravel road bike

They’ve also added 12º flared handlebars on all of the Renegade models…which start at just $839. Same goes for tubeless rims and Clement tires.

“Under $900 for a carbon gravel bike,” you ask? No, not quite…that would be the all new alloy version:

2016 Jamis Renegade alloy adventure gravel road bike

The Renegade Exile joins the lineup with all the same key design features, except in aluminum. It slots in at just $839, sitting underneath the steel Renegade Exploit and Expat models Jamis showed off at Sea Otter.

2016 Jamis Renegade alloy adventure gravel road bike

It has a 6061 double butted main frame that, like all of the bikes here, uses size specific tubing. The fork has alloy lowers with a tapered chromoly steerer.

It’s built with Alex tubeless ready wheels, Clement tires and a Shimano Claris 2×8 group to get you started. All cable routing runs in full length housing along the top of the top tube for minimal maintenance. It even gets the Ritchey flared handlebar on an otherwise alloy Jamis-branded cockpit.

2016-Jamis-Xenith-carbon-race-road-bike01

The Xenith road bike line gets the usual spec updates, and the top of the line Xenith Team comes in at $4999 with a full Dura-Ace 9000 group. It also gets the lightweight American Classic Argent Road Tubeless wheels with Vittoria Open Corsa 700×23 tires.

Jamis fans may realize that means no more SL model, which topped out at $8,500 for 2015. Another big change is they’ve done away with the aero fork that had integrated TRP v-brakes. They say their pro teams couldn’t make wheel changes quick enough with it, so they switched to a more traditional fork and brake caliper. The upper three Xenith models get a new version of their standard fork with better fibers and layup to save a few grams over the original, which let it come in at the same system weight as the aero fork.

JamisBikes.com

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Mike D
8 years ago

These all look AMAZING. The Xenith is still one of the better road bikes I’ve ridden even compared to bikes costing twice as much–stiff and smooth, hard to beat.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
8 years ago

I’ve been hoping for a new TT bike for ages from these guys. I’ve always liked Jamis road bikes but their TT bike was years behind when it came out and its only getting worse and worse. Get on it Jamis!!!

Jd
Jd
8 years ago

“The rear of all three bikes now have a 12×142 rear thru axle, which ups the package stiffness and improves safety compared to running disc brakes with standard quick releases.”

How is there a safety concern with discs and rear qrs? The relevant forces are all in the same general direction there.

bc
bc
8 years ago

This is the second time I’ve seen mention of the “new BB386 standard” being used to “push the chainstays out as far as possible.”
I though I might explain that the 86 in 386 stands for the width of the bottom complete bottom bracket. This is the same actual width as a standard bottom bracket, installed on a 68mm threaded BB shell. The 3 represents 30, which is the diameter of the spindle. A typical crank’s (Hollowtech II, GXP, etc.) spindle is 24mm.
This is what makes 386EVO so adaptable – you can get a “386” BSA threaded bottom bracket, but instead of having a bearing with a 24mm ID, they’ll have 30mm ID.
Or, you can install it on a BB30 bottom bracket – needing only spacers for the additional width, not the bearing/spindle interface.
So, you can use a 30mm spindle on any (road) bottom bracket type – cool.
Instead of saying they’ve used the BB386 standard to maximize chainstay width, you could say they didn’t use BB30 because the narrower q-factor also requires narrower chainstays.
But I see how that’s not very exciting.
Using BB386 is news, just not news about geometry.
If the product manager told you that, well, they should try asking the engineers before making stuff up about the spec sheet.
BB Types laid out really well here: http://problemsolversbike.com/files/tech/Bottom_Bracket_Standards_Reference.pdf

Boudin
Boudin
8 years ago

But are the wheels tubeless compatible?

Ck
Ck
8 years ago

More loud bikes please! Love the bright colors

King County
King County
8 years ago

All these bike looks great. Everything I’ve seen from Jamis lately looks hot. I’d consider a Jamis if I was buying a bike. The article stated the colors look,”way better in person”, but they look good to me. I haven’t seen them in person.

crackedframe
crackedframe
8 years ago

@Boudin – See those HUGE stickers on the wheels? What do they say?

Boudin
Boudin
8 years ago

I was being sarcastic. I know it doesn’t always work on the internet, but I thought I was being obvious enough. Can I use those wheels with disc brakes?

Gazhopper
8 years ago

@Boudin – I got it straight away.. No one does sarcasm better than Aussies..

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