Jamis teased the bike (perhaps with a few too many details) before the show, but the new Xenith road bike mixes race weights with aero features for a well rounded performance bike that looks quite sharp.
On paper, it hits all the right notes: Vertically compliant, torsionally stiff, relatively light and slightly aerodynamic. This was achieved with a tri-ovalized top and downtubes designed to resist lateral and torsional loads without sending too much shock upwards to the rider. In the back, the “ride tuned” seatstays share the same responsibility of keeping road shock from moving to the seatpost without being a noodle under pedaling. They could maximize that benefit by moving the rear brakes under the chainstay, which also cleaned up the profile visually and aerodynamically.
The comfort and performance recipe is finished off with size specific tubing, helping match the ride characteristics to the likely rider size and weight. Check the rest of the details and actual weights for this and their top three mountain bikes after the break…
If you’re gonna go pressfit, BB386 offers plenty to like: wide, stiff and light, and plenty of crankset compatibility.
A hidden wiring/cable port keeps things clean. The frame is electronic/mechanical compatible out of the box with cable stops included for both types of drivetrains.
Jamis didn’t set out to create an “aero road bike” per se, but there are enough little touches to show it leans that way. The hidden cable routing and Windshield II fork (the design was borrowed from their triathlon/TT bike) at least smooth things over a bit.
A shaped rubber seal closes the gap between the seatpost collar and frame. It did seem to move out of place easily when rubbed, but it looks good. We’ll see how well it holds up when we get our review bike in soon.
The complete bike weight for a size 54 Xenith Team is 14.51lb (6.58kg). Claimed frame weight is approximately 910g. The Team edition comes with American Classic Argent road tubeless wheels, Vittoria (non-tubeless) tires and SRAM Red group with Ritchey WCS bar and stem will retail for $6,200.
There’s also a top level SL version for $10,000, as well as lower level bikes with a slightly lesser carbon for $3,600 (Pro, Force 22) and all the way down to $2,100 but with a standard front fork and brake. All will be available in January.
The 150mm travel alloy Dakar AMT Pro ($4,900) comes in at 29.12lb (13.21kg, size 17″). I rode this in my size at DealerCamp this summer and it was a ripper. Coming down the tight, technical and rocky trails right off the lifts from Deer Valley, it took the turns and drops easily and hammered up the short burst climbs. I came away very impressed with its capability on the dirt. It’s worth noting that Jamis won’t have any 26″ bikes over $1,000 for 2014.
The 130mm travel carbon Jamis Dakar XCT Team ($6,000) comes in at 26.57lbs (12.05kg, size 15″).
The Nemesis carbon hardtail comes in at 19.84lb (9kg, size 17″) with an XX1 drivetrain.
