Message #19411

[Svend]

I moved the following post to a new thread (http://www.realskiers.smfnew.com/index.php/topic,2129.msg19412.html#msg19412), not wanting to drift too far from Jim's original post.  Please reply in the other thread.

Jim -- sorry for the thread drift. 

Back to Reynolds bike frames for a moment, and some feedback from Liam and Josh, if possible....

I happened upon what seems like a pretty good deal on a brand new frameset of a Jamis Dragon 29er, 2009 model.  Price is ~$425, which is about 1/3 of list.  Full lifetime warranty on the frame.  Online reviews of this bike are good, at least of the ride quality.  Complaints seem to be only about components, but then I am buying only the frame, so this is not relevant.

Question is.....is this a good bike? A good brand? Jamis is little known up here in Canada, so I don't know their reputation.  You just don't see them around much, except their lower end stuff in the big box sports stores.

The specs look OK on the frame:  Reynolds 853 steel main tubes; chromoly stays; 72 deg. HTA (steeper than my present bike, which is OK, but maybe too twitchy?); 74 deg. STA; 17.72"/450mm chainstay (not bad, could be shorter; still a good climber?).

I am thinking of either stripping all the parts off my Paragon and selling the frame, or just slowly acquiring new parts for the Jamis when they come on sale and building up the frame from scratch, then selling the complete Paragon.  The advantage of the latter is that I can add what I want -- UST wheels, 2x10 drivetrain, etc..  Disadvantage of this is the cost -- adding everything up may equal the cost of a complete bike.

Any thoughts, guys?