|   Hmmmm- '00 Dakar Expert 13" for 5'2" girlfriend? | Nuget
Nov 22, 2002 7:15 AM | | No not a trade.
My girlfriend is currently riding a '01 fisher gensister paragon and has been on it for one year now. She's loving the sport and riding more and more everyday.
I have my eye on a 13" jamis dakar expert that is up for auction and am contemplating bidding on it.
My main concern is the weight as it comes with a fox vanilla shock and it also needs V-brake mount adapters from jamis.
As for the weight of the frame I think it'd be around 6 lbs. or so. In comparison how much does the SC Juliana XS frame weigh and or the XS titus loco moto with shocks of course.
I'm trying to weigh my decission to get this frame now for her to try and she can be on a full suspension bike now to try it out. Or have her ride the hardtail to gain more skills and or to save for a higher end frame. Not that the dakar is a bad frame design by any means though.
Of course I have yet to get her a test ride on a Jamis so all this is still up in the air. It's all about test rides I know.
Any input on this frame design would be great, especially if you're a smaller rider and or have any experience with smaller riders and full suspension dakar bikes.
Thanks for the input all |
| Hmmmm, interesting . . . | mudbear
Nov 22, 2002 9:11 PM | | as in MHO the Dakar is no where near the same quality/ride bike as the Juliana and Loco-moto. The following is subjective but factual as I have only had trail time on the Dakar.
To further this quality and more specifically the type of ride issue, let me relate the following experience. In the spring, one of the guys I ride with picked an '02 Comp. He was a HT hold-out and decided on this as a result of 1) budget!, & wanting to get the most bang for his buck, and 2) he wanted more travel (perceived) than a closely priced Stumpie FSR. To fast forward this story, he is now dumping it for an SC SL. Another friend scored a used SL and after riding that, a Tracer and an XCE among others, this is what he wants and will ante up for (a new one)!
I realize that preference is key here and I should note that he did not have any frame or component issues with his bike. But his stubborness to avail himself of our bikes and get an understanding of FS subtleties has co$t him.
It seems that you have the budget for a boutique bike but are drawn to the 'deal' in the used Dakar. My point is that this maybe the same pay-me-now-or-pay-me-later situation as my friend.
On the bikes, I have never seen a Loco in the flesh (Titus bikes are pretty much scarce in the Toronto area, and I guess u are interested in this model for the sloped TT & low standover) but I have seen & spoken to Racer-X owner and he had only superlatives, which matched its construction.
However in regards to the Juliana, a friend of a friend's wife rides one of these. She's about the same height as my wife, who is an inch shorter than yours and she just LOVES the damn thing. It would be a great candidate to replace my wife's HT (but let's not tell her as I've got my eye on a 5 Spot!). I picked it up, in powder blue with a similarly coloured Duke fork and XT/XTR mix - sweet!, and it felt the 'same or lighter' than my 26.5 lb Tracer. I recall her hubby telling me it ran in the $4000 CAD range ($2500 USD), which sounded like very good value to me.
mud (good luck dude! remember if she's not happy > you're not happy! LOL!). |
| Hmmmm, interesting . . . | Nuget
Nov 23, 2002 12:28 PM | | Thanks for the info.
As for the budget, well there really isn't one. I've mentioned that she could wait and stick with the hardtail till she/we have enough $ for a SC or Titus but at the moment its just not in the budget. That is why i've been looking for something a bit cheaper but still a good bang for the buck.
We'll see what happens I guess. Hell if she doesn't like it I can always sell it.
Have a good one. |
| re: Hmmmm- | JsR
Nov 23, 2002 3:52 PM | | I built up a '01. The frame is 6lbs. and a couple ounces with the vanillaR (coil). The suspension action "feels" similar to my Titus SB - IMO a very good design, much more plush than the others you mention with great traction when climbing loose stuff. The frame quality - pivots, wheel alignment, etc. can leave something to be desired, it's a hit or miss as I've seen some that are perfect and some that are unacceptable. |
| re: Hmmmm- | CTRider
Nov 25, 2002 11:21 AM | | Did you get your DAkar Frame from Jenson USA?
How did you spec it out in the build up?
Just curious, because I keep visiting JensonUSA and mulling over the Dakar Expert frames they have for $289 in the Demo section, but I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. |
| yes... | JsR
Nov 25, 2002 6:24 PM | | used parts I had - Judy race fork, LX-splined cranks, SRAM shifters, XT-Bonty Mustang wheels - added new Monkeylite bar, Thomson post, Avid SD7 brakes. Weighs 26lbs. even.
If the frame is the correct size, for the price you mention IMO you'd be crazy not too! |
| yes... | CTRider
Nov 26, 2002 10:42 AM | | What year was the frame?
The '01 Dakar Experts are disc brake only frames.
How was the quality of the frame you received from Jenson? I've heard from a local bike shop that they have to pay much more attention to Jamis frames when building them up compared to other brands such as Cannondale, Specialized etc. I wonder why this is? Maybe this is why Jamis can offer so much bang for the buck in their bikes component-wise. |
| 01 Experts have both... | JsR
Nov 29, 2002 3:08 PM | | disc and v brake mounts when you but just the frame (at least mine did). As far as frame quality compared to Spec., it's about even. |
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