Jamis Ventura Comp vs Specialized Allez

USCdeacon

My super old Huffy Bear Creek MT Bike that I've been riding for the past decade finally gave up the ghost with the gears no longer working (haven't for a year) and the teeth on the cogs completely gone (chain slipped every few turns). The bike is rusty, handles torn up... and I've been using this to commute back and forth from campus. Needless to say, it beat walking but not by much.

So I've settled up a budget of $1,000 (largely thanks to my parents , who contributed as a gift for getting into grad school) and have been visiting bike shops all week.

My initial list consisted of the following:

Trek 1.2
Giant Defy 2 or 3
Fuji Newest 2 or 3
Jamis Ventura Comp
Cannondale CAAD9-7
Specialized Allez Compact


I rode the Trek and the Giant on my first day out. The Giant "felt" better, and something about the Trek made it seem overpriced. Needless to say, i've been reading for hours all week on road bikes (whole new world! Glad to meet you cyclists btw) and I've kinda' fallen in love with the Jamis Ventura Comp - seems like the best bang for the buck. The Specialized Allez is also on the top of my list... and so here's my thought process thus far:

I will be using this bike to commute around town to the grocery store and for exercise (I abhor running, and a bad left knee only makes it worse) and plan on going on 20-40 mile trips on the weekend.

Both the Jamis and the Spesh seem to fit the bill nicely and have the same MSRP of $880. My LBS is selling the Jamis for $725. Another store has the Spesh for $799, so I'd say the price difference is negligible.

What would you go for if you were in my shoes?

crankman

In your shoes, I would go for the Jamis. As you say, it offers great value for money.

I used to ride a 2001 Jamis Ventura, Reynolds 520 butted cr-mo steel frame and forks. It was one of the sweetest riding bikes that I have had, with neutral handling that still rewarded hard efforts. I was sad when I had to replace the frame due to a badly rusted bottom bracket shell (my own fault for not taking out the b/b for over a year). The current Ventura Comp has identical geometry, save for 1/2 a degree less head angle, so should ride just as sweet, if not better, due to the stiffer butted aluminium frame and full carbon forks.

If Jamis bikes were available in the UK, I would probably be riding a Ventura Race.

paul_or

crankman wrote:

If Jamis bikes were available in the UK, I would probably be riding a Ventura Race.

but they are!

http://www.buyabikedirect.co.uk

based in Preston!

butcher_boy

paul_or wrote:

crankman wrote:

If Jamis bikes were available in the UK, I would probably be riding a Ventura Race.

but they are!

http://www.buyabikedirect.co.uk

based in Preston!

Well nearly, Charnock Richard, Chorley!!

They currently have a lot in stock & alot of bike for your bucks

crankman

paul_or wrote:

crankman wrote:

If Jamis bikes were available in the UK, I would probably be riding a Ventura Race.

but they are!

http://www.buyabikedirect.co.uk

based in Preston!

Well, that is news for me. Think I will give them a call to find out their stock and prices.