Grannygear and I had ridden the Jamis D29 Carbon hard tail and we both will be sharing our impressions from the demo ride.

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Grannygear’s Impressions
Jamis 29er Carbon Hardtail: One of the many composite frames to hit the market in 2010, the big wheeled and very good looking Jamis was a fun and fast performing bike. It loved being pushed hard and responded with forward motion and accurate steering. This was the first of many hard tails I would ride this week and I expected each one to be harsh or punishing. None of them were. Maybe I am getting used to it from all the single speed riding. Could be. Some of it is the big wheels as they take so much of the sting out of the trail. The rest is just good design. The Jamis was juuuust a bit above the median in stiffness/comfort than the other bikes I rode, but I am splitting hairs a bit. If I found one of these underneath me on race day, I would grin and pedal hard, letting the others try to catch me. Good bike. Nice Job, Jamis. It will be bikes like this that will change the misconceptions of carbon bikes in a good way.

Guitar Ted’s Impressions

The Jamis D29 I rode fit really well. The stem seemed longer than some of my personal bikes, but it didn’t seem to be a problem in the least. The position was definitely a racy one with the lower front end. (Who said 29″ers have front ends that are too tall??) My impressions of the were that the “12k weave” look was a bit roadie, but the overall profile of the bike was pleasant. It weighed light in the hand too. No scales in the desert, so I haven’t a clue about the actual weight, but it was reasonable for a race sled.

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I have ridden the Fisher Superfly carbon hard tail, the Specialized Carbon hard tail, and the Felt carbon hard tail before this, so I was comparing ride quality with these bikes. Carbon is a very “tunable” material, and designers and engineers can do all sorts of things to eek out whatever ride quality and stiffness quotients the company honches want. The Jamis fell nearer to the Fisher in my opinion, as far as ride quality, much like the Specialized bike does. The Jamis held a line very well, but wasn’t skittish in rocks and ripples. Hammering out of the saddle was encouraged by its stiff chain stays and the bike had great reaction to sudden power inputs. I felt confident my efforts were being put into forward motion.

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The in the saddle ride was not stinging, or harsh. It wasn’t soft, by any means, but gave every indication that I was riding a steel hard tail made from a higher end, stiffer brand of tubing. Nice! I like a steel like ride, and the Jamis seems to have it. Talking to Craig Hoyt of Jamis afterwards confirmed this, as he told me that the bike was based off the ride of Jamis’ steel hard tail line that has always been praised for its excellent ride qualities. I think they nailed it well in carbon here.

A few words about the spec have to be made here. I rode lots of 2 X 9 drivetrains at the Outdoor Demo, but I liked the FSA 2 X 9 set up on this rig. Very nice spread of gears and with the efficient feeling frame, I rode the demo loop at Bootleg Canyon in the big ring entirely. Nice! Maybe a really steep, or longer climb would have induced me to hit the small ring, but it just didn’t seem necessary. The Fox fork was great, and the odd handle bar was nice, but I would probably swap it out for a bar that had a straighter center section for the mounting of lights and such.

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Over all I really liked the D29 and I think it would make an excellent weapon for XC racing or endurance racing. The ride is very steel-like, so maybe even a rider that just appreciates a great hard tail with big wheels that won’t demand sacrificing your body to the stiffness gods would be well served here. The 2 X 9 drive train works a trick, and the bike will turn a few heads with its flashy carbon looks. A nice effort by Jamis here that I would recommend checking out if you can.