Jamis Aurora Elite

Price Paid:  $1400.00 at Tri Athlete Zoombies

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Jamis Aurora Elite

Summary:
The bike rides very smooth and steady. Great bike for long rides and good or bad roads. I bought the bike with the hope of long 3-5 hr rides which for me is a long ride. I wanted comfort and some good speed and this bike does it both.
I had the wheels rebuilt and put on a Brokks B 17 and you can't beat it. When I am club riding all the guys have more expensive racing type bikes and I can easily keep up with them or stay in front ...probably the engine driving the bike...

Strengths:
Smooth ride
Comfort
30 gears
and with a brooks seat pefection
Strong bike won't break down
On long rides its very comfortable and relatively fast..supports all types of riders and weight..

Weaknesses:
Heavy bike compared to carbon or alum
Not a named bike if thats important to you

Price Paid:  $1500.00 at Bikeworks, Urbana, I

Model Year:
2007

Summary:
Overall I am fairly impressed with the Aurora Elite. It is one of the very few mid-range touring bikes available, and an impressive bang for the buck. That said, I've encountered several problems with the bike, and labeling it a touring bike is somewhat disingenuous.

I want to point out that the bike is not designed for full-on touring. It appears to repurpose Jamis's Nova cyclocross frame. The bike is a higher, more aggressive and more responsive than a touring-specific bike, but also less stable and forgiving.

Unfortunately, the repurposed frame creates a few problems. Most importantly, because the rear eyelets are brazed on to lugs that seem to have been added to the frame, they do not provide sufficient room for all rack types. There is simply not enough space between the eyelets and the seat stays to attach struts. There are work arounds. I haven't contacted Jamis about this.

Another unfortunate oversight is the threadless headset. The stock star nut seems to be aluminum and cannot grasp the carbon steer tube. I had to replace this with a carbon specific nut soon after I bought the bike.

I am impressed by, although a little nervous about, the low-rider rack mounts in the carbon front fork. The carbon fork makes for a very smooth ride. My hands really appreciate it after riding all day on a tour. I'm not sure, however, how well the carbon will hold up in the longterm under loaded touring conditions.

I have yet to take the Aurora Elite on an extended tour. So far, I've only used it for recreational road riding and weekend trips. On the whole, I think the bike represents a decent compromise between road performance and touring stability.

Strengths:
Versatile compromise between road and touring
Good bang for the buck (components)
Carbon fork makes for comfortable riding

Weaknesses:
Difficult to impossible to mount rack in rear eyelets
NOT full-on touring design (if that's what you're looking for)
Stock star nut insufficient to grab carbon steer tube
Some concern about durability of carbon fork under touring conditions

Similar Products Used:
Lotus Odyssey
Trek 520

Price Paid:  $1650.00

Favorite Ride:
Trek Madone 4.5

Bike Setup:
Shimano 105 shifters/front deraileur

Shimano Ultegra rear deraileur

Crank 50/39/30

Cassette 12-27

Shorty Cantilever Brakes

Summary:
Great Bike!



I bought my Aurora Elite (2009 model) specifically for commuting in Northern Virginia where you almost have to use a lot of bike paths on your daily route. These paths tend to be lumpy and you spend a lot of effort in slowing and then accelerating again at cross streets, so having a durable frame and the right gearing is important



I'd used my carbon Trek on the ride a few times, and felt like my fillings were going to rattle out. Plus, with a significant amount of hills on the route I wanted a triple crank rather than the compact double on my other bike.



Because of this I was looking for a touring bike that would smooth out the ride and give me the torque I needed to climb under load. The Aurora is perfect for this. The combination of the steel frame (which looks GREAT) and the 700x32 tires makes for a very comfortable ride and the triple crank is a big assett for climbing.



I love the bike. Perfect for long commutes (mine is about 18 miles one-way) and touring. If you are in the market for this type of bike, you owe it to yourself to at least check out the Aurora Elite.

Strengths:
Steel frame

Ability to add racks

700x32 tires

Triple Crank

Handlebars -- I really like the Reynolds handlebar on this bike, particulary the way the drops are shaped. It creates a very comfortable hand position and makes riding in the drops a lot more enjoyable.

Weaknesses:
Brake adjustment -- in order to be able to remove the front tire on this bike you must have the tension on the brake cable very loose...much looser than I prefer to ride. This is easily addressed using the barrel adjuster, but it is a pain to have to make significant adjustments to my brakes every time I pull my tire off to use a fork-lock type mount for the bike.