[ssNuB]

Ventura Sport or Newest 3.0?

Taking price out of the equation (or at least putting it veeeerry low on the list), which one would be better for an entry level bike? There are elements of both I like and can't decide.

 

[PJ352]

Taking price out of the equation (or at least putting it veeeerry low on the list), which one would be better for an entry level bike? There are elements of both I like and can't decide.

Neither choice is a bad one, but there are differences that would benefit some riders more than others. For example, the Fuji has a triple crankset which is a plus if your type of terrain warrants it, but if you don't really need it, the compact offers some advantages.

The Fuji offers a carbon fork (albeit, with a chromoly steerer), the Jamis has aluminum. If you ride on fairly rough sections of road, the carbon fork offers some advantage.

IMO you should take some time to check over the geometry and sizing of both bikes. Fit is (IMO) more important than the component mix, so if you haven't yet test rode these (and maybe a couple of others), I highly recommend it.

If you'd like, post the type of roads you ride, how you ride, if you now have a bike what the set up is like (frame size, drop bars, etc.) and we can narrow down the choices.

 

[ssNuB]

From the specs on the Jamis website the '08 fork is "Alloy, straight blade Aero Road with
cromoly steerer". Is that better than aluminum?
Mostly I'll be riding normal back roads and city roads. I'm not sure how to explain how I ride. Right now my ride is a Raleigh SC40 mountain bike, 20in frame (the frame is short) with flat bars. I'm a girl, but I'm tall and I have a longer torso. I tried the 58 cm Roubaix at my LBS and it fit perfectly, but it's twice what I can spend.

 

[PJ352]

From the specs on the Jamis website the '08 fork is "Alloy, straight blade Aero Road with
cromoly steerer". Is that better than aluminum?
Mostly I'll be riding normal back roads and city roads. I'm not sure how to explain how I ride. Right now my ride is a Raleigh SC40 mountain bike, 20cm frame (the frame is short) with flat bars. I'm a girl, but I'm tall and I have a longer torso. I tried the 58 cm Roubaix at my LBS and it fit perfectly, but it's twice what I can spend.

Aluminum is an alloy, Cromoly is a low alloy steel mix, making it slightly heavier than straight aluminum or carbon. All else being equal, carbon forks offer superior vibration damping characteristics, but I wouldn't base a buying decision solely on that.

I think considering your coming from a mountain bike you should, if possible, work with the Fuji and Jamis LBS's to get fitted to the bikes and then test ride them (and possibly a couple of others). What I'm getting at is, there are a wealth of choices for the type of bike you're looking at, but fit (IMO) should be a determining factor. If you're not comfortable, you're not gonna ride. The 58cm Roubaix gives you a starting point for frame size requirements, but a good fitter will be able to take some measurements, put you on a size cycle and make adjustments until the optimum fit is attained.