Jones

Acquired a Jones Tiawanese frame/fork.  This is a dedicated rigid, non suspension corrected 29" bike.

First dial in ride this am.

Impressions:

Overall a nice bike.  It is very burly and more nimble than most bikes I have ridden save the Bystickel.  16.9" chainstays, 22.5" ETT, 25.5" front center, 42" wheelbase.






Finish is quite good.



Geometry is nearly dialed for me (comments below).  I especially like the steering feel.





General burliness of the build:  Superb.  Not much if any flex to this thing which to my mind is a good thing.  I especially like how stiff and confidence inspiring the front end is, the truss, long head tube and large diameter downtube deliver.  The Bystickel with carbon fork feels pretty whippy in comparison.  However, this comes at the cost of ride quality.  In my mind, if you are complaining about the ride quality of a rigid bike, you have no business being on one, just go buy some suspension.  Whippy bikes are unpredictable and I prefer mine stiff.





I like it a lot, especially as a pre-packaged unit, and at the price.





What would I change if I was building a custom:
1.  1/2" shorter chainstays
2.  A few mm more tire clearance on each side.
3.  1/4-1/2" longer front center.
4.  30.9 (i.d.) and possibly un-bent seat tube to allow for a 5" dropper post.
5.  I would change nothing on this bike forward of the BB.
6.  Lose all the doo dads for extra gears, racks, etc  One gear is all I need:)


I think it is a great package deal from Jeff Jones.  The price is fair and it is one of the better riding rigid bikes I have been on.  I am excited to get some more time on it in different terrain.

Addendum:

I think I am adapting nicely:



Michael Jordan would be proud. Not a bad J-hop for an old dude if I do say so myself.

I got out for a more woodsy ride this afternoon with the young'n.  He noticed the "Jones" sticker sparkled in rainbow colors in direct sun, but I never saw it.  Apparently it glows in the dark also:



 Nice touch.

I didn't get much up to speed, but climbing felt like pretty much every bike, and the few times I got up to speed descending, it was super predictable with lots of front end grip.  When the front lost traction, it was easy and predictable to manage it.

I like new bikes.