I have a Jamis Renegade Exploit bike and from the begining I was trying to make this bike as comfortable as possible. The frame was a good starting point because it is steel and offers a lot of nice flex. But I wanted more so I started with swappping a seatpost for VLCS 2.0 made by Ergon. A lot of improvement but still I wanted more. So I changed tires for bigger ones (Panaracer GravelKing SK 43mm - but not tubeless and with narrow rim they measure just 41 mm). Then I wanted to get even more comfort so I bought Redshift Shockstop stem. After experimenting with elasotmers I settled for the most supple combination dedicated for drop handlebar and it works really nice. For the comfort of my butt I bought a Brooks C17 saddle (very good purchase indeed!) and to get more upright position I swapped the Rithey evomax comp handlebar for Specialized hoover bar with 15 mm rise and 12 flare and used Supacaz Super Sticky Kush bar tape. Another great addition but I also needed better gearing for going uphill so I changled rear cassette for Shimano 11-40 and rear derailleur for new Shimano 105 R7000. With longer chain it works very nice. For my weak knee I also bought a Speedplay Frog cleats. Now the last thing I was considering was going for even more wide tires but this could cause a lot of problems (toe overlap, changing the front derailleur for new Shimano 105 7000 to get more space in the back and a potential problems with too narrow rim - 17 mm wide) so I decided not to. But maybe there are better (more supple) tires in 42mm size out there because I feel that, although very durable and safe, the Panaracer Gravelking SK are not the most comfortable tires on the market. What do you think?
