Picked up a Renegade Expat from the LBS last night and put it through its paces over around 20 miles in Griffith Park today. The best word I can use to describe it is "delightful". I almost bought one of these over the holidays, decided to limp along on my other bike for a while and finally got fed up a month or so ago. The bike has been backordered since then and I've been chomping at the bit. I must have read this entire thread ten or fifteen times. I thought long and hard about this bike vs. the Raleigh Tamland but in the end all of the versatile mounting points won me over in spite of the 105 drivetrain on the Tamland. Oh and I already have two other Jamis bikes, so that didn't hurt.It's a very comfortable ride, no doubt thanks to the 36mm stock tires. I'm coming from a 2003 Ventura Comp road bike with 28mm slicks so there's a big difference in feel there. But the Renegade is super responsive, stable and really just handles wonderfully. I have so much more confidence bombing down hills on this thing and it just eats up dirt and rocks.
The other interesting thing is that I am usually a stay-in-the-saddle type when climbing. I just put the bike in the lowest gear, try not to mash, and steadily make my way up the hill. But this bike almost wants you out of the saddle on some of those ascents - it feels good!
Things I will likely change soon:
- The size 58 Expat comes with 46mm wide bars and they feel really wide compared to my old roadie. Hopefully I'll get used to them after a couple of weeks, but I could see myself going down a size.
- I'd like some tires that roll a little bit better on flat pavement. Not sure what those will be yet, but something with a slick center strip I think. Compass Bon Jon Pass maybe? Also considering Schwalbe Marathon Almotions as well, but maybe these are too slick on rougher terrain? I'm probably 85/15 pavement/gravel.
- I don't like the grip tape and will probably upgrade to what's on the nicer Renegade models, I liked it when I demoed them.
Things I would like to change down the line:
- I wouldn't mind another 10 or so degrees of stem rise.
- I would love an even easier granny gear which would require a different cassette.
And that's about it! All of these are really easy to change and have more to do with my style than anything glaringly wrong on the bike. It's so nice not to be fighting anything and just pointing it in whatever direction I feel like going.
I tried posting a photo but I guess I need ten posts first.