Hello, my name is Nate and I am new to these forums, and to the world of road cycling. I am looking into getting my first multi gear road bike (I built a fixxy last year) and have narrowed it down to 2 bikes, for the most part. I will be mostly using it for training and hopefully criterium races. The 2 I have it narrowed down to are Jamis Ventura Comp ( http://jamisbikes.com/bikes/05_venturacomp.html ) and the Raleigh Supercourse ( http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp...itemid=234&va=0 ). I am looking for some more experienced (than myself) cyclists opinions.
Thanks,
Kikyo

Jamis. Raleigh is ghetto

Why is Raleigh ghetto? Im pretty new to road biking, so I dont know much about any of the companies. Anything I should be aware of with Raleighs?

Thanks,
Kikyo

Summary of about 10,000 posts on this subject:

Ride both and figure out which fits better. Ideally, ride a lot of bikes and find the one that fits you best.

AND

Find a bike shop which knows their stuff and has good customer service. Buy a bike from them. They'll make sure you fit.

If you want to race criteriums, buy the one you can afford to replace when you crash.

- khill

I am asking in terms of quality and the components and such. I am going to ride both, however, they are not yet in any shops. I already know the shop I am going to go through and they both cost the same price.

I am asking in terms of quality and the components and such. I am going to ride both, however, they are not yet in any shops. I already know the shop I am going to go through and they both cost the same price.

OK. They have the same brakes, shift levers and crankset; comparable headsets, bars and stems.

Advantages for the Jamis:
More expensive saddle
Shimano Wheelset-- we have these as backup team wheels, and they're heavy but durable
Cooler paintjob, IMO

Advantages for the Raleigh:
Ultegra cassette (lighter), rear derailleur, 105 front (Jamis has a SRAM cassette, 105 rear and Tiagra front)
Vittoria Rubiono tires-- very durable and cheap to replace; we shod the team wheels with these too

They both have the same style of frame, with a glued-in and bolted on rear carbon stay and carbon fork. The Raleigh has a "carbon wrap" seatpost, which sounds like alumnium wrapped with some cosmetic carbon; the Easton post on the Jamis is what I would rather have. The wheelset on the Raleigh is an Alex set, and they're not really known for quality. Some may beg to differ but if they're the same price (yeah yeah, differing economies of scale aside for each company) it looks like Raleigh put on more Ultegra stuff at the cost of wheels.

So, what's the verdict? I think they're both pretty equal, but would give the advantage to Jamis because of the wheels and saddle, if it does indeed fit you. HOWEVER...

Just to throw this in there, I would look at www.fortframes.com. They have two models, the Ro.ALeX (full alu) and the Ro.SLC-R (alu-carbon) that when matched with their 105 build-kit have good wheels, Deda OS bars & stem, and no component matching. Gregg Dion, the guy who will answer the phone when you call, is very knowledgable and will fully answer all your questions. I have bought my past two bikes from him (an Altec 2+ and the old model SLC-R, which was waaaay heavier) and was pleased with the service and product. Also...you can save some scratch by checking out the clearance section, which is huge. (DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO VESTED INTEREST IN THE COMPANY.) PM me if you want more info.

I am adding a 3rd bike to the list. Its another Jamis. The Jamis Quest, http://jamisbikes.com/bikes/05_quest.html . It is about 1300 I believe.

Thanks again,
Kikyo