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SOC15: Jamis unleashes the Dragonslayer 27.5+ and loads up the Renegade steel roadies

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Jamis reserves the “Dragon” moniker for it’s premium steel mountain bikes, so it says something that they’ve attached it to this new model. The Dragonslayer brings modern steel tubing in contact with the latest axle, wheel and tire standards to create a bike made for equal parts fun, exploration and shredding.

On the other side of the tent were their new steel adventure road bikes, the Renegade Expat and Exploit, and a fully loaded carbon fiber Renegade Expert just to show what that bike’s capable of…

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The Dragonslayer started out with the Jamis guys stuffing a 27.5 x 3.0 tire in their 29er frames. Fortunately, the finished product added a lot more room by using Boost 148 rear spacing. Up front, it’s matched with the new Fox 34 Wide forks using 15×110 hub spacing.

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The crankset sits inside a standard width threaded BB shell, but the rings are offset 3mm to maintain proper chainline and the ability to run a double.

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The custom chainstay yoke does away with the bridge and opens things up for 4″ of tire clearance. It also allows for the wheelbase to be adjusted…

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…thanks to sliding dropouts. This also means it’ll work great as a singlespeed. Note the one-piece thru axle and disc brake mount dropout piece.

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Room to spare, front and rear. Slack, trail-oriented geometry is designed around a 120mm fork.

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Wanna take it exploring? Besides the frame, seatpost and handlebar bags shown here (which could be added to most any hardtail), there are mounts for rear racks, too, as well as routing for a dropper post and three water bottle cage mounts. Full length cable housing keeps things sealed and simple.

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The Renegade Exploit (above) and Expat (black, below) were teased in early April with most of the basic specs listed at that time. So, we photo’d them close up to see more of the details. Both are disc brake only with all manner of rack and fender mounts and full length housing.

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Both bikes use the same carbon fork as the full carbon Renegade Pro. That means a thru axle in the front, but both frames get a standard quick release in the rear.

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The Exploit gets a full 105 group on its Reynolds 621 steel frame.

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The Expat drops down to Reynolds 520 and gets a mix match of FSA cranks with an otherwise Shimano 10-speed group. Both bikes use Clement tires on Alex rims.

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Threaded bottom brackets on both, too.

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We reviewed the Renegade Expert and loved it, but we never got to ride fully loaded like this! It, too, has rack mounts for the frame and fork dropouts, even if they aren’t using them here.

JamisBikes.com

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Ripnshread
Ripnshread
8 years ago

Nice bikes. The Dragon line has always been nice steel value. Wish they would have included belt drive compatibility. Would make a nice Rohloff bike.

von.kruiser
von.kruiser
8 years ago

That is one beautiful bikepacking rig. I’m in… can run 27+ or regular 29er wheels. It’s the do it all bike and digging it’s a double. I would love to own that bike and scratch it all up on tour… looks like a beast.

Tyler, when did they say it will be in stock and estimated price?

pile-on
pile-on
8 years ago

TA up front and a QR in the rear, kinda reminds of the days when mountain bikes were spec’d with discs up front and v-brakes in the rear. I’ve always liked Jamis but I feel this ruins the continuity of the aesthetic.

Birdman
Birdman
8 years ago

Question: what’s the difference between Reynolds 621 and 520? Is it just higher strength so the tubings can be made thinner or lighter or more compliant???

David
David
8 years ago

@Birdman
621 is a wee bit more than 10% stronger than 520, so you can make a stronger frame at the same weight, or a lighter frame at the same strength. 520 is good ol’ cr-mo.

JBikes
JBikes
8 years ago

Thank you jamis – rack mounts on the dragon!

ZigaK
ZigaK
8 years ago

+1 for standard BB

Willis24
Willis24
8 years ago

I just wanna know what is with the lame blue colors? First the Trek Stache 5 and now this from Jamis! Get with the program folks…

von.kruiser
von.kruiser
8 years ago

Funny, I really like the blue… ha.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
8 years ago

Love the blue.

Tim
Tim
8 years ago

+1 on the threaded bb. Now if only the fork were 20mm, instead of the why-bother 15mm size. Overall a smooth-looking bike. Can anyone tell me what the rationale is behind bikes that are compatible with 27.5+” and 29″ wheels? I mean, it’s nice to be able to switch between wheel sizes at will. But is there a real advantage to 27.5+ for normal, speed-oriented riding?

Tim
Tim
8 years ago

And we see another plus of Boost spacing: the ability to go between 27.5+ and 29 whenever you want, all while keeping good tire clearance with short chainstays. Consider me as being FOR Boost 148 in the rear. (And maybe someone will remember that the next time a thread on new standards flares up and someone accuses me of being against all new standards.)

von.kruiser
von.kruiser
8 years ago

Attention Jamis – Jump in and tell us on this thread when you estimate it will be available and possible ETA (Dragonslayer). More brands need to jump in and comment on their products being discussed. You guys are missing out of opportunities to make good impressions especially small brands like Jamis trying to grow.

Chainwhipped
Chainwhipped
8 years ago

@Tim: It’s not just about “normal” speed oriented riding, it’s also about ground conditions. 29″ wheels are perfect for a lot of trail conditions, but the width and volume of a 27.5″x3.0″ tire would be far superior on ride with lots of loose trail and deep sand – really, it’s just shy of a Fatbike. Throw on a pair of light 29″ wheels and tires for your favorite XC loop or your big “Epic” race of the year, swap back to the 27.5″ fat fatties for that off-the-chart exploration on soft, under-ridden trails. If one were inclined, a rigid fork and a pair of CX tires could make the Dragonslayer an adequate starter ‘cross bike. Throw in a color option, and I think Jamis has a winner here, even if the wheels are a little poopey.

Tim
Tim
8 years ago

@Chainwhipped- thanks for the elucidation. Where do people actually do this exploration riding? I remember seeing a time-lapse clip of a guy in Russia going way out into untrodden forest, and even crossing a shallow river. Amazing. Is that what people generally do- just start riding out into the middle of nowhere with a compass and a backpack with food and water?

BH
BH
8 years ago

ETA is sometime in August, according to the person at the Jamis booth in the video by Mountain Bike Action. (It’s at the very end of the video.)

Jamis replied to a FB comment that the MSRP may be around $2600.

Why so quiet, Jamis? I remember the Renegade launch was similarly frustrating.

Rickstar
Rickstar
8 years ago

Whatchu talkin bout Willis???? I like the blue color.

Jack
Jack
8 years ago

This explosion of 27.5+ reminds me a lot of the days when fat bikes were still in their infancy. Guess who cracked the whip and got those things rolling, Surly. And guess who made moves on fatter trail riding tires, again, Surly. Now, this is a little less upsetting when brands like Specialized, and Trek are at least making higher end, lighter weight performance models for a different crowd. That is at least a little original. With this new Dragon from jamis though, it looks like a complete rip-off of the Instigator. Steel frame, Fox mid-range fork, and a frame design that even looks eerily similar. The dragon was already an amazing line-up, no need to sully it with a cheap imitation of an original. I just wish companies would get back to innovating, rather than piggy-backing.

von.kruiser
von.kruiser
8 years ago

Every brand will have Boost models and 27+ and a few might have 29+ set ups next year. Once you ride a 27+ or 29+ you will be pumped on how fun they are. Fun is the key word which is the reason for the big push on + bikes. Also it’s kind of nice to see all the hard tails and alloy or steel frames being developed instead of all carbon. Cost versus a new designed fun bike will a lot lower cost then your average carbon FS. It’s refreshing for the industry to understand the costs of bike trends should not keep going up year after year. However to properly produce a + bike, especially w/ a double front, you needed some new(ish) standards like Boost and 110OLD front. I’m happy to see the cost come down for a bike I’m really interested in… especially since I’ll be using it for ripping w/ my friends, possibly switching wheel sizes and definitely bikepacking.

mateo
mateo
8 years ago

@Tim – 15×110 hubs have wider flange spacing than 20×110. So more spoke triangulation = stiffer wheel.

WV Cycling
WV Cycling
8 years ago

@Tim

Around my area, there are more ATV trails than MTB trails. They don’t give a darn what they ride over, and the idea of XC 29’er vs fatter 27.5’s seems great. There are some gnarly trails that just flat out are beauty-brutals but I just can’t afford a fancy new bike right now ;_;

Frank
Frank
8 years ago

@ Jack: There is a world of difference between a “steel is real” Reynolds 853 frame with quality welds (Jamis) and a boat-anchor 4130 frame, with sloppy welds (Surly). Its like comparing a Ferrari to a Pontiac.

Jack
Jack
8 years ago

@Frank: Fair point. Don’t know that I would call a Jamis a Ferrari though. And I’ve ridden and serviced the Instigator, the welds are clean and the frame is really well thought out. I just think its funny that the rest of the industry seems to be more than a few steps behind the anchor makers.

Tim
Tim
8 years ago

@mateo- isn’t it possible to move the flanges farther apart on a 20×110? And if greater stiffness is the goal, then why didn’t they make the new standard 25×110 instead of 15×110? Seems like 15×110 would be a wash: flexier axle (because 15 and not 20), stiffer spokes (because of the better bracing angle).

Tim
Tim
8 years ago

@Jack- I think that’s the genius of Surly: showing that innovation doesn’t have to come from the top of the market. It would be hard to gain support for new (fat bikes) or rarely used standards (29″ wheels for MTB’s 12 or 13 years ago) by selling them to the tiny top of the sales pyramid. By making 29ers available originally for around 1500 bucks, they had a greater chance of creating a mass of support for the hitherto under-used in the MTB world wheel size.

von.kruiser
von.kruiser
8 years ago

Tim’s point is valid. If it was not for Surly pushing the micro niches so hard, we would not be seeing + bikes come on so hard. Hand built crowd was doing it first but the QBP (Surly, Salsa, Cogburn…) group saw the mass potential of fat and + at lower prices. Hat’s off to them for going out on a limb as a big company but thinking of trends like a small guy.

denny
denny
8 years ago

where did the tire? I want to one of those! 🙂 In 29er that is!

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