One of the reasons I like the renegade is because it has the extra connection points for a third water bottle and connection on the forks, but I could use straps for the Orbea, correct?
I have a Jamis Renegade Expert and I find it just about perfect. I live in Southern California so no real gravel, but we do a lot of "adventure" rides which consist of pavement linking to fire roads. The bike is great for that. Its awesome on dirt roads and light single track. Super compliant and handles great. And the weight is just light enough so I use it for true road rides too, but then I came from riding steel road bikes. I upgraded to a custom wheelset which was a huge difference over the WTBs. Before doing that I almost sold the bike because it was a pig. As for the fork mounts, I've never used mine. I would just use my rigid MTB for any bike packing, so not necessary to me on the Jamis. Perhaps day long rides to hold more water, but I'm lucky to get out for a couple hours. I also kept the Jamis over a Raleigh Roker because I preferred the geo. Overall, very happy.
but....
there is one limitation that I'm not sure I'll be able to look past for long. It doesn't fit 650b wheels. I have a set that I've ridden on other bikes and they're killer. If I were to do any long, off-road rides the 650b is the way. I suspect touring would be great too. I'm telling myself I won't really use them, but not sure how long I will hold out.
Another bike I'm considering if I can't hold of the 650b bug is the Norco Search XR. Looks very comparable to the Jamis.
My girlfriend has the entry level Renegade and I'll tell you, we both really like the fork mount bosses. It's incredibly easy (even if you're not that tall) to grab a drink from there while you're on the move, and it doubles your capacity at a minimum. I like them so much, I rigged up a similar system using Wolf Tooth B-rads on my AWOL. When you're doing a hilly, remote Vermont ride on an unseasonably hot October day you really start to see the benefits! Not sure if all tire clearances are the same on all models, but her steel frame measures somewhere between 40-45mm at the seatstays and chainstays. I could measure more accurately if you want. I wish I would've looked at a higher spec Renegade for myself.
I did the DK 200 last year on a Renegade Elite with a Lauf fork and a Cirrus Body Floatseat post, and it did great. One issue, 40 mm tires were a tight fit in the rear and a rock jammed up and punched a hole in the chain stay. I didn’t see it till I got home,had it repaired and it’s good as new. This year I’m going to run 35 mm in the rear. I’ve converted it to one by with Ultegra Di2 and a XTR rear derailleur and that will simplify and make shifting less of a chore over a long day. I have a set of road wheels that I swap out for pavement rides, but the new drivetrain has made it a little more specialized for gravel and single track so a new road bike is probably in the works.
JoLlama wrote:I have a Jamis Renegade Expert and I find it just about perfect. I live in Southern California so no real gravel, but we do a lot of "adventure" rides which consist of pavement linking to fire roads. The bike is great for that. Its awesome on dirt roads and light single track. Super compliant and handles great. And the weight is just light enough so I use it for true road rides too, but then I came from riding steel road bikes. I upgraded to a custom wheelset which was a huge difference over the WTBs. Before doing that I almost sold the bike because it was a pig.
I have to agree with all of that. I have a 2017 Renegade Elite and love it. The Elite is stock with an American Classic Mtn Bike Rave wheelset. It's the first bike I've owned where I haven't wanted to replace the wheelset ASAP. Wheels are strong, wide, reasonably light weight and no issues setting up tubeless with any of the tires I've tried. Really love the the Ultegra hydro brakes with the XT ice-tech centerlock rotors.
Initially I hated the weird shape of the Ritchey bars but have really grown to like those as well.
Only word of caution on the Renegade carbon frame is if you run a rear rack - keep the weight in check. I use mine for everything, including commuting, and popped one of the rack receivers out of the frame. Local shop was able to fix and been fine since, but no longer carry more than about 8 lbs on the rear.
Thanks all for the advice thus far. It seems like the Renegade is much more popular, I wonder if many people at all have the Orbea.
For those that have the Renegade, does it do well on road if you put some smaller tires on there? Does it feel sporty at all? I really want this bike to feel fast, but have the option at times to use it in a gravel race or short bike packing weekend. Plan to have two sets of wheels with it.
The Orbea just looks a little bit quicker, but looks can be deceiving!
codenamebob wrote:This year I’m going to run 35 mm in the rear. I’ve converted it to one by with Ultegra Di2 and a XTR rear derailleur and that will simplify and make shifting less of a chore over a long day.
Do you find Di2 worth it? That's one thing that is on the Orbea model I'm looking at compared to the Renegade. I'd love to have it, just not sure if it's worth the money or if I should focus that money elsewhere on the bike.
I originally intended to do the same thing with my Renegade Elite, have a bike I could just swap out the wheels with road tires and ride pavement. I live in the mountains so I threw a Wolf Tooth extender on the derailleur to run a 36t rear cassette. Now I'm a big believer in 1x drive trains for gravel races, and Di2 for everything, and I have an 11-42 with an XTR derailleur. While I can still put my road wheels on with the 11-36 cassette without any adjustments to the Di2, it's just not the greatest setup for road anymore. If I could only have one bike to do it all, I'd probably buy the Orbea and just swap out road wheels, and leave the drive train alone. But it's better to have a bike you can specialize for road and one for gravel if you have the means.
codenamebob wrote:But it's better to have a bike you can specialize for road and one for gravel if you have the means.
Yeah, this is what's getting me the most and where I'm running into a wall. I already have a Ridley X-Trail that I love and could use for gravel rides if necessary, but since my budget is larger for this new bike, it'll inherently be nicer with extras such as Di2 or better wheels, etc.
Do I want this new bike to be able to do everything, or do I make my Ridley a road bike and this new one focused on gravel / adventure or vice versa I could use my Ridley for the few gravel races each year and buy a Canyon Endurace Di2, etc..... Most of my rides are on road / limestone railway trails and not sure if the endurance type models are great for those trails as they only run clearance up to 30 / 32.
