GadgetDad Reviews: 2004 Jamis Dragon

What is it & it's use

2004 Jamis Dragon(17"), purchased as a frame only.
It's primary use is as a single-track machine, it's less aggressive pursuit is as a bike path escort for Logan.

Highlights

• Pros:
• Steel is real!!
• Geometry
• Paint
• Strength
• Cons:
• Seat post slips
• Head badge
• Bottom Line:
• KEEP IT!

Why do you need it?

Okay if you live in Colorado and you are active, you should own at least one mountain bike. If you are only going to have one, make it a hardtail. (For the uninitiated a hardtail means the bike has front suspension and none in the rear, thus a hardtail)
If you are looking for a hardtail you have 4 basic choices:

• Steel: Life: long (typically 25 years) Ride: nice Price: varies
• Aluminum: Life: decent (10ish years) Ride: stiff Price: varies
• Titanium: Life: (see steel) Ride: a little flexy if your a big person Price: HIGH
• Carbon: Life: unknown Ride: varies Price: High

Okay so that may have been confusing for a few reasons. First, I say price varies because well, it does. You can spend a small amount and get a small amount of quality or you can spend a lot and get more quality. Ti frames are expensive, let's face it so is Carbon. Now as for Carbons life, I had a very bad experience and I no longer trust Carbon for off road adventures. As for the ride well it all depends on how the Carbon is laid when the bike is made.
(Just a heads up I get a little too detailed from time to time, but this is my website, so I guess.... get used to it. hehe)

Basic Overview

Okay I'm not a little guy, well true I am short thus the 17" frame, but with riding gear I'm well over the 200lb mark. I need a strong frame and that is exactly what the Dragon is, STRONG. Remember I referenced my past life in BMX so I'm not easy on my bikes. This thing has not let me down. I have ridden everything from the Ribbon and Zippity do da in Fruita/GJ to Dakota Ridge and Centennial Cone. In the highlights I mentioned that steel is real, if you have ridden a good steel frame then you know why I say this. A good steel frame can withstand punnishment for a long time, it has to do with the fatigue life of the material. (Ask an engineer for a more thorough explanation) The ride should be laterally stiff while remaining somewhat vertically compliant. In other words you stomp on the pedals and it goes, you tackle a rock garden and it takes just a tiny bit of the vibration out.

Pros & Cons

Pros:
• This frame is strong, relatively light, good looking (I know it's a matter of taste) and the geometry works very well.
• The paint has started to chip. So why do I put this in the pro section, because this thing is 6 years old. I have seen many paint jobs not last through the first year.

Cons:
• The only issues I have are that the seat post slips down during the course of a ride. I have broekn both QR seatpost clamps and bolt on ones. I need to get some non-slip compound in there, but I've been a little busy lately.
• After 6 years the stick on head badge fell off. Not really a con, but Jamis just lost some free advertising on the front of my bike.
• This frame does not work with the Chariot bike trailer we have. Unfortunately due to the design of the rear dropouts the hitch doesn't work. This is why I mentioned this bikes secondary duty is to escort Logan, not to pull him.

Suggested Modifications

Fix the seat post slipping issues. That's really about it. Honest.

Price

Okay so some people may get upset at this one but, I bought this on employee purchase when I was working at a shop, so I can't actually list it. Sorry, I promise the bikes are the only reviews where that is the case.

Keep it or Toss it

KEEP IT! Without a doubt this has been a great gear buy!

Best place to buy

Check the Jamis website: Jamis I actually don't know of any dealers in the area.

Disclaimer

Some of you may have noticed I did not comment or review any components. Good eyes, I only reivewed the frame because that is how I always buy my bikes. I'm very picky if you haven't figured that out yet and components are a very personal choice. I may end up adding a section for my build of each bike, but we'll see.