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Newb looking for direction

743 views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  cjsb 
#1 ·
Mature (53) dedicated road cyclist here. Never been off road in my life. Thinking about branching out as many of my road cycling friends also ride off road, particularly over the winter months. I've run across a starter bike that I think will suit me well, a 2011 XL Jamis Dragon Sport 29, available semi-locally. My used options are going to be somewhat limited as I'm on the tall side (6'3"+, 160 lbs). The ask is $500 (including a fresh tune, carbon bars, and a spare set of tires), which seems fair enough. Good starter bike? Anything else on the used market in that price range to recommend?

TIA for the help!
 
#5 ·
The Tora was made in several different flavors. The 318 was available as a Solo Air with the Motion Control damper, and an aluminum steerer. The biggest difference between that Tora and a Reba was that the Reba had aluminum stanchions and was Dual Air at that time.

However, there were many more Toras that had coil springs, steel steerers, and Turnkey dampers. Those were a different animal.
 
#6 ·
I have that bike. I bought it new but I did replace the fork with a Manitou Tower within the first year. The stock Tora was the coil spring model. It wasn't horrible but it was heavy and tough to dial in. See how it works for you might have no problem keeping it.

The brakes are the only stock component that I really didn't like. Avid Juicy 3.....loud, loud, loud! Not SRAM's best design given the complaints that were all over this board at the time.

The Dragon frame is great. You can really feel the difference with the steel. Very comfortable. At times I've put a Niner rigid fork and some Big Apple tires and turned into a super commuter bike. Gorgeous blue and white paint scheme too. Hardtail 29ers are great for roadies, which is mostly what I am too.
 
#9 ·
Pretty much to echo the above, should be a solid ride. Steel will be comfortable and should basically last forever. For your intended usage it sounds perfect, but I think the price is way at the high end especially if you ever end up swapping out the fork.
 
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