*UPDATE: Specs, ordering info, etc. now on the Jones site here*
I stand behind my tweet of yesterday in which I expressed this sentiment:
Nevertheless, when it comes to both fun and versatility you'd be hard-pressed to out-awesome a bike with voluminous tires and a wide gear ratio like the one I've been testing:Singlespeed MTBs with "skinny" tires are still awesome. pic.twitter.com/GdoM8PKGdF— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) July 12, 2018
Which I can now identify as the Jones Plus SWB complete:
Yes, that's right, complete, like right out of the box. Why is this a big deal? Well, let's just say you're someone with a bike like this:
You like riding trails, but you also ride to and from the trails. And while you love the bike you'd also like a variety of hand positions so you can enjoy the to-and-from part as much as the singletrack part. So you install a Jones Loop Bar and eventually you wind up with this:
Now you love the bike even more, but having basically turned your bike into a Jones you realize that now you want an actual Jones. After all, you're never going to put a suspension fork on that suspension-corrected bike, and Jones bikes are designed as though bicycle suspension doesn't even exist, which you find tremendously appealing. However, getting a Jones isn't necessarily a cheap proposition. Even the least expensive frame and fork is more than a thousand bucks, and you've got to build it up from there.
I think you know where I'm going with this:
Well now you can! The Jones Plus SWB complete is $1,799 and here's the story:
I've been sold on Jeff Jones's approach to bikes for awhile now, so when told me he was going to offer a complete bike and asked me if I wanted to try it I politely replied "Send it the fuck over here right now." Pretty soon after, this arrived:
Right away I opened it:
Took out the bike:
And got to work:
The bicycle arrived mostly assembled and what little I had to do was very straightforward, so before long I had a ready-to-ride bicycle on my hands:
Since putting the bike together this past weekend I've gotten three rides in on it, including a couple of forays into the forbidding Trails Behind the Mall:
I'll save any attempt at nuanced evaluation for a later date (with 60-ish miles on the bike so far I'm only just getting to know it), but for now I'll just say I've been enjoying this bike enormously. It became clear to me early on that I was never going to get along with the saddle and so I've changed it (changing the saddle on a new complete bike is pretty much a given), but other than that all the components seem solid and I'm looking forward to many more rides on it:
I'll keep you posted.
You like riding trails, but you also ride to and from the trails. And while you love the bike you'd also like a variety of hand positions so you can enjoy the to-and-from part as much as the singletrack part. So you install a Jones Loop Bar and eventually you wind up with this:
Now you love the bike even more, but having basically turned your bike into a Jones you realize that now you want an actual Jones. After all, you're never going to put a suspension fork on that suspension-corrected bike, and Jones bikes are designed as though bicycle suspension doesn't even exist, which you find tremendously appealing. However, getting a Jones isn't necessarily a cheap proposition. Even the least expensive frame and fork is more than a thousand bucks, and you've got to build it up from there.
I think you know where I'm going with this:
Well now you can! The Jones Plus SWB complete is $1,799 and here's the story:
(Wow, he's really good at riding bikes.)
I've been sold on Jeff Jones's approach to bikes for awhile now, so when told me he was going to offer a complete bike and asked me if I wanted to try it I politely replied "Send it the fuck over here right now." Pretty soon after, this arrived:
Right away I opened it:
Took out the bike:
And got to work:
The bicycle arrived mostly assembled and what little I had to do was very straightforward, so before long I had a ready-to-ride bicycle on my hands:
Since putting the bike together this past weekend I've gotten three rides in on it, including a couple of forays into the forbidding Trails Behind the Mall:
I'll save any attempt at nuanced evaluation for a later date (with 60-ish miles on the bike so far I'm only just getting to know it), but for now I'll just say I've been enjoying this bike enormously. It became clear to me early on that I was never going to get along with the saddle and so I've changed it (changing the saddle on a new complete bike is pretty much a given), but other than that all the components seem solid and I'm looking forward to many more rides on it:
I'll keep you posted.
38 comments:
Podiating yo.
Told you it was a hybrid.
(Mountain bike modified to also run well on roads.)
It's bicycle repair man!
Nope... still not buying this Jones diversion.
My next guess on the Testcycle:
A Schwinn from Target, rattle-can paintjob, Surly fork.
Kidding, kidding. That's a pretty sweet looking bike, Wildcat/Tan.
What size tires are on it? (and, #whatpressureyourunnin, of course.)
Love the review, underwhelmed by the Jones. Oh, look - another 27.5" trundler! A refined version of the 1984 stumpjumper. I imagine the bike is a fun ride though - rimarily becuase it's tough to throw a leg over a pedal powered two wheeler and not enjoy it. A big round of meh for the new Jones. Full disclosure - I frequently choose to ride a bike with slack tubes, rigid fork, 2" tires, wide gearing, swept bars with multiple hand positions, twin racks and disk brake nubbins.
Oh, jeez. Now I have bike lust.
Now to convince my wife into why I need another bicycle.
When will you be growing your beard?
Anonymous,
I've been there. Honestly don't know how people can stand to have those things on their faces.
--Tan Tenovo
The Jones is nice and everything, but I am still partial to the Smith.
Superman 1: Oh look... is it a stockbroker?
Superman 2: Is it a quantity Surveyor?
Superman 3: Is it a church warden?
Supermen 1-3: NO! It's Bicycle Repair Man!
27.5? Really Jeff? Pandering to the "wagon wheel whiner" crowd??
Everyone knows 29+ is where the fun is, sheesh....
The seat stays and seat tube have stylish curves. The bike looks timeless and solid. The price is approachable for those of us who don't have financial advisors. Cool bike : )
Had to consult The Googles to find the geographic locality of Mr. Jones.
It appears he can ride into no less than six (6) National Forests from his location in Talent, OR.
And lets not overlook the fact that he has access to Crater Lake National Park.
Geographic location envy is a thing, you know.
Keep you posted?!?! OMG it is the new Jones Dropper post??
I had a Jones. They do handle nice, really nice, but ultimately I wanted to go back to front travel, sold mine so a buddy could build me a frame (and get a nice Fox fork) better suited for the north Georgia/WNC mountains. Have fun snob.
Bring the snark, Snob! This post is so cheery and positive I thought for a minute I'd gone to Fat Cyclist by mistake.
Anonymous 12:42pm,
But he also sells 29+ bikes.
--Tan Tenovo
There I was reading the email from Jones Bikes, about their new offering , and it hits me like a ton of bikes: Snobs got his new testcycle. Yay.
i do like the hoop bar. that's fun.
i remember when 29'ers first became a thing and i found that while i enjoyed the novelty of being able to roll right over pretty much anything, including your mom, i didn't love that i found it much more difficult to climb/ accelerate or handle slower speed technical stuff.
maybe i'm just weak, but i see the new super wide tires and pretty much assume i'd have the same issue. just a lot of mass to spin.
that not the case for you guys/gals or this just a matter of my weak puny legs failing me?
@Chazu - geographic envy is definitely a thing. I'd like to be at everyone's mom's house right now.
Nice looking ride! And that is one serious stack of spacers under the stem!
I bet the rolling resistance is low enough that he could coast an entire cross race.
pbateman,
Nope, you're not alone in the weak skinny leg thing not liking to accelerate 29er wheels. I solved the problem with lower gears and giving up trying to accelerate, and instead just ride a steady pace and plow into anything in front of you, like your mom.
So that's why I didn't see Mr. BSNYC on a lunch time ride over River Road today.
Ride safe all.
Especially if you're Jonesing.
That looks like a lot of bike. Enjoy!
Bonus LeTour coverage:
Despite a valiant effort, Lawson Craddock could not manage to finish DFL today
vsk said ...
Everybody know's that the Coker Monster Cruiser is where it's at.
Or Surly Moonlander if you gotta go "small" ...
vsk
WHATEVER you do, don't cut that steerer! If that's the number of spacers Mssr. Jones sent with the biek, then so be it: your bar/saddle offset appears perfect for off-roading/non-Tour de France biek cycling. "F" those roadies and their aero posturing. And besides, if you happen to come across a trailside poker game, those spacers could come in handy as ante chips!
So glad you have finagled a Jones to test, Tan Tenovo!I was lurking on the Jeff Jones website for many months after your foray with the bars, and drank the kool aid in May. By June I took delivery of a ti long wheelbase 29 plus Jeff Jones space frame with components of the highest possible zoot, including crabon rims, a 1X12 drive train and a dropper post. You can take direct credit for this sale. My first extended ride was the Erie Canal, North Tonawonda to Albany. My colleagues rode much thinner tires (35s-45s) on 700c wheels with front suspension. They had a slightly easier time on pavement than I, but I kept up fine there and floated along ahead of them on the dirt and gravel. Due to the Jones geometry and the loop bars I had many fewer aches and pains at the ends of our 50-60 mile days. I had been on other such canal/trail rides with this group of guys on my Surly Cross check/45cc and my steel road bike with 28 cc tires. Even with no suspension The Jones beat my other bikes and my friends' bikes all for extended ride comfort. Also it worked great at all times. It's bulletproof (as it should be for the money I chose to spend) and is really fun to ride. Unfortunately I have become a tire pressure weenie, as the bike rides really differently at various psi. I recording speed vs. pressure while coasting down the street in front of my house. Oddly, 12.5 is faster than 15 on pavement. The woods trails are different. I need to do more work. What pressure indeed. This is a great, fun ride.
What is all this talk of "unwieldy" 29er wheels? Fer fucks sake, the 26" MTB "standard" was a fucking Depression-era Schwinn abomination, adopted by those fuck-stick crypto-roadie hippies in Marin, cuz' they were too fuckin' lazy to look at euro 650B/Utility Bike formats.
I thank any deity/invisible friend for the development of the 29er MTB.
Any current advocacy for 26" MTB action may be bordering on war crimes. (sorry)
So the new testbike has 1x gearing, 27.5 plus tires, no suspension, and Jones bars. Will there be some sort of head-to-head comparison with ol' piney, which has 1x gearing, 27.5 plus tires, no suspension, and Jones bars? I want to know if there is a tangible benefit to just starting with the real deal as opposed to lovingly curating your personal version. Is there some hidden magic to the Jones geometry? Or can you get pretty close with some well-chosen component swaps?
And yeah, I thought riding a 29er was like driving a truck until I rode one that was the right size and had decent geometry. I now have a bunch of 26 inch MTB tires to donate to my friendly local bike rescue.
Remember the Gary Fisher 69er (26 rear, 29 front)? Was that a horrible idea or did it just die because no one wanted to carry two spare tubes all the time?
There are not many non-suspension corrected (29mtb) frames currently on offer. The Jones is rare in this respect. Also, with a shorter rigid fork you would necessarily have more stem spacers to maintain proper h-bar height (or an extra tall head tube).
Nice new testcycle.enjoying my newish 17 model year pinester.
Re: Just not 26", okay?
Tell us where the rad bikes touched you.
Can the Amish ride bikes equipped with electronic shifting?
@Honkeylips, with all humility,
A plain and proper Amish interpretation would allow the bicycle but, without the convenience of pedals. So your gears and electronic shifters would then appear little more than English Bling.
i creamed myself when I saw that bike. Really
OMG, what will O'piney think when you switch over the little bar bag/ jones man purse.
Had to giggle a little when JJ revealed his tire pressure
Bad news for the bike in a box - tariffs
I had to have surgery on my wrists. Without suspension I would have to give up cycling altogether. Please do not shame my beautiful bicycle.
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