Jamis.... I Just Don't Know Anymore
So this weekend was a rough one. I had an incident Friday that left me in nasty shape. Buck, a friend from Sedalia, and I took off a bit early Friday to go out and ride up at Blue River Parkway. I wish I could have taken some pictures, but unfortunately the only pictures you get are the after ride carnage. You see the ride was going great, beautiful day, great trails, and a good riding buddy. About an hour and a half in all hell broke loose. Let me give you a sample...
Ya if that isn't a sight for sore eyes. I'm sore as hell alright too. This was the worst crash I've EVER had on a mountain bike, and believe me I've had some nasty ones. And here's another...
Now let me ask you... should this have happend after only 4 months or so of riding? Let me lay it out for you. Now I ride hard, but no harder than Unit, or anyone else who likes to go fast on their bike. I've never took this bike off a more than 2 foot drop, and I've never bit it so bad I thought the bike got hurt. So we're riding along, and luckily when it went down we were on the river bottome section so it was soft dirt singletrack. I was ahead of Buck by a few bikes, and I did a manual over a little bump in the trail. All I remember when I came down was a loud crack, and the front end of the bike coming up to knock me in the face. I don't rember exactly what happend then, a bunch of fliping through the air and eventually landing. I couldn't breath, and I was coughing up blood. I knew this wasn't good. It took about 10 minutes but I was finally able to get up and move around. I took a damage control evaluation, and it was the chest, neck, and tongue that took it worst. I bit my tongue worse than ever, and the last two days of breathing sucked. Everytime I took breath it was like someone stabbing me in the chest. Tonight, I feel a little better.
I don't know exactly where I am going to stand on this issue. As most of you know, this is a DEMO bike they sent me until the new 08 Exile frames come in. I've already broken two of those this year. So this makes three bikes broken, in less than one year. Two exiles, and now one Dakota. And the dakota even had the gussetted headtube. This was the worst of the three, and I am more than thankfull I'm not in alot worse off condition. Here's the last of the bunch, and I'm sure they'll be more to come on this story in the coming weeks...
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Impressive - another Jamis frame broken
G-wiz, that's impressive. Three broken Jamis frames inside of a few months. Two broken Jamis Exiles and one broken Jamis Dakota, right? Gotta keep score.
Unbelievable. Simply incredible.
Go out and buy lottery tickets. You're lucky you didn't end up in the hospital.
Nice Pictures!
Hey, sorry about the bad crash. Those pictures are amazing.
That broken head tube is really something...I have never seen a failure like that. I assumed that the welds broke again, but that tore the head tube in half.
I think it is time for you to get something you have confidence on...it may take a while to regain that edge though. Heal up...we have some night riding to do!
Confidence?
Ya isn't this a hinder... Not really though, the way I look at it is that it was not my fault, so therefore I will not loose any confidence in my skills. Confidence in this bike brand? Well that may be a different story. I cannot ride a bike I do not feel confident in. I was lucky this happend where it did and not on a narly rock invested downhill. The result would have been a catastrophe. And to think I never thought I was lucky....
Heres a video of my crash. Alright this is actually of a guy going like 150 mph or something, but what happened to the bike is the same. I was just going a bit slower, around 15 mph. This vid is crazy.
May be I should shut up...
I meant that your confidence might be shaken...in that a bad crash can loom in your mind and give you reservations on any descent with any bike.
Certainly, I would have a difficult time finding confidence on a Jamis after a run like you have had (3 frames), but I might also be a bit shy on any bike after a tumble like the one in that video. Hopefully, you will get a new bike that you have total faith in and there will be nothing but faint memories of the crash.
Headtube
Man that sucks. Good thing you're feeling better. From the pics it looks like the weld under the head tube gusset failed, allowing the headtube to be torn apart. Makes me think the gusset was only for looks, and that it was a bad weld job. I think it's time for a check for the (Full) replacement cost so that you can decide which brand to replace this with.
I was wondering???
Can I do that and what's the best way to go about it? I mean I guess all they are obligated to is the replacement frame, but under no circumstances will I ride it. I do not, and probably will not ever feel 100% confident on one of their 29r's. Not after breaking three in one year. But can I get my money back? Or at least a portion, (75%)??? I've already begun looking for the new replacement, and I have a few ideas. Either way, I hope worst doesn't come to worst and I have to sell it outright myself. Red Wheel has the pictures, but Nick won't be back from Germany till Thursday. And yes, the break was exactly as you described. You can tell it started at the bottom on the gusset. The metal on the bottom part of the break was black with dirt. So you could tell it had been cracked for awhile. I looked, and looked every ride, and this was the area I took most caution too. It must have been very very small, or it was only visable from the inside.
Replacement vs Refund
Results may vary. But working with your shop, or outside rep you should be able to come up with a good solution. If the shop carrys other brands, they may be willing to give you credit for the frame to another brand they carry. They can then sell the replacement frame to someone else. If you're dealing with the rep, they may be able to work with thier network of dealers, giving the dealer proper payment for the cost of a frame that they apply to another brand to give to you. There is no way to know for sure if the dealer or rep will be willing to help you out in this way. But I know it happens from time to time. They are usually more willing to have a satisified customer riding something else, than have one that's ticked off riding thier product. Good luck.
Guten Tag!
What up fellas? Nick and I are enjoying yet another barley pop in Deutschland after a great (scary) day of downhill riding in the Frichtel mountains. I thought we should check up on things back home...and we can't believe yet another cracked jamis. Glad to here you survived the crash! Anyway, Nick is on my cell now trying to get the ball rolling with jamis. This call will cost him a couple rounds!
Auf Wiedersehen.
Good to hear from you guys!
I wish it was under better circumstances.
Hope you guys are enjoying the vacation. Could you bring me back some good stories?
Have a great time!
Hell Ya
I wish I was with you guys! Sounded like you all have a hell of a trip planned. Be safe, and don't worry about me, my shit can wait. Have a great time, and make sure to take some good pics so you can post them up when you get back.
I was thinking about a Jamis
I was thinking about a Jamis Dragon 29, but starting to wonder about that thought.
that sucks!
I have two Jamis bikes...
and yes
in my many years of cycling I have broken a number of frames
I often scale a company by their response to the broken frame
Jamis has replace each broken frame
just as Bianchi, Mongoose, and Raliegh (after some pushing)
Cannondale charged me for a replacement and gave me a replacement
not the best deal
not sure if any company ever refused
it may not be the bike
you may need a bike built for your style of riding
I am a cross country guy
my tires stay on the ground
are you hucking off big jumps?
maybe you need something reinforced for that
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