The Jamis Durango Sport 29er.

I had the Carrera and Lump, an old Giant hybrid, in my stable, old snotters both, and having established that I was enjoying riding and was able to physically ride for a decent enough time, I wanted something a bit newer and more up to date.

The Carrera being a sort of mountain bike coped with off road excursions, so it was towards a bigger wheeled bike for road riding that I went looking. I could've gone for another hybrid, but at the time I intended keeping Lump, so my eye was drawn towards 29er mountain bikes. Big wheels, flat bars, low gearing and fat tyres – just what I wanted.

So it was, after much internet to-ing and fro-ing, a large Evans Cycles box arrived containing one Jamis Durango Sport 29er. True to Evans' claims, the bike had been well prepared and only needed the pedals fitting and bars straightening. The gears were spot on, and didn't need any adjustment until around 600 miles when a small tweak of the rear cable adjuster was required.

This bike is of course, a bottom of the range entry level jobbie. Maybe not a BSO, but not really state of the art sexy bike either. I doubt it would fare well given some serious off road abuse, but I use it mostly on the road, and at my gentle pace, it does for me nicely. The ride is smooth and the cable operated discs give dependable braking in all weathers of course. They do require a firm grip to brake really hard mind you, and a well set up V-Brake is comparable in the dry, but in the wet of course, the disc takes the honours easily.

I have changed a couple of items to make the bike more comfortable. First job was to replace the saddle. The original really was a cheap and nasty looking thing, with a ghastly great Jamis logo on it that rubbed off in short order. Worse still, it gave my backside considerable grief. So when Wiggle had a sale on, a Charge Spoon arrived in return for just over £18, and what a bargain this saddle is. Well made, it also looks good, and is comfortable for as long my rides take me. The Spoon has quite a following judging by the number of folk who recommend it on forums and other social media sites. Given its low cost and superb comfort, it makes me wonder why on earth anyone would spend a big chunk of money on anything else. Ok, maybe the weight weenies will point and mutter things about grams and speed, but the Spoon is reasonably light (258g according to one site) and you can get it in a variety of colours – what's not to like?!

The narrow, straight and flat bars also got changed for some cheap riser bars which have made quite a difference as far as my back and neck are concerned. They're a tad wider too, and whether on the bars or on the bar ends, I'm comfy.

The finish on the bike has held up well so far, betraying its budget price point, and faring better than the Voodoo. There are no chips or scuffs anywhere on the bike, and it polishes up nicely.

The big drawback is at the front end, and those forks. They are a bit soft and bouncy, in a rather uncontrolled way. A bit like riding a drug crazed Space Hopper, or maybe a tall Pogo Stick. The forks appear soft at first as you climb on and they sag a fair bit, but when you hit a bump they bounce about quite dramatically. They are ok on soft canal path type trails and so on, but big bumps and rough tracks will soon reveal the short comings, and it's better to leave them locked out on really rough surfaces when you can actually anticipate the reaction better.

Overall the Jamis is not a bad bike at all. I enjoy the big wheel pace and momentum, the way the fat tyres absorb some of the bumps and the way they feel when leaned over on the road. It steers nicely, and is now comfortable, so with no regrets about buying it, it's a thumbs up from me.