I’ve been a fan of the Jones spaceframe for several years now. Go look at it. If you don’t like it, I don’t know what I can say to you…
With the introduction of steel production models from Taiwan, Jeff Jones has suddenly put Spaceframe ownership into the realm of possibility, with a sub-$2000 outlay to get rolling with the full Jones package: space frame, truss fork, loop bar and 135mm front hub.
His truss fork can also take a… wait for it… a fatbike front wheel for massive traction and suspensionless suspension. I’d still need a multi-hundred dollar front wheel for the fatbike approach, but I like this idea a lot.
You can get a Jones diamond-frame and fat unicrown fork for only $750, but the downside of of the Jones approach for me is… I want the whole package! Spaceframe, truss fork, loop bar, special front hub for stiffness, custom 6-speed cassette on 22/32 rings (plenty range, dishless wheel)… it just seems like Jeff Jones has thought through all these innovations and details so thoroughly.
To bankroll the Full Experience, I’d need to cannibalize the Gravel Roadster, and sell my prized but undervalued-in-the-marketplace bikes. Even then, I’d probably come up short. Bontragers are holding steady at $350 on Craigslist, and I’d get like $1100 for the Quickbeam. (The Bontrager is still a $1000 bike, dammit!) A couple hundred dollars for a couple other bikes and weird wheels, and I could probably get a 29er setup on the trail. A better option, though, would be to win it in The Dirt Rag sweepstake! Oops, I wasn’t going to share that strategy…
