Jamis Renegade Elite: Checkpoint

Jamis Renegade Elite: Checkpoint- by Guitar Ted

Gravel bikes seem to have evolved over the last several years toward a theme which is dominated by a more road bike look and feel rendered in carbon fiber. The Jamis Renegade Elite on test here is a good example of that. The tech specs and introduction of this bike will help explain this more, so go back and check that out HERE if you missed that. In this post I will explore how this lightweight carbon chassis rides out on the gravel. There are also some interesting characteristics, both good and bad, which were revealed during this test period.

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The Jamis Renegade Elite was impressive in many ways on typical gravel roads.

Ride Performance: The Renegade Elite is touted by Jamis as having a smooth ride. The marketing hype is actually mostly correct here. Jamis has done a great job of making a chassis that smooths out much of the smaller road chatter. In fact, on pavement the bike absolutely glides along as if I had mounted up some poofy 650B tires. Which you cannot do, by the way. Jamis strongly advises against that and I would say it is due to clearances more than anything. More on that in a bit.

Jamis hangs a lot of its hope for this smoother ride on the ECO fork. I’m not 100% convinced that it does what they say, but I have more of a mind to say that it is the entire bike working as a system. Unlike the Raleigh Roker tested here, there is no component of the frame which is obviously working to absorb vibrations. The entire frame and fork seem to be doing this job on the Renegade Elite. It is what one would hope for in a frame and fork tuned for gravel riding. I think it is still a touch stiff, but it is in the ball park for a frame and fork I would tag as a “ride all day” bike. A true “adventure bike”? So it would seem.

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Jamis Renegade, meet a wet dirt road.

Adventure, to my mind, can mean getting in above your head at times. So, after a recent rain, I grabbed the Renegade Elite and visited the local dirt road which I use for testing. While it is only one mile long, it is unique in that within that mile there are so many different features that it makes for a good test strip.

This day that I visited the “mile of trial”, it was a typical dirt road trap. The road looks great, you ride in, and in ten feet you realize you aren’t going to be pedaling through this. Many gravel events have seen roads like this in the past, and when you meet such a road, it is time for hike-a-bike. So, in the name of testing, I hike-a-biked this section just as I would have in an event. The light weight of the Renegade Elite was a boon here. With water bottles mounted, it wasn’t very shoulder-able, so I chose to roll it in the grassy margins, which kept the most muck and mire off the tires that was possible. Once the end was reached I poked out the mud I could and got on and rode again on gravel.

Now gravel has a propensity for sticking to clay and dirt, and the first few pedal strokes were met with a grinding, scraping noise which sent shivers down my spine. The wheels and crank set finally clearanced themselves though, and I finished out the ride. This may seem silly, but it pointed out a few things about the Renegade Elite which I think are flaws in the bike’s design. First, the tire clearances are minimal. 

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Mud clearances at the crank set weren’t great, and point out why the dropped right side chain stay is useful on designs meant for adventure.

I had the stock tires on at this point in the test, Clement MSO 36mm tires, and while there is something there for clearance, where it matters there is very little. I”m thinking along the chain stays here. Not only that, but the crank set itself was jammed up with mud, and when you see how this happened, you realize why the dropped right side chain stay is quickly becoming a feature on many newer gravel/all road bikes. It gives the crank set and the tires more mud clearance.

The other thing I noted was how the bottom bracket area is shaped behind the seat tube and in front of the rear tire makes for a great mud collection area. The material used slopes away downward toward the tire, but that doesn’t matter when mud is sticky. It grabbed a hold and piled on back there in an area which is hard to get at with a scraper tool, if you carry one, to clearance out that mud.

While the ECO fork did amass some mud, it wasn’t bad, and I would say clearances on the fork are acceptable. However; I would not want to be on this bike, say at a muddy year at Land Run, or the Dirty Kanza, because the rear clearances are not generous and especially the crank set clearances are very tight, making any mud build up there a negative for your drive train. Keep things dry, and the Renegade Elite will be fine.

Jamis Bikes
This image shows the mud build up at the bottom bracket, and also where the tire and mud rubbed through the outer layer of carbon.

This issue with mud clearances and the tire clearance for this bike limits and impacts the appeal of the bike to a degree. Jamis says you can put a 40mm tire in the back, but……. Yeah, that would be tight. The bike rides so well and has the bottle mounts which suggest long, adventurous rides across varied road surfaces as its MO. But tires limited to, effectively, 38mm or less, kind of throws a wet blanket on that idea. Then add in that 650B isn’t an option. That kind of puts the Renegade Elite at a disadvantage when comparing it to many bikes in this category.

But this is a good bicycle. It rides really smoothly. It has a position which lends itself to all day riding. It is obviously light weight. If you would never be on really rough, severe gravel, rocks, or in muddy situations, this bike would be great. I enjoy riding it on our more typical gravel roads and in dry conditions. It’s just held back from having all the bases covered by a couple of issues.

So Far……. The Jamis Renegade Elite strikes a unique profile with its unusual looking carbon frame. The bike has top notch componentry and weighs in at a sub-20lb figure which seems like a feather compared to many gravel/adventure bikes. The bike is super smooth on bad tarmac and very nice on rough gravel. Mud and tire clearances are not generous, so wet, muddy rides or rougher terrain that demands more tire volume are not in the Renegade’s wheel house.

Stay tuned for the “At The Finish” post coming soon where I will give my final verdict on this black beauty.

Note: Jamis Bicycles sent over the Renegade Elite at no charge for test/review to Riding Gravel. We are not being bribed, nor paid for this review and we strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout

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Author: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted hails from Iowa. Home of over 70,000 miles of gravel and back roads. An inaugural member of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame and Co-creator of Trans Iowa in late 2004- Guitar Ted has been at the forefront of the growth of gravel events and riding since then. Creator of Gravel Grinder News in 2008, he produced the premier calendar of gravel and back road events. GT joined forces with Riding Gravel in late 2014.

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6 thoughts on “Jamis Renegade Elite: Checkpoint

  1. I’ve been riding a 2017 Renegade Expert for a little over a year now and love it. I wanted a true gravel bike, not a cyclocross bike rebranded as a gravel bike (of which I found a lot). I did a lot of research and the Jamis was about the only bike that checked all of the boxes for me (I also looked closely at the Warbird and the Devinci Hatchet). I was looking at things like tire clearance, chainstay length, BB drop, HT and ST angle, etc. It’s been a great bike! I love the ride and haven’t had any of the mud issues or chain suck that you did (and I’ve had it in it’s share of mud)! I would actually say the opposite, it’s performed great for me in the mud. Currently running Maxxis Rambler 40s front and rear with no clearance issues. I’ve also had Panaracer Gravel King 40 front/35 rear, which measure out quite a bit wider when mounted. I do think that a Gravel King 40 in the rear would be pretty tight. I think the frame design and geometry between the Expert and Elite are the same, there might be a difference in the grade of carbon fiber they use? Anyway, the bike puts a smile on my face whenever I ride it!

    1. I’ve had a Renegade Elite since 2015. I rode “The Mud Year” at the DK 200 and made it through without a “mud related” issue. But, yes Ted, I do wish the tire clearance was more generous. I sold my 2015 Renegade Elite recently and bought the 2018 model you have tested. I finished my 5th DK200 (206) on that bike just a few weeks ago. I used the stock 36 in the rear and a WTB Riddler 45 on the front. Jamis has a great series going with the Renegade models. Thanks for your review.

      1. @James- First of all, congratulations on completing your fifth DK200 and getting the Grail Cup.

        I agree that the Renegade Elite has a LOT of great characteristics, but in light of what is out for 2018 and what is coming for 2019, I find it harder to say that the Renegade is offering all the benefits others are. The fact is, the Renegade doesn’t. Whether or not that actually matters to a person looking for a new bike is the ultimate question.

    2. @Tony- Thanks for your comments. I’m glad that you have a good report on your experiences, but I am afraid that they are not consistent with mine. Obviously, the pictures show the reasons why.

      Cheers!

  2. Thanks for the review. I got my Renegade Elite in 2014 or 15, (first year available – I had to wait for the dock strike on the west coast to resolve and release it from captivity); at the time it was released it was a great step forward (light, comfortable, Ultegra hydro group, decent running gear) and I have enjoyed it immensely. It is not perfect and I have not yet owned a perfect bike. It has allowed me to participate in many southeastern US gravel and mixed surface events without a hiccup. I am currently riding WTB Resolutes on HED Ardennes+ without clearance issues. However, I do not put it through the kind of riding that you do, and I agree that time moves on. I am sorry to hear that it has not been updated to compete head to head with what is now available, but who knows what may happen next year?

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