JAMIS BYCICLES - BICICLETAS

Construir a bike perfeita é uma meta impossível, mas é a única meta que vale a pena. Na verdade, estivemos em busca disso a maior parte de nossas vidas. Carine Joannou, CEO e presidente , tem uma história de sucesso na direção da empresa desde que, em 1981, assumiu o lugar de seu na “G. Joannou Cycle”, a empresa-mãe.

O que começou modestamente como um negócio de distribuição regional de bicicletas e peças importadas da Europa, em 1937, tornou-se uma potência não apenas nacional, mas com distribuidores internacionais em todo o mundo. A GJC é agora uma das maiores,e uma das mais antigas, empresas de bicicleta dos Estados Unidos, sob a direção (e posse) da família fundadora.

Greg Webber, vice-presidente de Desenvolvimento de Produto está com a Jamis desde o lançamento da primeira “Terra Cruiser”, em 1979 e se juntou de corpo e alma à equipe vencedora de Carine quando a GJC comprou a Jamis em 1990. Seu compromisso, paixão e liderança inspiraram o resto de nós, viciados na Jamis, a não se contentar apenas com "boa o suficiente”. Toda a equipe mira nada menos que a perfeição o dia todo, todos os dias.

A JAMIS oferece atualmente cerca de 100 modelos de bikes.

Um pouco mais da história da JAMIS.

1979 - Jamis apresenta a "Earth Cruiser". Uma obra de re-engenharia, reprojetada para misturar diversão e estilo em partes iguais. Com seu novo e revolucionário desenho de quadro, foi o criador da onda "beach cruiser".

1980 - Nasce a "Boss Cruiser". Quadro moldado em "duplo diamante", curvado, com selas e com um suporte para "andar e beber".

1981 - Surge a "The (Boss) Explorer", uma mutação originada da Boss Cruiser. Daria para chamar até de pré-mountain, se quiserem...Uma bike híbrida entre a "Floridian Boss Cruiser" e as bikes esquisitonas que os hippies pedalavam em Marin County (Nota*).

1983 - São concebidos os modelos Dakota, Lightfoot and Roughneck. Se compararm com as bikes de hoje (freio a disco nas duas rodas, suspensão total) as daquela época são quase hilárias, mas na época em que foram criadas eram notáveis, estando entre os poucos modelos de MTB de qualidade que eram produzidos.

1985 - A primeira "Dakar" aparece. Modelo padrão, com hastes soldadas (tubos Ishiwata triplos), uma bike pronta para correr assim que saisse da caixa, e que virava muitas abeças. Sob vários aspectos, a Dakar 1985 cristalizava muito do que a Jamis considerava (e considera) como um credo, e que orienta o trablho de hoje: sem truques, sem badulaques, sem bobagens: apenas o deempenho puro, polido, e genuíno artesanato.



1987 Dakar and Dakar Sport feature lugged Tange Prestige frames. Yes, the fillet brazing of the original Dakar was indeed exquisite, but these bikes are being raced and the racers are begging for lighter bikes.

1988 The Eclipse and Quest road bikes are introduced. With proportionate component sizing, sliding frame angles and fork rake predicated upon the work of Bill Farrell and the New England Cycling Academy, Jamis re-defines how a production road bike needs to fit and steer.

1991 Coda and Tangier roll off the line. With the upright rising position of a mountain bike, but the smooth-rolling performance of a skinny-tired 700c road bike, these bikes make riding more fun and more comfortably accessible for the in-town rider.

1993 The Dragon is hatched. With Tange Prestige tubing that is pain-stakingly fillet-welded, then plated, then hand polished. With a Rock Shox Mag 21 suspension fork, XTR 24-speed drivetrain, and Ultegra hubs, the bike is extraordinarily light (sub 24 lbs) for the time and for the money.

1995 Our first 4-bar linkage Dakar Team springs into life with 55mm of piggy-backed Noleen coil-over rear travel. With a Judy XC fork, Deore XT drivetrain, TNT titanium BB, Sugino Mighty 900 crank, etc, this new dualie weighs under 25 pounds.

1996 This year’s Dakar Team goes Red, White and Blue with a nearly 100-proof USA parts pick that includes Easton Elite tubing, Machine Tech hubs and brakes, Precision (Gorilla Billet) ProShift rear derailleur, Carumba crank, Gravity Research brake levers and QR’s, and Craig Metalcraft.

1997 Dragon (off-road) and Eclipse (road) evolve and become two of the very first USA production bikes to feature Reynolds 853 air-hardened cromo tubing…. Our flagship dualie, Dakar Team, featuring the “new” XTR and a 200 gram Cane Creek AD8 air shock and 80mm rear wheel travel, weighs in at just over 24 pounds.

1998 The revolutionary dual-suspended Diablo is introduced at Interbike and wows the crowd. The industry’s first vacuum-resin-transferred-molded carbon fiber monocoque frame is nominated for a Bicycling Magazine Editor’s Choice award as one of the most innovative products for 1998…. Dakota later wins Mountain Biking magazine’s Bike of the Year Award.

2000 Nova is designed and delivered for cyclo-cross racing, but the go-anywhere, do–anything attributes of this bike quickly make it one of our favorite bikes for just about everything (training, commuting, touring, racing)…..Dragon is the first production bike to feature Mavic’s new UST tubeless CrossMax wheelset (with Hutchinson UST Pythons)… And Dakar Sport wins Mountain Biking magazine’s Bike of the Year award for Best Bike Under $800.

2001 Dakar Comp wins Mountain Biking magazine’s Bike of the Year award for Best Bike in the highly competitive $800 - $1500 category….After many years in Team Red, Eclipse gets a Black and Yellow two-toned paint scheme (and Mavic’s hot, new Ksyrium wheels) and all productions are a near sell-out after its unveiling.

2003 The Dakar XLT 5” travel all-mountain series is introduced and promptly wins Mountain Biking magazine’s Best All Mountain Bike AND their coveted OVERALL Bike of the Year award (while Dakar XC Comp quietly wins the Aggressive XC Bike of the Year award)….. Xenith is the first production road bike to be manufactured with Reynold’s incredibly light-and-stiff-but-still-resilient lithium alloy X100 tubing. 2003 image

2004 The Dakar XLT platform continues to wow the crowd and the 2.0 nearly grabs All Mountain Bike of the Year from 26 Magazine (which would have been the second year in a row for the XLT’s), ultimately taking the runner-up award. Coda Sport is introduced and is promptly selected by Bicycling Magazine as THE Best Buy for a Comfort Road Bike.

2005 It’s the year of carbon-fiber for the entire industry and Jamis is at the top of the heap with new full carbon Xenith Series (Team and Pro) road bikes. But our carbon wave doesn’t stop there. The Dakar XC Pro & XC Expert feature lightweight carbon seatstays and bell-cranks, while the 853 Eclipse is exquisitely outfitted with laser sculpted steel lugs that accept carbon-fiber seatstays, seat and down tubes. Meanwhile, back in the world of affordable cycling, Dakar XLT and Quest win Bicycling Magazine’s coveted Editor’s Choice awards for Best Value Full-Suspension Mountain Bike and Best Value Enthusiast Road Bike.

2006 Jamis introduces the all new Diablo 7x7 freeride bikes designed to pedal as well as it gobbled up terrain...not to mention geometry that made the bike tops in handling and balance. The Jamis Dakar wins Bicycling Magazine's Editor's Choice Award as the Best Full Suspension Mountain Bike under $1000.

2007 The all new re-designed carbon fiber Xenith Series is introduced to stunned audiences. Years of refining the ride of our original frame cumulates into quite possibly the perfect balance between comfort, stiffness and light weight...many pro racers calling it the best riding road bike they've ever ridden. Also introduced this year is an all new MP3 suspension platform. The evolution of Jamis suspension that's gotten lighter, stiffer, truer tracking and more efficient. Rounding out the '07 introductions is the Supernova cyclocross race bike and Dakota and Exile 29'er hardtails.

2008 The Xenith T-Series debuts with its patent pending Windshield® fork which helps these revolutionary bikes shatter many of the existing top wind tunnel test scores. Our Xenith Pro carbon road bike wins Bicycling Magazine's Editor's Choice Award for Best Enthusiast Road Bike. Jamis introduces its first carbon fiber full suspension bike with the Dakar XCR Team. The XCR Team uses much of the carbon technology developed for the groundbreaking Xenith road line up including Jamis' SST (size specific tubing) technology. SST tunes the tubing diameter for each frame size to ensure consistent ride characteristics for each and every frame size.

2009 marks our 30th anniversary and with it brings overhauls to almost every one of our mountain and road bikes. Jamis brings it's MP3 suspension platform to a new crop of 5-inch trail bikes called Dakar XCT. The XCT is the perfect blend of cross country efficiency and downhill stability. Developed over the course of 2 years it easily becomes one of the most talked about additions to the Jamis line-up. We also tweak the angles of our Dakar BAM to make it a true downhill race platform and deliver the full carbon Dakar XCR cross country race bike. On the road side we resurrect the Reynolds 853 steel Eclipse for our 30th anniversary and refine the ride of each and every road bike in the line.

* - Marin County é um "condado", e fica logo depois de cruzar a ponte Golden Gate, em São Francisco, perto da região (dos vinhedos) de Sonoma e Napa.