Jamis Aurora Elite (2011)

Road bikes are too light duty. Mountain and city bikes are too heavy duty. Welcome to the Just Right world of Aurora Elite, Aurora and Bosanova, the road bikes for smart urban speedsters and cyclo-tourists.

Legendary Reynolds steel is our chassis material of choice, for its unbeatably robust performance and the resilient ride-damping you’ll appreciate while loaded up and bombing around on the streets and rural backroads.

This is magic stuff, especially for full pannier touring and rough-road adventures. This year’s rides are simply better and lighter—Aurora Elite gets Shimano’s venerable 105 group with triple-chainrings and a 12-30T 10-speed cassette for a huge gear range every serious world cycle-traveler can appreciate and sports new full-coverage/fully adjustable fenders.