Jamis Xenith T (2014)

Everyone can jump on a TT bike at this price

Pros

- TT bike at value price
- Shimano 105

Cons

- Weight

Review

It's an easy mission to pick up a time trial or triathlon bike with $5000 sticking out of your wallet, but what if you only have less than half this amount? It is a tricky thing finding the budget for this type of bike if you aren't a serious racer. Forget attaching aero tri bars to your old road bike and have a look at the Jamis Xenith T.

This is an entry level time trial/triathlon bike aimed at the enthusiast racer who doesn't want to 'make-do' with any alternative to a real aero bike. The Xenith T has most of the technology you expect to see on bikes worth many times more than you would pay here. Full aerodynamic tube profiles, hidden brakes, horizontal rear dropouts, big BB area, Profile Design TT bars and real time trial frame geometry are part of the standard setup here.

With all this technology Jamis have added a sturdy selection of components. Nothing will blow you away but it should get the job done and for the price, even if some of these parts are far from what you would call 'bling', this is still great value. From the Shimano 105 drivetrain to the collection of FSA and Profile Design parts nothing is really on the cheap and will work well for an enthusiastic racer.

The budget nature of the Xenith T is probably most revealed when considering it weighs around 9kg. That is a decent weight, but then again at the level of racer this bike is potentially aimed at it probably isn't that much of a concern. A lot of this weight could be in the carbon frame which misses out on the high modulus, (and thus expensive), carbon found higher end bikes.

As a place to start the Jamis Xenith T is perfect. This bike is perfectly suited to the budding triathlete or time trial cyclist looking for an extra edge in the weekend races. Definitely worth a look.