I realized something when I first rode the Jones LWB Complete Bike: I hadn’t ridden a bike that felt completely right since childhood! Having graduated from riding plastic tricycles down my parent’s steep dirt driveway to riding little BMX bikes around age three, I never seemed to have an issue getting comfortable on my bikes and I just really loved riding. I remember things changed in my early teens when I outgrew my derigeur GT hardtail within a year of getting it. There followed a long series of bikes that were supposed to be my size, but didn't handle right and didn't feel comfortable. I know fit preferences are highly personal, but I do feel that many taller people ride uncomfortable and/or poor handling bikes because they never get the chance to ride something that truly fits. Things HAVE improved lately in the MTB world with the longer reach frame designs and 29er frame accommodations, but I do question why they have to be so low in front! Look at the typical handlebar vs. seat height of a regular sized rider vs. a tall rider and you'll see what I'm going on about. Surely we all deserve at least one bike that fits great and handles well too? The Jones geometry is drastically different from the "standard" geometry of either mountain bikes or gravel bikes. So whatever the handling or fit results may be, at least you know you're getting something actually different, not just marketing hype. If you're frustrated with the "standard", you'll probably like Jones geometry. Now, whatever opinions you have of Jones (and trust me, if you get a one people will freely share them with you!), you have to appreciate a company that comes up with its own interpretation of what makes a bike fit and handle well. I’ve always been intrigued by Jones bikes, but A) I didn’t think there was a frame meant for my height (6'4" in American, 193 cm for the rest of you), and B) didn’t plan on spending the money for a custom specced out machine without having even tried a Jones out. When a bike is so far removed from the "standard" geometry conventions of most other companies, it is hard to make that leap without getting some first hand experience. Luckily I met a fellow named Cass who just so happened to be testing out a Jones SWB Complete Bike, and I got to pick his brain about Jones bikes on a few bikepacking outings. Now, Cass is a very stylish rider and can inadvertently make any bike look like THE bike to be riding, but he's also pretty upfront about his appreciation for the Jones geometry. There was just something about the Jones that looked so right, like he was the commander of a ship, sitting tall and surveying the surrounds. Combine that with the fact that I'm living in Bath, UK without a car, surrounded by infinite amounts of riding that isn't quite mountain biking and isn't quite gravel riding and I just felt like the Jones would be perfect. I settled on getting the long wheelbase (LWB) Complete Bike because I love the way my long wheelbase Stumpjumper handles, and I really wanted to go long on the chainstays because being pretty tall, my arse ends up way out over the back wheel on short chainstay bikes. I've always had to lean really far forward on steep climbs to prevent wheelies. I certainly see the appeal in the Jones SWB geometry if you’re looking for the nimblest Jones possible, and particularly if you’re traveling on public transit where length can be a real issue. The actual fit of the SWB and LWB is essentially identical after adding an offset seat post to the SWB. However, the LWB really caught my eye with its super long chainstays (483mm), slack head angle (67.5), and massive fork offset (76mm), which results in a wheelbase(1205mm) almost equaling my XXL 2018 StumpJumper. Now, you may be thinking "but how did you get a Jones LWB Complete Bike in the UK?". Well I was actually back in northern California for a month last October, so it was no trouble to head up to Ashland, Oregon to pick up my Jones in person. I wasn't sure what to expect at Jones HQ, but lo and behold Jeff was there waiting for me. We chatted for about 45 minutes about the bikes, which was very cool. From what I hear, it is completely normal for Jeff to take the time to chat with customers. If I may paraphrase Jeff Jones from his blog post introducing the Plus (now LWB), he says his intention with the LWB geometry was to create a slack, long wheelbase bike that retained the nimble characteristics of SWB handling. Since my Stumpjumper has a similar wheelbase and headtube angle, but much less fork offset, I can draw some inferences there. The bikes do handle very differently, with the Jones LWB maneuvering much more like a gravel bike. However there’s no doubt that the LWB handles much better than a gravel bike on steep descents and aggressive trail riding. I can ride this bike very confidently at speed on rough terrain until eventually reaching a threshold where the lack of suspension becomes too much. Soon after getting the bike, I headed to Moab to meet up with my brother for a week of trail riding. The norm in Moab is obviously to ride a modern full suspension beast, so I got a lot of looks and comments like "you must have arms of steel!", but riding the Jones there was a hoot. Particularly on the Slick Rock trail, I felt connected to the 80's mountain biking roots, but in a fun alternate reality way where 80's bikes became supple and non-sketchy. The 3 inch 29+ tires on 45mm internal width rims can be aired down enough to take the edge off the slabby terrain without getting rim strikes. Sandy sections were of course especially entertaining because the Jones would shoot through them, while my brother bogged down on his 27.5 2.3 inch tires :-) There’s also now little doubt in my mind that long chainstays are the way to go for a tall rider. I’m going to be very careful here not to imply that the long chainstays create stability at the expense of handling: this bike is very comfortable for me to controllably wheelie, and yet it also is the most stable bike I’ve had for steep climbs. Sure, my Stumpjumper with its 437mm chainstays might be more ideal for aggressive trail maneuvers where I want to really load the rear tire mid-corner, but the Jones feels better for all-round riding, especially when going up. I'd like to try this bike with a dropper to really get a feel for its cornering limits. Aesthetically speaking, I really love that the 29+ tires, long chainstays, long wheelbase, and long steerer tube create horizontal and vertical proportions that look balanced like they would for a regular sized rider’s bike. I was definitely skeptical of the Jones LWB being offered only in three sizes, surely the large couldn’t work for someone up to 6’6”? Well, unless you're 6'6" with extra long legs, I do believe the large will work for you. I've fine tuned the stack height for myself, starting from max and slowly going down 20mm, which feels just about perfect. To me, it feels like I finally have a normal bike that makes me feel perfectly normal riding it. To a smaller person riding the smaller frame sizes, they’re probably going to feel like the bike is very stable, and they may complain about the chainstays being so long. But honestly, I'm not too worried about those smaller people, because they have a plethora of bikes designed more for them - potentially including the Jones SWB. In fact, the only thing I would change fit-wise would be to try longer cranks. Jeff specced the short 170mm cranks for a reason (low BB, easy on the knees), but I feel like I can't engage my hamstrings as well with short cranks. Luckily, the bottom-bracket height is actually pretty high because this bike is designed with a range of tire sizes in mind (from 29x2.3 to 29x3.0-R/3.25-F). So I could probably switch from 170 to 180mm cranks without pedal strike issues. A big part of why this bike fits so well is of course the versatile Jones bars. Why are the Jones bars so versatile? I think it's because the relationship between handlebar and head tube is fundamentally different than with drop bars or flat bars. Drop bars constrain the frame length because your most relaxed position on the “tops” is a full stem’s reach in front of the head tube. So in order for a frame to accommodate drop bars and have all-day comfort, the frame must be rather short, or you rather limber. In my experience, this (in combination with steep head-angles & low fork offset) often leads to toe-overlap issues and sketchy handling off-road for taller riders. Now, with frames designed for flat bars the frame will necessarily be long because there is no fore-aft adjustment possible while riding and the design handlebar position that works for aggressive trail riding must also serve for steep climbs or sitting and spinning (my least favorite activity until getting the Jones). The Jones bars, in contrast, exist in orbit around the head tube. You can place your hands in front of, behind, or parallel with the head tube, drastically improving the odds that you’ll find the position that works for the situation you’re in. The reach on Jones frames is generally between that of a drop-bar and flat-bar bike. Thus, you can achieve a reached out position similar to riding on the hoods, a trail-attack position quite frankly unlike either traditional bar feels, or a rather upright cruiser position that feels great when you need to change things up. I think it is important to not use standard grips and move the brake levers outward. You need that long grip to achieve all the good positions. One-finger braking is especially useful on Jones bars because this allows your hand to run a little wider in the trail-attack position. Hydraulic brakes would definitely help here, but the mechanical brakes are quite strong (when in adjustment) - flat bar levers give good leverage, and the Jones comes with massive rotors (200F/180R). I really love climbing out of the saddle on the Jones bars - to use a calisthenics analogy it feels more like I'm on top of the bars pressing down rather than pulling myself down into the bars. Now, not everything is perfect with the Jones LWB Complete Bike. I'd say my biggest gripe has been the Tektro mechanical brakes. They work pretty well when they're adjusted, but I've found myself adjusting them multiple times in one ride. They seem very sensitive to small amounts of pad wear. Granted I have mostly been riding in winter in the UK, where you get all sorts of grit, mud, and poop flung onto the rotor, but this was still a bit of an issue back in Moab and California. A recent pad swap to sintered pads has made a significant improvement in braking power (after bedding in) and time between adjustments, so consider my gripe largely resolved, but I would prefer to just have some simple hydraulic brakes. My second gripe is the DUB bottom bracket. Now, my bike has seen A LOT of wet muddy riding in the past 4 months, so I can't complain too much. The BB began showing signs of water contamination after about 2 months in the UK, and nursed it along by dripping some wet lube onto the seals after each ride until replacing it recently. There aren't many DUB BB tools available, so I went with the £25 Park Tool version, which people have had issues with because it is soft aluminum to protect the BB from marks. I used a slider wrench to center the tool so that my torque was applied evenly, and the BB came off easily. Unfortunately the plastic bearing side preload ring has cracked, so I will need to source one of those (not widely available either, should come with the new BB I think). On a positive note, the frame is looking rust free despite the winter abuse and no rust protection on my part. All in all, in the time of Corona, I'm wishing I had Shimano cranks (available in 180mm length) with a good old HollowTech II BB. The stock saddle (not pictured) I found a bit strange and uncomfortable (what's new?), but I didn't really give it a chance. My WTB Volt Pro saddle in 150mm width is just the thing for my back side, so I went straight for that. The Vee T-Fatty tires have been structurally very sound, but aren't great performers off-pavement. Set up tubeless, there haven't been any flats, and no sealant weeps out at the bead or through the sidewall. These are the 72 TPI version, which I can't figure out an exact weight for, but my partially worn ones weighed 1040g on the kitchen scale. The rationale for the tread design seems to have been low rolling resistance, with lots of center tread to wear through. The center knobs are tightly spaced and feature "tapered and ramped center knobs", while the transition and side knobs are pretty small. There is notable self-steer at lower pressures when you lean over onto the transition knobs, and the side knobs don't bite well for aggressive cornering. These tires have definitely made riding in UK mud very exciting, but when aired down the traction improves quite nicely. Luckily the 45mm internal width Jones C rims with bead lock grooves mean that you really can air down without too much tread squirm or burping sealant. Maxxus UK was having a great tire sale, so I picked up some 29 x 2.6 tires - 120 TPI Rekon MaxxTerra in front, 120 TPI Ikon MaxxSpeed in the rear. This setup is nearly perfect for the UK's mix of broken dirty pavement, double track, and singletrack. The self steer is gone and I can corner aggressively again. I can run the tires at a pressure that gives decent bump compliance while not being too sloppy on-road. In an ideal world, I'd like to be running a 2.8 Ikon in the front, but they're not available in the UK yet. I strongly encourage Jones to spec something like the 2.8 Ikon in place of the T-Fatties. The combination of parts on this bike is clearly meant to be durable and affordable, at the cost of a little extra weight. And this is not a particularly light bike! I'm honestly not sure exactly how much it weighs (around 35 lbs according to the bathroom scale), and I don't like to focus too much on it because I personally can develop mental hangups about such things. I ride the very steep hills of Somerset and have to say, the comfort and prowess by far makes up for the weight advantage of my Specialized Diverge gravel bike. At the end of a long ride, my legs are tired but my body feels good and I'm stoked on riding.
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