Today we’re talking about this custom Jamis Renegade. Jamis released a new Renegade this past year, and we brought some frames in to build them up. We put this one together at the end of last summer and put some miles on it through the fall. I’ll walk through the frame, how we have it set up, the wheel and tire choice, who this bike is for, and what we think about it overall.
Video review
History & setups we’ve tested
Races ridden on this bike:
Wheelsets used:
- HED Emporia GA Pro
Tires we’ve ridden:
- Challenge Strada Bianca 45mm (measuring ~48mm on Emporia GA Pro)
Drivetrain configurations:
- Shimano GRX 800 series 2×11 (older 11-speed setup)
- Easton EC90 carbon crank
- 11–34T cassette
Longest ride / biggest day:
Photo gallery:
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Frame
The new Jamis Renegade follows the current gravel trend of going longer with a taller stack on the front end. On the geometry spectrum, you’ve got bikes like the Cervelo Áspero, Time ADHX 45, and Bianchi Impulso on the racy end, and something like a Salsa Cutthroat on the very mountain-bikey end. The Niner RLT 9 RDO sits in the neutral middle.
The Renegade leans toward that mountain-bikey side of things, but doesn’t go all the way there. It’s a good option for riders who liked the idea of a Cutthroat—the comfort, the fit, the capability—but didn’t want to commit fully to a drop-bar mountain bike with big tires. The Renegade keeps some of that feel while still being very much a gravel/road-ish bike.
I went into my first ride expecting not to like it—thinking it might feel too long or weird in the steering. I was wrong. By the time I got home from that first ride, I was impressed. It’s a good bike.
I’m 5’10” and usually ride a 56. On this bike, we built a 54 for a couple reasons:
- The stack on the 54 is still very generous, so no fit issues.
- The longer reach works out well with a zero-offset post and shorter stem.
- My kids (5’8″, 5’9″) can also share the bike.
With the 54 and an 80mm stem and zero-offset post, the bike fits me really well. If you’re around 5’9″–5’10”, I’d strongly suggest not automatically defaulting to a 56. The way these bikes are designed—with short stems and zero-offset posts—can make a 56 feel too big.
Frame features & mounts
The Renegade has:
- Three-bolt mounts on the fork for fork packs (Ortlieb-style, etc.).
- Two bottle cage mounts inside the main triangle.
- Downtube bottle cage mounts above the bottom bracket.
- Bolt-on top-tube bag mounts.
There are no traditional rack mounts in the seatstays, but you can run an Old Man Mountain rack with the correct Robert Axle kit (Jamis lists the part numbers on their site). There are provisions for fenders front and rear.
Routing-wise, the housing enters through a small panel on the top of the top tube, then runs internally. The front derailleur housing exits from a port on the back of the seat tube, and the rear derailleur housing exits near the top of the chainstay. The big advantage here compared to fully integrated headset routing is that you can still easily service the headset without having to pull all the cables—something I think still matters on real-world gravel bikes.
Wheels & tires
This build is running HED Emporia GA Pro wheels with 45mm Challenge Strada Bianca tires. On these rims, the tires measure close to 48mm.
The frame is officially specced for 50mm tires. There’s generous clearance at the fork and between the seatstays and chainstays. The tight spot is the back of the seat tube. With these 45s measuring about 48mm, I wouldn’t run a true 50mm tire in a muddy event—especially if it’s an aggressive tread. For dry conditions, clearance is fine.
Drivetrain
This bike is currently running an older 11-speed Shimano GRX 800 2x setup. It’s equivalent to Ultegra-level in the gravel lineup. We pulled this drivetrain off an older bike we converted to 1x and repurposed it for the Renegade.
Spec details:
- Shimano GRX 800 2×11
- 11–34T cassette
- Easton EC90 carbon crank
- Press-fit bottom bracket
This isn’t the drivetrain we’d spec on a brand-new build today (with 12-speed now available), but it rides well and has been a good setup for testing the frame.
Our 15-year-old has spent time on this bike too. He likes 2x for gravel and has been pretty happy on this setup—pretty sweet bike for a 15-year-old.
Cockpit & fit
Right now the build uses:
- Standard aluminum zero-offset seatpost (we had one handy and have been doing saddle testing).
- One of our test saddles.
- Easton aluminum AX handlebars.
- Yellow bar tape (overstock, but it looks great with the small yellow accents on the frame bag).
- 80mm stem on the 54cm frame.
At 5’10” on the 54 with the zero-offset post and 80mm stem, the fit is very comfortable without being too upright. Our 15-year-old, who’s spent miles on a Niner RLT, had similar feedback: “It’s a good bike.”
Ride impressions
This Renegade sits toward the “mountain-bikey” side of gravel, but doesn’t go all the way into full drop-bar MTB territory. It’s a very comfortable bike to ride and handles rough gravel really well.
Tire clearance is generous at the fork and stays. The one limitation is behind the seat tube if you try to push to a full 50mm tire in true sloppy conditions. With ~48mm actual measured tires, I wouldn’t want much more in mud.
This particular build is a custom black-on-black carbon frame. Jamis also offers complete builds, and there’s a really solid bang-for-the-buck option with mechanical GRX and carbon wheels in the Coppertone color.
We’re happy with these bikes and glad we brought them in. I expect the Renegade to be a go-to option for a lot of riders who want comfort, capability, and a geometry that leans toward stability without fully leaving the gravel road space.
We’re also seeing strong interest in the steel Renegade S2. We brought in a size run and will likely need to reorder before spring. That one is on the list for a separate review.
Final thoughts
Overall, this new Jamis Renegade is a solid bike. If you’ve been curious about bikes like the Salsa Cutthroat but don’t want to go that far into MTB territory, the Renegade is a great middle option—comfortable, capable, and still very much a gravel bike.
If you have questions about the Jamis Renegade line, want to build one up, or want to look at custom options versus stock builds, we can help with both. As long as we have a clear direction on drivetrain and use case, we can also customize off a stock complete bike.