Perfection is a lot like fitness—you can be happy with where you are, but still not satisfied because you know you can do more. And in a lot of ways, that’s how we’ve always felt about our bicycles.

Jamis bikes have racked up dozens of Bike of the Year awards, winning accolades from cagey bicycle magazine editors and everyday bike riders alike. And while we’re proud to be recognized as being among the very best, we’ve never been content to rest on our reputation.

New manufacturing techniques, new materials and new components let us design ever-lighter, more capable bicycles that maximize fun and performance alike. Technology gets better by the day, which can be frustratingly wonderful. We squeeze every last gram from the available technology and resources, but by the time a new bike debuts our bike-loving engineers have already started napkin sketches of the next generation of Jamis bikes, with an eye toward the next level of technology and how it can make riding easier and more fun.

But technology is only a small part of the picture. Our engineers are cycling enthusiasts, first and foremost. These guys love to ride hard, and you can bet they’d much rather be out on the trails or riding the roads. They spend a lot of time with “field research,” which raises some eyebrows around here and explains their year-round cycling tans (they didn’t get those basking in the glow of computer screens), but this does mean they’re focused on what matters—the ride.