Submitted by
Luís Carvalho
a Cross Country Rider
from Portugal
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2003
Strengths: The Frame!
Weaknesses: No way!
Bottom Line:
I'm a portuguese fan of Kona. I've just bought a Kona Dudu frame (second hand) with a Rock Shox Psylo Race and 2003 XTR Dual Control Lever. My God ...how she runs....!! It's the best bike in the world!
Strengths: Superb Easton RAD tubing. Nice color and paint finish Cute Fox RC shock Perfect geometry for Dual slalom Great forks Exclusive, not many people have got one Glow in the dark stickers....lol
Weaknesses: Not that keen on the wheels LX front mech on a bike at this price! Tyres are very poor Should come with a chain device
Bottom Line:
I love this bike, it's everything a dual slalom\jump bike should be. I mainly bought this bike as I'm rubbish at riding hardtails, and I wanted a bike that could handle any course. What I have found is you need a little bit of suspension on todays courses and trails as not all of them are build very well. This bike takes the sting out of them rough trails without having too much travel to bog you down. All the components on this bike are top notch although I think the wheelset could have been better. The bike comes with the very trick Easton RAD frame tubing and looks the dogs. The QR20 forks match the rear travel superbly and each can be tuned to suit your ride requirements. That Fox RC rear shock is the best out there and is way plush. The paint looks really nice and looks miles better than the 2001 paintjobs. I got a real bargain with this bike, I basically paid the same price as the new 2001 model, which isnt as good. the 2001 model doesnt feature "proper" Easton RAD tubing, it aint got disc brakes, gone is the Fox RC rear shock, the paint work isnt as good..etc etc.(in the UK anyway) Overall a superb product that has to be one of the best dual slalom bikes out there. Hey and the stickers glow in the dark....what more reason do you need for buying one.
Similar Products Used: none really, only hardtail dual slalom bikes
Bike Setup: Stock apart from Black Spire Chain device and michelin tyres
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Petter Björklund
a Downhiller
from Helsingborg, Sweden
Date Reviewed: December 6, 2000
Strengths: RAD Frame tubeing, Bomber forks, Hayes discs. Lovely white Race Face Cranks
Weaknesses: Standard wheelset is a little on the weak side, and a bike like this should realy come with a single chainring and Chainguide
Bottom Line:
I reviwed my bike a while back as you see below, i felt it was time to do an update on is so here goes.
Like i said below the stock wheel set is a little to weak to handle the real big stuff, and since i like to go big i decided to use my old DH wheelset built up on Hügi huds, Alpine spokes and D321 rims, in other words a killer pair.
Since i am quite tall (193cm) i felt a little cramped in with the Funn stem and primo bars so i orderd a monkeybar/roox stem combo and it made such a differanse, the bike realy suits me.. The Hayes brakes are the only brakes i would trust my life on and they have proven to do just that from day one. Bomber forks are solid performers and crave little service.
I ditchd the front LX mech and got the Blackspire chainguide a while back and it realy does the bike right, after all front deralliurs are for girls and sissies.
this bike is not afraid of anything and it stands up for much abuse and you find your self doing new stuff and jumping bigger things than you realy thought was possible. The bike is real solid and sprints like a cheeta with the (pretty) hard spring rates which it comes with.
The ride impression of the bike is that i rides more like a hardtail than a DH ride (which is why the STAB Primo exists:-) and this is another thing that suits my rideing just fine, although on the real gnarly stuff one sometimes wish that it had a little more travel
Bottom line, get this bike if you want one bike that can do it all it rocks, but since i had to change a great deal of stuff on it to suit me i cant give it more than 4 chillies for value, but since it rocks now overall is 20 chillies (rounded down to 5:-)
Submitted by
Petter Björklund
a Downhiller
from Helsingborg, Sweden
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2000
Strengths: Wicked frame, Easton RAD is the buisness. Marzocchi forks and Hayes brakes. altogether a bombproof bike. It sprints real well to but i kind of figured that with a 700lb spring rar on the medium sized one.
Weaknesses: The orginal wheelset is a little on the weak side if you like to go big on droppoffs and jumps. and an LX front mech on a bike at this price is a little cheap
Bottom Line:
I rode the Stinky Dee-Lux before wich i got as a frame set and bouilt it up with varius parts, i wasent how ever totaly satisfied with the bike so i decided to sell it in favour for the DuDu.
I the bike arrived this mondag so i havent realy gotten much rideing done but it feels real good so far. The Hayes Brakes are the only stoppers i trust, (use to have XT Discs on the Stink but man do they suck). The solidness of the RAD frame feels real good to, Primo bars and Funn stm are not likely to bend or anything. These puppys are PHAT. I will do a new report in a cupple of moths as i have got the feel of the bike.
But i would definently eromend this bike to anyone who likes rideing hard.
I cant give it five chillies on the value rating do to the not-so-hardcore-wheel set and the LX front mech, but hey its an easy upgrade, i do how ever realy think it would be at least XT on a bike at this price.
Similar Products Used: Kona Stinky Dee-Lux-99, KONA STAB Dee-Lux -99, Crescent Mjölner 97-98
Bike Setup: Stock exept, Rear wheel with Hügi hub, ALpine spokes, D321 rim, Titec Berserkr seat, DX Flatties
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mike belles
a Cross Country Rider
from ephrata, wa.
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2000
Strengths: nice geometry for rippin fast dh. lotta beef for the weight. climbs well as long as you set the rear shok rite- as in don't expect to run the same setting for xc as you would for dh. a remote comp/reb adjust'd be nice too. and i lovbe that big handlbar.
Weaknesses: what good are the waterbott brazons. haha.. cheesy wheel construction. xt rear disk hub to light for big ground pounders like me.
Bottom Line:
This ride goes where I want to go. it's really hard to stop it. must be that glow in the dark paint is actually intelligent life...yes.
Submitted by
Travis K
a Weekend Warrior
from Nanaimo,BC,Canada
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2000
Strengths: sweet frame great geometry good quality rear shock
Weaknesses: why put on water bottle holes if you can't even fit a water bottle holder on?
Bottom Line:
This is one of the nicest full suspension frames i have ever rode. I just got the bike recently and the first day i had it i took it on one of the nastiest trails in nanaimo and the bike performed perfect. I love the geometry, it feels so good. Its not to bad as a climber either (not like i really climb anything hard) I would recomend buying this bike to anyone who is looking for a freeride/dual slalom bike. It is worth it.
I was originally looking to get the Santa Cruz Bullit, but when I saw this frame hangin in the shop I couldn't resist. The Easton tubing is amazing. I built the bike up for dual slalom racing with 4" infront and 4 1/2" in the rear. This bike eats up the downhills, but on uphills you can feel the rear shock doin it's job. NOT THE MOST FUN TO CLIMB WITH. Overall it's an amazing bike and I'm happy i chose it over the Santa Cruz. I hope it will bring me to the podium in dual slalom in the near future.
Similar Products Used: Santa Cruz Bullit, Santa Cruz Heckler, Cannondale Super V 700 SX
Bike Setup: Rock Shox SID 100. Hayes hydrolic disc front and rear. Real sealed hubs. Bontrager Rims. XT/XTR drivetrain. Kore Stem. Azonic Risers. Specialized Evil Twin Slalom tires. THE fender. SDG Fatboy DH saddle. Shimano 646 DX pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterford, CT, US
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2000
Strengths: Brakes are great, The fork is stiff and buttery, climbs well, rear derailer, rear shock
Weaknesses: ft derailer
Bottom Line:
it's good at what it's built for. The breaks work like a charm. You can even ride it xc and it works superb as long as you over tighten the rear shock. I rode this bike for 4 days on whistler mountain and on the xc trails the only problem was the FD.
Similar Products Used: GT XCR 3000, Stinky-Dee-lux
Bike Setup: stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
crash
a Weekend Warrior
from back woods pennsylvania
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2000
Strengths: z1-QR20S, fox shocks, frame math, looks, hayes brakes i think they will stop you in the air!!!~
Weaknesses: shock reservoir location on small frames, paint, un52 bottom bracket, pedals, tires. and price-price-price!!!
Bottom Line:
My stinkydee never did come in see (00stinkydee review) but my dealer got a dudu in and gave me a great deal. and i thaught what the hell its almost the same as a stinky and if i wait any longer i will miss the season. I love this bike. but it has some minor problems. 1st. the first day i took it out i jumped off a small ledge and bang the shock reservoir hit the frame and put a big ugly ouch in the paint. a call to kona and he said just turn the shock backwards it will clear hmmmmm.. he didint even sound surprised . 2nd the paint looks great but quickly gets ugly its very soft and marks easly. 3rd the bottom bracket was toast after a couple of hard rides. and last the tires and pedals the hucthinsons slipped off every wet log,rock,root,and bridge not fun where i ride. the pedals i just didint like the feel they felt cheap. all easy and cheap to fix. now the good stuff. i love this bike i can drop it off anything ledges rocks cliffs even the garage and it begs for more. it goes downhill just short of a full blown dh bike just point and shoot. if slalom is your bag this bike sticks to turns like your favorite rollercoaster. and yes it goes up hill too spin the pedals not mash and you can come down again again and again!! so bottom line if you want a bike that will jump off or over or come down any thing fassst and still be able to go back up to do it again this bike is it....
Does anybody own this bike. How do you like it? Is it set up with 4 or 5 inches of rear travel? What about its climbing ability?
Any info would be great. Read More »
