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Submitted by
sam fraser
a Downhiller
from prince georgeDate Reviewed: March 18, 2002
Strengths: VERY STRONG
HANDLES WELL
SMELLS GOODWeaknesses: ON SUPER FAST BUMPY DOWNHILLS 5" IS NOT ENOUGH
WARRANTY OF KONAS GETTING A BIT WEEKBottom Line: THIS BIKE KICKS ASS IT FEELS GOOD AND FOR A 5" BIKE IT CLIMBS VERY WELL. I RIDE IT EVERY WHERE AND IT WORKS. I WOULD BUY ANOTHER ONE IN A SECOND. IF YOU WANT A RIDEABLE BIKE THAT CAN KEEP UP WITH YOUR DH BUDDIES THIS MAY BE THE ONE. TO ME THE 4 BAR IS BETTER THAN SINGLE PIVOT AS IT KEEPS THE STRES OFF THE SHOCK AND ALSO THE REAR END DOSN'T MOVE AROUND. AFTER 1 YEAR OF HARD RIDEING (6 DAYS A WEEK)THE FRAME IS STILL FINE. GOOD BIKE!
Favorite Trail: my way or the highway
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$2400.00
Purchased At: McBike
Similar Products Used: SANTA CRUZ BULLIT
Bike Setup: SUPER T, 8" HAYES,KORE PEDALS,FOX VANILLA RC,MAVIC 321 WHEELS
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a
from Rome, NYDate Reviewed: July 14, 2001
Strengths: Strength, HandlingWeaknesses: WeightBottom Line: This is a great bike, I purchased as a frame only, but the build-up is very similar to factory. Right off this bike feels short, wish I went up one size. The geometry is nearly ideal, I don't think I would change a thing.
A couple of things, the seatpost is an odd size (30.0), so there aren't a lot of choices out there. Cable and hose routing must be carefully done in smaller sizes. The walking beam comes all the way up to the seat post clamp, if the cables aren't dealt with properly, they could get pinched by the suspension. Chainsuck is an issue. The vertical thickness of the chainstay and the shape of it mean that if the baby chainring is starting to wear at all, it will suck badly. A small thing but need to replace small ring much more often than normal.
This is a freeride bike but still climbs pretty well. Not a lot of suspension action when climbing, the only time you notice any is on hard, smooth climbs, but when it gets rougher, those thoughts are forgotten as the bike does what it is supposed to do, keep the tire on the ground and the traction on.
The bike is a little longer (wheelbase) than my hardtail, but that only took a couple of days to get used to. I use this machine for all kinds of riding. It's strengths are definitely in highly technical, rough or downhill trails. On some 3 hour XC loops I can complete them about 20 minutes faster on my Stinky than on my light-weight hardtail. More comfort and the suspension allow you to ride thru much more than hardtail will allow, but the heft is felt on long sustained climbs (a payoff though, my road riding is faster because of pedaling this beast around).
Overall, this may be favourite bike of all time, the true test will be in longevity. It has made riding really fun again, the only downside is that I am bored with all the local trails (need to go to BC again - soon).
Very little maintainance so far, makes no noise from the pivots (not like my last full suspension bike). One big plus of a Kona is that they are everywhere, so if you need parts there is always a dealer nearby. Also since there are so many of these bikes out there, the rebuild kits for the pivtos should be easy to come by for a long time.
A shameless plug for my local store - The Bike Loft in Syracuse. They have been incredably helpful and customer orientated. Their price for the frame was better than any mail order place too. This is a great place to shop for a bike, highly recommended!!
I can't wait to go back to BC and ride a bunch of my favourite trails, I built this bike with west coast trails in mind and whenever I can find something challenging around here, it does not disappoint.
Favorite Trail: Tomato Creek
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$1200.00
Purchased At: The Bike Loft
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z-1, Race Face Cranks & Headset, Hope C-2 Disc Brakes & hubs, Rhyno Lites, Thomson Seatpost & Stem, Monkey Lite Bar
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