Submitted by
Glenn Thorson
a Weekend Warrior
from Dayton, OH
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2004
Strengths: Awsome frame, light for how sturdy it is. Tracks well, very laid back handling, predictable.
Weaknesses: the fork, Kona should have spec'd a sturdier fork, blew the Z5 within months of getting the bike, $$$$
Bottom Line:
Killer bike, will probably never buy another hardtail again. I love this bike, will upgrade fork and other components as neccesary in the future. could not ask for much more from a frame. I don't put miles a day on this bike but I have abused it and the thing just takes it and begs for more.
Purchased At: Speed River bikes in Guelph Ontario, Canada
Similar Products Used: previous bike was a 95 GT Timberline with STX and that kick ass black light splatter paint job, almost bought a trek 6500 instead, glad I went with the Kona
Bike Setup: LX/Deore 9sp, Avid Arch rivals w/speed dial 1.9l levers, race face crank, Sun Rims Ditch Witch wheels, disc hubs
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Submitted by
Michael
a Weekend Warrior
from Brighton, UK
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2004
Strengths: A versatile and great looking hardtail.
Weaknesses: Seat post, forks.
Bottom Line:
A decent bike. It Looks good (mean and stealthy)and the frame geometry is sorted. The roast rides well and after 4 years service it was worth every penny that I paid (£750 rrp £899). Kona were well ahead of the hardcore hardtail bandwagon with this one (and the previous years Chute). Excellent frame and a good bike to upgrade. Original Z5 forks did not last long. However, in fairness, Kona were trying to keep the original price of the bike down. I swapped Marzocchi's for Pyslo SL forks (run at 100 mm)and true potential of frame was evident. More recently I got a professionally built wheel set as Sun Ditch Witch rims were a bit heavy and the wheel build quality was questionable- this made the bike feel more lively. I would recommend this bike to anyone who wants a versatile trail bike that is strong enough to take some abuse and is still good for longer rides. May be a bit heavy for some, but climbs well enough for me. As a bigger rider I would accept the small weight disadvantage for the added confidence the tough frame provides. I've got a 04 Chameleon frame on order so I will, reluctantly, have to let the Roast go. Easily the best bike I've had so far.
Similar Products Used: Giant hardtail, Giant full suspension.
Bike Setup: 17 inch frame, DMR V12 pedals, Thompson post, World Force bars and stem, Mavic F519 rims, DT spokes, XT hubs, Avid Arch Rivals, Psylo SL forks, Race Face Prodigy cranks,XT/LX mechs, Deore shifters, Specialized Enduro Pro tyres. SDG saddle.
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Submitted by
Darby K
a Downhiller
from Vancouver BC
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2003
Strengths: Solid frame, decent components
Weaknesses: fork upgrade needed
Bottom Line:
Sound welds. Handles awsome. Needs Bigger Badder Bombers. My Roast came with head set problems but thats it for downtime. My Kona Roast is used for hills/jumps and does it well. I'm keeping this one.
Strengths: Frame looks amazing in turd brown with glow in the dark stickers and is so damn strong + not too stif to throw you off bumpy trails!! Quite good components and sweet angles
Weaknesses: Forks are bit naff but useable (leaks after 4 months + stupidly slow rebound). CLEARANCE on the rear allows only skinny xc tyres in.
Bottom Line:
People say its heavy...not with a few component upgrades, mine weighes 29lbs. In my oppinion its the perfect bike with a few minor upgrades coz its light, strong, gr8 looks, sweet handling, adaptable with lockout forks for trials etc. had mine for 2 years and laughs in my face when i do a 6ft drop to a concrete flat. Just keep it away from scallies coz theyll wanna nick it!! :)
Similar Products Used: 24 seven martin ogden, Orange airo, Curtis super x, Orange missile
Bike Setup: Z1 freerides, sun rhyno lytes, nokian tyres with heavy DH tubes, V8s, EA70 bars, FSA headset and most is original.
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Submitted by
Andrew R
a Downhiller
from Albury/N.S.W/Australia
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2003
Strengths: bloody strong assed frame
Weaknesses: some of the other bits could have been higher speced
Bottom Line:
with a few upgrades this is a sweet bike and it just keeps on taking jumps and drops after another also it a KONA so what else would you possibly need. so if you need a good bomb proof bike the roast is for you
Bike Setup: magura Julie(front)brake,truvative husselfelt cranks, axiom chain roller(with two orange wheels and two plates), michelan dh comp tires, pazzaz head stem(50mm)
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Submitted by
Brian Peterson
a Downhiller
from COLORADO SPRINGS,CO
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2002
Strengths: super bomb proof frame
Weaknesses: cant fit large tires and need to keep wheels street true
Bottom Line:
I'M 5'9" 160LB AND TRY TO RIDE AS HARD AS POSSIBLE.HAVEN'T TAKE ANY BIGGER THAN 4-6FT AT MOST YET. I USE TO BRAKE THINGS ALOT UNTILL I GOT THIS BIKE.GOING TO RACE FOR THE FIRST TIME VERY SOON(2WEEKS).LET YA KNOW HOW THIS BAD CHICKEN DOES.
Submitted by
will wilkins
a Weekend Warrior
from westminster vermont
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2002
Strengths: i can session jumps all day long on it and it takes whatever i throw at it. its a little heavy for serious climbing, but its versitile enough to ride anything i encounter. its a good decender, and it comes with a decent componets setup. the avid arch rivals are great as far as rim brakes go.
Weaknesses: the bomber z5 air that comes with it sucks
Bottom Line:
im 15 years old, and i dont have a big budget, so for the price i got this, i couldnt ask for better. at the shop i bought this bike at, i had narrowed my selection down to this and a cinder cone, and im glad i took the roast because i doubt the cinder cone could take the abuse i put my bikes up to. right now its my only bike, so i really lucked out to find a bike that can do so much and last.
Favorite Trail: anything the outdoors can dish out
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$720.00
Purchased At: Summer's Sports
Bike Setup: the roast is my main ride, but i put added a psylo sl, bigger tires, and a front avid mechanical disk brake.
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Submitted by
Ryan Lindh
a Weekend Warrior
from Cambidge Nova Scotia
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2002
Strengths: Beefy frame, nice parts for the price, Bomber, it glows great desender, loves to jump. It makes a nice urban bike and is a great freerider, Also has the best vee's ever created, Avid arch rivals
Weaknesses: broke seat wth in a week, broke the cranks the tires are too small
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. Its saved my bacon many times. But the Prodgy cranks that cam with it were not up to jumpng, broke two sets then got my shores :) the bike handles well and is easy tl land, but seems a little nervious on the skinnys. Mine has survived repetied drops over 5 feet and some 10's to flat (off my 6 foot ramp.
Strengths: Can you say strong, can you say just damn cool looking, glow in the dark stickers, SWEEEET. This bike is great, since I've built it up I've been riding it 95% more then my Wapr DS1. The welds are incredible, the frame is beef, and this bike is strong enough for a dual crown fork. I can use it for picking lines, riding over things, and just pure speed. The bike makes riding fun, and isn't that what most of us are into mtbing for? Also Kona has some great technical support people, I bought the frame second hand but Kona asnswered all my questions.
Weaknesses: Can't use a 2.3 tire on the rear with out wearing out your rear triangle.
Bottom Line:
FUN, reliable, strong, FUN, looks cool, multi attack vehicle, FUN, great customer support from KONA. If you bought this bike complete, you are going to have a blast when you upgrade. The frame is the perfect platform to mix and match components on and riding styles on. Every week it seems like I'm trying out a different part, or style of riding, or different descent just because I know I won't have to worry about braking my frame. The bike has given me more confidence, and just looking at it it makes me want to ride. It screams at me like a 5 year old that wants to go out and play, it doesn't worry where, just that it gets to go out.
Bike Setup: 2000 Kona Roast frame, Zokes Z3 100 fork, Rhyno lite rims, Truvativ stylo team and isis BB, Ringle ZUZU pedals, Precision Billet brake levers, and V-brakes, Precision Billet rear der., SRAM 9.0 front der., SRAM shorty grip shifts, SRAM 9.0 SL rear hub, SRAM 7.0 rear cogs, Avid flak jacket cables, SACHS chain, Specialized Big Hit 2.5 front tire, Panaracer Fire 2.1 rear, Specialized Stout front hub, KONA seat post, Bontrager saddle, Specialized shorty stem, RESOL DH clear lexan front fender, RESOL clear lexan frame armor, Profile carbon riser bars, Ritchey TGV grips, RESOL black delrin grip caps, Gorilla brake booster.
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Submitted by
EggMaster
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin, Texas
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2001
Strengths: Very strong frame. I am 6'4", and 240lbs and I tend to hammer my bikes pretty hard. I don't have to worry about breaking this frame.
Weaknesses: Wheels go out of true too often. I broke the stock seat (SDG Grand prix) almost immediately. Brakes squeal. Z5 fork leaks, is mushy, bottoms too easy, and feels worn out.
Bottom Line:
I like this bike a bunch. This year, I will upgrade to a set of handbuilt wheels, and also upgrade the deore and LX stuff to XT. Cranks seems sturdy so far. The frame is bombproof, but the components are mid-grade at beat, and are not nearly as storng as the frame.
Similar Products Used: Stumpjumper, Gary Fisher Sugar
Bike Setup: Mostly stock with a rockshock seatpost, Titec berserker seat, 100mm stem, clipless pedals.
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Submitted by
Haggis
a Downhiller
from Annapolis, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2001
Strengths: Beefy Frame, Java Paint Job, Kona funk-stylistics
Weaknesses: Inability to fit large DH tires on rear end
Bottom Line:
Some of the parts have melted during re-entry; upgrading as I go. Handles the big hits, even while tossed around by 200 lb ex-rugger. Parts is parts - rest is good foundation for the future. Only problems I've had are related to battle damage, including, but not limited to, high-speed contact between drive train and solid metamorphic objects, and crankarms bending, tapers rounding off, after coming back to earth after airtime. Will shortly upgrade to Profiles; can't foresee any other problems. Oil leaking from Z5. Casualty? Word.
Bike Setup: XT Discs, XT rear derailleur, more or less stock
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Submitted by
Jay Czarno
a Weekend Warrior
from Canada
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2001
Strengths: Strong frame
Weaknesses: the GEOMETRY is somply not right on this bike...You just don't feel at home on the damn thing. Horrible components. Broke the cranks 4 times and then race face sent me some north shores for free. Hubs need to be tightened once a week
FORK FROM HELL this fork is plain dirty, slow rebound, pure garbage
Seat was nice but it broke on me really early for some reason,
Oh yeah, the brakes at the beginning have absolutly no modulation it's like somebody poored some RC on them or something, 2 months in, it's like you have no brakes at all
Bottom Line:
DON"T GET IT
so many better hardtails out there, that once you sit on them, YOU"LL KNOW YOU"RE AT HOME
Bike Setup: PHSYLO XC 5 INCHS MAVIC D521 REAR RIM WITH ELGATO TIRE 2.25 GONNA GET HAYE FRONT DISC
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Submitted by
camus albert
a Weekend Warrior
from prince george BC Canada
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2001
Strengths: Price, Frame
Weaknesses: Hubs, Z5 air fork, Tioga tires
Bottom Line:
Over all the bike the bike has been pretty good. I bought the bike because I was beginning to ride a bit more agressivly. I wasnt prepared to shell out 3 Grand for a bike yet, so I went with the Roast instead of the Chute; my attitude being that I could always upgrade components later. Bottom line: I should have bought the Chute. With the fork, tire, pedal, and now wheel and disk brake upgrades, I have spent well over what it would have cost to buy the Chute. If you have the extra money, spend it, don't make the same mistake I did. Aside from this, the bike has been good. It likes to descend, the frame is tough and it is affordable. I would like to mention that I have had no problems with the cranks. I wouldnt even think of upgrading them. I found them to be one of the more solid components on the bike. I jump and drop the bike quite regularly and have not had a problem with them yet. Oh yeah, the Z5 air fork performs poorly (Why Kona would spec a free ride bike with an air fork still has me perplexed); don't even think about leaving the store without swapping them.
Favorite Trail: 10 Dollar (It won't let me write it.)
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$1700.00
Bike Setup: Z1 Dropoff, IRC Kujo tires. The rest is pretty much stock.
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Submitted by
Cam Sherriff
a Weekend Warrior
from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2001
Strengths: Tough Frame, handles the abuse. KONA, kinda glows in the dark!
Weaknesses: Forks don't really fit in with the bikes intended purpose, or at least they were too light for me. Chainrings have given me annoying shifting problems.
Bottom Line:
It's kinda freaky 'cause it's been exactly a year since I last reviewed my bike, and I didn't even mean it to work out this way. Anyway, it's been a little over a year and the Roast is still going relatively strong. I swapped the forks at Christmas time because I felt that the Z5s just weren't cutting the mustard. I think I was too heavy for them (87kg) and they didn't really suit my riding style. These made the bike feel really awesome. I also put a shorter stem on it which made it nicer going downhill. Today I took the plunge and had disc brakes fitted. The only problem was, the rear disc mount on the frame was bent (during building) which in turn screwed up the alignment. LBS had to file away until we got it to line up and this fixed the problem. It pissed me off though. I'll have to wait for the brakes to bed in now. They're called XSIV, and look exactly the same as Shimano XT's and Grimeca System 8's. I think they're all made by Grimeca anyway. All up the bike performs very well except for the shifting but I think this is something a little fiddling can fix. I'll keep you posted.
