Four inch Bomber Z4_ Race Face Prodigy Crank with Rock Guard and TruVativ ISIS splined B/B _ 100% ready for the disc brakes of your choice _ Hayes Hydraulic Disc Brake Option_
Submitted by
Dan Durston
a Weekend Warrior
from Wateroo, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2005
Strengths: Beefy Frame, shifters/derailleurs work well, Fork (marzocchi will never let you down)
Weaknesses: Seat post, rim brakes, cranks are so-so for freeriding. They're more of an XC crank. Pedals are kinda cheapo
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for dirt jumping and urban freeriding. It can be used for XC riding but if that's all you do consider a lighter bike. For someone who doesn't urban freeride they should consider a full suspension rig.
The problems with this bike lie in a few component choices that can be easily fixed. The first is the seatpost. It is a single pivot post (think: teeter totter)so when you land on it you'll likely bend it forward or backwards. You can tighten it right up but eventually you'll strip it out if you ride hard. My LBS put on a Kona DH post instead that attaches in two spots like most good posts and it has been much better. As well the Race Face Prodigy cranks are XC cranks. I stripped mine out where the pedal screws in. There has been a lot of that with Prodigy cranks that were used for purposes other than XC riding. You really want a crank with a reinforced pedal interface (they have a steel insert for the pedal to screw into) like the Race Face Evolve DH cranks. The last major weakness of this bike is that it comes with rim brakes. Since this was Kona's top of the line hardtail it definately should have come with some. As soon as you tweak a rim your rim brakes will suck and they never offer the same level of power and modulation to begin with. I have Shimano Deore mechanicals which work fine but I recommend Avid BB7 mechanicals since they are almost as good as hydrolic brakes at a significantly lower cost (get em on pricepoint.com) and they are much more reliable and easy to service yourself. I've focused on the negative aspects of this bike but be reassured that everything I haven't mentioned is awesome. I love my Roast and it is great for freeriding around town.
Just fix the component failures as they happen (or not at all if you don't ride hard) and you'll have an awesome rig that should never break.
4 Value chills cuz it should have had discs 4 Overall chillis cuz of the negative reasons i duscussed
Similar Products Used: Rocky Mountain Edge, RM Switch
Bike Setup: Shimano Deore Mech Discs, Kona DH seatpost/saddle, Race Face Evolve DH cranks
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ryan waters
a Downhiller
from bozeman montana
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2005
Strengths: great frame, decent price, geometry
Weaknesses: some of the parts (fork, wheels, brakes) aren't up to the level of abuse that the frame is
Bottom Line:
The frame is awesome, it holds up to an extremely high level of abuse. Unfortunately, fork and wheels wheren't nearly as bombproof. Everything held up for me, but I sold the bike to a friend of mine and fork self-destructed for him. I suppose you can't ask too much of the parts considering the price. All in all I would say that this bike kicks ass. Since I bought this bike I have owned two other kona freeride bikes, I'm definately hooked.
Strengths: strong frame, went throught almsot everyhting else on the bike tho took alot of falls and gruesome landings but its still going strong
Weaknesses: stock it came with the ditch witches, cased a landing and bent the rear one and upgraded to D521's which r really nice, this was my first real "out of bounds" bike and iv had alot of fun with it
Bottom Line:
awesome frame, i got $400 off cuz of the end of the year, the frame is awesomely strong even though the new kona clump frames are better, worth every dollar
Strengths: I bought it as a frame then built it up. but the frame is super strong good geomety when set up w/ a 5 inche fork. Depemding how u build it, it can be a very good all around xc bike
Weaknesses: I recomend setting the frame up w/ a 5 inche fork to slacken the head angle, with the stock fork it is a steep 71 degrees. I dont know if uping the travel will void the warrenty. U would think that a company such as kona that is so commited to freeride would run more travel on this bike
Bottom Line:
This is a great frame that can handle lots of abuse. It it also great if you can only have one bike and like to ride XC sometimes. In my opinon it is better to buy as a frame only and build with your choice of components. Kona's stock offerings are a little lower end for the price.
Strengths: The bike is very beefy every thing on the bike was very beefy it is a very good bike. the rims and tires are so big
Weaknesses: 2 days after i go the bike the bottom bracket started to make a weird sound but ibrought the bike in and they fixed it up the rims are pretty easy to bend and the tires wear out pretty fast
Bottom Line:
in all this bike was the best bike i ever had the bike can take a good beating
Strengths: Indestructable frame, great frame geometry, marzocchi's not a bad touch either.
Weaknesses: crank - bottom bracket interface.
Bottom Line:
This is the geometry I've been waiting for for years - actually inspires confidence (as cliche as that sounds). Very stiff, strong frame - not worried about breaking this one (as I have other frames).
So far the only problem I've ran into has been the crank - bottom bracket interface. It began making a great deal of noise (metallic creaking) after only a couple of hours riding. I originally attributed it to perhaps a lack of grease on the bb spindle. I later realized (with some help) that the problem was a washer on the bb rubbing against the crank. The remedy was to simply to take off this washer - creaking gone.
It's a great hardtail to mess around on; in town, moderate size drops, even rides well on the XC trails. I've been quite impressed with Kona, and would gladly reccomend this bike.
Similar Products Used: Rocky Mountain and Giant full suspension rides, previous year Kona Roast
Bike Setup: stock with Hayes Hyrdalic Discs
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Terry
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria, B.C., Canada
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2002
Strengths: The frame, the handlebars and stem
Weaknesses: everything the cranks, the chain, the pedals, no discs
Bottom Line:
the bike is a good deal for the money but if your a heavy rider you might want to upgrade the bottom end before takeing the big hits also get the hayes hydros the v brakes are horrible.
Weaknesses: This is for freeride, but the components are lacking. Broken Parts: Pedals, Prodigy cranks, seatpost, chain (twice), rear wheel.
Bottom Line:
If you want to ride hard on a hardtail, this is the bike. Save yourself time and injury by replacing some of the weaker parts if your a heavy rider. Since the upgrades, I have dropped 6 feet to flat concrete with no breakage or carnage. Stairs, gaps, drops, and anything fast are handled with ease.
Bike Setup: Stock except i can see jr t's in the near future
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a Downhiller
from St.Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2001
Strengths: The frame is super stiff and strong, the components are great for the price, and the geometry is perfect for any big hit or fast riding.
Weaknesses: the fork, i really dislike the fork, i switched to a rock shox psylo, the marzocchi is too plush
Bottom Line:
this bike is the unbelievable, it's the greatest bike i've ever owned, i can take it anywhere and not have to worry about breaking it, once you do something about that marzocchi you're set!
Strengths: will handle anything you can dish out it will handle anything from atiny pebble to a 10 foot drop with ease
Weaknesses: not realy a weakness but the first few rides the crank will loosen but after a few turns of the allen it will never happen again
Bottom Line:
on the seventh day god rested on the eighth god created the roast this bike is an animal the first time you ride this bike you will do things you never had the balls to do if you are looking at this bike buy there is nothing better if the reviews dont tell you how good of a bike this is e-mail me at kona_freerider@msn.com and i will tell you more great things if i had to rate this bike from 1-10 it would be 1,000,000,001 i have looked at every bike company out there and i cant find a better bike on the market
Strengths: Solid specs, beautiful welding on the frame. Climbs extremely well for a bike in this weight class. Feels balanced and precise especially at low speeds. Everything feels rock solid without being heavy handed.
Weaknesses: Outer layer of paintjob is quite vulnerable, but this is a trivial point. Pristine paintjobs are for showrooms, not trails... Sitting on the saddle even for brief periods feels like you're riding the pine. Of course you won't be sitting on it much anyways on technical terrain but it can make riding to and from your favorite spots quite uncomfortable.
Bottom Line:
The design principle of this bike is definitely balance. Balanced ride; Balanced geometry; Balance of front fork between length of travel and precise feel. If you're looking for a bike that does one thing especially well at the sacrifice of others (e.g. drop ability at expense of technical handling, or vice versa), you'll probably want to deviate from the stock setup, or look for another bike. But if you want an excellent all-around performer you should check this one out.
Strengths: -super sweet handling -wicked on DH's -handles drops realy well -handles realy well in the air
Weaknesses: -the paint is kinda lame -I can't fit any tire bigger than a 2.3 in the rear
Bottom Line:
This is my weapon of choice for all of my abusive riding. This bike handles realy well with the 5" fork I chose it over the stock 4" Z4 because I felt the Z4 wasn't giving enough travel to comfortably take lots of 5 and 6 foot drops. This bike realy handles technical DH realy good but it's at home way up in the air on skinny bridges or dropping bike 6 footers. The lack of a big ring realy helps for clearence when riding some of the realy technical stuff. I wouldn't recomend this as an only bike but if you already have an xc bike then this is a realy good bike to have for your abusive side of riding. Thw weight isn't even that bad and if you don't live near a chairlift this is a good alternative to a kona stinky because you can still get up the hills on it.
