Weaknesses: it has a lot of weak spots, poorly designed, and heavy. when you bottom out suspension the frame hits the seat clamp damaging the clamp, frame, and a couple of times the cables. frame snapped were it shouldn't have. bellow the central pivot point. frame got easily stripped were bolts were. cant access the bottom pivot bearing blots unless you remove your whole bash guard and crank and chain retention/ drivetrain. were the shock connects to the front triangle is weak/bad design, snapped two bolts in that spot. rear derialur got caught in back wheel spokes five times over the time i owned the bike. had to get a new derailur and hanger each time, to much chain slap and movement with compressions of rear suspension, made the sram quick links pop apart all the time and damagin chain /drivetrain. dope bar dosnt allow some 2.5 tires or bigger. maxxis 2.5 didn't fit without hitting the dope bar. the dope bar got stripped after a year. had to go to frame mount brakes. when i took the dope bar off i could finally fit bigger tires. the design for cables required the shifter cables to run exposed at parts. not a great idea with downhill/freeride bikes that get covered in mud and dirt and grit and ridden in the hardest conditions. got new cables about once or twice every two months due to drag and crap in the cables. stopped working after a while. had an odd size seat tube i remember. hard to get a seat clamp for i think. cant remember :) the owner of kona (willy) said my warranty was voided due to custom painting and that he thought that my swing arms were the "danger boy" series. didnt know that the 2008 didnt have hollowed swing arms, and what the danger boys looked like. i was expecting greater knowledge out of him. but the kona company in general is nice and a cool company. and thats about it.
Bottom Line:
wont buy this or kona ever again until they change some stuff. i would still ride one if i were to rent it. would suggest as a begginer bike to people. i wouldn't use this in a downhill application but free ride would probably be fine. would be a good kid bike, its cheap and efficient for its price
Submitted by
g1701gst
a Downhiller
from boulder, colorado
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2009
Strengths: very strong well balanced, and a beautiful design
Weaknesses: one weakness i found was that when my rear suspension bottoms out the top of the swing arm hits the seat clamp damaging the swing arm and the clamp
Bottom Line:
great, very versatile i use it for downhilling and when im freestyling i switch forks and its all good
Bike Setup: Hayes hydraulics brakes, sun/dtswiss rims, marzocchi 888rt3, fox vanilla r, shimano/gravity/sram drivetrain,maxxis tread,jagwire cables
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Submitted by
benjie
a Downhiller
from Wellington. NZ
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2008
Strengths: So far it is absolutely amazing.
Weaknesses: When your suspension on the rear is near bottoming the tire rubs on the D.O.P.E linkage. For me personally it's not an issue but I let my mate have a jam and he's rather large, when he finished it had left quite a mark on it. You would have thought this would have come up when they designed the bike and been corrected.
Bottom Line:
I managed to get a sweet deal on a brand new unridden '08 stinky deluxe as the guy I got from had sustained an injury. I paid $1485 for it and am amazed with it, it is fantastic, it is a little heavy yes some of the trails I do involve basically dragging it up to the top first, But the way I see it it's doing me some good physically. Handles like a dream bumps and drops don't phase it at all, brakes were too touchy when I got it so I bled a bit of fluid out and now there great (this is not a bad point I just prefer a bit of free play). All in all if your looking for a awesome f/r or d/h this is the way to go. The 18 speed set up does make it possible to ride up some of the hills too.
So I find it pretty funny when my bro is pushing his glory up behind me.
Bike Setup: Marzocchi TSTR, Marzocchi 66 RC3, Shimano XT running gear and brakes 8", Sun rims and Ringle hubs, Race face everything else
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Submitted by
Charlie_H
a Downhiller
from Olympia, WA
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2008
Strengths: Strong, stiff, simple, balanced, rugged, good components and D.O.P.E. matter a lot, and are worthwhile on this 2007 frame. Great tire and mud clearance, even running two rings, D.O.P.E., and a rear 3.0 tire, free upgraded Kona rocker a big improvement, equipped like I've got it, it rails berms, flies really nice for a nose-heavy (Marz 888) bird, can tech or plow, low enough BB for stability but high enough for log hops, etc., NO brake jack with the D.O.P.E upgrade, front and rear suspension stay active at all times, low maintenance.
Weaknesses: Heavy, single pivot limited without D.O.P.E. addition for serious fun and 12mm rear thru axle capability, no 150mm rear axle, no 1.5" head tube for 2007 frame, lousy paint color and quality, even new, doesn't fly like a Cove Peeler (I guess you need a Cove Peeler for that), no ISCG chain guide/tensioner mounts.
Bottom Line:
NOTE: This is an expended rant from my review of the Stinky Primo... If you want a no-frills, but incredibly capable, sturdy, stable and versatile FR, non-pro DH bike, buy a Stinky 2007 frame, the D.O.P.E. full-floater rear disc brake kit, some good components, and build it from the frame up. It won't just be the bike you learn on- you can keep it a LONG while, all the way up your learnng curve, believe it! Better than the VPP Free when set up like mine, with the CCDB set up for good platform with some extra low-speed damping and for pulling up/lofting, but not enough to rattle yer teeth... the CCDB's the scert, and, even with the extra cost (it's $$ more than the less- adjustable DHX 5.0 that's on my wife's XL '06 Stinky), you'll slide WAY under well-equipped VP Free or SC Bullit (I wuz BORN in Santa Cruz in 1960, and know the guys who started the company well!) pricewize if you do your own buildup, WAY less maintenance than most other FR/DH bikes out there... And remember- you'll STILL need the floating rear brake kit with the Bullit, and you have less rear tire/mud clearance as well as crappy lower pivot bearings to contend with, all on a frame that's outsourced just like the Stinky! All said, an anvil- burly, excellent factory-stock bike, a CLASSIC that'll save yer butt time after time and keep the teeth in your head so you can grin for the camera at the bottom!
Similar Products Used: Demo 8, Demo 7, BMW Race Link, Ellsworth Rogue, Banshee Chaparral, Santa Cruz V-10, Cove Shocker, Canfield Brothers Formula 1 Jedi, Devinci Frantik 2, Knolly V-Tach, '06 XL Kona Stinky
Bike Setup: Thirty bars, Yeti/Odi lock on grips, Deity Lifesaver bar end caps, 2-ring Race Face Diabolus crankset/BB, Sun-Ringle CNC Octane Mag pedals, Hope Moto V2 brakes with 203 mm vented rotors, Connex chain, Sram X.0 drivetrain, shifters, 980 freewheel, Shimno XTR shifter cabling, E.13 chainguide/tensioner, bombproof wheelset of 36H Hadley FR hubs, 12mm thru axle rear, 20 mm front, Arrow Racing DHX welded rims, DT Swiss Alpine spokes, brass nipples, 3.0 Arrow Racing Savage front tire, 2.5 Arrow Racing Ramped Bite rear, WTB Shadow V Pro saddle, Hope seat post clamp.
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Submitted by
Morgan
a Downhiller
from san luis obispo, ca
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2008
Strengths: solid frame design. Stable in the air, shock felt stiff until broken in (about 10 rides). lots of adjustablitiy on rear shock. no upgrades needed
Weaknesses: a little heavy, but in the air very stable for the same reason
Bottom Line:
great bike if you need plush travel and still want to ride up to the top. i took this bike to Whislter and it took everything I could dole out. Floating rear brake make a huge difference compared my Heckler on unstable descents
Strengths: Solid frame, great geometry. Climbs surprisingly well with the lockout of the rear shock. Great spec, would'nt change nothing at it.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
Great bike for freeriding and DH, the spec is awesome,
and this bike perform excellent.
Low BB and slack head angle make them really fast when you
are blasting down on the steep trails, corners like on rails
and great stability in the air.
And a great price to.
Submitted by
Sam
a Downhiller
from Los Osos, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: February 28, 2008
Strengths: Solid frame. Nothing on my bike is stock but the frame and seatpost. THe frame is super sturdy, my bike is an 04 and the bearings are still in good condition
Weaknesses: A little heavy and i could use another inch of travel to make the bike just a little more responsive
Bike Setup: 2005 setup with azonic outlaws rim on it.
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Submitted by
Ryan Morris
a Downhiller
from York PA USA
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2007
Strengths: Insane suspension
Weaknesses: - none-only rode for one day
Bottom Line:
I rented this at Snowshoie West Virginia. M bro was doiung the downhill and I was only going to ride. I liked this bike so much from renting it that I have already sold all my BMX race bikes and plan to get one of these or something similar. I saw some kids racing with it Downhill also- big 4bar design- took some pretty nasty drops- didn't see it in the park because they tore it sown.
Similar Products Used: none- my bro has an Iron Horse Warrior Trail but that is nothing compared to this- i have tons of bmx racing bikes- no I am getting one of these to ride/race downhill
Bike Setup: Stock I believe
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Submitted by
travis
a Downhiller
from park city,ut
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2007
Strengths: none
Weaknesses: rear link age keeps blowing rear sock
Bottom Line:
blew the rear shock dhx 4.0 once this yea and then went out and got a roco world cup and blew that with in one month of having that on frame. the rear siwing arm is puting too much stress on the shock and making it blow a seal. so if u are going to be using this bike for hard dh riding do not get it get a stronger bike with a diffrent swing arm
Awesome freeride bike for just about anything. Take it from the pros- If your Robbie Bourdon you could shred on the monster drops, or if your Cowan you could rip up the dirt jumps with it, with whatever set up you get this bike can handle it all. Bottom line is that this bike is bomber, chose the right setup and you've got an awesome DH/FR rig.
