Great climber, aggressive frame, smooth shifting, light enough yet sturdy

After its performance, I'd say the fork and possibly brakes

I read a lot of reviews before buying this bike and a most of them destroyed the components and praised the frame.
I put this bike through a solid 2 mile climb and an additional 19 miles of single track downhill and it performed like a champ. The bike is solid and responsive at high speeds. For having "weak" forks, the INSync 327 absorbed shock well and the bike shifted smoothly up hill and down hill.
For a XC ride the bike is perfect and you don't have to spend a whole lot of money. I rode with Specialized XC, Kona KK, and a Trek 29er....all were surprised of how well the bike handled and how little I paid for it (under $160)
If you are looking for a solid XC bike, this should be your #1 option. Minor upgrades will make this bike a ride to be jealous of.
Like I mentioned, a better fork and disk brakes would help quite a bit on the DH, however, for the amount of money the bike is perfect.

Nice Wheels, sweet looks, huge frame, shifts nicely. Decent fork.

Cruddy pedals, terrible.

Buy this bike if you only have about 500(american)bucks(800 cdn) if you have more, by all means, buy something way more expensive. Otherwise, a great Kona bike.

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Monster Giant

Good value for parts on the $$, smooth riding, comfortable geometry.

Seat was a little agressive for me, but I'm more of a road rider. Too used to the big fat seats in my VW!! :)

It's been 10 years since I owned or road a bike, so I spent alot of time researching and trying bikes out before I purchased. Here is what I found.
I was looking at a Kona Fire Moutain and tested the Blast out to see what the difference was, the better shifters and a better ride sold me. I really noticed the difference in derailurs and shifters on all the bikes I tried. In the end I wanted something better.
The Norco Challeger was the best bike I road, but was more expensive than the Blast by $150 CDN, which put it out of my price range.
I'm really glad I tested alot of bikes before I bought one, the ride changes alot from bike to bike, regardless of the parts. Personally I would find a nice bike, but get the better parts. I'm glad I spent some extra cash changing the tires, grip and seats. Than buying a more expensive bike and living with things i didn't like.
I paid $705 CDN ($470 US) for the bike, of course by the time I got the parts, locks helmet, taxes etc it was just under $1000. But I'm loving it!!

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Kona Fire Mountain, Trek 4500 & 4900, Marin Hawk Hill, Norco Challenger

Awesome bike...The frame is light and strong. Looks nice too. The brake levers...grips etc are awesome. I like that the fork has lockout.

The pedals suck, and the bar leaves a little to be desired. Brakes and such are just okay.

Seems like a wicked bike for the price...Even if you don't get a deal. The next step up from this bike is the Caldera...and allthough the Caldera is a better bike hands down...it doesnt seem like as good of a deal as the Blast for what you actually get for your money. I plan on doing a few upgrades...But I definatley think "I love my bike" every time I hop on.

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Giant Iguana

Strong and is race proven. I borrowed my bike to a participant(Exceldive team) in the first malaysia 24 hours race at Sabah tea plantation and they were number 3 up of the 26 teams back in 2004. (Is in the Malaysia guniness book of record, about this race)

Pedal is a bit "special"
Weight too.

Kona blast is a value for money hardtail.

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GT Zaskar race 01 model

aggressive geometry, good welds, stiff, select stock components are able to be lived with...for now.

Crappy wheelset, headset, hubs, front derailleur, cranks, fork.

I am just getting back into riding after a 2 year poverty hiatus, and I bought the blast because it seemed like the best bike for the price ($450 US).

I must say that I have loved this responsive, well-designed frame from the start. I also like the risers; the brakes, tires, shifters, rear cassette, seatpost, seat, and crank arms will do.

The rest has been replaced, or will be shortly. Here's why: The Judy TT shock sucked. Riding over 20mph on rough terrain with one is suicide by spongecake. Both rims were thrashed after the second ride, the hubs are leaky and squeaky (even after I rebuilt them after the second ride), The Acera front derailleur went home early, the Deore rear shifter was only slightly less grouchy, the wellgo toe-clip Pedals sucked, all three rings on the front cog bent within three rides, the headset was stiff and dry. But, that is to be expected for bike within this price range.

All I say is that the frame is a steal, and some parts are worthy enough to be used until they are destroyed and you can replace them with "better" things. Here's my rationale: you can upgrade this bike to have the all the best parts you could ever need for the price of say, a $2000 Fisher Supercaliber ( a very nice bike, in my humble opinion). Of course, the frames are made of different materials, but I personally know a few riders whose Supercaliber frames have cracked. Also, the Fisher will have a disaster-prone BB, Headset, Stem, Cranks, and Wheelset. The other parts (shifters, etc.) all work the same, and only weight weenies and tech freaks worry about them anyway.

I have $1100 invested in total thus far, and Have top of the line components that make for a near perfect ride. I just need a new wheelset ($500), brakes ($125), BB ($100), cassette ($30) and cranks ($170), for a grand sum of $2025.

So, that said, when look for a ride, I primarily look at frame geometry, materials used, quality, and price. This tops them all, for all of the aforementioned reasons. The sloping (but not extended, i.e., Fisher) top tube and forward-riding rear tire design sold me because the thing basically climbs like a Fisher without leaving you sprawled uncomfortably forward. The welds are tight and even, and the 6061 T6 is good and stiff.

Now, I know - welds? Aluminum? The way I see it, a little extra weight can be remedied by riding hard and being in good shape. Also, no frame is going to last forever
( unless, of course, it is made from NASA grade titanium and costs $40,000), So, go with what feels good and has a good warranty ( Kona's is 5 years for the frame, and try to ride as hard as possible to see how Kona's customer service is.

Also, don't worry about the crappy components. The rear Deore can be saved for use in dire emergencies (actually not that bad; hardly any difference between it and XT/XTR), and why should you have to pay $2000 for a bike which is really the same frame as one half its cost, save for slightly better (rarely ever the best) components which wouldn't be your first choice anyway?

In sum, Kona's Blast is among the best out there, and is highly worthy of upgrades. Just try to educate yourself to your options before you buy, because it is better to do things correctly from the start. Most importantly, make sure that your ride FITS YOU!! to a tee, is durable, and will allow you to ride hard so that you can have tons of fun...

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GT, Trek 8000, Fisher Mt. Tam, Specialized FSR.

I found that the mavic rims and the tuff frame are the two main strenghts of this bike

The front mech being Acera doesn't do much for me

So far i have had problems with the bike. I nomarly ride on steep rocky single trial so the bike has had a lot given to it. Also i found that the bike was a good price, so i gave it a five for value. This bike would be good for anyone that just wants to get out and have some fun on weekends.

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A1 hard rock, specialized

light frame, stiff for tough climbs. handles well on tight single track rides. had to beef up components. destroyed b.b.. could have spent more money for a new bike to race but decided i like this frame for all my rididng/ racing.

stock components

good overall bike. i abuse it every weekend and it comes back for more! but it if you like to ride/race and dont mind upgrading some components of your choice or are on a budget. don't but if you if you want a 20 lb xc racer

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other mountain bikes of various brands

Frame, fork, rims

Pedals

I've ridden the bike fairly hard on some downhill terrain, nothing more than 4 foot dropoffs and it copes beautifully. Havent bottomed out the fork yet, sure it cold have more travel but compare the Judy TT to similar priced bikes you'll get RST or Suntour crap. I am also pretty light so that could be the reason i havent bottomed out. Chain has only come off once. Deraileurs have been working well. The frame seems very tough and combined with the risers gives the bike a slightly more downhill setup than a standard cross-country bike.
You simply cant get better value for money in my opinion.

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Apollo hardtail

The frame is typical Kona - light and solid. The rims aren't bad for the money. Nice, classic rear derailleur (STX-RC). Good headset and great brakes (Avids).

Alivio 8 speed shifters! These shifters suck. Half the time the left one won't even catch to shift into the largest chainring. I'm not very impressed with the alivio front derailleur either. The paint is pretty easy to chip, especially under and around the bottom bracket area. The RST shock is very heavy and I'm concerned about it's future reliability.

Not a bad bike. Kona frame is very nice and light. Some of the components are a bit questionable, but are easily upgraded. If you can get one for a good deal, a Kona is always worthwhile.