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Submitted by
Mat Maynor
a Weekend Warrior
from Kansas City, MO, USA
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Rim Job | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Midwest Cyclery | | Strengths: | Overall quality bike. This was my first 'real' mtb and I have put it through some serious riding and it has performed like a champ. | | Weaknesses: | None that I can tell. The stock tires aren't that great, but will do in a bind. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Stock group, XCR Alien shock seat post, WTB laser v ti seat, Speedplay Frog pedals, Easton EA70 handle bar, Carbon stick barends. | | Bottom Line: | I love this bike. I'm a fairly heavy rider and this bike has taken a lot of abuse and has showed no signs of battle fatigue. Not only has it taken the abuse of my weight, but I compete in Adventure Races with this bike and it has to take my weight plus a 10-30lb pack as well. If you are considering getting into mountain biking or just wanting a solid performer at a great price this bike is for you. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Morton
a Weekend Warrior
from Suffolk
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Aston hill black run | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | Second Hand | | Strengths: | Yes, it is very..! Tried it on everything from DH to XC to 4ft drops (my limit to date. Chicken, huh) to medium sized doubles. Haven't broken a thing (tho this is largely due in my case to the Dianese body armour.......) | | Weaknesses: | Um, I've not broken anything yet, so none I guess. Either that or I'm not trying hard enough.
Its light and responsive, and the feel gives confidence. It handles all types of riding well but as its hardtail, its a little rough on the big stuff. Thats just physics for you. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 4500. | | Bike Setup: | two wheels, two pedals, some gears and brakes, and a seat just for comforts sake. Marzocchi Z4's and Hope Mini's seriously rock for the combination of DH and XC riding. | | Bottom Line: | Cheap skate me picked it up second hand for a steal at our British equivalent of $800 (US). The choice was based on the fact that it was a new bike for a cheap price when my fully rigid was thrashed to bits. Best choice I've ever made.
Would recommend to all other than hardened DH and dirt jumpers. Its no 7" full suss, but a great all rounder for a wannabe like me.
Second hand value was excellent, but even new in '02 the frame was good value.
Overall, if you aren't a suicide monkey, it'll do nicely. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Luc
a Weekend Warrior
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Multiple Orgasm - | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Full Cycle | | Strengths: | Handles like a dream. Good overall package with good stuff like a full Shimano grupo (Deore / XT mix). Nice frame and the 'Zokes MXC coil can take a lot of abuse. | | Weaknesses: | Get rid of the stock 1.8 Tioga Tires
The Mavic 221's get bent really easy and I'm really light!
Avid brake cable ferrules (metal caps at the end) come off all the time! | | Similar Products Used: | Other Konas and Gary Fishers. | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for a new rear Mavic 618 rim and new Michelin tires. | | Bottom Line: | What a fun bike to whip around in the singletrack. Good for racers on a budget. This is my first Kona and I do notice a difference (I goes where I point it!). It is a bike you can trust. I've raced it a few times (a 24hr race and some normal ones), went to Moab in July, went to Spain at the beginning of September and biked the Sierra Nevadas. Check out: http://www.tuspain.com/ciclo (amazing vacation!) My bike has seen a lot of ugly stuff since April 2002 and survived all of it apart from the fact that I toasted the rear Mavic 221 pretty easily and the front one is sad looking. I am now riding a Mavic 618 in the back. I also had to get rid of the small 1.8 Tiogas and I now have Michelins. Everything else on the bike is pretty damn solid. The Koski bar, stem and seat post are pretty decent. The Avid 5.0 brakes work very well! I must say that the green paint does chip easy, though. The SDG seat is very comfortable for me. A very good bang for the buck considering the frame is pretty nice looking (nice dropouts), even though it is a Kona home label 6061 alloy but I don't have a problem with that. It is pretty light too. You will add almost 400 grams to your bike once you switch to "normal tires" that weigh 600 grams each instead of 400 g each for the Tiogas. I am very impressed with the Marzocchi MXC coil fork. Very stiff lateraly and takes the hits without a whimper. No problems yet. Enjoy your riding!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Geoff
a
from toronto canada
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | trailblazers | | Strengths: | light and fast and nimble. Sweet component package all around. No complaints except for rims (see below) | | Weaknesses: | mavic221 rims are weak but light, so you can bruise them at all unless you put fatty tires on. i have bontrager select slicks so they're a bit fragile but freakin fast!
Stock seat sucks ( seems to be a common theme in most bikes these days) | | Similar Products Used: | Gary fisher Big Sur2000 model.(nice ride)
tried Specialized rockhopper comp (not bad, don't like geometry), Klein Attitude (frame too short for tall me but nice setup and very light and cozy) Cannondale f500 (don't like geomtetry, too stiff), Kona cindercone, | | Bike Setup: | bomber mcx, avid sd5's, deore shifters, xt/deore. deore hollowech crank, deore hubs, mavic221 rims, koski stem (very stiff and light) koski seat post, Bontrager select slick tires, Wellgo b-37 platform pedals (very nice) Velo cro-mo seat (cheap, light, and cozy) | | Bottom Line: | great bike, light and fast. Try to get a deal though from your bike shop. It is a bit pricey but you get a sweet sweet setup you don't need to upgrade right away. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
n beaver
a Cross Country Rider
from Spoake
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | what ever | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Vertical Earth | | Strengths: | Its a fairly light bike
handles well
I like the Avide brakes
unlike the other reviewers, I like the tire size
The fork is nice and stiff
the paint job | | Weaknesses: | Deore Shifters
Deore Hubs | | Similar Products Used: | I had my F Series Cannondale stolen, but I like the feel of this bike better. | | Bike Setup: | stoke minus upgraded petals and added bar ends. | | Bottom Line: | It is a good bike over all. Like I said I like it better than my old Canondale. That could be the frame geo. or the fork. The bike is nice middle of the road bike. With some not so spendy upgrades it could be a really nice bike.
Over all I'm a fan of Kona's. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Rowlands
a Weekend Warrior
from Swindon, UK
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Nowhere that's named. | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1150.00 | | Purchased At: | Mitchell Cycles | | Strengths: | Strong, light (for this price bracket) frame. Climbs/Corners well. Avid SD-5 brakes work great to slow you down on the descents. Frame has disk mounts, for future upgrade. | | Weaknesses: | Comes stock with 1.8" tyres - which, unless you're a racer, you'll probably want to change out straight away for something wider. Don't like Kona's Jacks**t grips at all. Dr Dew paint job is "individual" but truly hideous :-) | | Similar Products Used: | 1997 Marin Bear Valley. | | Bike Setup: | Stock, apart from 2.1 Tioga Factory DH tyres (heavy, but they're what the LBS put on for free instead of the 1.8's). Will be changing these for some kevlar Panaracer Trailblasters soon. | | Bottom Line: | This is my second MTB after my trusty Marin Bear Valley was stolen. Was originally looking at a Cinder Cone, but my LBS offered me an excellent deal on this one.
The bike feels nimble (17" frame) and handles well. It goes exactly where I point it (something my Marin refused to do on occasion). 80mm Marzocchi MXC air fork is light and plush (once you set it up right for your weight). The bike climbs a hell of a lot better than my Marin ever did, and is more fun coming back down again. Frame quality is superb.
All in all, a great bike for the price. Would recommend to any XC enthusiast in the market for a replacement hardtail. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robert Kehoe
a Downhiller
from Kamloops
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | anything that's not covered with cement | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$993.00 | | Purchased At: | Java Cycle | | Strengths: | This is an awsome bike. It has been from day one. I bought this bike back in 1999 when I was first getting into biking and it hasn't let me down. It has great reinforcment on the bottom tube and strong welds. It's gotta be one of the beefiest cross country bikes I've ever seen. It came with a great product line up. The drive train has held up to a lot and that brute strength of the bombers for the fork can't be beat. It came ready for the trail straight out of the shop. A few minor additions but I must say this bike has withstood all I dished out with little complaint. | | Weaknesses: | I found the rims a little weak but that is the nature of cross country rims. I soon replaced both the front and back rims. | | Similar Products Used: | This is my one and only bike for now. | | Bike Setup: | Straight out of the shop it was ready and rearing to go. I have added DH tires, bigger rims, a bash guard, a block stem, dirt jump handlebars, and monster platform pedals. The only manditory replacements have been the tires due to wear and the rims. The other stuff has been for extra strength just incase. I did ride it for over a year before the first replacements so the original line up was quality. | | Bottom Line: | I've taken this thing on much more than what it was meant for and it took it great. It's my freeride bike. Every summer I put it through the abuses of the freeride trails of Kamloops and it holds up. It's taken the 3 and 4 foot drops on a continuous basis without a problem. I just recently took it on a 6 footer and it held up fine. Then I went for a 9 foot drop and it took it but cracked the headset (the drop had a big tranny so it wasn't too harsh). My friends say it should snap any day now but I don't think so. I have faith in the old muni-mula. It's the best cross country bike I could have purchased. I might look into a freeride bike but I must give respect to the muni-mula for bringing me this far. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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