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Submitted by
Tomek
a Racer
from Warsaw, Poland
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | SkiTeam | | Strengths: | Zajefajny mocny rowerek, super rama. | | Weaknesses: | amortyzator | | Bike Setup: | Rock Shox Reba Team :) | | Bottom Line: | Rower uzytkuje od 2003 roku jestem bardzo zadowolony z niego, po tuningu wazy 11 kg. Polecam Kone. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Cross Country Rider
from Edmonton, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | wherever hardcore mtb goes | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1700.00 | | Purchased At: | RVC | | Strengths: | LIGHT!! nice agile bike, turns and climbs easy, xt rear, nice rims. ETA | | Weaknesses: | TIRES!! these things have such small treads, in edmonton when it gets wet, you need the grip on the roots. No stock disk breaks, at a price like this, disk brakes should come stock. ETA is sort of hard to use when actually riding | | Similar Products Used: | 03 norco storm I owned before i was good | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for deore hydraulic disk brakes | | Bottom Line: | I know that this bike is now almost considered two years old but if you can find one kicking around somewhere, I suggest that you get it. You can get it at a much cheaper price. Originally $1800 CDN i got mine for $1300 and was able to put deores hydros on it for $1700. Keep it stock if its dry where you live, if its wet, get disks, and knobier tires. Buy this bike if you are looking to get into racing, because I am. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trevor
a
from The Hammer, ON, CA
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Piereks Cycle | | Strengths: | Colour(super sexy all black), weight, great spec for the price, good entry level race rig. Everyone should learn how to ride on a hardtail. | | Weaknesses: | -Avid SD5 levers are not crash friendly
-MX Comp is heavy (ETA is crap rip it off)
-Paint chips very easily
-Saddle was not butt-friendly
| | Similar Products Used: | 2002 Kona Cindercone | | Bike Setup: | XT/519 wheels, panaracer fire XC pro(or kenda kosmics), XT front, XTR rear, thomson post, some stock stuff left | | Bottom Line: | This is a great bike and has withstood my 240-200# beating for 2 seasons now. Great entry racer. Good spec with an even better price. I recommend this bike to everyone. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Allon
a Weekend Warrior
from Zushi, Japan
Date Reviewed: September 24, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | Grove cycle - Kamakura, Japan | | Strengths: | Light weight, XT rear deraileur, race face components, Avid brakes, and disk ready rims, not to mention cool Kona graphics and grips. | | Weaknesses: | None that I can think of... | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher hard tail.... but no real comparison. | | Bike Setup: | Upgraded to Avid mechanical disk brakes (excellent decision!), Wellgo platform pedals, shorter stem, and Easton 1.5" riser bars. | | Bottom Line: | There really isn't another bike that compares for the same price. With the quality componentry and excellent set up from Kona it is a pretty solid package. An interesting side note is that I was originally looking at buying a specialty frame and then purchasing a build kit or components. For the same components that you get on the Kula, you will easily spend between $1000 and $1200. It's like getting the Kula (Easton Ultralite) frame for free!
The light weight is a real treat. Mine is a 20" frame and te complete bike weighed just over 25lbs out of the box! This was a huge difference over the 30+ lb Garry Fisher I had been riding.
I changd the stem and bars, because I enjoy a slightly more upright ride than the stock set up. The Avid mechanical discs were the next logical upgrade. At $69.95 per set from pricepoint it was a steal. The installation was nearly effortless and the bike feels and stops awsome!
The Bomber MX comp fork with ETA is great! It has a very smooth ride, and still can take some fairly large bumps without bottoming out (I weigh 170lbs). For climbing the ETA is definitely helpful. You really have to try it to believe that it makes a difference. On some ridiculous uphills, I was able to climb to the same point before stopping as some of the really experienced riders in my group. The light weight and ETA make a difference, and builds confidence.
Go out, get it, ride it, and never look back! Kona is a great company with a lot of great products!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brando
a Weekend Warrior
from Iowa
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Sugar Bottom | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Bonzai Spoke | | Strengths: | Great right out of "the box". Light, quick, unstopable. I'll die before it does. A definate strength is that it has all the set up ability for disc brakes, but no disc brakes. I need less stuff to get caught in the brush. Disc brakes are a mess in these cases. Comments on the tires being to skiny are a crock, modified inflatiion levels make all riding condition doable. Sure there are better tires for differeing conditions but these handle almost every condition well. | | Weaknesses: | My skill are the only weakness! At the $1200 bike level it has no weaknesses. | | Similar Products Used: | There are none. Not talking smack here, I honestly think Kona is the best at this price point. | | Bike Setup: | Stock. Other than adding some more XT, I can't think of what to change - I didn't even change a simple thing like the seat. | | Bottom Line: | This is a great bike for anyone wanting to ride hard on the weekends and have fun doing it, not worrying about the bike one bit. Kona builds tough stuff, my 96 Kona AA is still kicking hard with no problems to date. You won't be sorry you bought this bike. I can use pretty words to describe it and tell you how it handles but screw all that, go ride one, you'll love it.
If this were review were anymore Kona friendly I'd expect them to cut me a check... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kelvin
a Cross Country Rider
from Kingsford, NSW Australia
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | blueys | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Strengths: | -light and responsive frame made from easton ultralite
-reliable fork with ETA lockout(leaves 30mm)
-Raceface stem, handlbar and cranks
-Truvativ Team SL BB
-Disc hubs
-Great Sun Mach IV rims. ligth yet strong
-nice grips. | | Weaknesses: | -Heavy fork @ 4.3lbs i think.
-Heavy wheelset
-Deore hubs, casette and chain.
| | Similar Products Used: | Kona Munimula, klein attitude race, specialized stumpjumper comp | | Bike Setup: | standard with longer stem and avid mag levers | | Bottom Line: | This bike can really climb although for an 18" and the price, its pretty heavy at 25.6lbs. Kona claims the 17" is at a 23.9lbs. They also say this is the frame used by their pros but i think they have a scandium frame for that. The bomber is plush and reliable but for a bike of this nature, maybe a lighter fork would be nice. But then the ETA feature is great. I put slicks on and train, the 30mm takes out most of the potholes and stuff. If you dont intend to put up discs, i say go for a lighter wheelset. I'm still undecided on that. Overall, its a great bike. It was built for aggresive trails with loads of singletrack as can be seen by its geometry but can be ligther. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sue
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria, BC
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | The Dump | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bicycles in Victoria | | Strengths: | This bike is sooooooo light and sooo responsive. I was a little bit leery buying such a light frame but now that I've ridden it, I never want to ride ANYTHING else. Climbing used to be a chore but with this bike, I look forward to it. Especilly when I pass my buddies and they look on in awe. Technical sections are no problem, great suspension and handling. | | Weaknesses: | None so far that i've encountered. Tires are maybe a bit small but I will change those at a later date if I decide to. | | Similar Products Used: | Rocky Mountain and Brodie - same price range, can't remember the styles. | | Bike Setup: | Stock but added avenir bar ends. | | Bottom Line: | The coolest ride I've ever owned. I love riding this bike and did I mention how light it is?? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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