Submitted by
Jonathan Barrell
a Weekend Warrior
from Christchurch, New Zealand Date Reviewed: August 19, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Port Hills
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Penny Sport Cycles
Strengths:
Cheap, and a good bike for the price. gets me around a lot of places. Only has to last a year or 2 and then I will have gotten my money out of it.
Weaknesses:
front wheel lifts easily on hard climbs. Seat is very uncomfortable, but may be my lard arse. quality of some of the parts is questionable (again maybe coz its cheap and i am big at 105kg). Pennys is a pour shop for service and has made me want to avoid them in future
Similar Products Used:
no other real mtb
Bike Setup:
buggar all you can set up on it to be honest. just ride and try not to fall off. (the adjustable fork doesn't really adjust much)
Bottom Line:
For the price you can't complain and for an intro its great. It will definately give me a few ideas as to what to buy in future. As i said all it has to do is last another year without too many more parts breaking and it will be a good bike
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Stefanos
a Weekend Warrior
from Thessaloniki, Greece Date Reviewed: August 15, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At:
local bike shop
Strengths:
Spec-wise, I think it's one of the best bikes for the money in this category and this is the reason I chose Kona over Scott or GT. A similar bike from a different manufacturer costs 100-200$ more.
Weaknesses:
1) The fork (Marzocchi MZ Comp 100). I don't weigh much (65kg) and I cannot get even close to the recommended sag. The fork is way too stiff and the coil preload adjusters don't seem to actually change the behavior of the fork. Unless you hit a really big bump, it feels as if the fork is rigid. 2) The v-brakes, a cheap model from Tektro. 3) The geometry. Although Kona says it is the same as their top-of-the-line hardtails, most of the rider's weight is placed at the back, which causes the front wheel to lose traction at steep climbs. However, as I am not an experienced mtber, I cannot be sure. Maybe it is a tecnique problem.
Similar Products Used:
None, this is my first "real" mtb.
Bike Setup:
Factory.
Bottom Line:
It is one of the best entry-level hardtails out there, good choice for people getting into mtb (like me). After 1 year of off-road use, the bike still performs great. At this price point, it would be strange if there were no weaknesses, which in my opinion are the cheap fork and the tektro v-brakes.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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