[FM]

Sure, but how about the frozen marmot clearance...?

And why's that HLC logo all hazy...??? :crazy:

Posting hazy pictures is totally legal!

As for frozen marmot clearance- funny...
Ride #1 I had new formula brakes paired with a Galfer/magura rotor. Horrible rubbing.... turns out the galfer rotors are quite a bit thicker than formulas or even Avids. Swapped rotors to Avids and the rubbing is gone! Also got my drivetrail to quit skipping.

This thing loves to manual and jump! Honzo love!

 

[carabao]

Enduro Racing on the Honzo

Love this bike!

 

[noot]

Love this bike!

 

[Sparticus]

Way nice sled; like the color scheme & component choices.

Routing of a couple cables looks wonky to me cuz I prefer my cables come around the head tube, but that's all you. I cross mine under the TT if they need to go to the other side of the bike.

Sorry for the nit. She really looks swell.

--sParty

 

[eurospek]

Love this bike!

Not seeing anything either.

 

[FM]

Way nice sled; like the color scheme & component choices.

Routing of a couple cables looks wonky to me cuz I prefer my cables come around the head tube, but that's all you. I cross mine under the TT if they need to go to the other side of the bike.

Sorry for the nit. She really looks swell.

--sParty

Thanks sParty. I toyed with running the cables around the headtube but decided aginst it since the forward cable stop is so close to the TT/DT junction. crossing them behind that would have bugged me
I just left them plenty long so there's no sharp bends.
really I am still tuning it in though.

I got a couple more rides in and I am loving the Honzo however!
Compared to the Yelli, it's got a noticably lower/shorter back end, and it feels better in the air.. mainly since the back-end is so solid. It's about as stiff as steel gets. I've hit a bunch of 5-footers on it and the frame certainly doesn't care. The small Honzo and medium yelli fit very similar, wheelbase is almost identical.

I would say the Honzo is a better descender, corners, jumps & drops better, mainly just due to the shorter back end. I also like the lines better and the sliding drop-outs.

The yelli felt similar, but a bit more of an all-rounder trail bike... slightly higher BB, longer stays & taller HT and standover make it a little more of a pedaling fit. The lighter weight of the yelli was noticable too.

 

[Sparticus]

Thanks sParty. ... I also like the lines better and the sliding drop-outs.
... slightly higher BB, ... The lighter weight of the yelli was noticable too.

Yeah, my SS HonZo feels like it weighs almost as much as my 2x10 FS Turner Sultan... whoa!

But I do love that the sliders allow me to SS the HonZo. Here in the Pacific Northwet it just doesn't make sense to expose expensive drivetrains to the grit, silt, rain & mud. I'll put the 10-spd gears on when the high country starts to open up and 15 mile rides are once again considered short.

Only thing I'd personally change about my HonZo (if I had a magic wand to wave) is I'd move the BB up to 13" or 13.5" high. I run 195mm cranks and therefore I smack the ground a lot with this bike. It's okay, I'm used to it and most of Orygun's trails consist of flow.

That said, I love the HonZo. Kona has created a bike that's way fun to ride, haven't they.

Looking at yours makes me want to refinish mine. I also love the camo mudflap girl scheme elsewhere in this thread.

--sParty

 

[tvan]

Finally got my 2013 Honzo (L) after waiting 7 weeks. Got a great deal so it was worth waiting for. Installed a KS 950i dropper post so far, next is tubeless. Having some issues with the chain guide. In the top three gears the chain doesn't feed onto the lower der. Pulley. It seems like the lower guide holds the chain out too far and the angle is too severe causing the chain to ride off the side of the lower pulley. It makes an annoying clacking sound. I tried removing the spacers between the guide and iscg mount plate. It helped a little but still no good. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[FM]

I tried removing the spacers between the guide and iscg mount plate. It helped a little but still no good. Anyone else have this problem?

do you have a spacer between the frame and the BB on the driveside?
depends on your cranks but most brands call for a 2.5mm spacer there...

 

[tvan]

I will check but I think it's more of an alignment problem between the chain guide pulley and lower der. Pulley. It's creating a cross-chaining effect. I tried rotating the guide plate and adj the B tension screw on der but didn't help much. If the guide pulley was closer to the chainring it would be better, I have to see if there is any adjustment for it. This is my first chain guide and I already hate it

 

[Sparticus]

I will check but I think it's more of an alignment problem between the chain guide pulley and lower der. Pulley. It's creating a cross-chaining effect. I tried rotating the guide plate and adj the B tension screw on der but didn't help much. If the guide pulley was closer to the chainring it would be better, I have to see if there is any adjustment for it. This is my first chain guide and I already hate it

Know what you mean. I'm not fond of chainguides if they include drag, either. Right now I'm running my HonZo in SS mode but when I go 1x10 later this spring, I'll use an outside bash plus a Jump Stop. If you're a gnar hammer, my less than industrial strength system won't do, but if you're primarily a trail rider, it's another option.

=S

 

[eurospek]

FWIW and for future riders looking to upgrade, setting up the MRP Lopes SL was quite easy. No rubbing in any gear (12-36 spread, SS derailleur and 32T up front). Definitely recommended!

 

[Max.]

I know it has been discussed a couple of times already but I'm not sure which frame size to go for.

I am 5ft 7 and currently ride a 17.5" Trek Marlin and find it a great fit. That has an effective TT of 23.7". I'm not sure whether to go with the 24" TT of the size 18" Honzo as I would be running a shorter stem. Or should I go for the 16" which I feel might be a bit cramped. I would try a demo bike but according to the Kona website there are none in the UK, closest is the Netherlands. I might send them an email and see.

 

[FM]

Max. it really depends on how you like your bikes to handle.
I bought my small from Stick-boy, who is about your height I believe. He went to a medium honzo.
despite being a bit taller (175cm/5'-9") I prefer small-fitting bikes, especially if they're 29'ers. So the small w/ a 50mm stem feels perfect to me. Playdead's around the same size also on a small.

 

[p4nh4ndle]

I thought about a medium sized frame for a while until I realized that the Front Center on it was over 30mm more than the small. Most of my other bikes are between 650 and 690 in this dimension.

As FM correctly points out, it does depend on how you like your bike to handle, but the front center on the medium honzo is significantly longer than the marlin, assuming they didn't change it too much for this year (it still has a 23.7" ett).

you can make your own decision but here's a bit of background on Front Center (with reflexive link to mtbr forum post): Waltworks Bicycles: Front Center: It Works, Bitches

 

[eurospek]

Yep, I would definitely recommend anyone building up a Honzo from scratch, take the time to do the face/chase/reaming, especially the headtube- and it can be tricky to find a 44mm reamer. Another thing I learned building this bike, the cane creak headsets are probably a lot more tolerant of the head tube being undersize, since their skirts are shorter.

Asnwer me this, started breaking down my Honzo for maintenance tonight, and the lower Cane Creek 40 headset cartridge bearing popped out just fine. The upper cartridge bearing looks to be seized in the upper headset cup. Figured I'd popped it by tapping it out, but only managed to break the cartridge bearing apart (got the inner race and bearings out), with the outer race of the bearing still seized to the upper headset cup. Soaking it now in PB Blaster but I don't see a way to get a grip on it.

Easiest solution I see would be just a new $30 CC40 upper headset complete assembly, but was the seizing cause by being underspec'd in size? When I took the fork out, the bearing felt smooth turning.

(In retrospect, should have left it alone and not wanting to grease between cup and bearing). :madman:

Or did my bearing simply seized up in the cup?

 

[JoshM]

^ Did you take the entire upper assembly out of the headtube? It may be so hard to get out because of the force of the press-fit into the headtube on the bearing cup.

I would try to take the entire upper cup out and hit it with the heatgun to try and expand things a little bit.

and yeah, you should have just left if alone if it was turning fine.

 

[eurospek]

Nope, didn't take anything out. Spoke with my LBS, they might be able to help they said, I'll clean up the frame today and swing on by tomorrow. Worst case scenario is I'll be out $30 for a new upper assembly, oh well.

 

[FM]

^ Did you take the entire upper assembly out of the headtube? It may be so hard to get out because of the force of the press-fit into the headtube on the bearing cup.

Thats the thing... should it make any difference?
With the cane creek headsets I had on other bikes, you could easily remove the bearings from the cups by hand, while the cups were still in the frame (slip fit).

Another thing I realized with my headset saga... the lower bearing can be largely unaffected by head tube tolerances, since the bearing is external. The upper is where you feel it, since with zerostack, the bearing gets squeezed if the headtube is undersize.

Eurospek, since it's cheap, I'd just replace the whole upper assembly... but measure the headtube before pressing it in. If it's under 43.7 I'd have it reamed.
Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[JoshM]

Thats the thing... should it make any difference?
With the cane creek headsets I had on other bikes, you could easily remove the bearings from the cups by hand, while the cups were still in the frame (slip fit).

You are right it shouldn't matter at all if the headtube is within the proper tolerances for the press fit. If the headtube is much under 43.7mm like you said it will squeeze the headset cup and probably make the bearing hard to get out like Eurospek is experiencing. That's the only thing I can figure that would make the outer race of that bearing hard to remove.

Euro, How hard did the upper cup go in when you pressed in the upper assembly?