I own a 2014 Kona Honzo and absolutely love it. I came off a Karate Monkey and when I use to live in Ohio, I had some dirt jump bikes (Scott Voltage & Black Market MOB). Since moving to Utah, I bought a Honzo about 8 months ago.
But I gotta admit, I sometimes think the grass is greener on the other side...regarding full suspension bikes, that is. I'm tempted every-time I get my new mountain bike mags in the mail and start reading about all the new coolness & trickness out there regarding the FS trail & all mountain bikes on the market.
Well, my son and I were at the Fruita Fat Tire festival this past weekend and I got to demo ride 9 different bikes on the various trails on 18 road and also Mary's loop and Horsethief. At first I didn't want to demo a new FS AM bike because I was perfectly happy with my Honzo and was afraid I would then end up finding that I NEEDED a FS...especially since I'm almost 48 now. However, since I never rode a FS bike before, I wanted to see what I was missing and if it would be easier on my older joints.
The bikes I rode were:
- Kona 111 DL
- Kona 153
- Diamondback Mission (the new 27.5 that was just released couple weeks ago)
- DB MASON FS Pro
- Scott Genius LT700 (27.5)
- Yeti 575 (27.5)
- Niner ROS (parking lot only...started raining)
- Trek Stache 8
- Diamondback Mason pro (HT)
Well, don't get me wrong, all were great bikes but I was shocked because NOTHING I rode left me thinking...wow this rides so much better than my Honzo and I gotta have this. I rode my Honzo over the same trails as these demo bikes to compare the differences and I seemed just as fast on the downhills, launched over the same drops and jumps, and didn't seem any more beat up as I did on the FS rides. None of the bikes I demoed seemed too have the fun factor like the Honzo has either.
My favorite FS bike that I demoed was the Kona 111 and my favorite HT that I demoed was the Mason...although I think the Niner ROS would have won this category if I could have gotten it out on the trail...parking lot ride felt awesome but hard to compare when not trail ridden.
I always loved the Honzo but I was thinking of getting something new next year and was thinking FS but I'm scratching my head now because I can't seem to understand why I would need anything else than the Honzo...Honzo felt just as fast and just as comfortable but more fun riding.
By the way, the Honzo just rips on the 18 road trails...PBR was especially fun!
Was I expecting too much out of the newer FS bikes or what? Or is the Honzo's geo and chromoly frame along with a dropper seat post and 2.4 Ardents (front & back) just that good?
But I gotta admit, I sometimes think the grass is greener on the other side...regarding full suspension bikes, that is. I'm tempted every-time I get my new mountain bike mags in the mail and start reading about all the new coolness & trickness out there regarding the FS trail & all mountain bikes on the market.
Well, my son and I were at the Fruita Fat Tire festival this past weekend and I got to demo ride 9 different bikes on the various trails on 18 road and also Mary's loop and Horsethief. At first I didn't want to demo a new FS AM bike because I was perfectly happy with my Honzo and was afraid I would then end up finding that I NEEDED a FS...especially since I'm almost 48 now. However, since I never rode a FS bike before, I wanted to see what I was missing and if it would be easier on my older joints.
The bikes I rode were:
- Kona 111 DL
- Kona 153
- Diamondback Mission (the new 27.5 that was just released couple weeks ago)
- DB MASON FS Pro
- Scott Genius LT700 (27.5)
- Yeti 575 (27.5)
- Niner ROS (parking lot only...started raining)
- Trek Stache 8
- Diamondback Mason pro (HT)
Well, don't get me wrong, all were great bikes but I was shocked because NOTHING I rode left me thinking...wow this rides so much better than my Honzo and I gotta have this. I rode my Honzo over the same trails as these demo bikes to compare the differences and I seemed just as fast on the downhills, launched over the same drops and jumps, and didn't seem any more beat up as I did on the FS rides. None of the bikes I demoed seemed too have the fun factor like the Honzo has either.
My favorite FS bike that I demoed was the Kona 111 and my favorite HT that I demoed was the Mason...although I think the Niner ROS would have won this category if I could have gotten it out on the trail...parking lot ride felt awesome but hard to compare when not trail ridden.
I always loved the Honzo but I was thinking of getting something new next year and was thinking FS but I'm scratching my head now because I can't seem to understand why I would need anything else than the Honzo...Honzo felt just as fast and just as comfortable but more fun riding.
By the way, the Honzo just rips on the 18 road trails...PBR was especially fun!
Was I expecting too much out of the newer FS bikes or what? Or is the Honzo's geo and chromoly frame along with a dropper seat post and 2.4 Ardents (front & back) just that good?