[fireboy]

After a couple weeks of torture...I pulled the trigger on a new bike.

The finalists came down to the Turner 6 pack and the Kona Coiler Primo.

The Specialized SX Trail lost out due to an OEM fork that didn't match the exact features I wanted, the bolt on rear wheel, 36 hole schrader wheels, and a few other parts that I would have immediately swapped.

My local shop is both a Turner and Kona dealer...and the deal they shot me on a Coiler Primo would only get me the 6 pack frame and a Marzocchi 66RC fork. Deal cinched...a bike of Kona's reputation, with all XT drivetrain, El Camino Brakes, and Race Face components for the price of just frame and fork on the Turner side?? SOLD. The only things getting swapped from my 99 Joker to the new bike will be the King headset and my lock on grips...lol.

and...bonus...it's emergency vehicle yellow....even though all fire engines should be red...

terry

 

[LeopardDog]

Coiler Primo = Sweeeet ride

Hey, Welcome to the Kona family. It's great to hear your ride was a good value compared to others. I have seen some posts kicking around challenging that notion. I did a lot of research before I bought my Dawg Dee-Lux (still waiting for it *sigh*) and I felt it was an excellent value as well. That and it seemed to me the Kona dealer was an enthusiast and the other brand dealers IE Specialized, Trek, Giant etc were in it for the business alone. That probably changes a lot in different regions though. Good luck with the new bike!

 

[ebxtreme]

Congrats Fireboy. I agree with LeopardDog 100% that it's a great bike for the dough.

I'm rocking essentially the same setup as I've got an '02 Stinky Primo (6" of travel) with the 66RC (170 version ) on it and absolutely love it. I had the Super T on it before and the 66RC literally blows it away. You're gonna be shocked at how much abuse that bike will be able to take. Plus, throw in the DHX 5.0, the El Camino's, nice components and you've got a total winner.

Tough call on the 6 Pack, man. Those are sweet (plus so well designed), but expensive....which may be why most guys that own them don't seem to ride them very hard or they're are trying to lighten them to 30 lbs. I wouldn't want to dent my $1,900 frame either! That reminds me, I hope you're not getting the Coiler to tell everyone that you've now got 6" of travel. Kona's are designed to be abused. As a result, their riders are expected to ride their bikes hard, not just talk about riding their bikes! Sorry, lame cheapshot there....

Pic of my bike....which if you gave 'er a paint job would look very similar to yours with a yellow paint job (god forbid ). Let us know how she rides!!

Churs, and welcome!
EB

 

[fireboy]

a question for 66RC equipt Coiler (or stinky) owners

I'm (99%) sure I'll love this bike!! It is replacing a 99 Joker (5"travel)...I was originally looking for a coiled 5" linkage bike that was burly enough to take some 5 to 6 foot drops, northshore style wood stunts, and light (think novice level) DH. But it seems that most 5" bikes are becoming more XCish, air sprung, and not as burly. So it came down to the Pack and the Coiler...the coiler won out because of price (you hit it on the head...I'd slit my wrists the first time I biffed in the rocks on a Pack and scratched and dented it...not so worried about the coiler). I presently ride my Joker on just about any ride...I don't race XC or wear a heart monitor or use a computer on my rides...but I do like to ride long (not fast) XC rides that include stops at my favorite wood stunts and rocky descents...so I'm hoping I made the right choice!!!

The only thing that worries me is this...so I ask that some of you can put me at ease...the 66RC fork is one hot looking piece of machinery. I was planning on spec'ing it on the 6 pack if I got it. But...upon looking at the zokes website (and one comment over on another board), I see that the Z1 FR comes in a 6 inch version that is quite a bit shorter overall than the 66. I'm worried that the 66 is going to make climbing an ultimate beeatch and I'll be looking to shed it for the Z1 150mm. Now, with that said, my joker presently runs a romic in the rear and the '04 5" Z1 FR up front and at over 35 lbs, I don't find it horrible to climb with AT ALL. I'm hoping I have the same experience with the Coiler even with the 66...cuz that 66 is HOT!! I'm having a hard time letting go of my old steed...she's been good to me...and want to know others are having a kick ass time on their coilers...before mine gets here...it'll just make delivery that much more like christmas day.

Gawd...I'm such a kid...

 

[ebxtreme]

I think you narrowed down the right selection in bikes.

Regardless if you went for the Pack or Coiler, both would be able to handle the same amount of abuse and would be fun to ride all day. It sounds like your XC rides mirror many of my XC rides where, yes, we pedal and cover ground, but if there's something to be sessioned.....we'll stop and hit it!!

To the fork question:
If the bike is primarily going to be ridden for what you described, I would probably lean towards getting the new 6" Z1 and here's why.

The '05 Z1 will have the same amount of travel, it will be lighter, not as tall and will have the ETA to make it easier for long climbs. Having an '04 Z1, you can be the judge if you will use the ETA or not. Some love it and some don't use the function. I recently put an '04 Z1 on my Bear and have liked the ETA function so far. Plus, I think it'll be plenty burly for most stuff that most folks will throw at it. I've got 5 or 6 buddies that ride the Z150 and they go plenty big on that fork so I'd feel confident on the new Z1 without a doubt.

With that said, the 66 is a far burlier fork than the Z1 and is designed for ridiculous abuse. It doesn't have an ETA function and it's tall, but for doing crazy shite, it has external compression that affects the bottom of the stroke and is saweeet!!! For example, I run mine with light or no compression for most riding so I can get most of the stroke out of the fork (I'm relatively light, btw) and then I crank it in a few clicks for hucking. I've yet to bottom it remotely hard yet....it really works. For a bigger guy, this would be a worthwhile consideration.

If you're getting the 66RC, I'd say get the 170mm version. The reason I say that is you can change the travel to 6" just by changing an internal spacer in the fork. Then, if down the road you want to hit Whistler or Snowshoe or a shuttle spot, you can really easily change the travel to 7" in the front. Pretty cool. I'm not sure you can do that in reverse with the 6" version, but I'd look into it if you're set on the 66.

As I mentioned the 66 is tall because it shares the same lowers as the 888. For example, in 6" mode, it's taller than my old Super T. In 7", my fork is as tall as the 888 which is notorious for being a tall fork. While that feels remarkable for descending, it's tough on climbs. I just read that next year's 66's will not share the 888's lowers and will redue the Axle to Crown height by 40mm.....pretty dramatic.

FWIW, I own two bikes and the Stinky sees more action than my Bear including some big epics.....so you'll be fine. I just throw on my SPD's and raise the saddle and call er good. The bike pedals remarkably well.

Hope that helps,
EB

 

[fireboy]

wow...thanks for the well thought out reply...

The Primo is arriving with the 66RC as standard equipment...in 150mm mode. I don't think I'd wanna go 170...so that's not really an issue. I never use the ETA on my Joker...I do use it on my Cove Stiffee which has the 04 Z1 SL. I find the ETA useful on a hardtail, but pretty much useless on an FS with the way I ride....and I really don't like the back end moving while the front end's locked down. Switching to the 05 Z1 150mm would now require selling the 66 and then purchasing the Zed...but it sounds, from your reply, that although the 66 may not be the perfect climbing weapon (I never thought it would be) I still will not be tearing my hair out..wait..I'm bald....as I am pretty used to climbing on bikes with chopperish front ends. Maybe, if I ride this for a while and don't fall in love with the front fork, I could purchase new lowers from Zokes next year?? If everything else lines up...and that would drop the front end and increase the head angle a bit...

again...thanks for your input...I really appreciate it.

 

[shiggy]

I wanted the 66 (partly) so I could run a 3.0" tire if I wanted to. I can, with room to spare.

I do not have an issue climbing with the 66 on my Coiler DL, even out of the saddle, and came straight off a singlespeed. The DHX 4.0 shock really makes the Coiler a nice peddling and climbing bike.

 

[fireboy]

...and you got one wild looking Coiler...if I remember correctly.

I'm glad you guys are putting me at ease with this issue...I'm such a worrier when it comes to buying a new steed...and this is the first time since 92 that I've bought a "whole" bike vs. building up. That's why it's taken me 6 years to finally decide to let the Joker go and try one of them new fangled linkage bikes...lol.

Thanks shiggy!

t'

 

[ebxtreme]

Fireboy, about the 66....

I'd definitley ask your dealer or Marzocchi about the travel changes that I mentioned. I don't know if the only diffference between the 170 and 150mm versions is the internal spacer, but it'd be worth it for you to find out, me thinks. I do know that I can reduce my 7" version to 6" (not something I plan to do), but don't know if that also works the other way around.

Sure would be cool for ya to be able to throw more travel simply by changing that around in the future. Obviously not something you'd do very often, but if you were doing a big trip or something that involved mostly downhill riding, it would be sweet.

EB

 

[Sombrio69]

Hay, Fireboy I'm from Peoria also and i've been thinkin about getin a new ride do u think an used 04 Stinky D. wit a 888 up front (1500$)would be to much. i dont do a lot of da xc stuff i usualy only stay at tha DH course and NS stuff at Farmdail and also up at CPX. i ask this only cause all the guy's at Little Ades are tellin me to just get the basick Coiler (1550$) but i kinda waant the extra inch of travel for CPX and the Devel's Drop DH race in Wis. as well as other DH rases. So could u please help a kid out?

 

[fireboy]

first off...I'm glad you like the stuff we're (PAMBA) doing out at Farmdale. With the completion of the MTX course next month...that place will be awesome! (we're also revamping our DH run to include a few new lines this summer) I'm worried that the 66RC in 150mm mode is going to be too much for our stuff, so my personal opinion is that the 888 would be way big overkill. I raced the Devil's Drop last year on my 5" travel Joker and had no problems with anything on the course...the one big rock drop, I just skirted...more due to the sketchy landing area than the possibility of my Joker not handling it. Deon biffed into the rocky landing area, which made me glad I just avoided it. He's the bomb as far as DH abilities around here...the boy's at Ade's know their ****..that's for sure.

stay safe,

t'

 

[fireboy]

I'd definitley ask your dealer or Marzocchi about the travel changes that I mentioned. I don't know if the only diffference between the 170 and 150mm versions is the internal spacer, but it'd be worth it for you to find out, me thinks. I do know that I can reduce my 7" version to 6" (not something I plan to do), but don't know if that also works the other way around.

Sure would be cool for ya to be able to throw more travel simply by changing that around in the future. Obviously not something you'd do very often, but if you were doing a big trip or something that involved mostly downhill riding, it would be sweet.

With it being an OE fork...I basically get what arrives on the bike...and I'm not "really" worried about the 170mm option...but the big trip thing would be nice...so if I can do the conversion cool...if not...I won't sweat it too much. I did, however, contact Marzocchi about the rumor of new lowers for the 66 for next year...and it seems to be accurate. They said I'd be able to purchase the 06 lowers for my 05 66 to take advantage of the lower overall height. The innards would all swap over easily enough. Afterall, it's just money...right??

 

[ebxtreme]

Cool thanks for looking into that.

I'm really happy with my 66RC and will be abusing it on the Shore the next few weekends, but the tall A2C height is a pain for most riding. With the newer lowers, that would drop the A2C to a reasonable 555mm - which is about what my Super T was (558).

I'll be curious to hear what you think of the 66 (and the Coiler, of course). So far, it has greatly exceeded my expectations.

Cheers,
EB