[dcleaner]

i'm planning to buy my first 29er and my first ss
since i live in croatia my choices are, well... almost zero.

first choice is kona unit ~660$
second gt peace 9r - still waiting for shop to send me some offer
third haro mary ss ~1050$

the problem is that i need to specially order unit and peace since no shop imports these bikes, unless someone orders them (and according to the shops that have other models of kona's and gt's i would be the first one to order one).

the thing is that if i want to order one, i need to pay in advance, and it's kind of hard to buy a bike without testing it for size.

i have on the other side driven mary 18'' and it feels just a bit oversized for me (of course that no shop has 16'' mary or any other 16'' 29er, so i would also have to order a 16'' one if i'd go with it and that could be a problem).

i'm 172cm tall with inseam of ~80cm.
i will most probably order unit, but i'm not sure which size. i fear that 18'' will be just a little bit oversized, but that 16'' one will be way too small. should i go with the 18'' or 16''?

 

[Captain_America1976]

a friend of mine rides a 16 mary. i think on most other bikes he would be happy on an 18. from my understaning marys run a little big. your best bet would be to check geometry of all 3 bikes on the 18 mary that you tested.

 

[CLONG]

I've had the Unit for a couple of years now and I find the head angle a little steep on the larger sizes. 73 degrees, man?!

If you ride in technical terrain it's worth considering. Having said that, lots of people are happy with each of the bikes on your list. They all have a following.

Sorry I can't help with sizing but be sure to show us some pictures when you get your bike!

C.

 

[chumbox]

I ride a Medium Peace (18") and I am 178cm and average inseam. They make a 16". I can't tell you much about whether the size will fit but the Peace and the Mary ride way better than the Unit. I love my Peace and have ridden the Mary and it's nice too.

 

[Ryder1]

The Mary SS comes with a seatpost that has a full inch of set back, so it might feel bigger than it really is, especially in the reach. Not sure why they did that. Now I have a Mary and wish it was a little bigger. Weird.

The GT-Finland version of the Peace webpage you linked to doesn't show the Small being available (unlike the page for GT-America) and the medium looks pretty long (24+ top tube).

And the Kona's geometry looks just weird to me, especially its larger sizes. Steep everything and tall headtubes and standover. I don't get it. Race-oriented, I guess. Had a couple minutes on it and didn't take to it. Seems to get mixed reviews.

I bought the Mary but the Peace looks solid, too.

For sizing, my advice would be to test ride bikes in the shop until you find one with the correct reach, then order a bike with a very similar effective top tube measurement. If your bike shop is helpful, they will adjust the handlebar height and factor in the test bike's stem length, any seatpost setback, saddle rail position, and both bike's seat tube angles. And make sure the standover of the sale bike low enough - those Kona's look to have tall standovers, although you have long legs.

Good luck!

 

[Salty Dog]

I have a 2006 Unit 2 9 geared hardtail. I am 180 cm and weigh about 165 lbs. The frame I have is a 19" and I think it would be too tall for you, honestly. They may have the Kona in a 17" frame and I think it would be a better fit for you. Whatever frame you end up with, I think you are going to really enjoy the big wheels!

I also have a 2008 Ventana El Rey full suspension, geared, 19" frame. The sweetest bike you're ever ride...

 

[dcleaner]

a friend of mine rides a 16 mary. i think on most other bikes he would be happy on an 18. from my understaning marys run a little big. your best bet would be to check geometry of all 3 bikes on the 18 mary that you tested.

how tall is your friend?
i've compared mary's and unit's geometry, and the mary is a bit taller and the unit is a bit longer all together.

a guy called me today and told me the gt can't be imported

so it's down to unit and mary. even though i really like mary (the mere color, the components) i have a feeling that the price will be the thing to decide.
even though i have to admit that it would be mighty to cool to have a bike that has the same name as my girlfriend

..be sure to show us some pictures when you get your bike!

i kind of fear that i'll have to wait a few months for anything to arrive

 

[Moementum]

Check the Haro forum for more Mary sizing info.

 

[Captain_America1976]

how tall is your friend?
i've compared mary's and unit's geometry, and the mary is a bit taller and the unit is a bit longer all together.

he is about 5'8". baesd on your earleir comments about the 18" mary being a tad too big, i think the 16 should work.
i would also say with no gt option, go for the mary based on the majority of comments here.

 

[dcleaner]

he is about 5'8". baesd on your earleir comments about the 18" mary being a tad too big, i think the 16 should work.
i would also say with no gt option, go for the mary based on the majority of comments here.

the only problem is that i can only buy the 18'' mary which they already have in the shop, since nobody has any intention of importing the 16'' one.

the problem here in croatia is that almost nobody dares to import 29er ss, since they fear that they will not sell any or parhaps just one (to me that is ) and they can't order just one bike.
...except for the shop that has kona's, they are willing to import just one. and for that i have to wait three months.

so perhaps because of all of this i'm inclined to go with the unit, it turns out after few days on the phone and visiting a fair amount of shops, it's the only thing beside the 18'' mary i can get.

 

[Ojos Azules]

Zasto ne pogledas malo i u Sloveniju ?

http://tabla.mtb.si/viewtopic.php?p=548154

Na gornjem linku ti je popis vecine trgovina u Sloveniji pa baci pogled - ako nista drugo barem su usluzniji prema kupcu nego kod nas.
Mozes probati i uvesti nesto izvana:

http://www.singlespeed.nl/catalog/index.php

Ovo gore ti je link na Nizozemsku online trgovinu specijaliziranu za singlespeed bicikle i opremu.