"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:uYIac.30162$oH2.22497@lakeread01...
Quoted message said:Great --- so what did you buy? We all want to know so the
Bike Nazi's can make fun of it. Seriously though it was a
minor detail missing from the story. Tell us about your
new ride!
I needed a bike for road, city, and light trail use. As much
as I'd like to always be in the woods, truth is I need
something sensible for some city riding. I decided a cross
country hardtail would be best. Even if I wanted dual
suspension, I don't think I would have been satisfied with a
dual in my limited budget range.
I got this: tinyurl.com2nk2zOpen ↗
Here's my initial impressions:
Overall this is a bike with a lot of compromises, yet at the
same time highly upgradable and a decent recreational ride
right out of the box. It appears to me the 7005 aluminum
frame is well constructed and Kona is often praised for
their frame geometry and balance. My wife got a Rocky
Mountain Stratos which is a lot more refined than this bike,
but I like the beefy masculine look of the Kona next to
hers. Rocky Mountain is made in Canada (big plus for me) and
Kona seems to be one of the leaders on the North Shore, so I
wanted one of these two brands, just for my own subjective
cool factor.
The flat blue-grey paint and somewhat subdued graphics give
this bike an almost "military issue" look. I was ambivilent
about the look at first but it does grow on you.
Fork: You don't normally get much of a fork in this
pricerange. In this case it's a Marz made in tiawan special.
I won't be taxing it too much so I'm sure it will be fine.
It did seem quite "springy" compared to my wife's low end
Marz air fork. We'll see....perhaps the fork will be the
first major upgrade.
Tires: They look cool but are not particularly well
reviewed. Oh well, I'll work hard to wear them out.
Rims. Mine came with Mavic rims. I like that. Always had
good luck with Mavics.
Brakes: Shimano mechanical discs. I have never used disc
brakes before, but they should come in handy in this damp
climate. I know some people say shimano mechanicals are
junk, but when you read all the reviews you get the
impression most people like them. I'm sure they'll be fine
for me, although I have budgeted some fiddle time.
Seat: Can't vouch for its comfort yet, but I do like the
"rawhide stitched" look.
Components: Mostly Deore level stuff, which in my
experience is solid quality for recreational riding. Yeah
they used that lame trick of putting on an XT rear
derailleur, but hey, I'll take it. I know I don't get an XT
bike for this price and a smooth rear derailleur is
important. Avid levers seem cool too. I think the crankset
and rings look a little cheap. Another part of this bike
I'll work hard to wear out (I'll get a Race Face
crankset..made in Canada... yeah!). Pedals are OK I guess,
but basically junk. They'll be gone soon. Overall though, a
decent quality setup. I'm happy with it.
This bike isn't lite. I think they report it comes in at 28
pound. You can tell just by looking at it it's a little
beefier than most of its direct competitors. Kona has the
similarly equipped and priced "Hoss" model which is even
beefier but something like 3 pounds heavier. Even though I'm
a really big guy I decided the Hoss would be overkill for my
sane riding style. So I think this Kona Cinder Cone is a
good compromise solution as far as durabilty, quality,
weight and price are concerned.
Can't tell you about the ride yet. So far I've just tooled
around the neighborhood on a test ride. I'll report back
when I have something to go on. I can say that it appears
Cove set it up perfect. Thanks again guys.
