Thoughts on this bike?

[BerksJack]

Hi all,

My 1st post in this section, apologies If this has been done to death!!

I've decided that I want to get a bike and start commuting and doing some light off road. My last bike was a muddy fox around 10 years ago and now they don't seem to be stocked anywhere?

I've done a bit of online browsing and this Kona looks (I think) about right for what I need:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/lanai-del...

I guess what I'm asking is, is it any good for the money?

Thanks

[itsnotarace]

If you can wait another two or three months until the sales start as the 2012 bikes start making it into dealers you will be able to get a better bike for the same sort of money. Most of the time the newer bikes just have updated colour schemes

[shouldbworking]

It'd be sufficient for your needs but you could probably get more for your money - try

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b... to pick up last years models at sometimes ridiculous discounts (no affiliation)

[SteveS Cup]

At the moment with a few extra £'s you can get a lot more, but for sub £300 it does look good. The Carerra Kraken at Halfords is better spec'd and £350.

[BerksJack]

Thanks for all of the replies chaps. I'm not worried about getting this years model and would happily ride last years bike/ colour scheme for less £.

I picked that one out as it had already been reduced and seemed a reasonable spec for the money. I'll keep looking and pop into a shop on the weekend

[MrTom]

If your commuting you will need reliabilty, that spec Kona is not reliable.
I would recommend a minimum of Shimano Deore or Sram x-5 for drive train (thats derailleur F+R and shifters F+R).

Below is a hierarchy of shimano+sram parts C+P from another site;

LEVEL 1 (entry level)
Sram x3, x4
Shimano SIS-5 speed/6 speed/7 speed.
Shimano ALTUS-7 speed.
Shimano ACERA-7 speed/8 speed.
The above are mainly used on bikes that are used on weekends,
bike path riding and some commuting bikes.

LEVEL 2
Sram x5
ALIVO-7 speed/8 speed.
DEORE-9 speed.
These are used a lot by people who commute most days as well as for bikes
which are ridden on weekends. This componentry is suitable for off road use and is generally 
a good starting point for racing components.

LEVEL 3
Sram x7
DEORE LX-9 speed.
LX is a very good quality component which is well weighted and designed.
 LX is mainly used for serious recreation and racing. As well as for those people who want a very
stable and strong commuting bike.

LEVEL 4
Sram x9
SLX 9 speed (very similar to XT but costs less )
DEORE XT-9 speed.
XT is once again a very smooth and reliable group set, used on many 
racebikes as well as top end town bikes. XT is remarkably strong and very 
durable as well as being a delight to use.2004 saw a big change in LX when 
the hollow tech 2 crank set was introduced, as well as the introduction of
 the rapid shift levers

LEVEL 5
Sram X0
DEORE XTR-9 speed.
XTR is predominately used on top end race bikes. It is very light and 
smooth, however it does require some maintenance as it is such a precision made component.
XTR also has the Hollow tech 2 crank set with an awesome disc 
brake and wheel set being available.

Hydraulic disk brakes or V brakes, do not buy mechanical disk brakes they are garbage (avid BB5 not included). Forks, for your budget not great, Suntour and RST are poor, Rockshox, Marzocchi and Manitou are what you should aim for. Rockshox are what you will find on most factory bikes, Tora is a pretty decent fork for the price.

Rockshox hierarchy, low to high;
Dart
Tora
Recon
Sid
Reba
Sektor
revelation

To summarise, Chainset Deore or X5, brakes hydraulic or V, fork Rockshox preferably Tora.

Edited by MrTom on Friday 27th May 11:32

Edited by MrTom on Friday 27th May 11:34

[SteveS Cup]

I've been told the Suntour Air forks are good.

The Kraken also has hydraulic tektro's which again was told they're good.

I would echo what was said about cable discs, awful things.

[anonymous-user]

SteveS Cup said:

At the moment with a few extra £'s you can get a lot more, but for sub £300 it does look good. The Carerra Kraken at Halfords is better spec'd and £350.

Very pleased with mine Got it when Halfords were doing the 20% off (so £303) which I'm sure they'll do again soon.

[BerksJack]

Glad your pleased with yours I think I'll be going tomorrow and ordering it.

Nyphur said:

Very pleased with mine Got it when Halfords were doing the 20% off (so £303) which I'm sure they'll do again soon.

Thanks for all of the advice guys I really appreciate it. I think with my budget the Kraken looks a good ride for the money.

As I said earlier I haven't been on a bike for a long time, if I get the bug and start riding alot then I'll probably upgrade to something better next year.

[shouldbworking]

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

This one is another that has been in my mind.. alfine hub at £400!

[BerksJack]

So, I went to buy the Kraken and the sales guy pointed me in the direction of this:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

Better brakes, front forks and 50% off so it's £75 cheaper. Is it too good to be true?

[anonymous-user]

i still dont understand the obsession with groupset hierarchy, gears and brakes are only as good as the time you spend maintaining them, there is no point buying a bike on the basis that it having xxx or yyy components and thinking that the parts will keep themselves clean, lubed and in good working order if you just pop the bike back in the garage after a long ride... having worked on a wide range of groupsets, the entry level stuff is actually nice and simple to maintain and does a good job.

same for forks et al, could you really really tell the difference between well maintained top end rebas or revelations?....

[mchammer89]

MrTom said:

do not buy mechanical disk brakes they are garbage (avid BB5 not included).

Was just about to go off on one before I read the last bit

[BerksJack]

pablo said:

i still dont understand the obsession with groupset hierarchy, gears and brakes are only as good as the time you spend maintaining them, there is no point buying a bike on the basis that it having xxx or yyy components and thinking that the parts will keep themselves clean, lubed and in good working order if you just pop the bike back in the garage after a long ride... having worked on a wide range of groupsets, the entry level stuff is actually nice and simple to maintain and does a good job.

same for forks et al, could you really really tell the difference between well maintained top end rebas or revelations?....

Not sure if that is aimed at me or not?

But as I said in my OP the last time I got on a bike was 10 years ago and things have moved on considerably in that time.

Whichever bike I go for will get properly maintained. I wouldnt expect any bikes components to keep working if not looked after properly, regardless of cost.

[anonymous-user]

BerksJack said:

pablo said:

i still dont understand the obsession with groupset hierarchy, gears and brakes are only as good as the time you spend maintaining them, there is no point buying a bike on the basis that it having xxx or yyy components and thinking that the parts will keep themselves clean, lubed and in good working order if you just pop the bike back in the garage after a long ride... having worked on a wide range of groupsets, the entry level stuff is actually nice and simple to maintain and does a good job.

same for forks et al, could you really really tell the difference between well maintained top end rebas or revelations?....

Not sure if that is aimed at me or not?

But as I said in my OP the last time I got on a bike was 10 years ago and things have moved on considerably in that time.

Whichever bike I go for will get properly maintained. I wouldnt expect any bikes components to keep working if not looked after properly, regardless of cost.

sorry it wasnt aimed at anyone in particular at all, it just crops up here a lot. people will snub anything less than 105 or SLX without a rational reason for doing so, it just smacks of wanting to look the part and giving off the "get me, i'm a serious rider ...." image when the rest of the bike is full of cheap components. manufacturers know this though, so spec bikes based on groupset rather than wheels... without wanting to start an argument on a seperate matter, higher quality wheels are worth more than a grouppo upgrade.

maintain it yourself, with a few quality tools and a good reference book, you can do it all and save £££s

[MrTom]

pablo said:

sorry it wasnt aimed at anyone in particular at all, it just crops up here a lot. people will snub anything less than 105 or SLX without a rational reason for doing so, it just smacks of wanting to look the part and giving off the "get me, i'm a serious rider ...." image when the rest of the bike is full of cheap components. manufacturers know this though, so spec bikes based on groupset rather than wheels... without wanting to start an argument on a seperate matter, higher quality wheels are worth more than a grouppo upgrade.

maintain it yourself, with a few quality tools and a good reference book, you can do it all and save £££s

From personal experience (first proper bike, Giant boulder team, Spesh hardrock disk) the lower end gear e.g. sram x3/x4, Shimano Alivio just doesn't last, very bendy and will not index properly. I agree that there is no difference between x-7 and x-9 derailleurs (I have both) other than materials used.

[BerksJack]

pablo said:

maintain it yourself, with a few quality tools and a good reference book, you can do it all and save £££s

No probs mate, and sorry if my reply sounded a touch snappy!

Any good books that you could recommend or will a 'Haynes' type manual do the job?

[BerksJack]

Oh, I went for the vengeance in the end. It looked nicer