Kona commuter
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Kona commuter
Postby franjae » Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:18 pm
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby Nobody » Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:40 pm
More aerodynamic drag from a more upright seating position.
The 32mm tyres will be slower rolling, but should be less of a problem than the aero drag.
Smaller, higher pressure training/racing tyres should make a difference, but it probably won't be huge.
- Mulger bill
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:02 am
This is Lola
I've done a bit of upgrading from stock.
I love the way she rides now. She's no lightweight near race unit like me previous OCR2, you do notice the extra weight but she's near perfect for the job.
Your wheels have the same hubs. Not the greatest but still serviceable. I'm still running them but I'm putting the dough together to build a decent set of hoops.
I'd be checking the brakes for drag, not many disc bikes come from the shop "just so". It wouldn't hurt to check the hubs for poor adjustment too. Your tyres by the Kona site are better than what came on mine but a set of 28mm Gatorskins will make a difference.
Give her a hiding mate, she'll laugh and ask for more. When you wear out or break some parts you won't be wasting money with sensible upgrades.
Have a ball.
Shaun
London Boy 29/12/2011
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby familyguy » Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:46 am
Jim
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby silkishuge » Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:49 am
I am a Kona fan too. I have a Kona Jake the Snake. Yes she is heavier but I just like everything about her. She has everything I need in a commuter.
I bought the frame and fitted all the stuff I wanted on her. She is fitted out with some cheap tecktro cantilever brakes, Ultegra drive train except for FSA compact cranks. Front wheel is a Aksium while the rear wheel is a customized 32 hole DT Swiss wheel with Ultegra hubs. I use 35 mm knobby tyres designed for Cyclocross which is great for puncture resistance. The panniers fitted out in back keep my bum dry when its raining and is great for its intended purpose of carrying extra bags for the grocery run. I use a drop handle bar to help with aerodynamics and she rolls fine although its a bit harder work going up hill. My commute is only about 27 km and between my lighter bikes and this bike, it may be a 7 min difference in travel time, which is not much in the scheme of things.
I am not sure how you can upgrade your bike because fitting drop bars might not compatible with the frame geometry and might make for an uncomfortable ride. Slick wheels might help with rolling resistance or even a better wheel. Kona bikes are typically not designed for people who put weight as a first priority in their choice of bikes. My bike weighs about 12 kg.
Jon
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby franjae » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:15 am
Yes, I will check the brakes and figure out if adjustment would be necessary. I know the front wheel just doesn't spin as well as the Giant. Perhaps I just need to get used to the different gearing as well. Mulger Bill, did you do anything to the stock gearing? Obviously no point having the triple rings on the front right? I'm putting guards and rack on currently which I'm sure will sloe it down further but it has to be practical! Will try and post a pic in the weekend. Cheers!
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby cpical » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:48 am
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby Sir Stinkalot » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:51 am
I don't really have anything to compare it with but mine seems to roll ok. I did find once that I overtightened the cam lock on the back wheel once and that must have made the disk brake rub as it was slow going on the way into work and before I left for home I just backed it off a little and the run home was much more enjoyable. There was no noise but it was rolling slower.
As for the gearing I spend most of my time on the flats. That being said however I seem to only ever use three gears maximum, and they are the top three (big front / little rear). At times I have found this to be limiting when I want to go up the gears further. I think my maximum speed on the flat so far was about 42km/h on the way home from work, problem is buses and traffic lights! If I put mine in granny gear I don't think it is possible to maintain balance as you have to peddle so hard to make it move. It might be a different story on the hills.
The only thing that I have done is fitted guards, lights and a computer. Given that I am 100kg I don't think that these minor attachments will impact much.
Cheers
Stinky.
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby Mulger bill » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:03 pm
I changed the dérailleurs, brifters, crankset and BB by cannibalising parts off me OCR after about 150 kms. I really don't get on well with Sora brifters. The removed bits turned me OCR frame into me son's first roadie.
I kept the triple because these old railwaymans knees hate that first hill straight out of the driveway on sub 5degree mornings. It gets ignored at all other times. Here's a link to my initial post about her in the gallery.
Cheers
Shaun
London Boy 29/12/2011
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby franjae » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:23 pm
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby silkishuge » Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:52 am
Looks good. I would recommend one more rear blinkie, especially this time of the year.franjae wrote:Appreciate all your replies people! Looks like there's going to be a bit more tinkering to do! So i now have everything fitted for the moment. Unfortunately the tyre rubs a little against the guard. I did intended to fit skinnier tyre, but I'll leave that for now. Spent enough $$ for a while. Here she is...
Jon
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby franjae » Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:56 pm
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Re: Kona commuter
Postby rpmspinman » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:53 pm
Shav
My Bikes:
2011 Kona Dew Plus (commuter)
2012 Focus Cayo 2.0 (road)
2015 Cervelo S5 VWD
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