Mountain Biking - Which bike to choose?!

I got a dilema here... I'm looking at the 2003 Specialized BigHit Expert ($2700) and the 2003 Kona Stinky-Delux ($2600). They share nearly the same level of components! I am planning to test ride both, but I need some opinions. I weigh around 130 and plan to pull drops up to 10 feet with which ever bike I decide to buy. I'll be doing mostly freeriding and possibly do a little downhill racing for a sponser(s). In opinion which is stronger, lighter, more efficient, a better deal, and better for a person like me. Thanks.

Here's specs for,

Specialized Big Hit Expert:
http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?san=03BigHitExpert&bl=mountain&my=2003

Kona Stinky-Delux:
http://www.konaworld.com/2k3/2k3bikes.cfm

Id go with the kona they have such a great reputation and look very sterdy. Idk though i ride devinci, thats another good brand to look into! Beets me

No contest. Stinky. :)...sorry but that is one of the TOP freeride bikes around.

Originally posted by Maelstrom
No contest.

Come on now....they are both very good bikes.

The bighits are really sweet, and they pedal great. Its cool that you can handle big bikes being such a small kid (if you are) and going that big at such a young age (if you are young). I am either getting an expert or comp next year, I cant wait!!

I know. But if I had the cash the Stinky is one of my dream bikes. Just one of those things. The specialized is great and PROBABLY dollar for dollar a better bike. Kona's tend to be overpriced.

Yeah I'm fairly young (15 years). I have been doing drops at around 5-7 feet with my current ride. However I'm afraid to break the frame or damage it. I have a SC fork which doesn't deliver anywhere near enough travel for what I have been doing as well as what I'm planning to do. I've been getting feedback that balances out the two bikes. I know test riding both will answer a lot, but what about stregnth, weight, or value. Which one can take the hits better or absorb the bumps better? Reason why I ask is cause I can't bring the demo out on the trails that have the demanding terrain. I also have noticed Konas are fairly over priced, but this year's model seems to have a better deal than earlier models. I'll be doing a whole lot of freeriding, but as I said I may race downhill once in a while. So i need to put both into consideration when I buy this bike. Overall, I don't know which way to go on this. So help!:confused:

Ok. Well the Stinky is the freeride bike. Most people out here either ride those OR Ellsworth. Both are proven to be tough. Specialized is strong and offers much of the same. I would test ride both and see for yourself. They can both carry you to the next level. :)

Kona's are overpriced and under speced because of strenght. They consisitently hold up tougher than MOST other model bikes. They are well worth the extra cash. :)

At the level of bike you are talking about the test ride is the only way.

I love Kona's bikes and they are a great company. All my mtb are Kona and I have been riding them since the early 90's.
This is one case though I would say get the BigHit. If you are going to race the BH will have better geometry then the Stinky. But if you will be doing more freeriding and just the occasional dh I would say get the Stinky because the geometry is suited better for that. They both are good bikes so the one that fits you the best will be the one to get. Just remember that with these types of bikes you will not be able to truely test them with out being out on the trail. A ride in the parking lot will not do either justice. The one that feels better in the lot may not be the better one on the trail. If the shop has these as demo bikes I suggest you take them both out for a ride.

Slainte:beer:

No contest for me either. I'd have the Stinky already!!! Who cares if the bighit has a few better parts, parts wear out. What matters is the frame. I think you will be much happier with Kona. Kona's are great bikes, plus you'll be in the hip cowd.

anybody have either a Kona Stinky or Bighit? And another question, is it smarter to buy it in the off season for a better deal? I noticed many bike stores sell their bikes at fairly low prices during these upcoming months.

Personally unless there is a big jump in tech I would buy a 2002 in the next 6 months. Much cheaper. Sometimes (Marzocchi forks come to mind) it is smarter to buy the NEWEST. In this case I don't think there is a huge improvement so I would go with 2002.

I am not sure about the specialize though. Could be major differences.

I'm definitely shooting for the 2003 Jr. T cause it's a sweet fork. Both bikes have it. The Big Hit has major changes for 2003 believe it or not. What do people think of Specialized components in general? cause i know the bighit has a bunch of them that come with it. And which is better: Sunglide rims or the Mavics? Is the Kona frame considered single pivot?

The Stinky has an extra inch of travel for '03.
No, it is a four-bar linkage system.

I own a 2000 Stinky and a 2003 Stab Primo. They are both great bikes and I have never had a problem with the frame. I believe that Maelstrom also rides a Stinky and there are a few others. All Kona owners seem to love their bikes as do I.
One other plus that Kona has is great customer support. They have always helped me out.
The JrT is a superb fork with a plush feel and handles large hits great.

Slainte:beer:

hehe I wish. I am actually a ht rider. I bought a Roast to start with for training purposes. Stinky or Dawg / Bear next year though :)

Mavics are my favorite rims. The first to hold up to my abuse for longer than a couple of months.

Both bikes generally have the same componentry. I personaly prefer the stinky overall. Especially that new colour. Almost makes me wanna skip any major upgrades and just go for broke :) The rims on the Stinky are better for freeriding.

Really it comes down to your purpose. If you are going to freeride more I think the stinky is the ****. If you plan to do some racing I think the specialized 'may' be better.

I own a 2000 Stinky

How heavy is it and how heavy is the front? You find it easy to get the front up in the air?

A stock stinky is like 39 pounds. They can varry I know people that have them decked to 55pnds. It depends on your setup and what you want it for.

Front end weight is irrelenvant. You learn to lift the heavier front end with a short time. I ride my friends stinky periodically and don't notice a difference for wheelies drops etc...

How heavy is it and how heavy is the front? You find it easy to get the front up in the air?

Before I retired her from the dh sceen she weighed approx. 58lbs.
Now that I have set it up for xc/fr the weight is down to some where around 35lbs. I have not weighed the bike yet. The fork I was using weighed 8lbs and I never had a problem lifting the front. Even at it's heaviest I was always able to fling it around as if it was some where in the 20's. Doing drops or doubles was never any problem, I could point her where ever and she would hit the mark.

Slainte
:beer:

Before I retired her from the dh sceen

You used a Stinky for DH? How did it handle that?

You used a Stinky for DH? How did it handle that?

Well she helped me to 3rd place overall. With a longer stroke shock(8" instead of the oe 5") it lengthend the wheel base and gave the bike slacker geometry which in turn made it more stable at speed. Also using a 30mm stem rather then the 80mm stem helped out with the control. The bike still wanted to push the front a bit but not as much as she did originaly. Also, the corses we run on are technical with alot of drops and jumps so the flickability so to speak was a plus. The bike never got squerly no matter how fast we went. Here is a pic of us in action:

Cool. Sweet photo.:)

Kona or Specialized components? Which one is better (meaning their own components, not bought from other companies to put on their bikes). And thanks again for all the great responses!

I assume you are referring to seat, seatpost, stem etc...Kona pedals rule, I doubt they make their own stem but it is very strong. Kona probably buys parts from another company and stamps the kona decal on it. I don't doubt specialized probably does that as well.

All I know is Kona doesn't have that nasty S stamped all over every spar area on the parts. :)

*After checking the FSR in the basement, running back upstairs in my Gucci slippers*

Maelstom, um I think I need help!!! That "S" is everywhere!!


:D

Especially if you have the tires and seat. Jeez ;)

Ha, my brother has a Specialized Hard Rock Comp and I know what you mean by having S's all over the place. The even slapped one under the BB.


I don't doubt specialized probably does that as well.

You meant they do the same as Kona? cause I thought they made their own stuff.

Another thing, why doesn't Kona have a lifetime warranty on the frame? They only have 5 years.

These are obviously just my opinions but

1 - It would be crazy for a company to lifetime warranty aluminum frames. Especially in the freeride and out of bounds series.

2 - All of the Kona riders I know are also into the 'style' aspect and generally replace the bike often. The long warranty would be wasted as no company warranties a transered ownership.

3 - It also might be a way to reduce costs on the bike. All of those lifetime warranty bikes would be so much cheaper with a 5 year warranty. I would easily be willing to pay less in order to get a good bike with a shorter warranty. And of course how much more would a bike (kona) be to warranty to a lifetime.

4 - The other issue would be technology. Bikes are ever evolving. (of course I am speaking duallies). All of their race ready duallies may not be race worthy in 3 years so it would be time to upgrade. Really you would have to ask them as these are just hunches on my part. I would personally run a business in a similar way and I sometimes compare bikes to computers. Why would I get a three warranty on a computer when I replace parts within 4 months and void it for example.

I actually mean I doubt kona manufactures their own parts. I can't say for certain but Kona is a pretty small company and would be better off purchasing the 'extras' from other comanies and stamping them. I don't know if either specialized or Kona do it but it does make better business sense from a manufacturing point of view.

good points, thanks

I'm probably going with the stinky. I asked a bunch of people I was riding with and they all said to get the Stinky. One guy mentioned to replace the stock bolt for the linkage with the DH bolt. Is this years model coming with the DH stuff for the linkage? That's what I've heard from a couple of people.

Well after you wait too long and then decide to get the bighit, it will be sold out and you will be so pissed at yourself for not getting one. So save yourself the hassle and get the better bike. Go to www.ridemonkey.com and ask them, they will have all different opinions too. Get the specialized or I am going to be majorly bummed.....dood:D

Shut up Klein; freerider biker, get the Kona!
;)

Originally posted by KleinMp99
Well after you wait too long and then decide to get the bighit, it will be sold out and you will be so pissed at yourself for not getting one. So save yourself the hassle and get the better bike. Go to www.ridemonkey.com and ask them, they will have all different opinions too. Get the specialized or I am going to be majorly bummed.....dood:D

Yeah at ridemonkey everyone seems to hate Kona and Ellsworth. Anything american except Canondale ;)...

But definately ask there to get more opinions if you are concerned. Some VERY smart individuals frequent that board who know truck loads about bikes. I also tend to go with what I see on the mountain full time. That is where my preference lies. A lot of people that live and ride on Whistler and Blackcomb DAILY love the Kona Stinky. When you ride that often you buy what you trust. The Stinky works for sooo many people locally that I don't think I can disagree. :)

I tried registering to the monkey review site thing and it doesn't work. Says the administrator has disabled registration. How or when do you register in that case?

You don't. I was going to mention that he has closed down the site to new users.

I am not sure if you can but try a search. It is a fairly common question or at least questions like it. In fact I think someone just asked about it yesterday in the dh and ds section.

why would he do that? Is it ever going to open back up? But I'll try a search and see if that works

Besides the excellent posters he had way to many jackasses on his site. He removed them and removed new user access. I am not sure when he will open up again though.

Originally posted by freerider biker
why would he do that? Is it ever going to open back up? But I'll try a search and see if that works

or you could know someone like me ;)

I sent you a pm.

That will work too. Well worth knowing people with power :)

You'd never believe this. I now have a third bike to compare!!! I would ignore it, but it's an awesome deal. A dealer I know is offering me a brand new 2002 Cannondale Gemeni 1000 for only $1800 (MSRP $2700). But if I were to buy this bike, I'd have to switch around with the componentry. For example it comes with a phsylo SL and I'd switch that with the Jr.T. It has that third chain ring (granny gear) so I'd switch that. Then the pedals would have to be switched too. After those main changes, it meets up to the Kona and Specialized. We estimated with all those changes and selling the left over parts, it'd total somewhere around 2400-2600. I have admired the Gemeni's craftmanship and look, but what about its performance, geometry, feeling, and ride? Anyone know? Where does it fall when compared to the Kona and Specialized. Sorry if I made this matter more confusing for those of you who have been following this thread (THANKS A LOT FOR ALL OF YOUR REPLIES, THEY ALL HELP).:)

I my self am not a fan of the Canyonsnails:p , although all the riders I know who ride them like them. These days they are making a good product and if it fits and you like the feeling of it I would say get it. The price sounds good to.
Most of the guys I know that ride them use the bike for strictly dh so I can not give you input on how it is as a freerider. Bookie has one, perhaps he can give you better insight.

Slainte:beer:

I can't give an unbiased opinion. I don't think they are on par with the before mentioned bikes and besides I haven't seen one I think looks good.

I have posted this pic before but the only Gemini that I like is this one. You can not get it because it never went into production.
I was able to ride it once and it was a blast.

Slainte:beer:

dude thats sweet. What fork is that in front? I like the color scheme.

freerider...

The Gemini? I bought it for three reasons. 1. I come from a strong heritage of Cannondale road bikes (a re-specced R300 and a Team Saeco replica). 2. The Gemini had very good reviews, so that confirmed my allegiance to C'Dale. 3. The UK Which Mountain Bike rated it as the best money-no-object full-susser - but I already had the bike by then, so it was another confirmation.

For me, and my riding style the bike is perfect, but to be honest, I think 95% of all other bikes would have sufficed. I'm more into casual trail riding, so the big hit/dh/hucking league is not my calling. I'm still developing my confidence with mtb, and the expensive eggbeaters I bought are still in their box, unused, because I feel a little more 'secure' on flatties, especially when I need to get my foot down quickly - a common event. I have not even taken 'air' yet. I want to, but I still need to get my balance right, get used to the technical aspects of riding and so on. That's where I am personally. The bike? It is a stunning machine. The front shock (RS Psylo) is for me overkill. I like being able to lock it down (well most of the way, anyway) so that makes it easier to ride on smooth trails.

The rear lock out on the Fox RL is great. That gives me almost hardtail (great for smooth trails, imo) but then none of this is new stuff. In general, there is little about the bike that dissapoints me. I changed the saddle to a Specialized gel, and the Shimano rear lock out lever is a piece of crap. I've bought the Cannondale lever, which looks nicer, is less obtrusive and less likely to cause injury if you hit the bars for any reason. If you see the Shimano lever you'll know what I mean. The ride position is weird, but coming from road bikes that is a consequence of going into the mtb domain. The bb is much higher, so my c.o.g is higher and that disturbed me for a while. But, thanks to the excellent advice in the forum, I now raise the seat on the slow uphill sections, and lower it when I have a good descent ahead of me. I ride somewhere inbetween, so my leg stroke is not optimum, but neither do I cramp.

I love the stability. On the occasions I've panicked going round corners or making sudden inline corrections, I've never found it wanting. Someone else pushing it to the limit would have other ideas though. It exudes quality in every area. The Mavic 3.1 tubeless wheels are spot-on, and the Magura Julie discs are potent stoppers. I once went down a steepish hill, and I erred on the side of safety and rode it with discs continuously on and off in short bursts. They must have been glowing but the braking never faded.

From a price perspective, I think the Gemini 1000 gives one of the best out-of-the-box deals on any bike. The 2000 (imo) does not warrant the price increase and the 900 is almost as expensive, and to an extent is not as well specced as the 1000. I'm thinking about switching to 2003 XTR components, for no reason other than I like the look of it. The existing XT/LX components are ok by me, so the XTR thing is cosmetic rhater than functional, I just like gadgets.

If I were to make any change for the better, I'd probably look at the Lefty Max strut. Again, that might be a cosmetic/gadget thing! I really do like my 1000 but I'm a die-hard C'Dale fan. If you really want to see the fur fly, just start a thread, "C'Dale is the best" and stand back. There are some forum members who hate C'Dale for no reason other than they've never ridden one. We know who they are, so no names mentioned, eh?!!!

It came with the Shimano MD545 pedals. They are crap, the worst I ever used. I now use the MX30 studded flatties and they are much better. Just the right amount of grip to stand on, and secure enough for the descents with the ability to get the foot down quickly if you need to. I'm at an age (48) where granny gears are necessary! I had tall gears on my road bike but that was a different riding style and set of conditions.

So, all in all, the 1000 is the best in the C'Dale stable. I think it eclipses the top-range Jekylls that are not much cheaper and certainly not as well specced (again my opinion). I think the Gemini should have Lefty's as standard, or at least as an option. Only thing to hold me back is the Cannondale frame recall. My lbs are waiting for the gauge to check the frame, but C'Dale have recommended not to ride the bike until that has been done.

The 1000 is a fine ride. Looks good. Great spec. In black, it looks even better. I can't vouch for other models. From what I read in the forum, there would seem to be better downhillers, but a great rider can make a mediocre bike do amazing things, far more than I could ever do on my top-flight baby. I have a bike that will do for many years to come. I want to build some additional wheels so I can switch to roadie use for the charity rides I like to do - and fat knobblies are not ideal for that. As it came out of the lbs, it was and still is a 100 percenter.

thanks for the great review.

Anyone have any expierience with Norco dually bikes?

Kona is a very reputable manufacturer, and everyine i know that owns one is quite pleased.

Posted a forum on ridemonkey.com. I actually got about an equal amount of votes for the stinky and big hit. Another thing that should be taken into consideration is my location. I live in CT which is in the NE of the US. I don't know what kind of area the two bikes are ment for, or better to ride with. Any insights?

No clue...North East...The stinky will be a better pedaller (sp) if that is any consideration.

Hey all yall. I picked up the Specialized Big Hit Expert for a demo ride tomarrow morning. I'm gonna give it as much testing as I can from technical downhill runs to drops and rollers. I'll pick up the Stinky later this month for a demo. As of now I found the geometry of the Big Hit very different from my Disco Monkey. The seat is far back and positioned at a rather steep angle. However the rear suspension is very active and extremely plus which is a major plus. I'll let you all know how the demo goes.:)

Thats the best way to do it. Try both and then decide. :)

Alright, here's my review on the Specialized Big Hit Expert. After spending 4 hours on the BH, I am very pleased. The FSR in the rear is very active and extremely plush. It felt as if I was landing on butter! It was so plush that it looked as if it were to bottom out easily on drops. I pulled drops around 8 feet, and I didn't really notice the shock bottoming out. Some riders that watched the rear shock off of drops said that it was very close to bottoming out. However, it was awesome on the downhill sections. The fork still had to be broken in since it was a brand new Jr. T, but that will come in time. The bike handled pretty well. The steering was very stiff which was a major plus. I found it easier to get bike off of drops at both high and slow speeds. I think this is because of the 24 inch rear wheel. I actually liked this because drops felt easier to maneuver than on a bike with a 26 inch rear wheel. This was just one of my preferences. The bike is a beast to climb with. I know its not for climbing, but even getting up small stuff was a time to walk. The bike handled rollers the best. Since the seat position was so far back and the 24 inch rear lowered the rear, rollers were very easy.

Here are some cons: The posistion I had the bike in was very uncomfortable. I left the seat at a steep angle, which I should have changed before the ride. But it wasn't that bad. The bike obviously was set up for dowhill or extreme freeriding. Don't even think this bike will come anywhere close to a trail bike. It even felt as if it was into the hucking category. The position was just designed for the extreme rider in mind. Next time I'll be sure to adjust the seat angle. The 24 inch rear wheel was very strong and great on drops, however on the downhill section it had some problems. It seemed to slip into rock corners and ledges. I had complete control over the front of the bike, but the rear seemed to have a mind of its own. This was from the rear 24 inch wheel fitting into small rock corners and ledges. And it would be great if specialized could do as great job on their tires as they did on this bike. Their tires suck. I was riding tight downhill sections and I kept feeling the tires slip out. Wet rock, NO TRACTION what so ever!

In general, this was an awesome bike. I had a killer time riding this monster. Would I consider buying it? Definitely yes, but not without testing Kona's Stinky Dee-Lux. I'll keep all you posted.

At first I didnt think it was you posting that review, and then after re-reading a bunch of times I looked at your name and was like SWEEEEEEET. So keep us updated.....I am really interested in what bike you are going to decide on!:D