Touring - Should I buy a Kona Dew Deluxe?

This is the first time I have ever put anything on a forum. here goes.

I am going from a MTB to somthing more suited to much longer rides on the roads with the odd groomed trail /gravel road.

I don't want a Hybred with shocks because of the weight.

I tried out the the Kona Dew Deluxe, I liked the way it handled. The tires are 37's, the price was not that bad. The Dew deluxe weiths 26 pounds. I like it the best so far.
I think it is heavier than the Trek 7.6, another bike I was considering. The Trek has carbon forks, the Kona has a cromoly fork.

Is there any andvantage to cromoly?

I have looked at Specialized Sirrus, the tires were 28's? It was more twichy than the Kona but I think that is because of the tire size.

I was told the Giant FCR was strictly for road use.

So does anybody have any advise. This shopping for bikes is very confusing.

Thanks

For your stated purpose, the Dew is the best choice of what you've listed. Carbon forks have advantages over cromo/steel forks in weight and comfort (smoothing out bumps), but are not as strong or as durable as the steel. Steel still rides smoother than aluminum, so it's not as if it provides a rough ride.

In addition, the fatter tires you're looking to run will provide more cushion than either fork would. I would not run a carbon fork on a bike I intended to tour on. That said, you will probably eventually find yourself running skinnier tires than 37's if you continue to tour.

My vote is for the kona.

A lot of people run high presure 37s all the time. I wouldn't buy a bike based on the tire size it comes with as long as the capacity exist to run the tires you want. Often changing out the tires is the first thing I do, if I am buying an off the rack bike. Certainly many people prefer 32s for touring, particularly oif they have any hope of running mostly on smooth asphalt.

Thanks for all the advise. This really helps.

When I goe to the various bike shops the sales people somtimes make things a little confusing. They naturaly want to sell a product.

It will take me a while geting used the the smaller tires after being used to a MTB.

This Dew Delux is 24 speed. Is that going to be good enough for touring, hills and a few gravel roads? What difference woud a 29 speed make?

I seen some tires on a Trek FX that had no tread. They must have been 32s, I think they would be perfect for the road.

For some reason I like this Dew Deluxe mabe it is more suited to my size. 5"8".

The handle bars are not totaly flat.

Do you like the carbon seat posts or the ones with shocks? I thought they would help on the bumps.

When I goe to the various bike shops the sales people somtimes make things a little confusing. They naturaly want to sell a product.

I also think that most people who work in bike shops are much more oriented towards racing or mountain biking than touring. At least, that has been my experience - especially the really young ones. It's good to find a guy or gal who has been around biking awhile, who knows what's important to a tourer.

24 speeds will be fine. Lots of people have toured on less. What's more important is the range of those speeds. The Dew Deluxe comes with an 11-34 8sp cassette and 48/38/28 crankset--that's a very appropriate range of gearing for a touring bike.

Welcome to the forums, too. You'll find a lot of helpful people here. Cheers!

Everyone has been so helpful. These forums are quite good.

Any thoughts on the carbon seat posts, or suspension seat posts?

So as far as bikes go is the Dew Deluxe a good choice over Giant, Trek or Specalized?

Would this Dew Deluxe be considered a fitness bike the way Trek advertizes the FX 7.6 and Specialized the Sirrus? Kona advertizes it as a Ashphalt bike?

I have been to bike shops where the staff went out of their way to personally offend me because I didn't have an interest in racing or hard core mountain biking. And, that is here in Boston, where, to my knowledge, we don't have any racing or mountains. Unless they consider Beacon or Mission Hill to be some kind of mountain.

Try a couple of longish rides without the suspension post and see for yourself if you need it. I'll bet you find you don't. Kona frames, in my limited experience, are not terribly stiff to begin with.

Most bike shops will swap tires without any hassle. Don't let the stock tires be the deciding factor. However, you might want to ask what is the widest tire that could fit on the bike.

In my opinion, with wide tires--say 32mm and up--a suspension seatpost is generally a waste of weight and money. Furthermore, I fail to see the point in getting a carbon seatpost if you are using the machine for touring.

My word of advice is to try a lot of bikes. Remember that the general fit of the bike is most important. Tires, stems, and seatposts are easy to swap. Most shops will accomodate. If you want to differentiate the quality of competing bikes, I typically look at the hubs and bottom bracket. Those are the components with the ball bearings. Next would be the quality of the shifters and derailers.

If I understand correctly, you are interested in flat-bar bikes usable for touring. Do the aforementioned bikes have the appropriate braze-ons and fittings for racks and water bottle cages?

There is a constant debate on whether aluminum or steel frames are superior for touring. If there is a Jamis dealer nearby, you might want to consider the Jamis Codas. Unlike the bikes mentioned below, they have a Reynolds 520 frame which is a more traditional touring frame. The Codas are a popular "do-it-all" bike model. There are people who use them for city travel, touring (I recall two women riding the Silk Road on their Codas), and road/path riding.

Good luck.

This Dew Deluxe bike does have the option of putting on front and back fenders. So it should be a good all round bike. I am looking forward to getting it.

26lbs is the weight, that should not be too bad cto my mtb which is 41lbs

Is there any andvantage to cromoly?Yes.

If your fork ever fails, a cromoly fork will fail slowly-- it will bend, thus giving you warning of fork failure. Carbon doesn't bend; it breaks catastrophically. One minute you're riding along with no clue that there's a problem, the next minute you're doing a face plant.

I have a Dew that I use for touring and commuting. You could do a lot worse than a Dew. It is the comfiest bike I've ridden (save the 'bent) due no doubt to the long chain stays. I put on drop bars, friction shifters, and 25mm Kenda Kwests.

Yes, I think the Dew to an interesting bike. It seemed a little more agressive than the Sirrus.

It will be a positive change from the mtb.

What do you mean by drop bars? Are they the type than is used on road bikes?

Yeah, drop bars are the kind that are normally on road bikes. I think the Dew Deluxe is a great value in an all around bike, too.

Get a Thusbuster seat post and forget carbon. You'll ride for hours and hours without any pain.