Cyclocross - Catastrophic frame failures?

I am looking to buy a kona Jake the snake, but i have been put off, i asked a mate today what he thought of them (he rides cross for a local shop) he said steer clear, he knows a guy who broke three kona cx frames in a season, now i happen to know this guy rides a yeti full susser with full xtr and a specialized epic s-works so i'm guessing he broke a kona major jake. obviously this frame is scandium and will have thinner walls than the jake the snake, this guy could be a violent rider, he could weigh 300lbs?

cutting to the chase, what i want to know is has anyone on this forum ever heard of or borken a kona jake or jake the snake? I usually stick to steel but in the UK there are very limited steel cross bikes available and none of them fit the bill like the jake does. i will mainly ride it on the road with th occassional foray into the woods, it will be my do it all tourer/commuter/winter bike.

by the way i weight 135lbs, and am 5' 10"

any help would be much appreciated

this guy could be a violent rider, he could weigh 300lbs?
Not likely if he races.


cutting to the chase, what i want to know is has anyone on this forum ever heard of or borken a kona jake or jake the snake? I usually stick to steel but in the UK there are very limited steel cross bikes available and none of them fit the bill like the jake does. i will mainly ride it on the road with th occassional foray into the woods, it will be my do it all tourer/commuter/winter bike.

by the way i weight 135lbs, and am 5' 10"

any help would be much appreciated

I can't imagine anyone your size destroying a bike on the road unless you're a frustrated BMX'r. Good luck on the bikes search.

good point about the weight, he def. won't weight 300lbs if he races!!

If he's using a high end full suspension bike, he's probably doing some hard core mountain biking. I can see where that could put a hurting on any non-suspension bike. I've used a Kona Jake for cyclocross, commuting and some non-technical offroad stuff for the last year and a half during which time I've weighed between 225 and 185 and I've had absolutely no problems. I can't imagine you'd have a problem with a Jake the Snake unless you're using it where you should be using a true mountain bike (which it doesn't sound like you plan to).

I have a scandium Major Jake and abuse the heck out of it. It has been on some very serious off road and continues to hold together fine for me. I weigh 170 lbs.

BTW, I have seen a scandium frame destroyed before by a team mate. It was not pretty. But it was a 29er Salsa mtb.

ive seen a broken scandium salsa too, an mtb though, i have a gary fisher big sur so def. no rough trials on the jake the snake, just fireroads, odd muddy track etc... good old british mud, if you US guys have never experienced British mud, you never want to!!

Given your user name I have to ask, have you considered the Kona Major One?

I have been riding and abusing a Jake the Snake for years on road and light off road use.
Apart form minor repairs the bike has held up very well. I weigh anywhere from 175-200# depending on time of year and my level of fitness. I have had no problems on this bike for over 10 years, its a great ride.

>> this guy could be a violent rider, he could weigh 300lbs?

Not likely if he races.


Not likely - but if he is I want to see this bike destroying behemoth in action!

I usually stick to steel but in the UK there are very limited steel cross bikes available and none of them fit the bill like the jake does. i will mainly ride it on the road with th occassional foray into the woods, it will be my do it all tourer/commuter/winter bike.

by the way i weight 135lbs, and am 5' 10"

any help would be much appreciated

At 135lbs I doubt you could destroy any bike, but that may just be envy talking.

However, given your tastes you are in the best country in the world to buy the bike you want - the exact match for your tastes is a Cotic Roadrat. Steel; lots of braze-ons; rim or disc brakes; geared, fixed or single speed; great reputation. Google it! I'd buy the frame and fork package and build it up with lightly used components - you'll save a fortune that way.

>At 135lbs I doubt you could destroy any bike, but that may just be envy talking.

I have a friend who weighs about that much (maybe slightly more). He rode an alu-framed road bike into a kerb while going uphill at about 20kph. The frame snapped in half at the headtube.

(The manufacturer refused to accept that it was a fault but begrudingly offered a discount on a replacement frame.)

>At 135lbs I doubt you could destroy any bike, but that may just be envy talking.

I have a friend who weighs about that much (maybe slightly more). He rode an alu-framed road bike into a kerb while going uphill at about 20kph. The frame snapped in half at the headtube.

(The manufacturer refused to accept that it was a fault but begrudingly offered a discount on a replacement frame.)

Well, that's why at 210lbs my street bike got its frame from cromolly mtb. And the several currents threads about people who suffered long term injury from pot holes or tram trails are part of the reason I keep at least 1.5'' slicks on it...

I don't see a cross bike failing if its used for cross. if you try BMX'ing or downhill riding then it may fail. I ride my cross bike down steps, off curbs at speed, rocky single track, and many other stupid things and the only thing I end up doing is truing wheels every 6 months. The bikes are designed for abuse.

by the way i weight 135lbs, and am 5' 10"


Not to be rude, but with the physique I'm picturing with that build the frame is probably not the most "breakable" component here.

Unless you do something really "Evel Knievel" with that bike, at your weight no frame out there should even flinch.