Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Jim Cash
04-08-11, 11:23 PM
Hey everyone. Critical Mass! :ride:
I finally found the most favorite bike I have ever owned, the Kona Smoke. Been riding almost daily for a little over a year and loving it. I made a few improvements with a Ritchey Adjustable Stem, a set of Ergon GP-1 grips, Axiom rear rack and Jannd black grocery bag pannier.
The 29 inch wheels are different and fun to ride on. One important buying point was to have tires that are not too fat and not too skinny and the tread had to be smooth for no vibration. The new stem raised the bar up and the new grips, well I am speechless, but not numb! Saw pairs on the bikes of some traveling Germans who were in Astoria Oregon, motoring from Seattle to San Francisco by bike last summer. A must have for the upright rider. (no more dropped handlebars for me, the racer is a museum piece and the Tubasti is all dried up in the tube- I am 50+ Yrs old).
Getting back into the Zen of bike maintenance and enjoying an annual overhaul; gobs of grease, new bearings and this and that. I just picked up a set of brake pads because the stock keep griming up the wheels with pad dust jiz. The new Pads are Kool-Stops and apart from a sexy two-tone look they have a must needed scraper for the NW water and occasional mud, sand, etc. I sure like the Shimano HG Hyperglide Freehub, it is so quiet I cannot believe it.
Here is more on the bike if you’re interested, it has been discontinue this year, but there are some still around in inventory. For the money and modern quality, it really is quite a bike. It is the ultimate utilitarian rider. I even have SS spokes!
http://www.konaworld.com/09/09_smoke_en.cfm
I finally found the most favorite bike I have ever owned, the Kona Smoke. Been riding almost daily for a little over a year and loving it. I made a few improvements with a Ritchey Adjustable Stem, a set of Ergon GP-1 grips, Axiom rear rack and Jannd black grocery bag pannier.
The 29 inch wheels are different and fun to ride on. One important buying point was to have tires that are not too fat and not too skinny and the tread had to be smooth for no vibration. The new stem raised the bar up and the new grips, well I am speechless, but not numb! Saw pairs on the bikes of some traveling Germans who were in Astoria Oregon, motoring from Seattle to San Francisco by bike last summer. A must have for the upright rider. (no more dropped handlebars for me, the racer is a museum piece and the Tubasti is all dried up in the tube- I am 50+ Yrs old).
Getting back into the Zen of bike maintenance and enjoying an annual overhaul; gobs of grease, new bearings and this and that. I just picked up a set of brake pads because the stock keep griming up the wheels with pad dust jiz. The new Pads are Kool-Stops and apart from a sexy two-tone look they have a must needed scraper for the NW water and occasional mud, sand, etc. I sure like the Shimano HG Hyperglide Freehub, it is so quiet I cannot believe it.
Here is more on the bike if you’re interested, it has been discontinue this year, but there are some still around in inventory. For the money and modern quality, it really is quite a bike. It is the ultimate utilitarian rider. I even have SS spokes!
http://www.konaworld.com/09/09_smoke_en.cfm