Askel

Anybody mount fenders on their Kona Jake? What'd you use and how'd it go?

I'm looking to convert my Jake into a sort of tourer/commuter for bad roads and two tracks this spring.

Also, any recommendations on tires that can stand up to pavement miles and still get decent traction in the dirt and mud would be appreciated.

DogBoy

I have an older jake the snake, and I think their setups are similar but a different frame material. If that's the case, I use planet-bike full coverage fenders and they work very well. Install was "fairly" easy. I can't speak to mud, but Michlen Trans-world city tires have worked well on hard-pack and on pavement and are pretty cheap with a reflective strip in the sidewalls. I would not expect much in loose gravel/sand/mud with them though. The nokians that came on my JTS lasted for about 900 miles okay. I consider that to be a short timeframe. Anyway, I'm sure any of the good cyclocross tires will probably work.

knucklesandwich

I have Planet Bike fenders on my 2006 Jake, no problems at all.
As for tires, I'm a big fan of Panaracer Urban Max- they have a little tread, so the 700x32 size should be fine on doubletrack.

Sawtooth

I have planet bike full coverege Freddy's on my 2005 Major Jake. I attached them entirelely with zip ties and love it.

I also use the michelin transworld cities and have found them to be very off-road worthy. Here is my review https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nsworld+review

striker_dj

I'd like to add fenders to my 2007 Kona Jake this spring.

How easy are the Planet Bike fenders to put on and take off. Easy enought that they could be removed in a minute or two right before a ride? Will they work along with a rear rack?

JustBrowsing

I put some Freddy Fender Hardcores on my Jake last year. The standard Jake has all the eyelets you'll need, so no zipties are needed. The fenders went on pretty quickly (note that the hole for the seatstay mount is on the underside on the Jake), but I doubt you'd get them off in less than 5 or 10 minutes. And mine work fine with a rack (two sets of eyelets in the rear).

As for tires, I used some 28 Conti Gatorskins last summer. I recently ordered a pair of Kenda Kwick Cross tires (30s) from Nashbar to get me through the Spring. Once I know it'll stay dry I'm putting the Gatorskins back on.

Elyone

hey all. This is a hijake!(pun intended...)

I recently got a Jake (my first CX bike) to be my fair weather bike. I commute on a DB MTB that weighs a ton. For me this was a huge expense.
As I am used to a much heavier bike, I was wondering if you can comment on how tough this bike is for bad roads. I am afraid of abusing it, of using it in bad weather etc. I ask because one of the mods on the Kona forums says the Jake/JTS is NOT great bike for commuting/general riding.

Askel

Neat. I just finished mounting the fenders on my Jake and notice this thead has legs again.

I bought the hardcore hybrid fenders in yellow. They fit great, but the back fender did require some fiddling. The chainstay bridge clip didn't fit on my '07 Jake, so I had to bend it out of the way and use a zip tie as explained in the instructions. The only other snafu was the the seatstay bridge bolt was too long. I borrowed one of my water bottle cage bolts and that worked perfectly.

Anyway, as for the toughness of the Jake, given the abuse I put this thing through in cyclocross, I don't hesitate to take it down anything that even remotely resembles a road. Anything paved should give this bike no problems.

BradBB

Let's see some pics of those yellow fenders!

Askel

No camera. Suffice to say, the combination is not nearly as obnoxious as I'd hoped.

Askel

Nevermind, got my old camera working.



Just finished mounting up the Panaracer Pasela tires. In retrospect, 32c would have been plenty, those 35c tires are freakin' huge.

JustBrowsing

Looking nice. I'd get some yellow bartape to go along with the fenders.

BradBB

Hell, I might get some of those to go on my '08 black Jake. I'll call it, "The Bumble Bee of Death"!