dannwilliams

With the season pretty much over here in the upper midwest, I thought I'd report on my experiences with a 2005 Kona Sutra I used this year. I purchased on ebay in Feb, and after reading some not so good reports, I was not sure what to expect. I trained on it for most of my rides in the spring and did a week long loaded tour in June, and have been using it as my main ride through the fall. I have just over 1800 miles on it, and for the most part trouble free. I experienced a rd problem on the tour, looked like a small stone got stuck in the jockey wheel and locked it up, causing the chain to break. I also broke a spoke on the rear wheel on a Sunday ride. The disc brakes provide awesome stopping power, but I must continually fiddle with them to keep from rubbing. I put a longer stem on to fit me better, I probably could have gone for a 58 instead of the size 56 I purchased. I had a hard time finding a rear rack due to the disc, but the Topeak Explorer rack is made for bikes with disc brakes and works great. I am very satisfied with the Kona, and I would like to purchase another, (DR DEW) for an around town bike. I give it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

clayface

Does the P2 fork provide a harsh ride?

dannwilliams

The larger tires that came on it make the ride nice. It came with Nokian Ultra tour 700 32. I put Conti TT 2000 for my trip but with it fully loaded did not nitice it as being harsh. Much nicer than my road bike with the carbon fork and 700 23.

Cyclist0383

As an unhappy Sutra owner I can say that the fork is the best part of the bike.

BTW, I use mine for winter commuting as I wouldn't trust it on a tour. I have a LHT for touring.