Thread: Kona Ute
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Old 05-23-10 | 10:13 AM
  #5  
LeeG
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I got one two years ago. On paper and initial use it looks like a winner but there's something terribly amiss in the front fork rake. There's a wobble in the front end that I tried to address with front panniers which helped a lot but it's still not right to my taste. In turns it feels like the front wheel is "scrubbing" in that the wheel and turn aren't following the same curve. I suggest anyone getting one put on a front rack so you can put some weight up front. My$.02 is that they should have made the bike with 26" wheels and spent some effort getting the steering right. I can haul a full grocery cart load but I'd rather use a LHT set up for smaller loads or go to a trailer.

I had to do a few modifications to make it work, the one side kickstand was worthless, it came in 26/36 chainrings with 170mm crank arms and the 18" frame really is too cramped with stock stem for my normal 5'9" height, the stock metal clips on the big panniers are totally inadequate to the task and will pop/bend off with any big load. A bike that's going to be a load carrier going up hills, why else would you need such super low gears, requires a posture for power output and the stock stem was too cramped. I'm wondering if there's an aftermarket fork that could address some of the handling issues. Seems to me the fork is too flexible for it's intended purpose, I can see it bend back when applying the disc brake.
The frame construction and integral rack construction is efficient and light, it's the front end that's got problems.
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