Well, I've been riding it for about 3 days now on a route that I had done on my old Trek 830 for probably 8 years (3x/week), so I'm used to it and know what to expect. I expected some changes because of the gearing and geometry (see image below). The older Trek was a 15 speed (3x5) too.

The first thing I noticed was that I seemed to be pedaling a lot faster--more frequent rotation. I'm not sure if I'm also moving faster. I think it has something to do with the frame length.

Otherwise, the Kona Big Rove (Steel) has similar characteristics to my older Trek: Stability in Gravel (especially sloping edges), nice ride, smooth, and less jarring (road chatter/vibration) than the other aluminum framed bikes (Trek, Specialized, Giant) I tested.

For sure, the Kona also has more modern components than my old 85' Trek.

I'm still curious if I'd get the same results with say the Jamis Coda Sport using 35mm tires or the aluminum framed/carbon shock Giant ToughRoad with its 50mm tires. Either way, it didn't make sense to "try" to put wider tires on the narrow bikes.

I'm not putting down any of the bikes I tested for as we all know "It's an individual thing" and test riding is the most important factor. But for the price point, the Kona worked best for me. The aluminum bikes (Trek 7.2, 7.3 aka FX 2, 3 and the Specialized Sirrus Sport just didn't give me that smooth, buttery feeling that I wanted.

The Jamis Coda Sport or even the better Jamis Comp were very interesting with their clean lines and beautiful color schemes. But, I would have had to put some 35's or 38mm tires to get the stability I wanted on gravel. The Giant ToughRoad 2 was the closest but the simplicity of the Kona beat it out.



Trek 830 Specifications around 1985