Originally Posted by
Mr. Jim
Ok now you have me thinking about a Ute instead of a Xtra build. I am concerned about only having one size for the ute however.
I'm lucky in that the size happens to be right for me. I usually ride "medium" mountain-bike frames, and my 29er bike is an 18-inch frame. The Ute is also 18-inch, and it felt fine for me. But yeah, if you need a small or large frame, then I think you should look elsewhere. There's no such thing as "one size fits all".
My guess is that Kona introduced the Ute as an experiment. They are putting the bike out there to see what happens. My further guess is that medium bikes are the largest size segment, and that's why Kona's put the bike out in only that one size. They are ignoring small and large riders until they see whether there's really a market for the bike. I have to give respect to Surly for building the Big Dummy in multiple sizes.