So how do I find it?
Well, maybe it's a trick of the geometery, or maybe it's just the longer wheelbase, but it actully feels better than the standard mountain bike I'd use for hacking around. Unloaded, it glides through traffic without any compromise from that extended rear, and loaded with my 2 year old daughter, her upfront childseat (which should actually destabalise it as the seat rests higher up front than the rack at the back), and a bag of shopping, I can honestly say that it was a delight.
The handling from the porteur style bars felt a little sluggish at first, but this, I soon realised, was because my daughter was holding them and resisting my movements. When she let go, it all felt natural, not snappy or soft, just about right (though I am used to that style of bar from a tourer I have).
The 700 wheels, which I've seen questioned work really well on the streets - they roll with you and feel sturdy enough. The big continental tyres offer little restistance. They soften the bumps and give a confidence to the ride which I appreciated on the broken up ashphalt of my home town.
The gearing seems well though out, to me. I never had to work that hard up hill, and there are a few on my route that while short, are pretty sharp, and take it out of me whatever bike I'm riding. I did find myself missing the change down to 7 or 8, but then remembered I had the front end to use, and just changed up there.
There was no flex in the frame, and yet it didn't feel dead, as with a few I've ridden, that combined with a more relaxed posture from the bars and a surprisingly comfortable saddle, meant the 6 miles I did, which included child and groceries, some hills and more than a bit of squarly rain, was a rather enjoyable experience. And the kickstand (always the littel things, isn;t it), is remarkably useful with such a big bike. It seems to hold the bike in just the right place, so I can stand it, still with my daughter in her seat, and let go without any fear of it toppling over (though I'm not going to make a habit of using it with daughter attatched, as I know there's a first time for everything).
Any downsides? Well, firstly, I'm really not sure about that disk brake. Maybe it's the way mine is set up (it's the first I've had, so it could very well be set up wrong and I don;t know it), but it seems a lot less effecive than any V-brake I've had. I'd been expecting to use it with caution for fear of it gripping like the taxman, but no, I found it rather soft and in need of teeth. I might tinker with it and see if I can get it better.
I'm also less than impressed with the mudguard (fender). I found myself so piqued by it's misfitting, I took boiling water to it to bend it into a shape that resembled the curve of the Kona's wheel, not that of a penny farthing.
Neither am I completely happy with the grips - much as I like the bars, I don find the grips tend to dig into my hands and make them feel numb (something I'm sure they're desinged to actually relieve). I'd prefer some nice cork ones, and will probably swap them our for some.
I'd also like a convenient point at which to attach a light on the back. Obvioulsy there's the seat post, but with luggage, it could easliy become obscured (especially with a second daughter on back), but the tubing on the back of the rack is all too thin to take any of the lights I've got without major packing.
There are of course the gripes you probably know about - like the bags being a little weedy (though the open top bucket design did work surprisingly well for slinging groceries, and pretty much anything else, in), and the rack tubing being too wide for anything other than the Kona bags (that said, it only took me a few minutes to knock together a working pannier from some hooks I got from B&Q, a piece of stiffening board and an old courier bag I had hanging round, and it fits pretty well, actually, and works nicely as I can take it off the Kona and then carry it over my shoulder with the strap). There's also the issue with the foot boards, which I would have loved, but which I understand the reason for excluding (lawsuits, I imagine, from people carrying more than the 7.5 stone max weight). I'm working of fitting some myself, though, and am pretty sure I know how I can do it.
So there you go. I'm pretty pleased with the Ute - as pleased as I could be, I think, for a £500 bike.
Oh, one last thing I really like - it doesn;t stand out too much. Maybe it's because it's shorter than the xtracycle or the surley, and looks to resemble a normal bike at a sideways glance. And believe me, where I come from, where to pull a child trailer is the eqivalent of driving a sequinned tractor through Watts, that's only a good thing.