New bike takes her maiden voyage tomorrow
 

Last week I bought a new Kona Rove ST. I've been so busy with work and family obligations since then that it's taken me a while to get her ready for the 28 mile round trip commute. As of tonight she's ready to go with a set of WTB I23 wheels wrapped in 38mm Marathon Plus tires, SKS fenders and Topeak MTX rack and luggage. I can't wait for tomorrow...except for that going to work part that happens after the ride.

Pics? :)

Yes, Pics or it didn't happen!

I see from your sigs you have a bunch of other bikes, so I expect you know what you're doing and are up for the distance. Have a great ride!

I see also that you call the Surly Karate Monkey the Ultimate fat guy mountain bike. KMs are pretty cool, but this fat guy went for a Krampus

your first ride on it, is going to be a full-on commute? no shake-out ride? :foo:

if today was indeed "the day" congrats! & how did it go?

I'll need to take some tonight. I suck at posting them to the forum though.

Yeah the commute isn't new just the bike. I've been doing it on my Marin and just decided I wanted something different. The Krampus is pretty badass. I have stupid short legs for my height so the stand over of 29+ tires would be a no go for me. I bet that sucker rolls over just about anything though. I love the + tires and rigid front fork. At my size any front suspension would need custom valving work and I just didn't want to mess with them anymore. When I was a kid we rode our BMX bikes like hell through the woods on trails that we made after being inspired by the movie "Rad". When I'm on the KM it feels like an adult version of that.

Yeah I like to live on the edge! That and my wife drives a very similar route on her way to work in her pickup truck so if I have any problems she can just scoop me up. I rode the bike a few times during the week with all the stock components and after adding each piece I took test rides around the neighborhood. I like to see how each item I add/subtract changes the feel of the bike so I take a lot of test rides during mods. I probably shouldn't have said maiden voyage, it was the maiden commute. And it was lovely...you know, except for the cars. I really like the 38mm tires. I had been hesitant to try wider rubber because I'm so heavy that I like to run 28mm tires because I can run them at 110 PSI. I was afraid the 38's at max 80PSI would be a bit too flat under me in the rear. But, they don't deflect too much and the ride is really nice. The Kona has much wider bars (they feel wider anyway I haven't compared actual specs) than the Marin. Between the bars and tires this thing feels like a mtn bike when I have to jump off curbs or negotiate other obstacles. I'm a fan.

brilliant! ;-)

Exactly! That's exactly why I never considered a full-suspension; at my weight it would have to be made so stiff, why not just save money and weight with rigid? And why I was pumped to go Krampus, and put all the suspension into the rubber. I'm not sure what pressure I'm running because my pump gauge has basically no resolution between 0-20psi, but I think it's about 10, and it's great

That's exactly what my impression was after my Krampus ride (a test ride on somebody else's bike) -- like riding a bmx when I was a kid -- except also with gears!