Thoughts on Kona Smoke 2-9?
 

Hey guys. Longtime lurker, first time poster here. I'm looking for any input on the new Kona Smoke with 29" wheels. I've found some info, but not a whole lot on the new version, so I was hoping you guys could help me out.

http://www.konaworld.com/08_smoke29.htm

A little about me: I'm in the LA area and have been doing a 20-mile RT commute for a couple of years. I've been doing this on a "commuter-ized" Giant OCR2 and for the most part it works fairly well. My commute's mostly bike path, mostly flat with one big hill at the end of the day. Brutal headwinds are pretty much the norm (especially in the afternoon). I park my bike at my desk, so theft isn't much of a issue.

I guess now that I've been doing this for a while, I'm thinking about a commute-specific bike. The Smoke is intriguing for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's steel and we all know what that means. The position seems fairly upright and practical for a commuter. It comes with fenders! It should accept my Topeak rack/trunk bag combo easily. I love the 700c rims--big plus! Fat, slick tires should ride great and reduce my worries about flats. It would be nice to be able to run errands on my lunchbreak on it. I don't feel comfortable locking up my OCR. The price is certainly right, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Here's the conundrum: I'm hoping to pull double-duty with this bike. I have an old steel MTB (shork fork), which I use occasionally, but it's very infrequent. This will be a commuter first and foremost. However, with a tire swap, do you guys think this bike could handle some light trails? Not too much crazy single-track, jumping or anything... I'd pull off the fenders if I ever did this. I also intend to replace the stock pedals with Performance Campus. I don't see why this would be a problem, since the Smoke basically seems to be an old-school, rigid MTB with 29er rims. Do you guys see any reason why this wouldn't work? It seems silly to have an MTB I almost never ride wasting away in the garage... I think my nephew would enjoy it more than me. The Smoke looks like it could simultaneously satisfy my desire for a new commuter and a 29er!

A few specific questions for anyone who has one:

• How are the grips? Thinking about replacing these with Ergons already...
• Looks like it has V-brakes? Would clearance be an issue if I decide to run some super-fat 29" knobbies?
• How about putting skinny, high-pressure tires on it? Will the rims restrict this at all?
• What size do you have? I'm 5'7" with really short arms and legs (29.5" inseam). I'm thinking 16". Thoughts?
• Coming from a road bike, is the upright position and weight going to slow me down significantly?
• How's the gearing? I like a pretty fast cadence, so it actually looks pretty good to me. I don't mind grip shift.
• They only have the Canadian price listed on the website. Does anyone know if it's available in the U.S.?

Any feedback you guys have would be great. I can't tell you how much you've helped me out with my commuting questions the past couple of years. Thanks for all the info!

Thanks!!!!!

Hmm.. I'm surprised no one has replied to this yet... I'm looking with interest at the smoke 2-9 too, since my old (2005) smoke was stolen last Fall. I haven't been able to try one yet though. I'm about the same height and used a 16" frame before, and was told that the sizing hasn't changed at all from the older models. The grip shifters are really nice - they give you a longer rigid grip before the shifter starts than many others, which it really nice.

Has anyone tried one of the 2-9s though?

It's a bike. It's a lot like a lot of other bikes. Buy whatever you can afford that's comfortable and makes you happy.

There is so much talk about "which bike" on these forums and it really doesn't matter. If you wanted a running shoe, you'd go to the store, get one that fits properly that you think is attractive looking, and then you'd put it on and go running. You wouldn't need to come ask the internet about which show you should get.

Bikes really aren't that different from shoes in this regard.

For those who are grieving the change to a larger wheel on this years Smoke, the Diamondback transporter is a pretty close 26" wheeled cousin. In fact, I think it is spec'd a little better than the Smoke.

http://www.diamondback.com/bikes/com...ransporter-08/

Looks like a good little commuter. Even a Chromoly frame. Spiffy!!

Agreed. The Derailer is a better Shimano model. It needs slicker tires for the road though.

Actually, if you're a runner, you'd need to know how the new shoe will affect your stride. You'd want to know if it is setup neutral or for pronation, whether it has stability control or is fairly loose. You'd want to know how heavy the shoe is, how well it breathes, whether it's waterproof, how good of traction it has, etc. In other words, if you plan on putting real miles on the shoe, you do a little more investigation than walking in, finding one that's pretty, getting your size and plunking down your cash.

Similarly, there are tons of bikes out there that specialize in different things. You wouldn't be likely to use a full-suspension bike on a century ride, and you wouldn't ride a light carbon road bike on trails. If you're looking to invest a significant chunk of cash, you need to analyze what your needs are, and what sort of bike will best suit them.

You're right, bikes aren't much different than shoes in that regard. ;)

The price difference is like not too huge, but it's still steel and with a better component set but all around the same style bike. If you're concerned with tire clearance though this is your choice. It's the same frame (with rigid fork of course) as the Marin MTB version of the muirwoods. The first picture is just a random one from google image search, but the second crappy one is my personal bike.

The seat/chain stay has a ton of tire clearance and the front fork has out of control clearance. The bike comes with a 1.6" (inch? I think?) tire which does suck for flats. I've had 4 on the rear and 2 on the front in a very short period of time. I was thinking about getting a pair of big apples but the 1.6's are super quick.

I do think that it would make a really great XC bike with the right tires and possibly some kind of front fork...

Anyhow the 29" wheel, or 700c larger MTB sized tire friendly wheel hybrid is pretty cool. I'm incredibly happy with my purchase. I'm honestly thinking about picking up a touring style road bike for commuting/roads and converting the muirwoods to a hardtail trail machine.


http://happymtb.org/wp-content/uploa...7/dag4/d32.jpg

http://bobcrotch.googlepages.com/darkie1.jpg

Thanks for the responses guys. That Diamondback is worth a look. I think I prefer the larger wheels of the Smoke, but I'm not trilled about the riveted chainrings on it (precludes any possibility of replacing rings without a full crank upgrade). Although, I've never worn out a chainring, and I ride a significant amount (so, maybe it's a non-issue). The Marin looks pretty sweet also, although I'd prefer rim brakes. It looks a bit more off-road capable than the Smoke. The Kona *seems* like less of a thief-magnet too...

Thanks again.

have smoke. love it