Oh well. But I still :love: Kona eventhough it's not perfect. :p

I found the Fuji Touring to be the most comfortable new bike that I test road last year FWIW.

anybody ask the OP how many miles the commute will be? all paved roads?

What's with the hate on steel? The OP just said they rode a heavy steel frame and didn't like it.

Steel isn't inherently heavy. Yes a cheap steel cruiser can weigh upwards of 40 lbs, but there are also plenty of steel bikes out there in the 20-25lb range, which I think is well within the realm of "light frames." And on the other side of things, there are plenty of tank-like aluminum frames out there. My girlfriend's aluminum mtb weighs waaay more than my steel Ironman.

I think the OP would be more than pleased with any number of high-quality steel frames.

For the amount of money the OP is willing to spend, I would think about getting two bikes, rather than forcing one to be their "jack-of-all-trades."

Well the other day I squeezed my canti's in a blind panic to avoid a right hook and both wheels locked up and I was sliding to my doom. Luckily I was able to release the brakes and regain traction just in time to avoid a spill, and my speed had slowed enough to avoid the right hook as well. I don't know how you can stop any faster than stopping your wheels from rotating. My cantilever brakes had no problem doing that.

I think most bikes are faster if someone else is riding them.

Jamis Supernova or Nova Pro http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/r...0_novapro.html

Opus Bikes (Stelle or Spark) http://www.opusbike.com/site_route_10.php?lang=en

this actually might happen:)

Ok, I finally bought a bike: Kona Jake (2010). I'm very happy with it, although there's one thing that bothers me: the tires make a lot of noise while I'm riding on the asphalt. Is it normal with cyclocross bikes? I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all the advices. Cheers!

Cyclocross tires have knobs for off-roading. They are not huge, fat, and aggressive like on a mountain bike, but they're still there. If you are going to be riding mostly asphalt with it, you might as well roll with slick tires instead.

Glad to hear an update. I hope you enjoy the bike as much as I enjoy my Surly LHT :)

yeah well, I'm riding mainly on the road, but I don't think slick tires would be a good choice in Bergen. every now and then I have to take a gravel path and then having these knobs really pays off. It's just that I haven't ridden an MTB for a long long time, and I'm not used to such tires:)

I have a Kona Jake, and my only complaint about it is the breaking power -- it hasn't been an issue yet, but I need to be a bit more on my toes. Even slamming on the breaks as hard as I can tends to lead to more of a slowing-stop then an immediate-stop. Initially I thought the breaks were just loose, but no - it's just the nature of canti breaks.

Do you have the stock tires on them? (The fatter ones with stubs?) - if so, I'd say the noise is probably expected. I have a 2009 Jake, and they were a bit loud on Asphalt, but I've since switched to Road tires and all is well.

Do you have the 2010 model? Because I don't know if they changed something with the brakes, but mine are stopping the bike immediately if I push them hard enough.

Yes, I have the stock tires. It's Continental Speed King.

Switch to a road tire, and your complaint will go away.

Tire noise on a cyclecross, it is the tires, get a different tire, a touring or multi-path type tire or road tire.

Brakes, my Cross Check can lock wheels. All I needed to do is change pads out. True, I do apply more force than with a dual pivot.

if tsl were here he'd tell you that the Trek Portland has drop bars and disc brakes, not to mention SPD pedals and a 105 rear derailleur: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...land/portland/

How would you describe these gravel paths? Are they bike paths? Beaten down walking paths?

There's an understandable (though untrue) theme that people have that a skinny road tire can only be ridden on pure pavement. With people new to biking who are buying their first bike, I've heard "I might ride across grass sometime so I need a mountain bike with suspension and knobby tires" a lot - though it's totally untrue.

I regularly ride my 23c tire road race bike (Specialized Tarmac) on a crushed limestone MUP by where I live. And across grass whenever need be. Without *any* drawbacks (well - the vibration absorbing frame definitely helps with comfort on the trail :-)).

Here's pictures of someone else doing the same thing:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mt2fanAB88...h/HPIM0184.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mt2fanAB88...h/HPIM0184.JPG

A gravel bike path isn't a problem for a skinny road tire. The limits for a skinny road tire, from my experience, are -
1. An actual dirt road designed for cars - with much larger rocks I can ride it, but it's bumpy and unpleasant. A fatter road slick would handle this fine I would expect, though.
2. Gravel when it's wet. The skinnier tire sinks into it more and has trouble getting a grip. A wider tire would be better. I'm not sure if knobbies would help, they probably would.
3. Loose gravel - paths that aren't packed down. Here knobbies are definitely a necessity.

But riding over stretches of grass, gravel bike trails, or even just packed down trails through the woods when it's not wet - a wider slick tire is almost overkill and works great.

And a skinny road tire is definitely better on the road. Full knobbies are worse in every aspect on the road - they brake worse (less contact with the road and the knobs flex when braking), they turn worse (doing a high speed turn works on a slick, on a knobby you'll fall over), they're slower, noisier, etc. Sounds like you're running a cyclocross tire so it's not as bad, just saying - it's counter intuitive, but if you've tried it that's how it goes, tread isn't helpful at all on the road.

Anyways, I probably wrote way to much, lol. Have fun. :-)