I've found a deal for a new Kona Dr. Dew at $800 (normally $1000). It's a little more than I was planning to spend, but seems like a good deal on an awesome bike. I'd like to know if I could do any better than the Dr. Dew, for $800 or less. I'm commuting about 4 miles to campus in the Pacific NW, so disc brakes are a big plus in the rain. I'm a bit of a new cyclist, but plan to begin riding a lot as my car barely runs anymore.

I just picked up my Dew Deluxe for 599. $800 is an awesome price for the Dr Dew. Dr has slightly better components and hydraulic brakes vs the mechanical on the deluxe. I hear they are harder to maintain.
And don't forget about the cash you will need to drop on all those accessories like helmet, lights, rack/bag, tools, clothes etc.

My thought is that mechanicals are harder to maintain. Once the hydraulics are setup, there good to go for a long time. No worrying about dirt/grime/water/rust building up on the cables. They hydraulics feel good all the time!

It doesn't look like it has any dropouts for fenders and/or a rack. If you are planning on adding those, you may have to rig something up. If you are in the Pacific NW, I would think fenders that mount to dropouts are a must.

You're going to need fenders, tdawg! I never commute without them because they keep me less muddy and save an drivetrain wear. Here in the PNW they are really, really a good idea.

You can get a Kona Smoke for like, less than $350? That bikes aready comes with fenders and for a 4 mile commute it would be perfect. Spend the extra money on raingear and a top-end rack.

My dew deluxe has the connections for rack and fenders. I added some Planet Bike Freddy Fenders. Had to bend a couple of the metal supports slightly to get around the disc brakes, but it worked out fine. Pretty sure the frame for the Dr Dew is the same.

do you have a rack on your dew deluxe? if so, how did you get it to fit?
i've got the same bike and is having problem fitting a rear rack, and i don't really want to pay a premium for the old man mountain ones. thanks.

don't foget a GOOD lock!!!

Actually I don't have a rack, just the fenders. But I thought the lbs told me I could fit one. Could the lbs be wrong?

There are eyelets for mounting a rack, but the disc brake caliper gets in the way of the supporting strut.

I've seen racks out there that have been build especially for this problem.

Yet another reason to skip disc brakes. Stick to the old rim brakes-- at least you can fir stuff on your bike.