I'm 59 and looking to return to cycling, primarily for fitness. The area I live is the Thousand Islands of New York State. That means mostly flat, and my preference will be for riding on local gravel trails and roads, as our roads are not really bike-friendly, despite being a touristic region. Let's say a combination of gravel and paved roads (Wolfe Island is a ferry ride away and has paved/gravel routes, and the Canadian side has a paved bike path between Gan and Brockville). I'd also like to use the bike as a platform for birding and photography.

I've visited my LBS, and am considering these three KHS models (I tried to put in links but haven't met the 10 post threshold yet):

Ultrasport 2.0
Alite 50
Grit 110

I cycled quite a bit 35-40 years ago (hybrid and MTB). I do have a 2002 Kona Lavadome, but it would probably need to be completely overhauled or rebuilt to be usable.

I am interested in hearing opinions of these bikes or alternatives for my anticipated riding.

Thanks!
Dan

how many bike shops are close to you and what brands do they sell? Are the people that run the shop older and possibly getting out of it soon? I had a bike shop, and when the owner died it closed, so now I don't have one

It's not a major concern because with bike forum and youtube you can do all your work yourself (don't forget the tools), but having a good shop nearby to me is a positive

are you committed to flat bars or are drop bars an option for you?

any of those bikes you listed will work, The best bike is the one you want to ride. Your major topics to think about now should be saddle, bars, and pedals. If these are right, then the bike is right

you came to the right place, but don't be thin skinned

post as many details of your situation as you can. wants, needs, how much to spend, riding goals, height, weight, past cycling experience

there are tons of really knowledgeable posters here who can help you

and getting a good fit is job 1

Thanks, Flip Flop Rider, there are two shops in Watertown. The one I visited carries KHS, Specialized and Surly. The owner clearly likes the KHS bikes, and I don't recall seeing a Surly there. The other shop hasn't been open whenever we are in town (I live 45 minutes away). They don't list the brands they carry on their website.

Budget is $1000 +/-. My vitals are 6'2", 33" inseam, 225 lbs.

What's needed to get the Kona Lava Dome rolling?
If your old Kona fits I would start riding that first. You can always tweak fitment with bars and seat.

I just measured it and it's a 49cm frame. I probably need a larger one. Otherwise, it needs quite a bit, as it spent it's college years with one of my kids outdoors and mostly neglected (rusty components).

Looked on the KHS site and out of the ones listed, looks like the Ultrasport might fit your needs. BTW-my wife has a '98 Lava Dome, which is still in use and has been kept in perfect condition. Yours likely has better components than the new bikes you listed. If it wasn't abused/wrecked, and is decent shape and fits, shouldn't take much to get it going again. Re-conditioning the Lava Dome would be my first choice. EDIT--oops, missed the outdoors storage, rusted, and probably too small--nix that first choice!!

I guess I can't post photos of the Kona yet...

My 2 cents is that the Grit fits your needs and gives you more ability to grow

It is a gravel bike so is flexible in terms of use so it will give you more potential long term

the other 2 bikes have suspension which you don't need and is an added complication

try them all if the dealer has them and see which puts the biggest smile on your face

If the Kona is really a 40 cm frame and you are 6'2" then the Kona is Tiny. 49-cm frame is for 4'11"-5'2'' or something as a rule.

For $1000 .... go to all the major bike manufacturer websites (Trek, Specialized, Fuji, Giant, Cannondale, Surly, KHS (since you might actual see one of those in person) and maybe even google "gravel bikes" so you can see the whole market. You might not find it convenient to drive a long way to look at bikes, but on the other hand, it is pretty inconvenient to spend $1000 and end up with a bike you cannot or will not ride .....

If you know a little about bikes they are still the same (m0ostly) as they were in 2002 or whatever .... pedals, handlebars, gears, derailleurs .....

For gravel most people prefer slightly lower gearing (48-32, 46-30 or so up front) and an 11-36 or so out back, and generally it seems to be accepted that about 38mm tires are the smallest you would want to go for general-purpose gravel riding. (Of course there are exceptions to everything a lots of people will list them here ... but I have talked to a lot of riders and most seem to think 38 is a good place to start for gravel. Whatever.)

Most Important Thing (as https://www.bikeforums.net/members/f...er-435188.html emphasized) is FIT. Get a bike which fits your proportions. You will need to go to a bike shop to test different frame sizes (and every bike will fit a little differently despite having the same numerical frame size) ... You can also go online and look at various Fit Calculators and read a little about how a bike should fit to be comfortable and also mechanically efficient in conjunction with your body.

Most people would probably recommend a 58 or maybe 60 for 6'2" but I am about that height and because I have long limbs and a short torso I do better on a 56. Ultimately you have to decide which bike feels best ... but I also suggest avoiding extremes .... if you are comfortable but bolt upright or are fully laid out and stretched, either might feel okay for fifteen minutes and not work at all after 45.

if you know enough about bikes (or have a friend who does) you can dabble in the used market, but you need to know enough not to buy something burned out which will take three times the sale price to rejuvenate. There are always people out there selling amazing, barely used bikes for a third of MSRP, but they are not always in your area or selling what you need.

I also suggest BikesDirect ... no-name bikes with reasonably good frames and components with a little less markup. If you don't need the latest $18,000 carbon fiber ultra-wunderbike, Bikes Direct can be good sometimes ... but you cannot test-fit or test-ride, and they need minor assembly and adjustment (all of 3hich you can and should learn on YouTube if you plan to ride. Saves you a ton of cash over the life of the bike.)

All this is just my opinion.

I mean if my only option was KHS maybe teh Grit 440 might be the one I guess but never been a huge KHS fan. If it were Specialized probably a Sirrus 3.0 or higher. Certainly would do my best to avoid things like Tourney, Altus, Claris and similar lower end groupsets these days we are in the 12 speed era so 10 and above is generally decent quality and as you go lower the quality drops significantly. I think it is still not being spec'd heavily but the new Shimano CUES 11 speed stuff is pretty budget friendly while looking decent and potentially having good functionality. In terms brakes avoid those from Zoom or Logan or Bengal or similar and stick to known quantities and qualities like Shimano, Tektro/TRP, SRAM, Hayes... If you buy good parts on a decent frame from the get go and spend the money up front you save the money long term and get a bike that functions better and potentially is lighter or easier to pedal and may also look better as well.

How did you measure? Frames with a top tube that isn't level can't be measured like a traditional frame

That is what I measured. The Crosstrail sitting next to it is has a "49" sticker on it, and measured the same using the same method.

Dan

As I recall the TI area, lots of good quality paved rural roads. I think you need to go a bit east to find more dirt roads. Ditto over a bridge in Canada. Thus I'd maybe be thinking road bike or gravel bike with alternative wheels for asphalt use. I was in Alexandria bay 2 years ago, was on my skinny tire road bike, found a lot of places to ride that were good roads. Flat mostly as well, I liked that as I train on Long Island.