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Kona Blast vs HardRock

Old 10-05-05, 01:22 AM
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Kona Blast vs HardRock

06 Kona Blast vs 06 HardRock Sport Disk

Well '06 models are here and my next bike looking like to be one of these. The HardRock is the usuall winner around here, but what are everybodys thoughts on the Kona Blast? Unfortuently can't find a shop that sells HardRock Comp here, so i'm left with Sport or the Kona Blast...parts seem similar, what do you think is the better bike?



(pics attached)
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Old 10-05-05, 01:36 AM
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i like my 04 blast. it's held up well, tough enough to have gone over the same terrain as my coiler (albeit at a much slower speed). Plus its v good value
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Old 10-05-05, 04:55 AM
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Yeh well it has been discounted by over $100, to $899AUD. Then again, Sport Disk has also been discounted from $849 to $679AUD.

I'm leaning towards the Blast, but the Hardrock's are good bikes... so I am after suggestions....
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Old 10-05-05, 05:17 AM
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hardrock. hard rock. haaaaarrrrdddddroooooocccckkkkkkkkkkkkk! yay!

sport disc for 05 isn't bad, but of course, at the level i guess you'd be riding you'd want upgrades if you're just going to use it as a commuter/light urban/light trails bike, keeping it bone stock will be fine. any more and you'll want to upgrade.
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Old 10-05-05, 05:43 AM
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Although I have nothing against the Blast, the Hardrock will stand up to more abuse IMO.
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Old 10-05-05, 05:53 AM
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I know many people here will favor the HardRock. I know what the HardRock is good for and not good for, its more the Blast i'm interested in finding a bit about. Does anyone own one/ride one? Pro's and Con's ect..?
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Old 10-05-05, 05:54 AM
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Originally Posted by DMN
Although I have nothing against the Blast, the Hardrock will stand up to more abuse IMO.
Reasons/Based On...
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Old 10-05-05, 05:55 AM
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Originally Posted by revmonkey
hardrock. hard rock. haaaaarrrrdddddroooooocccckkkkkkkkkkkkk! yay!

sport disc for 05 isn't bad, but of course, at the level i guess you'd be riding you'd want upgrades if you're just going to use it as a commuter/light urban/light trails bike, keeping it bone stock will be fine. any more and you'll want to upgrade.
Yep thats exactly why I'm in a bit of a sticky position. I will most likley upgrade the Sport Disk if I purchased one, on the other hand the Kona Blast has parts that I will not need to upgrade or as soon.
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Old 10-05-05, 06:01 AM
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Originally Posted by blue_neon
Reasons/Based On...
The look of the two frames - the blast looks weaker and given what I've read in various magazines and on mtbr.com. The Blast is marketed more as a pure xc bike where as the Hardrock is aimed towards light-freeride as well.


I'm not saying that the blast is massivley worse, just that the hardrock looks better.
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Old 10-05-05, 06:05 AM
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Sorry, better was the wrong word there - stronger is what I ment.
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Old 10-05-05, 08:06 AM
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Have you ridden either of them?
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Old 10-05-05, 08:17 AM
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I've ridden the Blast and frankly I do not like it. The drivetrain is mainly deore when other

Drivetrain: bikes at the same price range have LX and XT.
Fork: Yes it is a Marz. But a low end coil Marz.
Discs: Yes, disc brakes. But Shimano low end discs.
Pedals: Trash em. Go clipless.
Crank arms: I haven't had any experiences using Truvativ products but judging from the reviews, they suck.
Tires: Tioga fast wearing tires. It's like riding over a pencil eraser.

Bottom line: I can't say go Hardrock cause I've never ridden one but I can say don't go with the Blast. If you like Kona bikes, save some more bucks and go to the next level and get a cinder cone.

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Old 10-05-05, 10:32 AM
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Originally Posted by never
Have you ridden either of them?
I've ridden the Hardrock and seen enough Blasts to know that the frame does not look as strong.
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Old 10-05-05, 10:35 AM
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Originally Posted by DMN
I've ridden the Hardrock and seen enough Blasts to know that the frame does not look as strong.
My question was directed at the original poster.
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Old 10-05-05, 10:47 AM
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The 2006 Blast frame is not the same as the ones before. This one has beefier tubing and looks a lot more like the FR family of bikes.

I own and ride a 2005 Blast and am very happy with it, but I ride technical XC (roots, rock gardens, singletrack).

Pedals I did change the pedals immediately to Crank Brothers Candy SL. No reason other than I wanted clipless pedals.

Fork I'm on the light side (160lbs/72 kg) so the fork works "okay" for me and I've never bottomed it. I am treating myself to a Fox fork I got off eBay but it still isn't on the bike yet.

Tires I am not happy with the Tioga tires. Mud-shedding is not one of its strengths and I'll be dumping them as soon as my LBS gets its order of Specialized tires.

Weight The Blast is one heavy bike. I never weighed it but the Kona site claims a weight of 32 lbs. That's pretty heavy for a hardtail. Not sure how much the HardRock weighs.

Brakes I'm a newbie so I tend to ride the brakes more than someone with more skills and experience. Brake fade sets in pretty quick on the Shimano disk brakes. Not sure what kind of riding you intend to do, but I felt that the Shimanos were not cutting it. I entered my first race a few weeks ago and it was a mudbath. The brakes were pretty useless after a while. I have since treated myself to Avid BB7 and consider these to be far superior. I have as yet to feel any of the brake fade that the Shimanos were prone to. The brake levers on the bike are Avid FR-5 and they work fine and are a perfect match to the BB7 set I installed.

DriveTrain No complaints. It is all Deore and it does need a little more adjustment but at the pricepoint, Deore is more or less the norm. I won't be changing anything on the drivetrain until it breaks and that includes deraillers, cassettes and cranks. If/when it breaks, I'll be going SRAM.

Overall Love the bike, didn't like some of the minor components. Do I regret not going a notch higher (e.g. Cinder Cone)? No, because the parts I chose/want aren't available on the Cinder Cone or even in any other Kona. I also enjoy wrenching/upgrading the bike so for me it's part of the joy of having a bike.
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Old 10-05-05, 10:47 AM
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Originally Posted by never
My question was directed at the original poster.

fair enough
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Old 10-05-05, 11:31 AM
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I just want to say something: Although in 2005 the MZ Comp was miles better than the RST Gila T5, RST have made an amazing improvement to their entry level fork for '06, the RST Gila T6, I was shocked when I tried it out at the LBS, in my opinion it was just as good as the MZ Comp (yes, I know, hard to believe but, to me, very true).

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Old 10-05-05, 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Drunken Chicken
I just want to say something: Although in 2005 the MZ Comp was miles better than the RST Gila T5, RST have made an amazing improvement to their entry level fork for '06, the RST Gila T6, I was shocked when I tried it out at the LBS, in my opinion it was just as good as the MZ Comp (yes, I know, hard to believe to me, very true).
I think Norco is specing them on some of their 06 bikes - says a lot.
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Old 10-05-05, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by DMN
I think Norco is specing them on some of their 06 bikes - says a lot.
The Rise of the RSTs. Seriously though, I tried the T6, and all I could think was: "Damn, I'd pay 70 euros just to swap that fork out for my '05" (Before I never even dreamt of buying RST forks on their own).
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Old 10-05-05, 03:15 PM
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Um, Blast for sure? Let's see here, who that has recommended the Hard Rock owns one?

Wow! What a surprise!

And did you guys even look at the '06 Blast? Completely redone frame that I would bet could easily take the same abuse as the Hard Rock.

"Drivetrain: bikes at the same price range have LX and XT.
Fork: Yes it is a Marz. But a low end coil Marz.
Discs: Yes, disc brakes. But Shimano low end discs.
Pedals: Trash em. Go clipless.
Crank arms: I haven't had any experiences using Truvativ products but judging from the reviews, they suck.
Tires: Tioga fast wearing tires. It's like riding over a pencil eraser."

Too bad everything on this list is worse on the Hard Rock Sport than it is on the Blast.
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Old 10-05-05, 03:29 PM
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Originally Posted by swifferman
Um, Blast for sure? Let's see here, who that has recommended the Hard Rock owns one?

Wow! What a surprise!
hmm?
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Old 10-05-05, 06:03 PM
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i think the 06 blast has been designed to be tougher and less xc oriented than 04 and 05. Given this, my 04 has still stood up to more than mere xc duty. it's tough enough for you. my experience:

drivetrain: smooth enough though i had lx rear and deore front. nothing's needed changing except alignment adjustment after 9 months of use

frame: has held up to consistent 2-3.5 foot drops on trail and 5 foot stair jumps on street with no problems, even the rims are fine.

brakes: no experience with shimano disc.

tyres: tiogas (1.95) were fine with grip except on out-of-saddle bits over pebbly fireroad. not much mud on my trails so no xp with mud shedding

Fork: no problems, reliable and lasting despite jumping/dropping. imo any fork at low end is pretty much the same.

Crankarms: fine, no problems, no bending/breaking/cracking, stable platform. who said truvativ was bad?

pedals: dropped the toeclips in favour of flats

weight: so it's 13 kg. meh.
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Old 10-05-05, 07:12 PM
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Originally Posted by never
Have you ridden either of them?
Not yet, will definatley ride any bike I consider before I buy it!
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Old 10-05-05, 07:20 PM
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I got someone telling me the '06 Blast is a more XC orientated bike, someon else saying it is less XC orientated. Yes, I will admit the HardRock 'looks' stronger, but I really need other reasons. Blast seems to have the better parts but around here, many people favor the HardRock either because they own one or they absorbed in the fact that the HardRock bikes are always the best bike around that price range but I do not entirely beleive this without reasoning.
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Old 10-05-05, 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by blue_neon
I got someone telling me the '06 Blast is a more XC orientated bike, someon else saying it is less XC orientated. Yes, I will admit the HardRock 'looks' stronger, but I really need other reasons. Blast seems to have the better parts but around here, many people favor the HardRock either because they own one or they absorbed in the fact that the HardRock bikes are always the best bike around that price range but I do not entirely beleive this without reasoning.
The keywords here are "around that price range"

There's a lot less Blasts purchased becuase they cost more. Stores sell cheaper bikes and more people come here asking about cheaper bikes. That's why the Hard Rock is always recommended. It takes more abuse then other bikes in its price range. The Blast is not in its price range and as such performs like a bike above it.

Look at the pictures YOU posted. They both look verrrry simliar.

The Blast is less XC-Oriented for '06. It is designed for tougher use now.
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