Justachillin2

Newb to this form but the MTB forums I’m on wouldn’t have a clue. I work at a small bike shop that carries Kona’s. We were building a new Sutra for a customer today and it not at all like the others we had. This Sutra had thru axles. No it’s not an LTD. It also had TRP Spyre brakes and levers on it. We were baffled. The only thing we came up with was they ran out of Sutra frames and painted a LTD frame blue and threw it in a box or it’s a mid year change that we didn’t know about. It was part of a second shipment. Either way the customer will be stoked. Anyone else have one or hard of this?

djb

nice bike, but I dont get the whole 1x11 thing, well not for touring anyway.

looking at the specs of the 2018 LTD, it seems similar, but not with spyre brakes, the ltd seems to come with rival stuff.

is it a 1x11?

how does it compare to this? :

2018 Kona Sutra LTD, drop-bar "Adventure" Bike - BIKEPACKING.com

Justachillin2

It literally has everything a Sutra comes with but has thru axles and different brakes. Really odd but very nice

Justachillin2

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ksryder

Well just a quick glance at the Kona website shows they have a Sutra TA model that looks identical to the Sutra but with thru axles, for just $100 more. Maybe the frames got mixed up at the factory? Or maybe they just ran out? Or maybe someone put the wrong SKU number on the order form?

KONA BIKES | ROAD | SUTRA | Sutra TA

Justachillin2

Ahhhhh makes sense now. I’m in Europe and it’s not on their website here. Mystery solved. Thanks! Someone’s getting a better deal.

djb

interesting about the thru hubs. I can see how in theory they make for easier wheel putting in for the discs, but I have to say that having used qr hubs on my disc tourer now for a few years, it works well enough and you learn to sometimes have to skooch the wheel over a smidge to not rub a disc.

I guess for long tours and being in other countries, I still like that fact that probably I can source a regular old deore hub or whatever for disc easier than a thru axle hub (but do get the reason for thru hubs, but for now qr stuff works ok).

and yes, the sutras are nice bikes.

PaddleFoot

I wish my Sutra had thru- axels. I am not impressed by the QR skewers Kona uses.

seeker333

^ What sort of problem have you had with a Shimano QR skewer? Their operation is fairly simple and they are generally not prone to failure. Please share.

Pieter Steyaert

Hi,

I have this very same bike.
In the same year (this year, 2018) me and my girlfriend both bought a kona sutra 2018, but from different shops. Hers is specced like the kona website listst. Mine is different in: the brakes (TRP spyre), the hubs (thru axle, not QR) and lastlty, there is a third boss mount on the bottom of the fork. These three things are the upgrades for the 2019 version of the sutra, however mine came in the paint of the 2018 version. Interesting to see there's more like mine. I guess I got a better deal then.

Pieter Steyaert

Out of curiousity i mailed kona (they reply very fast):
Hi,



Thanks for your message. Your bike is indeed equiped with a 2019 frame and the brakes which fit on this frame evolution.

The last batch of 2018 Sutra has been produced with this upgrade, without any upcharge. Your bike is not unique, there is some others on European soil.



I hope you appreciate this upgrade and you are having some great ride on your Sutra.



Best regards,

Olivier

hokie cycler

I purchased one a few months ago from a shop in Oregon and it has the same features and must be the 2019 version in 2018 paint. I have used mine for commuting only and will take it on a tour this summer. I absolutely love this bike.