# kona stuff



## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

Looking to get this bike. What year is the fork? Its not on marchozzi's site and the travel is shorter...


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## fiddy_ryder (Jun 15, 2005)

umm what fork?


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Look under OEM products for whatever year the bike is. Kona uses current year OEM forks.


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

It's a good all around bike, dirt jumps quite well, you won't be disappointed by it. Mine got stolen but I'm getting a new bike soon.

As for the fork, it is a drop-off IV this year, but I don't know which model year you're refering to.


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

im referring to the 2006 kona stuff. I guess it looks like the same fork just shorter travel


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

It's a 100mm drop off IV, a nice fork to begin djing with, it's pretty light and absorbs big hits well. Since it's a 20mm, you'll get less flex than I was getting back when I had one.


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

thx for the info. I recently found out that i can also get the sasquatch for the same price. The diff. between the two: Konas fork is 100mm while the norco is 150mm. The kona has a better crank and 7005 frame while the norco has 8inch discs. Which out of the two would be better for road, dirt paths, trails, northshore??


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

The sasquatch is a tank, litterally, it is quite a heavy bike. I don't feel quite at home on the shore hardtail series. I'll go check out the specs on both bikes and I'll get back to you in a few minutes.

I'd still go with the Kona if I were you, but then again, test riding a bit, getting a feel for the bike, and finding the right size is what matters.


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

also about 40% of the time im riding on the road.. maybe 30% jumps, 30% freeride, trails.

i dont know but will the 150mm forks be to long for my type of riding?
also how much will it cost to switch to 8inch rotors (do u really need them??? or do they not do much?)


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

Looking at both bikes from a parts point of view, here's what I came up with:
The fork is the same one on both, but it will feel a lot stiffer on the stuff as it is shorter and has a 20mm axel. The crankset is better on the kona stuff, so are the pedals(In my opinon). The rims on the kona stuff will probably hold up to some more abuse than those on the sasquatch. As far as brakes, it doesn't really matter as long as you don't do downhill.

The sasquatch will be better suited for north shore-ish type of stuff, with drops and all, and the kona stuff will be slightly more of an all-around bike, that dirt jumps exceptionally and handles the street and park pretty well, but that can still be ridden on the trail.


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

well if i dont like the fork i could change it. In Ontario there aren't many steep downhills. Could i still do some light downhill stuff with 6inch brakes and that dropoff fork?


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

It's possible to downhill anything really . The SSV damping in both forks is meant for big hits not for fast small bump action, and although they will work, they are definitely not intended for all out downhill use.(I downhilled my '05 kona stuff some before it got stolen, and it was fine)


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

heh tough decision.. will 150mm forks be awkward for riding on the road?

guess ill have to test both bikes


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

It won't be any more ackward than the 100mm one, because both bikes have been built around a certain fork height.


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

ok. one last question, say if i wanted to get a new fork that was 130mm or 150mm and put it on the kona... would it work? (like fit the bike) or is the bike only meant for smaller forks.?


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

It will work, although I'd check with kona and see if it voids the warranty. Also, putting forks too tall on a hardtail frame makes the headtube more likely to break at the welds(I believe this is because of leverage, but I don't know for sure). My fork is an 80mm '06 dirt jumper 3 on a norco 416, and the travel suits me just fine. 100mm is really all you need for dirt jumping and urban riding, in my opinion. The fork is only really there to take the edge off of the bigger stuff.


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

well then i guess the norco would be better because it can actually handle a 150mm fork..


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

Try them both, I can't emphasize this enough. The feel of the bike is much more important than ANY fork travel, or part specs.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Kona can handle long travel SC forks just fine. But if the bike is designed around a short travel fork, it'll handle funky with the longer forks because it changes the geometry, front end height, standover, bottom bracket height, etc.

It's not about the amount of travel, but about the quality of travel. Typical beginner mistake.


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

XSL_WiLL said:


> It's not about the amount of travel, but about the quality of travel. Typical beginner mistake.


Exactly.


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## danbob (Apr 22, 2006)

thanks for the info. Im just trying to be cautious because i hope to upgrade the dropoff to something better later on.


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