One of my favorite things to do in this world is ride. Sometimes I make up reasons to run errands just to ride. Somehow despite being a bachelor, no kids, no school, no distractions other than work and a wonderful girlfriend, I feel busy and making time to ride can be a challenge. Heck, making time to write these articles can be a challenge for me! With this in mind, I look for bikes that serve double duty, commutable and errand runners. This lead me to the Kona Sutra
I took delivery of the Sutra last week and set about assembly the next day. Upon opening the box, the first thing that grabbed me was the color! What a green! The bike is so bright that I feel like I’m running around with a giant sign that screams “BICYCLE!”. A really nice feature about bikes today is that they come mostly pre-assembled. All I had to do was mount the bars/stem, insert the seat post and attach the front wheel. Despite looking like a finished bicycle, the task was not done. If you value your noggin or other epidermal features, you’ll check to make sure that the build is up to snuff. For example, the left brake lever and the right shifter were loose. This is not a knock on Kona, rather a reminder any/every bike you should inspect every bike you intend to ride. This is also a great argument for getting your bike assembled at a LBS if you are not comfortable doing so.
Ready to Ride
My first experience was a quick ride up and down the street. I immediately felt how solid the Kona felt versus my Bianchi Vigorelli. Though both bike are steel, the Sutra is built to carry a load (the rear rack is rated for 30kg, 66lbs) and this shows in the bikes weight. I pedaled around the neighborhood with my multi-tool in hand, tweaking the bike and fine-tuning the derailleurs. Don’t forget that the brakes will not be effective until the pads are seated! I remembered this as I almost rolled into the wall at the end of the hall in my apartment complex!
My next ride was a 30-mile jaunt on the Santa Ana River Trail, and the Sutra was great. I took an unusual path to the trail in order to work in some climbs and the Sutra chugged right along. The deep gearing (triple crankset, mtb cassette) let me sit and spin on up the steepest of hills. I still had plenty of gear to speed along on the SART and try to keep up with the hardcore enthusiasts.
The most unusual aspect for me was adjusting to the bar end shifters. I am used to flight-deck controls, having shifting built into the brake levers. I did like that the shifters were easy to reach, but the cable routing made it a little awkward to ride in the drops as the cables would sometimes rub my fingers. Also I knocked one of the shifters with my knee during an out of the saddle sprint…though this isn’t a bike meant for that anyways.
After putting somewhere around 100 miles on the bike, I have to say I’m liking the Sutra. It is definitely overkill for commuting purposes, but I think it would be a great “only” bike for someone who can only have one [reference: "wonderful girlfriend" from above]. Over the new few months I’ll be commuting with it much more and hitting the local trails as well. Specs are below and stay tuned for future updates…and I promise with pics of me on the bike!
Bicycle Type Touring
Sugg Retail $1,199.00
Weight Unspecified
Sizes 49cm, 52cm, 54cm (tested), 56cm, 58cm, 60cm
Colors Light Green
Frame & Fork
Frame Construction TIG-welded
Frame Tubing Material Kona Chromoly Butted
Fork Brand & Model Kona P2 700c Disc w/Lowrider
Fork Material Unicrown
Rear Shock Not applicable
Components
Brakeset Avid BB7 Road disc brakes, Tektro RL-520A levers
Shift Levers Shimano Bar-Con
Front Derailleur Shimano Tiagra
Rear Derailleur Shimano XT
Crankset FSA Omega, 30/39/50 teeth
Pedals Not included
Bottom Bracket FSA Mega EXO
BB Shell Width 68mm
Rear Cogs 9-speed, 11 – 32 teeth
Chain Shimano Deore
Seatpost Kona RD Deluxe
Saddle WTB Rocket V Como
Handlebar Kona Sweeper
Handlebar Stem Kona Touring
Headset 1 1/8″ TH
Wheels
Hubs Shimano M525 disc
Rims Mavic A317 Disc
Tires 700 x 32c Continental Contact
Popularity: 12% [?]
Another ride along the same mind set is the Raleigh Sojourn. I chose the Raleigh over the Kona because I require a larger frame. The Raleigh also comes with fenders and a Brooks B-17 saddle. They run the shifter cables under the nifty Brooks leather bar tape for a cleaner look too. A great commuter and ready for touring. The only upgrade I did was to replace the factory fenders with some great SS replacements from Velo Orange. A leather mud flap for the back goes nicely with the Brooks saddle and bar tape.
Why are the shifter cables outside of the bar tape?
from the way it looks, Kona intended them to be outside of the tape.
I’m building a very low budget tourer right now, but if I had the cash that Sutra would suit me fine. Excellent green, for sure. That cable routing does look odd to me though.
when I first saw it, I thought the cable routing was weird But, its not to big a deal to switch it either.
can’t wait to see how it handles cargo loads, sounds like a typical over-built Kona
I got to see one of these in real life yesterday at my LBS…it’s even better looking in person. Didn’t notice if the cable routing on my local one is different.
There’s just something about a simple old-school paint job like this that makes me smile. It’s the standard steel bike paint job. World champ color bars would be a nice touch….no that goes too far.
Is it true that your “wonderful girlfriend” will let you have only one bike?! How many purses, shoes, etc. does she have… LOL I had some green bikes before, some of which I still own and they look pretty dull compared to the shock-green Kona! Are those hydro or mech. disc brakes?
BB7s are mechanical brakes…one of the only road-application disc brakes available. They’re pretty darn good, too.
Looks a lot like Kawasaki motorcycle green.
I like it. However, I would like it with a flat bar, grip shifts and bar ends. I like convience of grip shift and the ability to get of the saddle and pump up a hill if necessary or get off to a fast start.
dude lovin this ride.
i love my Kona Hot! yes its a MTB but its smooth and clean. kinda diggin the UTE, hope to get a chance to ride one or maybe you guys get to do a review on one?
Bill,
I may get to do an informal “compare and contrast” review of the Ute — my LBS offered me the chance to ride their Ute for a few days to see what I thought. Haven’t made any formal arrangements yet. It’s a sharp looking machine…but hey, I’m partial to Xtras so I might be biased.
A note on the “external”, non-bar-wrapped shifter cable housing:
- Fewer and larger-radius/smoother nominal bends for housing translates into more positive and worry-free cable travel
- Less “aero”, more chances of h-bar/hand/bar-mounted bag interference
- Most importantly, a lot of contemporary pre-cut cable sets come out a wee short on larger frames if housing is wrapped (slightly longer housing required than unwrapped)