New Kona Bikes

High end race bike, updated Sutra, and mid tier Rove. Still waiting on the updated steel Rove.


http://konaworld.com/zone_ltd.cfm
 

http://konaworld.com/sutra_ltd.cfm

 
http://konaworld.com/rove_dl.cfm

 

The new Jake bikes came out today.  The top of line Super Jake looks awesome!  Great colors

http://www.konaworld.com/super_jake.cfm

 

New roves just showed up on the website, click the rove link above. They look dorky and overpriced

I'm kind of digging the Rove NRB line.  The steel is out of my price range but the NRB and NRB DL look pretty interesting.  The only thing I'm wondering is if that CX carbon fork combined with a really think 31.6 mm seat post equates to a harsh ride.  The articles that I've read say that the road plus tires make a huge difference but I don't know. 

Unfortunately there are no Kona dealers in my area that stock any of their road bikes.  I'd have to buy sight unseen if I want to try.

I like the new Jake lineup, but they missed the target on the steel rove unless they come up with a normal price steel framed 700 c rove, like they did with the wheelhouse road bike. Maybe it's the colors or the basic photo ilustration that makes them look dorky to me I dunno. 
What is it about the wheel size that is making them popular? 

I just checked the Konas out.  The Rove line sure has grown.  But, RoverAL, I am not sure how the new Rove ST, which is pretty similar to the last ST, is not a normal priced steel framed 700 c bike.  The cost of the bike is cheaper than ever.  And I too am not stirred by the looks.  

The steel rove for 1499.00 is a 2017 model, unknown if it will be available as a 2018 model.
The Steel ROve LTD Road plus or whatever it is called is $3599.00 and overpriced imo.
That is the only new 2018 steel ROve I saw on the site. There is a mash up of 2017 and 2018 bikes. I also think the aluminum framed NRB's are overpriced as well.

The 2018 Rove ST has been in the media for a while now, and some are even on the road.  Not sure why it is not on Konaworld yet.  Anyway, here is a look at the 2018 Rove ST 700:

https://www.cxmagazine.com/kona-versatile-rove-650b-rove-ltd-nrb-dl-gravel-cyclocross-bikes/2

Just go past the 650 stuff and down toward the bottom.  

Thanks for posting the link I did not see that before. The 700c Steel grey bike looks a lot like the 2017, which I like the looks of and price is fair.. 
I'm still having a hard time liking the looks of the + bikes even with the real life pics. probably have to ride one.


"The $1499 Rove ST, as the letters suggest, is a steel model, with a cromo frame and fork, dressed with SRAM Rival 1X components, with flat mount disc brakes and thru axles."
Looks like a good value, the fork looks wide too. I'm liking it.

The bike is through axle now with flat brake mounts.  The color reminds me of the 2014.  I like steel Roves, but the frames are essentially cheap, and many have suffered from poor alignment.  

Haven't heard that about their frames. I had a Rove Al when it first came out, solid bike tough as nails but had to upgrade everything. I want a steel bike for all around purposes. The geo looks different on the new Rove, cant put a finger on it and it looks like 3 bottle mounts. \n \nHere's some better pics of the rove st \n \nhttps://sellwoodcycle.com/products/2018-kona-rove-st

Pretty sure the ST has had three bottle mounts since it made the move from a cross bike in 2013 to a more all around "free range" bike in 2014.  It seems like less of an all around bike now and more of a gravel bike.  The low BB might not be the best for single track, it used to be rather higher.  Still, probably capable for anything, and has to be lighter than the 2013-2015 STs.  

There seems to be 3 different Rove lines.  

The Rove is similar to what we've seen in past year.  They are lower component bikes with Claris or Sora and have alloy forks.  

The Rove ST has a similar geometry to the aluminum models.  It has a steel fork and a Rival drivetrain.

The Rove NRB are different.  They are road plus bikes and use 650b+ tires.  The bottom bracket design had to be modified with something completely different in order to fit a double crank without making everything too wide.  They use the same full carbon forks that are on the Jake bikes.  There are 2 alloy models, one Tiagra with mechanical brakes and the DL with 105/Ultegra hydraulic brakes and then a very expensive 853 steel model with a 1x Force groups.  

It's too bad they didn't offer a NRB with a more economical steel frame like the Rove ST.  The NRB DL seems the most interesting to me.  I really could see road plus working well on all types of surfaces.  In the past 5 years aluminum frames have come a long way in terms of comfort.  It's still not steel but as we've seen with bikes like the Salsa Warbird, it can still be a material that you can spend all day in saddle in if the frame is done right

I spoke to the local Kona dealer today. He said that the Rove NRB is due out in January. The Sutras he was told would be December.

I bought a Rove NRB late this fall.
Short version - it is more comfortable than I expected for an aluminum frame,
it has the right balance of peppy handling and overall stability I wanted,
and it is fun to ride.

Preface :
I was looking for a bike to replace my cyclocross bike, which is too small for me now that I am not as flexible
as I was 3 decades ago. Also, all the parts were essentially worn out.
I prefer steel bikes, and wanted something around 10 kg ( what my cyclocross bike weighs ).
My riding would be 80% pavement 20% off pavement.
Since my torso is freakishly long, a long top tube was critical.
That ruled out many popular bikes like the Vaya for example.
I didn't want the sharp handling of modern cyclocross bikes either, or that teetering on top feeling of a high BB.

I rode the Kona Wheelhouse as the specs appeared to have much of what I wanted, except for only 30C tire clearance.
The ride was not what I expected, it reminded me a bit of the Columbus PL track bike I used to have.
I understand now likely why the Tamland was not specced with 853.
The handling was nice and balanced on pavement, but the bike did not speak to me.

I also rode the Sutra LTD, which had a steel feel more to my liking, however those 50C tires with aggressive tread
were not what I wanted. The bike seemed a bit ponderous on pavement, and hated being thrown into a downhill off camber street corner
The long back end made for rather ungainly handling, and I didn't want a 1X drive train.
If my pavement / non-pavement ratio was flipped, I might have considered this bike, besides the weight.

The "regular" Sutra was a solid touring bike, which meant rather bland handling but a comfortable road feel.
I didn't want a triple either.

I was reluctant to ride an aluminum frame bike ( Rove NRB ), as my commuting bike is aluminum and has a rather rough ride.
The NRB was a gas to ride. The road feel with the Horizon tires was surprising.

A brief ride on a Kona LTD was inconclusive as it had third-party wheels with carbon rims
which seemed to influence the ride feel quite a bit, and it had Byways. And too much for my wallet.

With the NRB home, I was only able to get in about a half dozen rides ( all on pavement ) as weather and
other time commitments prevented more experiences. The overall feel of the bike is great.
It does not whisper to slow down like the Sutra, or ask why I am on pavement like the Sutra LTD.
I can only really tell it is aluminum when I hit a sharp bump and I get a bit of that buckboard kick from the back end.
Some corners require a bit more lean or muscle than my road bike, but that's expected.
In one corner I forgot I wasn't on my road bike which got me into a bit of trouble, but was able to easily pull out of it.
Nimble but not twitchy. No pedal scrapes due to the low BB yet. I can hear a buzz from the tire tread at speed, but nothing like
a knobby tire. Dropping the pressure for one ride I had a difficult time keeping up with a group.
I was able to track stand through a complete traffic signal cycle easily, which I could not do on my CX bike.
The 48T big ring feels good, although the 32T small ring sometimes feels too small.
I need more kilometers with the bike as is before deciding on changes.
I found a couple of online reviews that I mostly agree with, one at grit.cx and the other at off.road.cc.

Comparing the geometry to a Salsa Warbird, there a lot of similarities. However the base Warbird is several hundred
dollars more, and needs another chainring + derailleur. My budget was to stay close to $1500 US.
My tastes and requirements are a bit different than mainstream, so the Rove NRB may not appeal to many other riders.

I was able to get it with a 12cm stem instead of the stock 7cm, and the fit for me is exactly what I wanted.
The reach and stack allows me to be 1cm shorter and 1cm taller than my road bike
without crazy stem / spacer combinations and a still have a 50cm seat tube.
The bars are much wider than I'm used to with a bit of flare, but still feels natural. However the bend below
the brake levers is too flat for my hands. The saddle is comfortable enough for 40km,
but on a 50km ride I started to question if a replacement was prudent.

I'm looking forward to spring weather !

These - really the 2018 700 wheel size Rove ST - are back in our radar.

Have any of you purchased that and know max tire size including with fenders? I was close to buying one of these when a could not pass it up Fargo bargain popped up. That is a wonderful bike but it's plastic fork is not fender friendly.

Thank you.