[Closed] Anyone got a Kona Smoke?

I sort of have one for sale, and it has been hardly used at all. I bought it a few months before being sent to Gibraltar, and have not ridden it since. I say sort of because the bike is in London and I am in Scotland, as I will not be down that way until end of September.

It is a little bit heavy, and the tyres are quite chunky, but it is excellent for town riding, where you are not covering say a commute of more than 5 miles, where you may want something lighter and faster.

I loved mine and would be sad to see it go, but am moving abroad, hence trying to get ride of things here.

A mate of mine rode a 26" wheel one from London to Istanbul in standard spec. with no issues, so I guess there ok.

He's in Afganistan/China at the moment en route to Nepal but on a Surly this time.

Don't get the 26" wheel one. 700c wheels make a big difference to ease of riding on tarmac, and so do thinner tyres. Even for short stuff.

Dew, if you are buying new.

I have one, have been using it 2-3 days a week, each day around 20 miles, it is the 29er version. I changed the mudguards as they rattle quite badly and are huge (SKS now), other than that just a new chain and so far it has done 1400km+. It ain't light but once rolling it's fine, just about to change rear pads. I use it with panniers as I need to change and shower at work, can't fault it. Sometimes do a 15 mile route home.

Ive got one and love it. I have got the 26" wheeled version which I brought as a frame and forks off ebay for £30. I was only looking for a set of Project Two forks at the time but the f,f,& hs deal was too good to miss.

Mine is set up as a commuter with 1.5 Specialized Nimbus slicks on and a pannier rack. Will stick some mudgaurds on it for the winter.

I've had no probs with mine and dont think it is all that heavy (22lb) as I have built it up with pretty light components.

Matt

Yes, I have one, with 29" wheels.
Like the above posts really, bit on the heavy side, the mudguards rattle, but mine is perfect for my commute to work, and I have a rack for panniers. Haven't had any problems, I got mine in December last year and use it two or three times a week.

For the money, excellent value IMO 😀

I looked at the Smoke, ended up getting the aluminium framed Dew instead - £300 from Evans.

Main reason I went for the Dew was the better gears and the frame is disc ready for possible future upgrading.

Had it a couple of weeks now, being used for a 25 mile per day commute, mostly on towpaths and cycle paths. Haven't quite got used to the position yet, as it is quite sit up and beg - might try a longer stem. Mine has SKS mudgaurds and there is a bit of toe overlap, but not enough to be a problem. It is heavier than I'm used to but not as heavy as it looks, but at £300 all the parts are fairly basic and heavy and upgradeable in time.

I seem to recall the Smoke came with 45mm tyres - my Dew came with 35mm Scwalbe Road Cruisers and so the Smoke will be draggy, I'd have thought. I could get away with 32mm tyres, maybe even 28mm tyres on the smoothest of the route options I have, and that would lighten and speed the bike up.

Happy to answer any other questions if it helps

My hack/commuter got nicked so bought a 20" (700c) smoke as replacement (from Rutland). Mine's fine - never going to win any races but does what it needs to do. Agree that mudgards do rattle - but not enough to make me want to do anything about it.

Only thing I changed were the bars and pedals - for stuff I already had.

If was upgradeable to discs it'd be even better but for £200 delivered - difficult to see what more you could ask for.

Like LoCo's mate, my GF and I rode 26" wheeled ones to Ethiopia from London (with better wheels and contact points). Since then, mine has been used as an mtb with suss forks and front discs; a geared commuter, a single speed commuter; and now my mate has it as a 1x9 speed commuter. Not bad bikes, especially for the money, but they're not light frames and feel quite brutal and wooden compared to better steel hardtails.