Kona Bicycle Co. Jake the Snake

Price Paid:  $345.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
St. Vincent Nature Area & Local Farms

Bike Setup:
Shimano 105, Trvative crank, Koski stem and seat post...stock stuff

Summary:
First venture into cyclocross because my buddy and I wanted something to ride when there is too much salt and gravel on the roads and too much snow in the mountains during the winter. Great bike...we've taken it through mud, crud and questionable burms. The Kona can handle it.

Strengths:
Great go to bike for cruddy conditions that would beat up a road bike, but would still be over kill on a mt. bike. Great bang for the buck - especially used. Geometry is comfy - I've had zero back issues, even on long rides

Weaknesses:
Carbon Fiber fork would be nice.

Price Paid:  $900.00 at Used

Bike Setup:
Stock.

Summary:
I have a mountain bike and a road bike, and thought that the next purchase would be a touring bike to deal with the harsh pavement where I live. When I visited a local shop I was directed toward the cyclocross, and had planned to buy a Jake next spring. Luckily, I found a used one that was the right size. I totally love this bike. I have ridden it on roads to train, I have used the shoulders of the road to minimize risk, and I have used paths when my young kids were with me. On all terrain it is a sweet ride. It handles well with the shorter top tube, and the riding position is comfortable for me (I'm not the tallest fella in town). The folks at Kona deserve a medal for this one. I cannot say enough great things about this bike. It's a dream come true because it is so versatile and solid in the components and the frame. Great stuff!

Strengths:
Great handling, extremely versatile, very comfortable.

Weaknesses:
Haven't found any yet. It's not as fast as my pure road bike, but that is a very small price to pay for the other things it can do. It is still very fast off the mark, and I'm sure that the speed would improve with some slicks.

Price Paid:  $550.00 at Ebay

Favorite Ride:
Around Town

Bike Setup:
Mavic MA3 wheels,BLK 105 hubs, 105-STI Ultegra RD, Ritchey Canti's, flite saddle/salsa post Michelin CX tires, etc...

Summary:
The bike rides well in the ruff stuff, comfortable geometry, the 2003 model is also a great value. I added wider bars & Tektro top mount brake levers(work great)

Strengths:
Solid looks, Orange & green combo +++

Weaknesses:
Sugio cranks work but look out of place, stock bars are to narrow for CX, cheap stem

Similar Products Used:
IF CX, Surly

Price Paid:  $700.00 at e-bay

Bike Setup:
105, koski bar, stem, and post, flite ti saddle, eggbeaters, truvativa elita cranks

Summary:
I'm just braking this bad boy in, but so far it feels really nice. I'm mostly a mt. biker, and got this bike as a transition bike/something to ride in the crappy Eugene winters, and I love it already. I got a sweet deal on ebay. I'm used to aluminum frames, so I'm pretty happy there. I've been riding this bike on some pretty technical stuff that I would normaly take my mt.bike on, and it feels great. Awesome tires, I feel like I have better traction than my mtb.

Strengths:
stiff, traction, pretty, great deal(even at retail)

Weaknesses:
Sometimes I'd like to have 3 rings up front, paint's not too thick, but who cares?

Similar Products Used:
none