Strengths: Excellent geometry, incredibly responsive, light, amazing frame, great fork, best components at this price point by a mile. The Altus shifters are great. I see people complain about the dérailleurs but that's a load of hogwash. Any set of dérailleurs will feel clunky if you don't use them right, ease off on the pedals while shifting, that kind of thing.
Weaknesses: Incredibly responsive. Twitchy, even. Be careful if you're transitioning from a cheap mountain bike or similar clunker. It is not forgiving with antics at higher speeds. It doesn't look amazing but really, who cares. The rear dérailleur can feel a tad clunky in the two smallest chain rings. The tires aren't the greatest. I'm really having difficulty finding issues with this bike. I would, however, caution that it is especially important that you make sure to fit this bike decently. Swap the tires out, preferably for something slicker. The gear ratios don't work very well for loaded touring I have found; but the bike wasn't designed for loaded touring.
Bottom Line:
I ride a 2010 Kona Dew. Kona really hit the sweet spot in terms of weight and durability with the Dew. The bike is as light as is useful in every non racing application. It is also very, very durable. Let me give you some context. I weigh 260 pounds. I ride/ tour over 40km a day. About 6 out of these 40 km comprise severely damaged/ potholed/ dirt roads. A week ago, having put about 300 km on it without a single tune up, I managed to wipe out at a little under 40kmph, by my cyclo-computer. The front wheel turned sharply into the bike, acting as a brake, lunging me forward before the bike tumbled twice and skid for a good 100 meters. The fork, frame, every part of the bike was unscathed. The only thing that happened to it from this incredible abuse was that the front rim went a touch out of true. This is a great bike. I did a lot of research before getting this, and I have not had a single regret. The Dew has made me love bicycling. First decent bike or beater winter commuter, it does not get any better than this at 479 Canadian.
Similar Products Used: I researched my options for three months prior to my purchase. Having decided on a road frame geometry/ road wheel set based hybrid. I finally had to decide between a Trek FX 7.2, a Dew, and a Specialized Globe Vienna. The Trek looks amazing but offers a boring and conventional ride. Good bike but the components on the Dew are a lot better. Not as fun a ride. The Vienna is an amazing ride, almost as fun to ride as the Dew and even more responsive (although that may have to do with the slicker tires on it). It's a GREAT ride, but it didn't feel as durable as the Dew. The Dew really is the absolute best value.
Bike Setup: This is the only stock saddle I've ever ridden that has been comfortable. I will, however swap it out for a Brooks eventually. I've also found that MTB bars don't really do a bike like this justice; I'll be swapping them out for drops as soon as I have the dough.
Strengths: -- Not too heavy
-- Extremely comfortable seat
-- Attractive appearance (mine is blue)
-- Low price
-- Generally kicks ass
Weaknesses: -- Paint chips easily
Bottom Line:
This bike has been my commuter ever since I moved to Montreal. As a commuter bike, it is pretty much ideal. You sit fairly upright and get a good view of traffic. At the same time, the bike isn't heavy--it zips along nicely.
This machine has taken an incredible beating over the past three years,having been ridden constantly, left outdoors, and driven in rainstorms and snowstorms. Despite all that, it's still rolling pretty well (albeit with some maintenance--a replacement rear derailleur, new chain, new cassette, new wheel).
Strengths: Inexpensive, solid and easy to ride geometry
Weaknesses: A bit heavy (what do you expect it's a hybrid).
Bottom Line:
Great bike. Fat tires to dull the bumps on the road, but not too fat that you can't go fast when needed. Started to get into biking w/ the Dew and I have loved every minute of it. Have not changed a single thing except for the pedals, which I have changed to a dual flat pedal and mountain bike clips. I don't ever expect to sell my Kona Dew even when I do eventually buy some fancy Carbon Fibre or Titanium road bike. Planning to convert it to a fixie to do some urban night riding.
Strengths: Cheap and cheerful. Great bike to start urban/road riding on
Weaknesses: Paint chips easily
Bottom Line:
My bike is actually a 2008 model in turquoise colour and was £299. On the road, this bike will easily better any mountain bike on nobblies, incredibly lightweight and takes in bumps well. I Would highly recommend this bike to any commuters, beginners or urban riders as i got into the city biking with this bike. There are a fair bit of hill climbs on my commute and the bike deals with them superbly, I can easily keep up (and pass) most road bikes on my 5 mile commute which is a credit to the efficiency and smoothness of the bike. I have ridden similar priced hybrids and even the dew deluxe but i found myself most comfortable physically and economically with the dew.
As mentioned before by others before, the only negative i found was how easily the paintwork got chipped.
I posted this on FB and thought maybe the Lownge would have some (un)constructive criticism.
Do you "....."? because I have noticed that I "...." a lot. I find myself havin Read More »
I really did not need this mental image. Gag.
"January 05, 2012 — In legal proceedings in Illinois, experts found that the neon-yellow soft drink could break down a mouse carcas Read More »
