Kona Bicycle Co. Dew

Price Paid:  $450.00 at Wheel World Cyclery

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Orang Line Ride - San Fernando Valley

Summary:
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:
Inexpensive, solid and easy to ride geometry

Weaknesses:
A bit heavy (what do you expect it's a hybrid).

Similar Products Used:
none so far

Price Paid:  $299.00 at Evanscycles

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Daily Commute

Summary:
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.

Strengths:
Cheap and cheerful. Great bike to start urban/road riding on

Weaknesses:
Paint chips easily

Similar Products Used:
Dew deluxe, GT Zum, Specialized globe

Price Paid:  $400.00 at Eastside Cyles in Na

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
20 miles to the chicken store in tight pants!

Bike Setup:
fendered dual front and rear racks

Summary:
Great basic bike. You don't need the Kona Plus, or any other Dew--Save your bacon for upgrades. Vee brakes stop great!--disc brakes attract thieves ya suckas.

Great classic angles. I can slap on my spd pedals and put on my leotards and ride the damn thing on a century cheap as it is, or I can fetch bacon with it. That's because it has the basics correct--a frame with proper angles, and a fork done right. This may be a cheap bike--but the frame can always be upgraded. It rides like something more expensive--certainly not like a grampy hybrid. Kona--you got it right with this one--the Dew is a smash of a frame--love all the groovey braze ons--go one more--lets get nassssty--put a kickstand plate on! Come on!

Rides great--shifts perfect...woo woo, Kona! found the mix of cheap parts that work well. Mine's seen thousands of miles. Still shifts great!


Recommended upgrades as crap wears out:

Throw a Deore rear derailler on there guys, it's around $20 if ya shop around.

Replace the tires in spring with something less heavy-save a kilo.

If you totally hose yer rims--Alex DM18s are a direct replacement, just tape them to the wheel, and replace spoke by spoke--$18. ;-)

The hubs are cheap--check the adjustment, dial it in, add grease, and they will last forever on the road..

Handlebars are steel and heavy junk. Replace with Nashbar Trekking bars or something lighter and you totally improve the bike

Strengths:
Great classic angles as I mentioned--this is not a trendy bike--it's got classic angles and ya can upgrade the components as they wear out.

Weaknesses:
The paint chips, reinforce locking areas with tape.

Similar Products Used:
countless

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Price Paid:  $499.00 at Cyclesmith

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
dew

Bike Setup:
stock, rack and lights

Summary:
Bike is actually a 2008. I have used this daily as a commuter of 40k per day and have been so pleased with the Dew Plus (disc brakes) that I am giving it to my son tommorrow and replacing it with the exact (all but color) 2009 model. This bike is light, responsive and fun. I will do a little for with the stem to give me a wee bit more lenght. I;m 5'11" and I find the lenght (seat to bars) a bit short when I want to sit down and power. Other than this the bike is a gem and the addition of the disc brake option is a trmendous advantage on the rainy east coast. I choose the Dew because of the disc option which is not available on other bikes in this price range.

Strengths:
light weight, disc brake option, simple yet slick and sexy!

Weaknesses:
cheap paint (who cares), short lenght

Similar Products Used:
tried the trek soho, not worth the extra cost.

Price Paid:  $521.00

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Daily commute - 15 km each way

Bike Setup:
Removed one spacer to lower the handlebar, didn't like the too upright position, now it's just on my taste.

Summary:
2008 model actually. Really good all-rounder. Not too fast, not too off-road, not too fancy, but certainly not dull. It is a very good city/medium commute bike. I ride about half the commute on the road that links the suburbs to the city. Rode about 500 km on it so far. It's a entry level bike for nothing too specific. You can commute with it, ride it around town, on a smooth track. Obviously it's not good for off-road use or long distance travel. This review is more of an usability review, since in the price range the components are about the same for all bikes.

Strengths:
Light - 11.5 kg on a bathroom scale. The frame is awesome IMO, it's stiff and well proportioned for me (i am 178 cm in height, 54 cm frame). And again, light :). I like the 28" wheels compared to 26". All the components are quite tough under medium stress. Primarily good for the road, it's faster than a mtb and more affordable than a road bike. It handles quite well on an unpaved country road if it has to. It's not an instant eye-catcher, so it's a bit thug-proof. Also a + is the 120 kg weight limit.

Weaknesses:
Entry level derailers, but they work well so far. Tires are good, narrow enough, but could be slicker... although on gravel they have advantages.

Similar Products Used:
A friends' mtb with front-suspension, Cannondale frame, XT equipped to see how a very good mtb handles in the city... and i like the Dew better for city use.