Favorite Ride: Hill and long ride in Crit rides !!
Price Paid:
$6500.00
Purchased At: Gagne velo ski
Similar Products Used: Kuota Khan, Giant TCR
Bike Setup: Dura Ace 7800 with Ultegra cranket
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
charlie18
a Recreational Rider
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2011
Strengths: light
stable
comfortable
Weaknesses: no one knows how to pronounce the name
Bottom Line:
I have put 7500 miles on my Kuota KOM in a little over a year. It is hands downs the best handling and most comfortable bike I have ridden. And that is with a Selle Italia SLR saddle.A lot of the bike's positive characteristics I attribute to the appropriate fit and parts spec. Particularly noteworthy is the TTT Ergonova bar which is only perfect. This combo gives me confidence on descents I never had in the past. The bike is light, spins up fast, and allows me to climb hills on the big ring I never would have considered before. A lot has been said about the KOM being stiff and uncomfortable. I have a Colnago and a Pinarello. I have rented and Eddy Merxx and a Cervelo for protracted periods of time. Stiff, yes. Uncomfortable, not even. I have never had my hands or other body parts fall asleep on this bike. If you are looking for an affordable, pro-quality ride, this is your bike.
Weaknesses: sensitive folks may hallucinate steady torture to the crotch due to inhumanly stiff ride. don't believe them.
Bottom Line:
i've got the all nude carbon 2009 model, not the 2007.
i got this bike because it is out of the crowd and unique. it's the deadly champion. the name is badass. it's the bike that you want to take in bed because it deserves a soft mattress instead of leaning all night against the wall. if you leave it in the cold and don't feel guilty, seriously reconsider your priorities. however, sometimes the partner on the other side of the mattress bans bikes in bed due to unique injuries sustained while resting: so the next best thing is to keep the bike in the bedroom (clean of course.)i hear waking regularly and taking a few peeks at it throughout the night is recommended by the doctor: improves night vision, heart health and power, and vo2 max.
so you may hear the ride is stiff, so stiff you have scrambled eggs by the time you dismount. sounds like someone who never rode the bike and exhagerated what some other whiner said. but i am young (early 20's) and i've ridden on some ball busting pave. maybe my definition of torture is different from yours. the point is,this bike is stiff (very stiff), but it is still comfortable enough to ride and want to ride all the time. i love the massive bottom bracket. the thing speaks power. seriously, every ounce of energy that flows through it is applied to the wheels. the bike rides straight and steady. front end can get a little bouncy if on rough road and riding without hands, but once on the bars, smooth as silk. any bike does that. descending at 50mph+ is a joy: just make sure the asphalt is clear of crap and wear a helmet. the bike responds instantly: it has high avoidance skills like a quality performance car.
i chose this bike over de rosa and specilized. i was coming of a lower model pinarello and wanted something different. pinarello is good but the better models are $$$$$$$$$$. the kom=top of the line Kuota for very reasonable prices. it's a no brainer. take advantage the brand isn't to well known in the US. that keeps prices down. so just because it's not too wellknown or ridden by the top guns doesn't mean inferior. all companies had to start somehow.
i truly enjoy me kom. the massive tubes are inspiring. the naked carbon just down right gorgeous. decked out in quality parts and top of the line components this bike opperates flawlessly.
i never test rode this bike before i rode it: just ordered the frame off line (no kuota dealer for hundreds of miles where i'm at) and built the bike up. but it's turned out above and beyond from what i expected. i researched it heavily, i recommend you do so, any bike. took me several months of figuring out and looking around before finalizing my choice. don't make rash decisons. think and dream about it. sleep on it. wait for times of year when prices drop in order to sweeten the deal.
this bike may not be for you or it very well can be. it you don't get the kom get a kuota at least. kuota's a no brainer too. all i can say after ranting this much is that the kuota kom is the badassest bike on the planet: it waits for the right rider to dominate. it has everything you need to win: now apply yourself.
Similar Products Used: pinarello (forgot the model)
eddy merckx corsa (great steal bike)
Bike Setup: ultegra 6700
reynolds assault
pro vibe parts
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
stamo
a Road Racer
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2010
Strengths: Semi compact slope-good. Massive downtube -good. External cable routing on a high end frame-bad.
Weaknesses: Give us a integrated seatpost model, and internal routing, to make it a seriuos contender. Otherwise this bike is tuff. Fine touches similar to say a BMC Pro Machine arent as obvious. But still a good thing. The seat clamp is ugly, boring, and so old school. Change it to either a ISP system, or give us something a bit more 2010 please. Also, let me say, this bike is NOT ( I repeat NOT !!! ) aero in any way at all. It cuts the wind like a shipping container. This is not a Cervelo wind cutting frame wonderbike. So after 100's of kms in the wind, your aero competitor will have more energy than you, all cause of the frame. But if those few hundred kms have hills, mountains, downhills, corners, potholes, switch backs, and other stuff a billy goat would spew at, then this thing just might get you home before that aero bike does. Cause one thing it won't do is twist and crumble under strong legs. It directs power unrelentingly. It feels as stif and direct as an alloy cervelo soloist, only supremely more comfy. I truelly do love the KOM.
Bottom Line:
Bought a 2009 medium Agritubel KOM. Had it all of 4 weeks, and then one day saw a crack had developed on the bottom lower edge of downtube near BB area. About 35mm long zig-zaging with carbon weave. Definitely a crack. I weigh 100kg and am strong, but really this had to be a manufacture fault, cause I never had it long enough to inflict some/any serious hard core kms. Sent it back to dealer in USA. And after some months of to-and-fro arguing and promises, he finally sent me a new frame. No doubt dealer will take up warranty issue with kuota if he wants to get his money refunded. The new frame looks beautiful & resplendent in white/black /silver. In fact down tube on this 2010 frame looks a little thicker and stronger. Maybe some other warranty complaints??? from previous year models- could be that they decided to up the thickness of those aluminium-can thin down tubes. But really, I see these things riden by AG2R in every break away on the pro circuit. These guys hammer the KOM relentlessly. So They HAVE to be tough ! They rode the KOMs every year thru Pairs Roubaix - that is a wrecking field ! So really , I think my cracked frame was a oncer. Rare I would think. But gosh do those over sized down tubes look FULLY SICK ! My god the bike looks tough. If you want the stand-out bike at the coffee shop ( after a BMC SLC01 that is ) then this KOUTA KOM is the go. This thing looks like a pure thoroughbred RACE BIKE. It's infact a very basic and plain looking frame configuration. But the fact it is plain actually relays strong messages that ' we don't need trick shapes and curves, or gimmicks ' to make this the absolute race thoroughbred it is. Lurking under the plain cloths is a wolf in sheeps clothing.Make no mistake , this is built to climb, sprint, and lead-out for hundreds of kms. This is a workhorse, and will carry strong legs to the finish line. I'd say if you put almost any other bike ( except the beautiful BMC SLC01 ) next to this, they will look either boring to the extreme, or way over the top wannabee's. This frame is no-nonsense in its looks, but still looks TOUGH !!!! A good way to describe it is as if you were to see a ferrari painted matt black. It would never look the stunner it is, but you know that lurking under that drab paint job is a monster. The KOM is like that. So plain, yet you know somehow the monster lurks within. After all is said and done, I'm finishing by saying , that I'm a 100kg heffer, yet I'm riding a bike designed to be the King Of The Mountain. Built for guys almost half my weight, to propel up mountains. But You know what, this KUOTA KOM is made to get anyone up those mountains - even heffers like me !!!
This is the 2008 model. I also have a 2008 Cervelo RS. This bike is fast and stable. Though lighter than the Cervelo, it is more stable on speed downhill and in corners, especially for someone like me who is still skittish on both. Note: My Cervelo has a compact drivetrain while the Kuota has a standard, so there is a difference there. I still climb better with the Cervelo given the compact gearing, but I can see that the Kuota will also be great.
