Used bike buying decisions - Kona vs. Redline

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Permalink Reply by Erik Nordenson on April 14, 2011 at 5:51am

Over all the Kona is a better value.

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Permalink Reply by DStudley on April 14, 2011 at 9:50am

I have a 2009 Major Jake that I purchased after borrowing someone elses for a race and love the bike.  Redline also makes a solid non-boutique race bike, but the only experience I have with the Redline was with my wife's that was last years model that had the carbon stays (she was very happy with it). 

 

I would tend to favor the Kona, but would be more inclined to make the decision on the component preference.  Personally I prefer Shimano over Campy when racing cross, but there has to be plenty of people that feel the opposite.

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Permalink Reply by Surly Bastard on April 14, 2011 at 7:16pm

Both are great bikes. I've owned both and raced both. I currently race a pair of Redlines - a Pro and Team and run Campy on both, which I love for 'cross, unlike DStudley. The Campy works better and is more durable in cross conditions than Shimano. I recently stripped and rebuilt a Kona exactly like the one you're looking at for a friend and I couldn't believe how light it was, much lighter than the Redline Pro. I love Scandium - my Team is made of the stuff it great stuff for cross. As far the differences in handling/geometry I've got to say that I like the way the Redlines handle on twisty quick courses (I attribute it to their BMX background but I could be kidding myself) they are very racy. They love to dive in, which in racing is good, but on long rides that's not always so good. That said I love the way the Konas handle in mud, snow and on ice - I always felt like I was riding tractor that could cut through anything on the Kona. I also like the Redlines for the fact that their top tubes don't slope as much as the Kona, but that may not matter as much in a 56. The deciding factor should be the groupo. What are you running on the rest of the bikes in your stable (your wife's included)? I like to interchange wheels, cassettes and shifters so I run Campy 10 on everything - road, TT, and my cross bikes (3 Redlines, 1 Trek XO - I sold the Kona to friend that loves it as I did and replaced it with a Redline SS). If your garage is full of Shimano, stick with it. I don't think you could go wrong with either one of these bikes. Also I wouldn't bother spending an extra 100 on the crank. You could buy a bigger ring for 25 bucks if you want more teeth. Good luck, I'm sure you enjoy the bike no matter which one you bring home.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Ball on April 15, 2011 at 5:34am

Hey thanks for the replies, I ended up getting the redline and am very happy with the decision. The guy with the Major Jake still hasn't got back to me about seeing it so I grabbed the redline last night. For 900 I got it and the set of nice road wheels/tires for road rides, and the spare crank which ill just take the chainrings from, and some Shimano SPD pedals as well. As far as other bikes in my stable, there is only mountain bikes so there wont be much part swapping however I can see component buying may become addictive. The 10speed Campy stuff seems to shift nice and the shift levers are alloy of sorts and feel substantial. Now time to go out for a ride, thanks for the info and support, looks like I'll have to post back on here soon after some real testing.

Cheers,

Andrew

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