So we were drooling over the 09 Kona catalog as I stopped by the LBSfor coffee

On Sep 6, 11:47*am, landotter wrote:
On Sep 6, 12:39*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:





On Sep 2, 1:04*pm, landotter wrote:

Some fun stuff, like the neato "Dew Drop":

http://www.konaworld.com/09_dewdrop_en.cfm

Should list for $700. Alu frame--nice and rigid. Tour on it, commute,
whatever. Fun stuff. The componentry qualifies as good enough to bang
around town or *ride across the country. Don't know if I'd trust the
hubset to go all the way to Timbuktu.

But the one I like most is the Honky Tonk:

http://www.konaworld.com/09_honkytonk_en.cfm

$1K. Look ma, downtube shifters! Was designed for the Portland market--
funny, if I made a bike for Portland--I'd make it *aluminum*, duh. ;-)
Still, it's very handsome with the skinny tubes and it's pretty much
what 90% of what road bikes should look like on sales floors.

It's a really fun catalog this year, have a browse, much better color
palate than last year, which was too tropical. ;-)

Designed for the Portland market? *Portland, Oregon? *Well, then it
should have fenders (is there enough room under that crown?

It has room for 28s and 35mm fenders. Mind--it's designed for the
Portland market--not necessarily the conditions. Basically it exists
because all the stock of 80s Japanese road bikes got snapped up, and
here's a nice circa '88 road bike--right out of the past, with modern
bits for $900. I'd buy it. I'd also buy it were it aluminum. It's gpt
a very nice fork on it, same guy that's on the Paddy Wagon. Plenty of
clearances. Standard reach brakes. LBS is getting one soon.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I agree that it is cool, and it points out that a lot of the anguish
about there being no olde tyme style bikes is a little over-blown.
Really, back in the day, you would never see any of those safari bikes
REI sells. Also, the long wheel base frames everyone talks about are
really more like '70s bikes because in the 80s, the frames were
already trending toward short wheelbases -- culminating in the Rigi,
the most ridiculously short wheel based bike ever made. -- Jay Beattie.

In article
,
landotter wrote:

Some fun stuff, like the neato "Dew Drop":

http://www.konaworld.com/09_dewdrop_en.cfm

Should list for $700. Alu frame--nice and rigid. Tour on it, commute,
whatever. Fun stuff. The componentry qualifies as good enough to bang
around town or ride across the country. Don't know if I'd trust the
hubset to go all the way to Timbuktu.

But the one I like most is the Honky Tonk:

http://www.konaworld.com/09_honkytonk_en.cfm

$1K. Look ma, downtube shifters! Was designed for the Portland market--
funny, if I made a bike for Portland--I'd make it *aluminum*, duh. ;-)
Still, it's very handsome with the skinny tubes and it's pretty much
what 90% of what road bikes should look like on sales floors.

It's a really fun catalog this year, have a browse, much better color
palate than last year, which was too tropical. ;-)

That is a matter of taste.

--
Michael Press

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

Art Harris wrote:

Considering the ever increasing price of STI/Ergo shifters, the cost
savings (and reliability) of DT shifters may make them the more
appealing choice for some new riders.

Hahaha.

I for one am likely to make use of downtube shifters (if my frame is
equipped to mount them), and completely unlikely to use any kind of
brifters. The first and most noteworthy show-stopper related to
brifters is that they confine you to gay bars.

Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that. I just don't
swing that way.

Chalo