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Ahh that old £1000 bike question again. Kona Vs Focus
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Hi all
Been an avid reader for the past year but only now joined up.
As with many of the newbies on here i am after some bike advice.
I've got an xmas bonus burning a hole in my wallet and have £1000 to spend on a new bike.
It's a big purchase for me so i need to get it right and need it to last.
I have got my choice down to two bikes...
Focus Cayo 2008 £999 on Wiggle
Kona King Deluxe 2007 £999 (from £1800) on Chain Reaction.
Problem is i cant choose between the two and need some spec advice.
Looks to me like the Kona has a better frame but lower spec components (Shimano 105), and the focus has the better spec shimano kit (Ultegra Ice). Is the Kona frame so good that it justifies last years £1800 price tag - it seems too much of a bargain?!
Is the quality of the frame or the components the bigger factor?
I'll be using the bike for mainly sprint & oly distance races but have also got the UK70.3 in June to worry about!
Any advice would be great, especially if you've got or ridden one of these.
Cheers in advance
Been an avid reader for the past year but only now joined up.
As with many of the newbies on here i am after some bike advice.
I've got an xmas bonus burning a hole in my wallet and have £1000 to spend on a new bike.
It's a big purchase for me so i need to get it right and need it to last.
I have got my choice down to two bikes...
Focus Cayo 2008 £999 on Wiggle
Kona King Deluxe 2007 £999 (from £1800) on Chain Reaction.
Problem is i cant choose between the two and need some spec advice.
Looks to me like the Kona has a better frame but lower spec components (Shimano 105), and the focus has the better spec shimano kit (Ultegra Ice). Is the Kona frame so good that it justifies last years £1800 price tag - it seems too much of a bargain?!
Is the quality of the frame or the components the bigger factor?
I'll be using the bike for mainly sprint & oly distance races but have also got the UK70.3 in June to worry about!
Any advice would be great, especially if you've got or ridden one of these.
Cheers in advance
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Comments
I'd seriously considered it but am not totally comfortable with idea of riding everywhere tucked down on bars.
Thought a road bike would allow me to use the bike multi-purpose i.e train, communte and compete.
It does look blooming nice though
Never seen a kona road bike. I wonder if they are trading off their MTB name....??
As you've already narrowed your choices down, I'm interested to know what turned you off from the Planet-X Ultegra SL Pro-Carbon bike? This is my top choice at the moment (if I get a road frame), although I'm also considering their TT bike at the same price.
Maybe I missed something in the specs? I'm also a bit nervous about buying a bike without having sat on it. Think I'll get myself measured up very carefully beforehand.
I can't find any reviews of the Kona bike, whilst all the Cayo and planet X reviews look great.
Going to have to spend some quality time in front of google tonight reading as much info as poss before making my mind up.
If anyone out there does know anything about the Kona road bike i'd love to hear about it.
Couldn't say much about the Cayo- but it does seem on the heavy side.
Similarly, the Planet-X is a good price, but the bikes build up very heavy. My coach keeps telling us that cycling performance is based on power to weight ratio, so I always go for the lightest i can build for my money (!!).
You can always put a better group-set on later, but the weight gains are not much, and i haven't found much difference between the Tiagre on my road bike and the Dura-ace on my TT bike!
Good luck choosing!
disclaimer: I am by no means an expert, just a guy that dreams about these bikes. So I don't know if my writings are a real help to you?
Let us know what bike you've choosen, soyou can make us jealous[:@]. [;)][:D]
I've no doubt they're excellent bikes and excellent value.
However, the cynic in me notes that the bike mags always give them the highest marks and always beat comparable bikes in tests but Focus bikes are only available via Wiggle, who happen to be the most prominent and regular advertisers in the same mags.
Am I being too cynical?
I'd certainly consider a Focus bike but I think it's worth bearing in mind.
Truely though - I dont think they would give a false reveiw.... the fact that most focus bikes are reveiwed within weeks, if not prior to their lanch is the advertisers wonga talking - they get way more coverage than almost any other type of bike... Subblinimal control... Advertising is destroying the world from under us, marketing IS the root of all evil..... .... ..... must buy carbon wheels to win - - - I'm gonna go buy some carbon wheels this weekend... anyone seen the Dalkiia sixzero ones... they look hot (at primera and GBcycles). and great price too.....
Hi Zoe... I haven't managed to find weights for these bikes on the P-X web-site. How much do they weigh, and what would you call heavy? My current bike is about 12kg [:(]
Personally speaking, I could probably spend a load of cash getting a bike 5kg lighter, or I could save a load of cash by getting myself 5kg lighter. Cheapest way to improve my p/w ratio is to lose some lard [:D]