EbikeCurious
New Member
Got out for my first ride on this beauty today. I got it last Friday but it wouldn’t turn on so had to take it to the LBS who fortunately is a Shimano center. Just a firmware update and everything was functional.
Quick 1 hr 20 minute jaunt...mostly singletrack, some sandy fireroad, a little pavement/road.
It rides a lot like a Process 153, but more stable and planted. Still feels quite lively and playful for 53 lbs (chainstays are 435 so that helps).
Flat, relatively smooth and featureless singletrack was still fun and engaging. Climbed some quite steep stuff and was only limited by my technique. I did notice it maybe is a little less planted/front end light on climbs compared to the Levo and the 2019 Commie Meta Power AM I demoed due to the significantly shorter chainstays, but I think technique could pretty much null that difference.
Corners were amazing, traction was good (for our SoCal dusty blownout sandiness this time of year) due to the 2.8s.
Hit some small to medium jumps and drops...handled those really well. Felt very balanced and stable in the air. One 5-6 foot drop was done and soaked up with no issues whatsoever.
I’m running an XL with 800mm bars with 75mm rise...decent fit for me at 7ft. (Reach is 510...tied for longest I’ve seen on an Ebike outside of the unaffordable super long chainstay Nicolai).
I’ll have to get it on some other trails, but preliminary evidence suggests it is gonna be a really good all around ride with some good big hitting capability. Very happy with it so far!
The Commie was really fun too but a felt a bit more like a point and plow (still was decently playful and was set up with a coil to be fair). Still ridiculously fun.
The Levo felt somewhat less capable to me on bigger hits, although still quite capable (especially under my 250ish lbs...I was surprised by that). I think the Kona is a bit more nimble and playful due to the short stays, even given the higher weight.
Quick 1 hr 20 minute jaunt...mostly singletrack, some sandy fireroad, a little pavement/road.
It rides a lot like a Process 153, but more stable and planted. Still feels quite lively and playful for 53 lbs (chainstays are 435 so that helps).
Flat, relatively smooth and featureless singletrack was still fun and engaging. Climbed some quite steep stuff and was only limited by my technique. I did notice it maybe is a little less planted/front end light on climbs compared to the Levo and the 2019 Commie Meta Power AM I demoed due to the significantly shorter chainstays, but I think technique could pretty much null that difference.
Corners were amazing, traction was good (for our SoCal dusty blownout sandiness this time of year) due to the 2.8s.
Hit some small to medium jumps and drops...handled those really well. Felt very balanced and stable in the air. One 5-6 foot drop was done and soaked up with no issues whatsoever.
I’m running an XL with 800mm bars with 75mm rise...decent fit for me at 7ft. (Reach is 510...tied for longest I’ve seen on an Ebike outside of the unaffordable super long chainstay Nicolai).
I’ll have to get it on some other trails, but preliminary evidence suggests it is gonna be a really good all around ride with some good big hitting capability. Very happy with it so far!
The Commie was really fun too but a felt a bit more like a point and plow (still was decently playful and was set up with a coil to be fair). Still ridiculously fun.
The Levo felt somewhat less capable to me on bigger hits, although still quite capable (especially under my 250ish lbs...I was surprised by that). I think the Kona is a bit more nimble and playful due to the short stays, even given the higher weight.
