2008 Kona Caldera 20"

[Klang180]

Hello all

I have found a Kona Caldera for sale on ebay near me but have very little knowledge of the bike and wanted to ask those in the know.

My main question is will the 20" be a comfortable size for me at 6ft2 or will I be pushing it? Also are the forks generally soft or firm for a rider of about 90kg?

Is it a decent bike and roughly what would be a good deal for a relatively decent condition one?

I'd only use it on road really so I'm not worried about off road capabilities but I am worried about the geometry of the frame as I'm trying to replace a 1998 GT Arrowhead that's only 18" and definitely feels too small!

Thanks for your input.

 

[Pipmeister]

Hello all

I have found a Kona Caldera for sale on ebay near me but have very little knowledge of the bike and wanted to ask those in the know.

My main question is will the 20" be a comfortable size for me at 6ft2 or will I be pushing it? Also are the forks generally soft or firm for a rider of about 90kg?

Is it a decent bike and roughly what would be a good deal for a relatively decent condition one?

I'd only use it on road really so I'm not worried about off road capabilities but I am worried about the geometry of the frame as I'm trying to replace a 1998 GT Arrowhead that's only 18" and definitely feels too small!

Thanks for your input.

I'm probably not the best person to answer this, as I don't take any notice of the "value" of bikes.

The 2008 Caldera is listed new at £700 on Bike Radar in the U.K., while I saw it listed for $950 in the U.S. on BikePedia. The S/H value on BikePedia is $210 for an excellent example, which seems too cheap to me. Evans were selling them for £580 as end of line, but then they did into administration! There's a minty one for sale on e-Bay for £235, which I would say seems about right, but S/H bikes never seem to fetch their value - like I mentioned, I don't take much notice of this.

At 6' 2" you are bang in the middle with fitting a 19" or 20" Kona frame, so either size would suit you.

The review in Bike Radar mention that the Rockshox Tora forks were sprung on the hard side for the lighter rider.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes ... ra-review/

It will be a good handling bike with that classic Kona Geometry, although a bit over qualified if it's only for Road use.

Pip

 

[Klang180]

Re:

Thanks that's really helpful information and just what I needed. I agree that second hand bikes are usually cheaper on ebay and that's why I'm always looking for ones near me and hence why I saw this one without knowing anything about it.

I am coming from an 18" gt which has me feeling like I'm really leaning on the front shocks and starts to hurt my back after some time, in short no fun to spend any time riding.

Does it have classic geometry i.e saddle higher than the handlebar or will it have more modern laid back geometry? Do you know the handlebar width?

Thanks a lot for your help with this, much appreciated.

 

[Pipmeister]

Re: Re:

....Does it have classic geometry i.e saddle higher than the handlebar or will it have more modern laid back geometry? Do you know the handlebar width?

If you glance back to my first post, you will notice that I mention it has classic Kona Geometry, which does enable a set-up for having the Saddle higher than the Bars. The Kona spec documents a 68.6 Head Tube angle, and a 70.6 Seat Tube angle, so it will be very slightly nearer to modern relaxed Geometry compared to a 90's XC Kona or indeed your current 1998 GT Arrowhead. It won't resemble a modern Trail Bike though. There is a picture of the bike sideways on in the link to the Bike Radar review that I documented. This picture however is from the Kona web site:

http://www.konabikeworld.com/08_caldera_w.htm



I don't know which bike you have found on e-Bay, so I can't tell you what bars are fitted, or their width. The bike that I have found on e-Bay seems to be fitted with the factory spec WTB XCX Riser, but if you need to know, I would send a message to the seller, or take a look at the bike as you mentioned that it is near you.

This is a picture of the bike's Bars on the example that I found for sale on e-Bay for £235:



Pip

 

[Klang180]

Re:

Thanks for your patient reply. That is indeed the bike I'm looking at. Your answer is very useful indeed. I think I have a much better understanding now. Looks like a lovely bike but wonder whether using it as a daily Commuter is unkind to such a bike.

Thanks again.

 

[Meejoir]

Re:

Hi, I had a 2008 Kona Hoss, which I think was pretty much the same frame design as the Caldera except it was classed as a ‘Clydesdale’ as it was for the ‘larger’ rider (ahem) and had beefier tubes and was a tad heavier.

Mine was also a 20” version and I’m 6 foot tall. The picture shows the seat height I used to run. I eventually sold it to a mate who is 6’2” and it fit him perfectly. Of course it’ll also depend on your leg size etc etc but I think you’ll be ok.