Valuing bikes 20 years ago (Kona content)

[hamster]

Wise words indeed Xerxes. I had to battle with my sons' infant school to get them to cycle. They then had the cheek to use them on a green school campaign poster!!!
I absolutely agree that the early 1990s truly was a golden age, when in MTBs were really versatile go-anywhere do-anything machines, unlike today's. The cycle industry keeps coming back to it (gravel bike anyone?) it's such a fundamentally good idea.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

gravel bike anyone?

I keep looking at those; I like the idea of something with drop bars, but not overly race-y, so that it doesn't make me look too silly whilst I'm dawdling about.

Thinking about it, road bikes have become a lot more segmented as well, we now have aero bikes, time trials bikes, endurance bikes, etc.. When I was a teenager and a road cyclists, there were essentially just race bikes and touring bikes. You did see the occasional specialist time trial bike, with a dropped front end, but most people used the same sort of bike for time trials, club runs and training; often your old best bike would generally become your training bike if or when you bought a new one.

 

[hamster]

Touring bikes are a lot more versatile than gravel bikes! The gravel bikes I've looked at seem to have rather limited gear ranges.
Have a look at Spa Cycles - they do a couple of nice light tourers in the 'everything bike' sort of category.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

The gravel/adventure bikes I've been looking at have been more towards the "fat tyred tourer" end of the spectrum, rather than the carbon framed gravel racer type:

http://www.konaworld.com/sutra_ltd.cfm

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adv ... ugio/fugio

I particularly like the Genesis Fugio as a frame only option; mainly because it's orange:

 

[hamster]

Nice frames in the 'bombproof tourer' mould. Anything with three sets of bottle cages is intended for serious stuff!

 

[legrandefromage]

oh gawd - 'road plus'

I think I've already been there!

2008!

 

[rogerzilla]

Re:

Touring bikes (should) have steering geometry with less trail and lean steer, to ensure you can still honk up hills with a full load on. My old Thorn Nomad could do it but my Hewitt Cheviot, while nice enough unloaded, tries to wag its tail if I get out of the saddle with camping gear on the back. Conversely, the Nomad rode oddly unloaded and the bars felt floppy. "Proper" tourers aren't for everyone.

 

[RadNomad]

Re:

Various good points have been made. Adding to them:

Kona is a larger company now, they will get better economies of scale in purchasing.

Advertising is cheaper now. Online banners are cheaper now than ads in print magazines and have greater reach.

Also the point-of-sale material is pathetic now.. from my experience.. when i bought my 600 quid Lava Dome in ‘96 the retail shop gave me a beautiful colour brochure of the Kona MTB range with comprehensive specs, a price list and the bike came with plastic wallet with owners manual, a supplimentary book about riding techniques, sticker sheet, Konaworld member card and bottle of orange lava touch-up paint (i still have all of it). By comparison i bought a new Cannondale Supersix this year costing nearly 5000 quid, i just got a basic owners manual which is a crappy generic thing covering all bike models. Both bikes came from UK high street bike shops.

All of these are cost factors which have been reduced over the years.

 

[rogerzilla]

Re:

I don't think people will be restoring 2017 Lava Domes in 2037.

 

[cce]

Re: Re:

I don't think people will be restoring 2017 Lava Domes in 2037.

I'm quite certain the same was said in 1997.