Thanks guys,
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">I really like the Precept bikes - and Kona as a company - so I think they are a great choice.</span>
The Precept 130 is the better comparison to the Hawk Hill by build and price point - though it does have a bit more travel. Same brakes, same drivetrain (2x not 1x but call it a draw for argument sake) and I'd call the rear shocks a wash as well.
The Sektor is a chassis upgrade over the Recon. The hubs are arguable a slight upgrade. It's $500 (CAD)* more.
...
The Process 150 has an upgraded fork (Suntour Aion) and a basic KS Eten dropper. Assuming the High Rollers are the 60-compound they're maybe a slight upgrade over the Marin's Schwalbes.
The NX drivetrain is okay. Throw on a GX shifter and improves greatly - but that's an upgrade - I'd personally choose it over Deore so I'll call it an upgrade but others might not.
Otherwise for $1100 (CAD)* more you're getting the same brakes (which is fine -they work great with a rotor upgrade) and again a similar quality rear shock and a slight hub upgrade.
The Precepts ride awesome have have great geo - not trying to take anything away from them. The Precept 150 is a significantly longer travel platform. But with the cost differences even aftermarket you can equal out the spec differences?
In the min-maxing piece Marin ran the numbers for me so it's what the bikes would sell for on the floor vs. us looking at the price differences and going "oh, it's + $280 for a dropper post".
*I used CAD because it was easy to grab the Kona pricing vs. $1900 for the Marin.
May 16, 2017, 8:10 a.m. - Andrew Major
Thanks guys, <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">I really like the Precept bikes - and Kona as a company - so I think they are a great choice.</span> The Precept 130 is the better comparison to the Hawk Hill by build and price point - though it does have a bit more travel. Same brakes, same drivetrain (2x not 1x but call it a draw for argument sake) and I'd call the rear shocks a wash as well. The Sektor is a chassis upgrade over the Recon. The hubs are arguable a slight upgrade. It's $500 (CAD)* more. ... The Process 150 has an upgraded fork (Suntour Aion) and a basic KS Eten dropper. Assuming the High Rollers are the 60-compound they're maybe a slight upgrade over the Marin's Schwalbes. The NX drivetrain is okay. Throw on a GX shifter and improves greatly - but that's an upgrade - I'd personally choose it over Deore so I'll call it an upgrade but others might not. Otherwise for $1100 (CAD)* more you're getting the same brakes (which is fine -they work great with a rotor upgrade) and again a similar quality rear shock and a slight hub upgrade. The Precepts ride awesome have have great geo - not trying to take anything away from them. The Precept 150 is a significantly longer travel platform. But with the cost differences even aftermarket you can equal out the spec differences? In the min-maxing piece Marin ran the numbers for me so it's what the bikes would sell for on the floor vs. us looking at the price differences and going "oh, it's + $280 for a dropper post". *I used CAD because it was easy to grab the Kona pricing vs. $1900 for the Marin.