I’ve owned a few steel* Honzos since 2012 and I’ve loved them but personally it’s hard to recommend them now over the Growler lineup. On paper, I prefer the ride of the Rocky's longer rear centre - which matches more closely to my custom bike geo. Also, the geometry of the Honzo, which was progressive in 2012, doesn’t stand up on the technical trails compared to what companies (Chromag etc) are putting out now.
I mean - brass \[edit\] tacks \[/edit\] - for $1250 Canuck Bucks the Growler frame is every bit as progressive, on paper, as the vast majority of the boutique hardtails on the market (many of which have frames nearing the price of this full bike).
My general rule now for hardtails is I want the sagged HTA to be 1-2° slacker than an FS bike for the equivalent usage. So the static 64° on the Growler lines up perfectly with a ~66° 130-140mm FS trail bike. On the other hand the Honzo has a steeper static HTA than Kona’s current XC race bikes. I can only imagine we’ll see a big update across the whole Honzo* line soon.
I’m not familiar with Norco’s lineup so I can’t comment there.
*for the sliders. No reason not to also look at the aluminum models if the bike will never be single speed.
**that’s just a guess - no inside info.
Sept. 21, 2019, 10:17 a.m. - Andrew Major
I’ve owned a few steel* Honzos since 2012 and I’ve loved them but personally it’s hard to recommend them now over the Growler lineup. On paper, I prefer the ride of the Rocky's longer rear centre - which matches more closely to my custom bike geo. Also, the geometry of the Honzo, which was progressive in 2012, doesn’t stand up on the technical trails compared to what companies (Chromag etc) are putting out now. I mean - brass \[edit\] tacks \[/edit\] - for $1250 Canuck Bucks the Growler frame is every bit as progressive, on paper, as the vast majority of the boutique hardtails on the market (many of which have frames nearing the price of this full bike). My general rule now for hardtails is I want the sagged HTA to be 1-2° slacker than an FS bike for the equivalent usage. So the static 64° on the Growler lines up perfectly with a ~66° 130-140mm FS trail bike. On the other hand the Honzo has a steeper static HTA than Kona’s current XC race bikes. I can only imagine we’ll see a big update across the whole Honzo* line soon. I’m not familiar with Norco’s lineup so I can’t comment there. *for the sliders. No reason not to also look at the aluminum models if the bike will never be single speed. **that’s just a guess - no inside info.