NSMB - 2016 - Hardtail Thread

rode my samurai65 again tuesday night after 6 weeks on the honzo….it's like getting into a sports car after driving a transport truck

I keep hearing how awesome the Honzo is, do you find the Samurai65 is really that much better?

I keep hearing how awesome the Honzo is, do you find the Samurai65 is really that much better?

I think you're reading more into my comments than I'm saying.

no, no, i hear you; the carbon honzo is totally a sucky barge.

how's the 68* hta work on that thing, btw? i keep thinking kona needs to kick out the ht angles a couple degrees.

on that note, i kinda like verdone's rig. the seat tube looks wack, but i love people that push boundaries just to see what happens. like chris porter with his super slack [HTML_REMOVED] stretched nicolais. the bike industry is so timid, and changes typically occur so incrementally. turn it to 11 i say.

how's the 68* hta work on that thing, btw? i keep thinking kona needs to kick out the ht angles a couple degrees.

With the really long reach on the LG, a steeper HTA is better to maintain front wheel traction. The longer reach with very short stems is netting the same thing we were all after a few years ago with the old crop of short bikes: longer, more stable wheelbase and standing position further behind the front wheel. There's other subtleties like quick steering feel, etc that I'm not mentioning here.

I like slack HTAs but there's a balance for sure.

This theory is briefly mentioned in the XXL V-10 article from a few weeks back.

yeah, the discussion re: the v10 was interesting. long fc / short stem offsets the need for super chopper ha's for sure. my reasoning was that the honzo has the same reach and ha as the process 110, so the honzo ends up with a steeper sagged head angle (69-69.5?).

the honzo is designed around a 120mm fork but I'd bet most people around here run a 140mm fork.

I just checked out the chromag site for the latest rootdown and holy crap has that bike changed since my version. The angles, recommended fork size, axle specs. I don't know if I would consider it an improvement over my 68-degree hta, 140mm fork, 135 qr rear axle though. Not for my riding anyway.

Question for the hardtail aficionados: Looking for a burly STEEL hardtail w/26" wheels. Chromag has some leftover/demo 26" wheeled Stylus frames which look like what I am after. Any other STEEL hardtail long travel frame I should consider?

PS: Just to make it difficult, 31.6 seat post [HTML_REMOVED] threaded BB too!

It's all well and good to slacken off a head angle but if you can't get a fork with more offset, the trail measurement might make it steer a bit heavy.

I fully don't understand the carbon honzo. It looks awesome, but I don't understand the huge investment in a carbon mold for this bike. Unless I'm completely off base, is there such a demand for them, especially now that it isn't SS-able? At the expense of a full redesign of the Process into the 2018 MY (with a slight refresh coming up), I'm confused.

Because they could? Who knows, kona have never really been one to follow rules and conventions

Maybe with the mold they can make it in a cheaper heavier cf as well too, under 3 lbs is pretty unnecessary in a good way IMO.

I'd happily drop a lb and lose the adjustable stays on my steel Honzo, I've mainly used it in the shortest position anyways and run gears. I guess the option is nice, just in case

Sweet baby Jesus I have all the wants…

http://nsmb.com/first-look-chromag-primer/

they took the top tube from the previous size up of the Rootdown and Surface it looks like. I'd need a 18.5" frame to get the same 24.4" as my Surface. A 6'1" guy with long legs on a 18.5" frame seems weird, but that's the way these bikes are going I guess. edit: and i've got a 50mm stem which i think is already too long

Not sure what I think of this new trend. Supper slack, low and long front end is good for going down but (I'm speculating here as I never tried one) not so pleasant on the way up. And that's kind of missing the point of a hardtail imo.