Kona OB Hardtail frame sizes

[Rob Martinson]

Cyclers..

I'm about to order a new Kona Roast and am looking for opinions on frame size from existing Kona
hardtail riders.

I'm coming from a 17" XC rig. I generally do more bombing around and trials type riding than
anything else but I need to be able to hit the trails and do some distance with my wife every once
in a while. I'm really considering going with a 15.5 (Kona's medium) instead of the 17, for trials
happiness. I'm about 5'11" 180lbs or so and looking for opinions from others that have a Kona OB
frame or similar.

Thanks ahead of time...

Rob

 

[Bomba]

Rob Martinson wrote:
> Cyclers..
>
> I'm about to order a new Kona Roast and am looking for opinions on frame size from existing Kona
> hardtail riders.
>
> I'm coming from a 17" XC rig. I generally do more bombing around and trials type riding than
> anything else but I need to be able to hit the trails and do some distance with my wife every once
> in a while. I'm really considering going with a 15.5 (Kona's medium) instead of the 17, for trials
> happiness. I'm about 5'11" 180lbs or so and looking for opinions from others that have a Kona OB
> frame or similar.

I'm 5'9" and ride a 17" Kona. I think the 15.5" would be too small for you - the 17" should still be
fine for mucking about on if you drop the saddle.

--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm

b.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

 

[roKeMS]

"I'm 5'9" and ride a 17" Kona. I think the 15.5" would be too small for you - the 17" should still be

yep - same.
I'm 6' on a 17" Kona Stinky. Perfect size.

 

[Jimbo]

bomba wrote:

> Rob Martinson wrote:
> > Cyclers..
> >
> > I'm about to order a new Kona Roast and am looking for opinions on frame size from existing Kona
> > hardtail riders.
> >
> > I'm coming from a 17" XC rig. I generally do more bombing around and trials type riding than
> > anything else but I need to be able to hit the trails and do some distance with my wife every
> > once in a while. I'm really considering going with a 15.5 (Kona's medium) instead of the 17, for
> > trials happiness. I'm about 5'11" 180lbs or so and looking for opinions from others that have a
> > Kona OB frame or similar.
>
> I'm 5'9" and ride a 17" Kona. I think the 15.5" would be too small for you - the 17" should still
> be fine for mucking about on if you drop the saddle.
>
> --
> a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm
>
> a.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

I have a Kona Stuff. I am 6' and have the 18". I would reccomend getting the 17". I have plenty of
standover for fooling around on jumps but the frame is large enough that I am able to ride XC on it
when I want to.

Jimbo(san)

 

[Rob Martinson]

bomba <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Rob Martinson wrote:
> > Cyclers..
> >
> > I'm about to order a new Kona Roast and am looking for opinions on frame size from existing Kona
> > hardtail riders.
> >
> > I'm coming from a 17" XC rig. I generally do more bombing around and trials type riding than
> > anything else but I need to be able to hit the trails and do some distance with my wife every
> > once in a while. I'm really considering going with a 15.5 (Kona's medium) instead of the 17, for
> > trials happiness. I'm about 5'11" 180lbs or so and looking for opinions from others that have a
> > Kona OB frame or similar.
>
> I'm 5'9" and ride a 17" Kona. I think the 15.5" would be too small for you - the 17" should still
> be fine for mucking about on if you drop the saddle.

Normally I would agree with you, but in this particular instance I think Kona has some strange frame
sizing on their OB hardtails and I think geometry has changed.

For example, last year (2002) Roast frames were available as:

13, 15, 17, 18, 19 (Geometry is here: http://www.konaworld.com/geometry_size.pdf)

This year(2003) sizes are:

13, 15, 15.5, 17,17.5

with 15.5 being the medium (and the one I am interested in).

2003 Geometry is viewable here: http://www.konaworld.com/kw_index.cfm

It looks to me like what they did is reduce the standover height on their medium so the frame is now
designated as a 15.5 instead of a 17, but the overall geometry is similar to last year's 17. Just
wanted a confirmation.

Thanks for any help...

Rob