xmesssenger

Nice looking but pretty vanilla. Machined 6000series VS 2xxx or 7xxx? Maybe that's why it's on the heavy side at 170g. If your not looking for pretty, it's pretty tough to beat 3D forged Alloy stems that get away with a lot less materi6and weight due to construction. I had Beautiful Renthal stem but ultimately chose my Answer Ame stem while not as pretty, it cost a fraction and weighed a third less.

Maybe I am too much of a weight weenie but 7 plus lbs for a frame is excessive, especially if they have the high quality tubing they boast. Would be interesting to know the actual tubing profiles, the butting and wall thicknesses. For sure this thing doesn't even need a warranty, maybe for the paint job but no one is busting 7lbs of steel. I get that it's not an XC bike but there are others designed for similar terrain that are at least 1 lb lighter like the Niner ROS, and the Brits have built steel steeds weighing around 6 lbs. I come from a time where over 5 lbs was heavy but they were not this style bike. It much much heavier than my full suspension frame. Also, I have read a lot of criticism about their bikes being brutally stiff, thinning out the tubing or opting for narrower tubes can add to that springy feel people like. That's the advantage of steel over aluminum, you can get away with some flex, save weight in the process. Grumpy old codger.

Wasn't the Kona Process line a major player in the progression of mountain bike geometry to what we have today on all bikes? Probably the biggest improvement in mountain bikes in decades. Long, low and slack. If they just could have patented it because every other bike company copied it. It was really much more than just the line of bikes but they completely thought outside the box that existed since it all started. I remember that awkward Bike magazine interview and all the reviews of those Process bikes and just how amazed people were with heavy alloy framed bikes with basic suspension but Kona cracked the geo code.

Cateye were clever in tackling the one thing holding light output back by actively cooling a COB LED(essentially a bunch of LEDs printed on a board) outputting a consistent conservative 6000 lumens. Too bad it bugs out in the rain.