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Buying Kona Rove?

by camagajevac
Fri, Aug 31, 2018 13:11
11

Hi! I'm buying adventure/gravel bike and i'm leaning toward Kona Rove, aluminum version with Claris components. Now i would like some advice is that good decision or not?

Currently I'm riding around 40-60 km rides with my 26" mtb, with avg pace of 25 km/h. Most of ride is on tarmac (95% or even more) with only few kilometers of gravel and dirt or wery bad tarmac. 
My objective is first to increase distance to araund 100 km, and later to throw in ocasional allday ride. So comfort is very important. Ability to go off the tarmac is also important (light offroad, nothing big). Speed is not priority but i expect to significantly increase curent speed that I achieve on my 26" mtb.

So with all said above, question is:
Is Kona Rove to much offroad oriented for my need, considering its big and heavy Schwalbe Delta Cruiser Plus w/Puncture Protect 700x35c tires? It also have big and heavy frame, with wheelbase biger then other gravel/adventure bikes. Should i go for something like Bianchi ViaNirone7 AllRoad, or Specialized Diverge since they are more road oriented or i will i get what i want from Rove (maybe with replacement of tires)? 

 

 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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11 comments

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SteveAustin | 5 years ago
0 likes

The rove looks a nice bike. the tyres are a bit hefty imo but can easily be swapped out for something more road orientated. its not so much weight of tyres but rolling resistance that makes more difference. if i was riding lots of hills, i might be more concerned about weight

i wouldnt get too caught up in weights of frame/tyres. the rove will be lighter than your mtb and roll better/faster on road

Avatar
CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
0 likes

spotted this bike, which is similar to Boardman
Trek Domane ALR 5 Disc 2018 Road Bike Black

Avatar
camagajevac | 5 years ago
0 likes

I believe Stu Kerton could be helpful if he see this post. He made review of both, Rove and ViaNirone7 Allroad, and those two together with Diverge are my bikes to consider for purchase.

Is there some option to private msg?

Avatar
javi_polo replied to camagajevac | 5 years ago
0 likes

camagajevac wrote:

Is there some option to private msg?

I don't think so, at least I haven't been able to find it. Maybe sending a message to the Road.cc account at Twitter could work?

BTW, I remember the Bianchi review and got the feeling that the reviewer was a bit disappointed about the bike. I've just revisited it and the text and it actually compares it with the Rove (and the Rove seems to win):

Quote:

 "I recently tested that Kona Rove DL and really enjoyed it. Yes, it gets an alloy fork instead of carbon fibre, plus it's a cool 1.5kg heavier than the Bianchi for its £899, but it never felt heavy and was a much more fun ride than the Bianchi. The Kona also has a full Sora groupset and those TRP Spyre-C brakes."

 

Avatar
javi_polo | 5 years ago
0 likes

The Kona Rove got a great review here in road.cc, and I've seen a preview of the Diverge E5 Sport not long ago. Maybe somebody from the staff got to ride both bikes and can share his impressions on both?

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cyclisto | 5 years ago
0 likes

I think the alu rove is good value, the boardman is nearly double money. I would prefer a pinnacle with even better vfm but you may not be able to get it at your country.

I wouldn't worry that much about the frame weight, the difference is minor in a straight line. I would like though a two-piece crankset

Avatar
camagajevac | 5 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for your comments. First of all, my budget is limited, and also some of great bikes don't have distributor in my country. Cable breaks are not issue for me. Only thing that bothers me is big frame and heavy tires and becouse of that i'm thinking that bike will be to slow compared to for example Diverge or some similar lighter adventure bike. I would like to get imput from some riders that have Rove and they tryed some other more road oriented adventure bikes, to know is difference big or is it  aceptable.

Avatar
StraelGuy | 5 years ago
1 like

I went from cable Spyres to hydraulic 685/805 and the difference is chalk and cheese. The Spyres will stop you but hydraulics are in a different league altogether.

Avatar
zero_trooper | 5 years ago
2 likes

The Boardman is very nice and £1300.

The 'Claris' Rove (the basic model) is £700.

This got a great review - https://road.cc/content/review/241027-kona-rove-dl and is £900, however the 2018 model is already being discounted. 

The upshot of the review is that the whole bike is greater (read more fun) than it's parts. However, the comments to the review (and mentioned in the review) were the poor cable discs.

There defo seems to be a backlash to cable discs.

Avatar
StraelGuy | 5 years ago
0 likes

Good spot CXR9Di2, steel with hydro 105 - very nice indeed yes !

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CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
1 like

Dont Buy the Kona, because it has cable brakes!

 

This bike is far better https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/products/1573-asr-8.9.html

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