mtb's - enduro v. dawg?

[thelawgoddess]

i was wondering if anyone has ridden both a specialized enduro (pro) and a kona dawg and can give me some feedback on how differently they handle. thanks!

[Kitergal]

if your looking at getting a bike...I can give you a name and number of a dood who's making me a custom mt. bike for less than what a new bike would cost. Painting it pink and everything for me. It's probably worth over 2K and I'm getting it for less than half of that, completely custom built to my needs, my uses, and my size! PM me if you want his info.

[adventuregal]

Haven't ridden the Enduro, but the Dawg is fun! I ended up getting a Kona Kikapu deluxe, but the dawg can sure rally. I went with the kikapu b/c of weight and I don't think I'll ever get rad enough to need 5" of travel.

 

Have fun!

[thelawgoddess]

thanks for the comments so far. sent you a pm, marie. yep, been looking to get a bike for a while ... more so now that i'm spending so much time in l-worth!

[bunglehead]

Not that this helps you, but I have a Heckler and I love it. It rides like butter. I also have a couple of friends that have Konas and they love them.

[Fairweather]

I hear Kona has finally perfected the lead-alloy frame.

[thelawgoddess]

yeah, i'd LOVE to have a heckler, but they are way out of my price range ... even old and used.

[Dru]

How about some Kris Holm style municycle action?

 

 

[Dru]

 

w00t

[Camilo]

I hear Kona has finally perfected the lead-alloy frame.

Fairweather's right. Kona's bikes are damn heavy. You should also check out the Giant Trance

[Double_E]

i've test ridden both the Enduro and the Dawg.. liked both alot; also have heard great feedback on both. prolly the main difference between them is that the Enduro costs a few hundred bucks less.

 

 

I was totally considering buying one of the above, but then decided to go with a cross country bike. just bought me a Specialized Stumpjumper this past weekend.

 

[Fairweather]

Nice bike!!! Damn!! That's the one I wanted...but I found a brand new 2003 Trek Fuel 90 (full suspension) and gave the shop owner $750 for a bike that originally cost $1300. It's a great XC hill climber. I'll have to upgrade some of the components, but I just couldn't convince my wife that I needed the Stumpjumper Expert Disc for $2300. She would have cut me off, for sure.

 

Nice bike, Double E!

[Dave_Schuldt]

Way to go EE! RIP IT UP LOL!!!!!

[ken4ord]

I am not much of XCer more FR and DH, but I did like the way the specialized Enduro felt (solid) and rode (like a heavier FR bike without the weight), I never ridden the Dawg. I have ridden other Konas like the Stinky and Stabs, I don't like the Stinky's cause they feel a little too springy even in the seat pedaling, the Stab is nice but not what you are looking for, that is like riding a couch with wheel comfy. I would also look at the Tomac 6 shooter, I rode that bike and liked it alot, it pedaled and rode like XC, but had the feel of FR. Looks like they make a bike called Eli that is it's replacement. Out in Rwanda, I would love something like the Eli great for climbing but could handle some of the hits I would give it. Both the Enduro and the Tomac are nice bikes.

 

As for suspension (the gravy on your meat and potatoes) I have been really happy with my 5th element. I have it on a 03 Santa Cruz Bullit and have not had to do any maintenance at all except for replacing bushings. The adjustability rocks, you can fine tune that sucker just the way you want. I have yet to be impressed with Fox suspension, maybe it just me. I do like the lock out feature on there shocks and think it works great. After blowing two rear suspensions in one week down in Moab, they are going to have to work hard to win me over.

[thelawgoddess]

i've test ridden both the Kona and the Dawg.. liked both alot; also have heard great feedback on both. prolly the main difference between them is that the Enduro costs a few hundred bucks less.

i'm actually looking at an enduro pro, which usually costs quite a bit more than the dawg ... but the one i'm looking at has a different fork than comes stock - it's a manitou black elite diva (with lockout). ken4ord (or anybody else), do you have a take on the manitou forks vs. the fox forks? (the stock enduro pro fork is the fox rlc talas)

[bunglehead]

Again, I don't know if this helps, but I have a Fox Vanilla 130 on the front and it's butter. It has all sorts of presets, rebound, damping, compression, that you can set to your liking, and I've yet to bottom it. It's a plush fork.

Doesn't seem too heavy to me for a coil fork, and it tracks well. A riding buddy of mine tells me he's impressed with the Talas, but that's all I've heard about them. He's usually a hardcore Marzocchi guy too, so any fork that causes him to stray is probably a decent fork.

[thelawgoddess]

yeah, that's one issue with the enduro pro i'm looking at. the fox talas has excellent reviews; the manitou black elite has pretty mixed reviews and more negative ones when taken in light of the kind of riding i want to do. seems to lessen the value of the bike where i'm concerned ... but i don't know by how much. sure would be expensive to have to replace. but then again i doubt i will be that hard on a fork -- and maybe i shouldn't be too worried about it?

[bunglehead]

The guys at the Local bike shop here were totally cool about upgrading. They split the difference, so maybe it won't be as much as you think? At any rate, you're probably right about being too worried. Bikes these days are so damn nice, I'd wager that any bike you get will have you driving home with a big smile. I can't believe how nice bikes are these days. Disc brakes are the bomb. They are sooo much better than rim brakes it's not even a fair comparison.

Okay, rant finished.

[TrogdortheBurninator]

I used to ride some, and always had great luck swapping around parts using sites like MTBR and Ebay. My guess is if the two forks are fairly close in retail value, you can probably just post yours for sale and buy what you want with the proceeds (+ maybe a little $$)

[Dave_Schuldt]

Hey TLG, the most important thing is the fit. Make SHURE the frame is small enough for you. I see lots of girls on Sante Cruz bikes. If the frame is to big you wont be able to control it very well. Good luck and have fun!

[treknclime]

Maybe worth a new thread...LG...what are your fav l-worth trails??

[thelawgoddess]

hey dave, thanks. i definitely know it needs to be small enough. after my first xc ride on a bike that was way too big for me, i vowed never to do that again. it was quite a painful experience! santa cruz makes some nice bikes that will fit me (the juliana and the heckler, for instance) but they are so far out of my price range it's not even funny. the 15" 2003 kona dawg will do okay (its standover is shorter than the newer ones) ... and the small specialized enduro frames will work because of their fine geometry. i've had a tough time finding adult bikes that are small enough ... that i can also afford. i'll welcome other suggestions, but i've done quite a bit of looking. i'm really trying to decide whether to get this enduro pro. are you any good at pricing bikes?

[sketchfest]

I'll put my vote in for a 2004 Salsa Caballero. This is a great bike with excellent geometry and it is extremely light too. I bought my frame 2 1/2 months ago from universal cycle (who price matched) for under $500 and built it up with previously owned parts. My bike weighs just over 25lbs and climbs just as well as it decends. The bike is very versatile, I have ridden it on casual trail rides and just completed the Cascade Cream Puff (100 mile mtn bike race) and obviously have nothing but good things to say about it.

[Dave_Schuldt]

ENOUGH OF THE TECH BULLSHIT, TIME FOR SOME STOKE!!!!!!

Fort Ebey State Park.

Check out this site bbtc.org

[ken4ord]

Hey LG, as far forks go I have always been a marzocchi and rock shox guy. Definitely love the marzocchi forks.

 

Bunglehead has a really good point most decent shops out there will work with you to create the bike that you want. When I worked in a shop, I always stressed to the customer not to think about what is on the bike as much as how the bikes geometry and position felt. The frame you can not change, if you ride your bike you will change the components at some point. A decent shop will exchange things at the price difference. So forks, seats, tires, grips, bars, seat post are all easy items for a shop to sell. Rear shocks a little more difficult cause most shops will not have a large selection of rear shocks and FS bikes are built around a shock.

 

Ah the Heckler, that is a nice bike. Hmm maybe that is what Iwould replace my bullit with, but damn I can't ever see getting rid of it. Last night I did a night ride once again outside of town through banana groves and corns, with the flippy flop kids chasing after me. It such a crazy experience night riding here. On the last little technical section before dropping on to the dirt road again, I almost hit some cows and goats that were coming up the clay stairs. I think people are getting used to seeing the crazy night riding Muzungo passing through about once a week.