Kona are a fantastic Canadian company that was set up in 1988 by Jacob "Jake the Snake" Heilbron, Dan Gerhard and Joe Murray. They specialise mostly in mountain bikes at the high end of the quality spectrum.
I bought my first Kona, a Kona Lava Dome, in February of 2006 however on March the 6th of this year (2007) man and machine met wrought iron fence. Both man and machine were broken only, unlike myself, my trusty steed doesn’t have the ability to heal itself. Fortunately I had had the good sense to insure my bike and received a cheque with which I have been able to replace Mr bicycle – or at least parts of him.
I visited my local Kona dealer and a rather nice chap suggested I took my frame in and he would see what Kona would do for me. The following afternoon I received the news that Kona had offered a crash replacement frame with 50% off. Brilliant. Hence - the Kona Caldera.
The Kona Caldera is an all mountain aluminum frame that has been designed primarily with cross country riding in mind. It is a hard tail mountain bike which means that the back wheel has no suspension whereas the front forks are shock absorbers. These shock absorbers can be sprung, compressed air, oil or a combination.
It’s important to choose the correct frame size as too large a frame can end in sore shoulders and neck after a long ride and it makes it a little more difficult to throw your bike around the windy trails.
With the Caldera there are14-22 inch frames available.
If you want to have a look at the frame geometry and dimensions just go to the Kona website and you’ll find what you need to know there.
Aluminium tastic.
Moving from steel frames to Aluminium frames is a strange experience... Initially all the creaks and groans of the incredibly rigid set up can be a little alarming and the extra vibration through your feet can be a bit disconcerting. This increased vibration is down to the difference in material properties of steel and aluminium. Aluminium is a very rigid, brittle composition whereas steel is a bit more forgiving as it is more elastic, meaning that it flexes when cycling over rougher terrain and seems to cope with the bumps a little better. But in a world where weight is incredibly important Aluminium seems to come out on top for cross country style riding (unless of course you are minted and can get your local friendly titanium frame designer to knock something up for a grand or two).
The Caldera itself handles my riding style well and reacts nicely when throwing it around the trails or bouncing it around in the park. The frame is very light (around 1.5kg) and is finished in gloss black. I have noticed that gloss finishes wear a little harder than matt finishes as there seems to be a further layer of some sort of lacquer.
If you were to buy a Kona Caldera from the shops it would come with a set of standard components and although I haven’t personally used all of them I do know a bit about them. So here’s what I think!
Hayes HFX-9 XC These brakes are fantastic. They are hydraulic disc brakes with six inch rotors and two finger levers. They have excellent modulation (How hard you pull on the lever reflects how hard the brake pads press on the rotor) and arrive pre-bled and once you have the pads aligned properly you have awesome stopping power. These brakes aren’t top of the range but they are pretty good nonetheless. Unfortunately Hayes do not do spares at the moment and are not a British company so it is difficult to get things sorted with them. If you look after your brakes though I’m sure that they’ll last well and before you know it they will have spares on the market.
If you wanted to upgrade yourself to a superior brake then I would recommend Hope Mono’s. Hope is a fantastic British company who, in my humble opinion, are the best manufacturers of cycle brakes around. A set of Hope mono’s would knock you back about £250.
-Headset-
TH Before I tell you about the headset you might not know what it is. The headset is essentially the bearing set in the steering mechanism and is what joins your frame to your forks. It consists of a set of bearings, spacers and cups.
The headset on the Caldera is nothing whooptedoo but, as Ronseal would say, does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s unusual for someone to have problems with their headset. If you do want to splash out though it has to be Chris King headsets all the way – awesome.
-Forks-
Marzocchi MZ Race I’ve been running Marzocchi MZ comp 2005 forks for about a year and a half and have not found a single problem with them. Marzocchi are up with the best when it comes to designing forks and these forks are a great entry level fork for beginners and experienced riders alike. Quite a popular thing to do at the moment is to buy a fork that locks off. This means that when your are cycling on the road you can lock your shocks off so that none of the energy you transmit into the pedals is dissipated by the shocks, thus making road cycling more efficient.
-Pedals-
Shimano PD-M505 Clipless Personally I am not a fan of clipless pedals for mountain biking. Have your foot stuck to the pedal is a bit spooky when you’re hurtling along a single trail dodging trees, rocks and other hard things (fences maybe??). I would recommend the DMR-V8 (or V12 if you have the extra 20 quid) pedals as they have not let me down yet – although they have left a series of fairly nasty scars up the back of my leg. The DMR’s are concave so that the load (your weight) is spread evenly around the edge of the pedal instead of having all your weight on the axle in the centre. The DMR’s are covered in little grub screws which act as spikes to stop your feet slipping off. Or maybe they are there so that when you slip off you get a nasty gash so that next time you’ll think twice about slipping off.
-Wheels-
Sun Black eye rims Shimano Deore 11-32 9speed Shimano Hubs Wheels. An essential part of the bicycle. A wheel is composed of a rim, spokes, a hub, an axle and a freewheel. The hub is the central part of the wheel that supports the spokes and houses the axle and freewheel. The spokes are fairly self explanatory, there are usually 28-32 of them and are 14g in weight each (15g for the front wheel). The axle is what the wheel spins around and is how it is attached to the frame. Most are quick-release these days which makes fixing a puncture in the middle of nowhere a little faster. The freewheel allows the rear wheel to spin whenever you are not pedalling. Old bmx’s didn’t have freewheels and you used your pedals as a brake – or to cycle backwards. Scary stuff if you ask me!
All of these components on the Caldera are of the quality you would expect with an eight hundred pound bicycle and I can’t fault any of them. If you wanted you could upgrade your freewheel for one that bites a little quicker or maybe buy a titanium axle but these modifications are only really for very serious riders.
-Crankset-
Don’t know much about this crankset unfortunately (all the specs are at the end of the review). I can tell you that the chain rings are 44/32/22 which is the standard sort of set up but I run Shimano hollow tech cranks which come with their own funny bottom bracket and I like em! Really light at 927 grams and priced reasonably at £100.
-Tyres-
Maxxis Ignitor 26x2.1 Unfortunately I cannot comment on these tyres as I’ve never owned a pair however a quick look on the familiar bike websites lets me know that they are a 4.5/5 and an excellent multi-condition performer. Not bad.
-Derailleurs-
Front – Shimano Deore Rear – Shimano Deore XT Derailleurs are the things that move the chain from gear to gear when you want to change them! Shimano are cracking and I can’t really fault these. They are perfect middle of the range and are great at what they do. They are also very simple to set up and maintain.
-Grips-
Kona Jackshit These grips are made from a relatively soft compound of rubber and have lasted me for a year of riding almost every day. Perfect.
Parts list:
Frame tubing - Kona All-Mountain Butted Aluminum Fork - Marzocchi MZ Race Braze-ons - 2 x bottles, rack, fenders, disc tabs Headset - TH Crankarms - FSA Alpha Drive ISIS Chainrings - 44/32/22 B/B - RPM ISIS Pedals - Shimano PD-M505 Clipless Chain - Shimano CN-HG53 Freewheel - Shimano Deore (11-32t, 9speed) F/D - Shimano Deore R/D - Shimano Deore XT Shifters - Shimano Deore Handlebar - WTB CXC Riser Stem - WTB CXC Grips - Kona Jackshit Brakes - HAYES HFX-9 XC W6 w/2-finger Lever Brake Levers - HAYES HFX-9 XC W6 w/2-finger Lever Front hub - KK Disc Rear hub - Shimano FH-M475 disc Spokes - 15g front and 14g rear stainless DT Tyres - Maxxis IGNITOR 26x2.1 Rims - Sun Black Eye Saddle - WTB Laser V SPORT Seat post - WTB CXC Seat clamp - Kona QR
My complete bike comes in at around 14kg.
This frame is fantastic for constant upgrading which is a big part of the fun. Making your bike just that little bit better can make all the difference.
I would thoroughly recommend this bike to all levels of riders. These guys (Kona) are pretty much all about the mountain bikes so you racer types out there will have to look elsewhere unfortunately. The other three guys I ride with own a Gary Fisher Wahoo, a Specialised and a Santa Cruz Chameleon. All three have their own advantages and downfalls. It’s all down to the way you ride and what you feel comfortable with.
Update:
I was going to periodically update this review with how the frame performed on different styles of rides/ trails etc. However, I returned to my flat yesterday to discover that my beloved bicycle had been stolen from inside my close. It was clearly a planned operation as my lock was huge and one of the best in it's range but careful choice of tools meant that someone was able to steal it... I'll maybe write a review on my next bike...
Thanks for reading and hope this review is useful!
