Kona Kula > Reviews > Kona Kula

Author's product rating:   

Value for money	Good
Durability	Excellent
How does it compare to similar products?	Excellent

Advantages:	Great handling, climbs like a mountain goat
Disadvantages:	Can be a handfull on rough, fast decents

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

To date I've owned three Kona Kulas, spanning a perod of nearly ten years. I've ridden 100km marathons on one, ridden the trails of South Wales on one, and commuted on one, so from that you could surmise that I like the bike. Well yes I do, but as technology has moved on is there still a place for the Kona Kula in todays market place?

When it comes to riding fast, smooth singletrack, either up hill or down, the Kula is superb. The bike climbs very, very well, and the twistier and tighter the singletrack gets, the more the bike excells. Fireroad climbs are eaten for breakfast, and the geometry of the bike is such that it can be thrown back down with gay abandon. However, once a few rocks start appearing, you'll need to sharpen up. There's no ploughing headlong through rock gardens on this bike. The back end will give you a swift kick in the butt to remind you that you're riding a hardtail. That said, I've ridden one with 2.3inch Kenda tyers on ,which really helped smooth the ride out. But there's no way you'll keep up with your fully sprung mates, riding a rocky downhill. That's not to say the experience isn't enjoyable, it is, it's just a little slower, and takes more finesse and concentration.

The first Kula I owned I rode around the succulent trails of Leith Hill in Surrey. Real Kona Kula territory. Smooth trails with lots of technical singletrack. Just the sort of place this bike was meant for.
Now I'm living in South Wales, where the trails are a lot rougher. Guss what, I bought a full suspention, the Kulas brother, The King. I still take the Kula out around Afan Argoed now and again, just to remind me what it's like to ride a "real bike", but I have to admit that the rocks have to a degree beaten me into submission, and I now use the Kula mainly to commute on.

So to recap.
A great bike on smooth, technical singletrack, whether uphill or down.
It will cope with rough ground, but beat you up at the same time.
A great race bike, but not my firt choice to ride a 100km marathon on.
Would I buy another one. Yes, no question.