Kona Cowan 2009

Monkyy
Monkyy Posts: 11
edited May 2009 in MTB buying advice
HI all, I'm looking at getting a second bike for doing a bit of jumping / street riding and have been lthinking about the Kona Cowan 09. However I've been wondering about the brakes and drivetrain as I know someone who has had problems with both on another bike.

Has anybody got a cowan or bike with same brakes / rear drivetrain? and what have been your experiences?

Cowan spec here http://www.konaworld.com/09_cowan_en.cfm

Thanks in advance :D

Comments

  • The Big Cheese
    The Big Cheese Posts: 8,651
    Kona usually spec their bikes pretty badly, this one isnt tooo bad but the gearing leaves a lot to be desired, I would change that straight away - its really cheap/entry level shimano. The brakes are 'non-line' series ie they dont belong to Deore/SLX/XT etc..... probably be OK but I would swap them out.

    most jump bikes (even those around the £1k mark) have pretty basic brakes, mostly mechnical...

    Its a nice bike, but you may end up spending a fair bit more upgrading the gears/brakes
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    the m575 is a deore brake iirc.

    the drivetrain spec is "low" but you will find that it works as well as the higher lever kit in a blind taste test. i dont know if im right in saying this but i think the rear mech is a lower spec as its cheaper and is expected to get batterred during crashes due to the type of riding expected to be done on that bike.
  • bungalistic
    bungalistic Posts: 543
    How much have you to spend, most dirt jumpers don't use gears and run single speed, do you really need gears if it's just going to be used for DJ and street?

    Have a look around for other bikes within whatever price range you have in mind and check out the spec on those, NS bikes do some decent street/DJ bikes and you can get last years 2008 models for pretty decent prices.
  • The Big Cheese
    The Big Cheese Posts: 8,651
    If I were to buy a bike like that, and it is pretty damn nice! I would convert it to singlespeed which is a doddle and will cost you about £18....

    Also, if they are Deore brakes they should be fine-as!

    I would check out a few others as above, the new identiti P66 comp in black and purple is a winner!

    http://www.identitibikes.com/identitibi ... d=5IT9P6XK
  • Monkyy
    Monkyy Posts: 11
    Cool, thanks for your input guys :D really, really appreciate it

    Sheepsteeth - I had thought the same about it being cheap to replace if / when it get broken was just concerned about performance aswell.

    Bungalistic - Thanks for pointing me to NS they do some lovely bikes. Will probably have about a grand to spend but not until August time so was just having a look now to get an idea of what I'll be looking at for the money.

    I wanted to keep the gears as I wanted the versatility of being able to get up a few of the hills around me.