A Kona or a Carrera

lizlizliz

Hello

Any help/recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I want to buy a bike for cycling across London. It will be about a 5 mile ride. I want to spend around the £200 mark and my research has led me to...

kona smoke 700c at £210
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/17873/Kon ... n=pid17873

or the

Carrera Subway 1 or 2 both £260
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534
or
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

Is it worth shelling out the extra cash at all? Or are they both about the same standard? It's so hard to tell so any help will be really appreciated!

Thank you!

Jay dubbleU

You don't really need a suspension fork for commuting - its extra weight and maintenance plus it absorbs pedalling effort. Personally I'd go for the Kona but then I like steel bikes - ride is less harsh than aluminium frames

g00se

The gears on the subway (2) are better and arguably the brakes - but it's £350 on that link? The Subway 1 is £260 but the spec is similar - the Kona has more gears and larger diameter wheels which should roll faster.

If you are looking at the Subway 2, you could get a similar Kona for the price which I think are better bikes - the Kona Dew and the Kona Dew Plus.

lizlizliz

Thanks for the replies!

The Subway 2 is actually in the sale so when it goes through to the checkout it has an additional 20% taken off it making it 263. Sorry I should have been more clear.

I'm leaning towards the Kona Smoke then with both your replies. I know the Kona Dew is better but that is a little bit too much for me at the moment. Do you think the Smoke is the best I could get for my money right now?

Thank you!

g00se

if you can wait, the 2011 models will be coming out over the next few months, so they'll be a lot of old-stock sales starting up around the end of August. it does mean missing most of the summer cycling though

A subway 2 for £260 is good value (they're showing up as £350 on the Halfords website for the 2009 model). Most decent bikes of the type you are looking for will start around the £300-up mark. So you get the idea on what sort of saving you are looking for.

Samson1

I've owned a Kona Smoke and a Subway 2 and I definitely preferred the Kona.

lardboy

Samson1 wrote:

I've owned a Kona Smoke and a Subway 2 and I definitely preferred the Kona.

Ditto.

The Kona is lighter (marginally) and has 700 not 26" wheels, so feels less under-geared than the Subway, despite having effectively the same gearing. Mudguards fitted as well, make it a no brainer. The brakes are all around the same quality at this price range. I can't imagine that the disc on the S2 would be particularly great, or light.

lizlizliz

Excellent! Thank you! I am going to order a Kona Smoke at lunch.

Paulq

Is the Kona Smoke ok to use on light trails/canal paths etc?

Craggers

I think the smoke is a great value bike... I've been recommending it to mates!

It'd definitely be fine for use on dirt roads, tow paths etc...People's definitions of 'light trails' can be pretty different though!

lardboy

Paulq wrote:

Is the Kona Smoke ok to use on light trails/canal paths etc?

It's got mountain bike pedigree, so is absolutely fine off road, as long as you're talking towpaths and pretty flat dirt tracks.

prawny

I fancy a smoke for £200. Don't need one but it'd be a good bike for popping round places on. If my commute was shorter I'd definately be interested.

OldSkoolKona

Has to be the Kona, but then perhaps I'm biased