Kona Process 134 vs Commencal Meta AM v4 Essential

brfcjon

Hi all

Need some quick advice - must buy soon. I have read through lots of forum and test. But haven't really found this particular problem before.

My main use for the bike is trails in Denmark (not the gnarliest stuff but still some technical trails) but I would like to go to some parks in Germany and Spain (going to Spain for 1.5 month).

Kona is 300 euro cheaper but with poorer specs and somewhat heavier. For instance - Sektor vs. the Metas Pike which more than make up the price dif. Also the weight spec worries me with the Kona.

My mates mainly ride Hard Tail and i am a little worried the will leave me chasing and then missing out on some of the fun and playful stuff due to making the effort to catch up - (weight problem - and not only my own fat ass).

I am 180 cm and am now at about 87kilos.

I would probably go for the Meta if the Kona didn't get such rave reviews.

Any body got some advice? Thank you all in advance.

Best regards
Kasper

Kona specs:
RockShox Monarch R
RockShox Sektor Silver TK Solo Air 140 mm QR15 Tapered
Dérailleur back - Shimano XT Shadow Plus 10 vitesses
Dérailleur front - Sram X5
Shifters- Shimano Deore
Shimano Deore 24/38 dents - boîtier PF-92
Cassette Shimano Deore 11-36 dents 10 vitesses
Chaîne KMC X10
Front brakes Shimano Deore 180 mm (centerlock)
Back brakes Shimano Deore 160 mm (center lock)

Commencal specs
FRAME / NEW 2015 META AM 650b, Travel 150mm, 6066 Triple Butted hydroformed, integrated housing
SHOCK / ROCKSHOX Monarch RT3, 200x57, Travel 150mm, 3 positions Lock/Platform/Open
FORK / ROCKSHOX Pike RC Solo Air, Travel 160mm, 15mm axle, Tapered
HEADSET / Semi integrated, tapered ZS44/56, 1.5 crown race, sealed bearing, alloy cups
STEM / ALPHA, Alloy 2014 Forged, 50mm, O° rise, Ø31,8mm - NEW -
BAR / ALPHA, Alloy 7075 double butted, 20mm rise, 750mm, Ø31,8mm
GRIPS / COMMENCAL lock on, Ø30mm, soft compound, Neon Yellow logo
BRAKES / SRAM Guide R 200mm/180mm, with matchmaker - NEW -
SHIFTERS / SRAM X9 1x10 spd
REAR MECH / SRAM X9 10 spd Type II Medium Cage
BOTTOM BRACKET / RACE FACE BB92, sealed bearings
CRANKS / RACE FACE Evolve, 1x10, 34 t Narrow Wide, 170mm on S, 175mm on M/L/XL
CHAIN / KMC X10
CASSETTE / SRAM PG1020 11-36 t with E13 Extended Range Cog 42 t, black

Angus Young

I love my 134. Nothing else I've ridden makes me want to swap and much of that has been three time the price. I liked lots of bikes before I rode the 134. Now there's not much else that I find interesting.

Mine is here...

viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607

And there's a good thread to plough through here...

http://forums.mtbr.com/kona/process-134-134dl-thread-877501.html

Your points about weight and spec are valid but, in the end, it's about how the bike rides not how a spec sheet measures up. The bike has an eagerness to it that I find missing from many other bikes. Plus I bought mine with the intention that it would provide a solid base for upgrading.

Never fails to make me smile.

brfcjon

Hi Angus

Thank you.

Yeah I actually did see your bike. But I also saw the upgrades list. Pike fork, new wheels etc. Nice nice nice bike!

But thats like buying a VW polo (which is decent car) and putting in 350bhp, new brakes, new whees and lowering it Goes from decent to a monster - and it would not cost the same as the Polo did in the first place.

BR
Kasper

Angus Young

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19667659#p19667659]brfcjon[/url] wrote:

Hi Angus

Thank you.

Yeah I actually did see your bike. But I also saw the upgrades list. Pike fork, new wheels etc. Nice nice nice bike!

But thats like buying a VW polo (which is decent car) and putting in 350bhp, new brakes, new whees and lowering it Goes from decent to a monster - and it would not cost the same as the Polo did in the first place.

BR
Kasper

Don't let the upgrades fool you. It was a brilliant bike before all of that. That's just me being self-indulgent. And, as I said, I chose the bike partly because it was good enough to take all that upgrading.

brfcjon

Cheers Mate

It's just that I too can be a little self indulgent - but the missus won't have it and neither will my savings account=) Thus the very good spec on the Meta plus very good reviews is appealing.

Well I guess i am just over thinking it - like most people who mainly internet-rides...

Br
Kasper

Angus Young

Spec isn't everything (though it does cont for something, of course). A good example is when the Mondraker Foxy won bike of the year last year with a spec that was well bellow almost every other bike in the running. And it wasn't far off a walk over. Food for thought.

rockmonkeysc

The Commencal rides like a bit of a tank. I wouldn't buy one.
The Kona has such a good frame that it rides a lot better than its spec would suggest.

brfcjon

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19667881#p19667881]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

The Commencal rides like a bit of a tank. I wouldn't buy one.
The Kona has such a good frame that it rides a lot better than its spec would suggest.

Thank you for your comment. Which Meta AM did you ride (Origin, Essential or Race) and where?

Ok so based on this forum the answer seems clear.=)

Angus Young

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19667909#p19667909]brfcjon[/url] wrote:

Ok so based on this forum the answer seems clear.=)

It's a small sample, though.

Have a trawl through the other link I gave you (if you haven't already). There's plenty in there about people's impressions of riding the Kona.

You can also save yourself a big chunk by going for a 2014 bike (if small or large fits, though I'd guess there's still a medium out there somewhere)...

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/16114441321568327558?q=kona+process+134+2014&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1131&bih=847&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.&bvm=bv.99028883,d.ZGU&tch=1&ech=1&psi=W724VaeFKIW07QaQ77iwBw.1438170460695.3&prds=paur:ClkAsKraX5LDR_MpkrG1jKy2CRAJ3yeQM60rLOmyxnl_-1MZN-BMWJnjEn9Ns9oeM9Og1RGVLAnuhJf0hjv2CX5jW37yOcJlv1gtAldD_6-s8WqYrqVk7G4MKRIZAFPVH71Y_P-wcyfa4JkRzRZbhaiVb6zGFg&ved=0CAMQqStqFQoTCKzlyryigMcCFWSC2wod1dsJzQ&ei=Xr24Vay-POSE7gbVt6foDA

Not sure that the 2015 bike has any notable improvements over the '14 bike.

PXR5

Not sure how much you were thinking of paying but....

http://www.probikeshop.fr/vtt-kona-process-134-27-5-bleu-2015/100723.html

the 2015 version for 2K euro.....

I've bought lots of stuff from Probike, including my kona

rockmonkeysc

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19667909#p19667909]brfcjon[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19667881#p19667881]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

The Commencal rides like a bit of a tank. I wouldn't buy one.
The Kona has such a good frame that it rides a lot better than its spec would suggest.

Thank you for your comment. Which Meta AM did you ride (Origin, Essential or Race) and where?

Ok so based on this forum the answer seems clear.=)

No idea which version. I rode it around my local trails.

brfcjon

THank you all.

I think I am set on the Kona now. Already looking at cheapish ways to limit weight. Could of course just lose the 7 kg on me before I start shedding weight on the bike....

Angus Young

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19669370#p19669370]brfcjon[/url] wrote:

could have course just lose the 7 kg on me before I start shedding weight on the bike....

Always the best place to start.

brfcjon

So I just ordered the process 134. Hope it treats me well=)
I decided I might as well get the 2015 as the 2016 din't seem that much different - and with pedals the 2015 came in at 2060 euro. Thats a lot of money (my GF keeps reminding me) but it seems like a good deal considering what bikes cost these days...

Thank you guys for contributing.

Angus Young

Let the good times roll!