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05/11/2008
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Kona has been around for a while.
Every year, without fail, a new company comes along with what they tout as the
next big thing in freeride designs; as though the bikes we’ve been riding
have been doing us a disservice and are in some way inferior.
Then, there’s Kona.
The Stinky has been around in one form or another for years, and more recently,
has splintered off into a complete line, offering freeriders three levels of trim
and a good solid ride that has simply stood the test of time. Or so they claim.
When we had a chance to get some time on Kona’s new Stinky Primo, it gave
us the opportunity to see if the platform is still a viable ride on the trails
we like to call home, or if it’s just plain Stinky.
7" of travel front and rear, Shimano Saint componentry
front to back paired with XT Dual control levers.
The Frame
Kona, when putting this package together, seems to have put away their creative
(and by some accounts questionable) colour palette from past years, and chosen
a simple, low-key black, red and gray colour scheme for their top-end freeride
rig. The graphic-treatment compliments the dark pewter Shimano Saint parts and
the badass all-black Marzocchi Super T fork perfectly, and it looks right at
home on any stunt trail out there.
Beneath the matte colours of the frame lies Kona’s Clump 7005 Series
multi-shaped tubing, big, fat chainstays and 7-inches of rear suspension travel
damped by Fox’s Vanilla RC coil-over shock. Our Medium (17”) test
bike was equipped with a 500-pound spring with adjustable compression and rebound
damping through its 2.75-inches of stroke.
The Parts
Considering freeride’s origins belong in the woods and beneath riders
who have essentially shied away from the limelight and glitz of the racing scene,
it stands to reason that when Shimano picked up the freeride ball, the industry
would have to take notice. And so would the riders
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Even us hardened journalist-types were mesmerized by the very possibility
of mass-produced parts made with our riding in mind. To be honest, Saint
is why we chose the Primo over the Dee-Lux for this test.
With its through-axle rear hub/derailleur mount and XTR-like proprietary
hub/rotor interface, 2-piece Hollow-Tech II crank and Dual Control lever
compatibility, it’s really hard not to love the Saint stuff just
for the buzz words, aesthetics and theory alone. We’ll go into how
it works a little later.
Though the company’s spec-sheet reads differently, our primo came
equipped with an FSA Pig headset, and Kona’s own handlebar, stem,
SDG seat and Jackshit pedals with replaceable pins. This is a good, solid
and detailed spec oozing a unique personality to accompany the Saint parts
and creating a package that is un-mistakably Kona.
The dark horse spec of the package are Mavic’s 721 rims and Nokian’s
new NBX 2.5 tires. The parts spec read Sun DoubleTrack. The light and
tough Mavics were a welcome substitution that should be appreciated by
all but the most anti-French riders out there. We’ll call them ‘Freedom
Rims.’
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"I may look like a cartoon but I am flesh and blood"
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The Ride
The seven inches of front and rear travel offered by the Primo is plush and
confident to say the least. Unfortunately, the first drop I landed elicited
a clunk…I chalked it up to a loose headset and made the appropriate adjustments.
It was only after I got home that I noticed that the swing-link had actually
bottomed out on the seat collar. I decided to switch the lower shock mount to
the rear-most eyelet, making the spring rate more progressive through its stroke,
only slightly sacrificing the silky-smooth ride offered by the forward mount’s
linear curve. This is something to talk to your shop about when you’re
shopping, because the front mount is like buttah…just get the right spring
rate for your riding style and weight.
Now, keep in mind that this is just a preliminary test, having literally only
a couple of rides aboard the Primo, so I’ll save my set-in stone opinions
until I’ve actually had a chance to get used to the Dual Control levers.
If you have ever lost the main pivot bushings on your Hayes levers, you know
how the dual control feels while barreling down the trail. Some love it and
some hate it. Thus far I belong to the latter group, so these take some getting
used to, to say the least.
Richard riding 38DD on Mount Fromme.
The Saint 8” brakes are as good, if not better stoppers than anything
I have ever used. They modulate really well (when the lever isn’t flopping
down or up and you have a good grasp on it), they lock up when you need them
to and they just feel aggressive. Other than the up-and-down movement, the only
other down-side to the supplied Deore XT brake lever/shifter is the need for
a gigantically-long 2 mm Allen key to get in past the shifter mechanism in order
to adjust the reach.
The shifters shifted cleanly, crisply and accurately every single time I called
upon them to do so. Unfortunately, most of the time, I had to question which
direction to shift for an upcoming climb or descent. The front derailleur was
100% intuitive. The rear, thanks to the Rapid-Rise (now called ‘low normal’)
design of the Saint derailleur, was counter-intuitive.
Considering the industry-wide disdain Shimano received years ago following
the first re-design of XTR, I wonder why they would put us all through it again.
Whether you’re used to Rapidfire, Gripshift or even Shimano’s road
STI Dual Control Levers, Rapid Rise is just plain backwards. That’s all
there is to it.
On the upside, at least it gets you to the wrong gear faster so you have a
little more time to correct and re-shift to the gear you actually wanted in
the first place. If only they would use their technology for good instead of
evil, backwards shifting.
Richard's trials background comes in handy on the Shore.
While on the subject of the rear derailleur, its through-axle mount was completely
solid, stiff and out of the way. The only downside I have found was how removing
the rear wheel, which subsequently completely detached the rear derailleur from
the bike, caused the chain to tangle into a brain teaser that took myself and
a fellow NSMB staffer about 15 minutes to un-tangle making us late to meet the
guys at the gate. But that was probably more me being a dumbass.
Any frustration and angst the shifting and IQ test-chain detangling brought
on is instantly quelled every time I gaze down to the cranks. In a word, they’re
beautiful. The tubular chromo BB spindle is stiff, and the Hollow-Tech II cranks
just ooze static power, especially when you see the steel threaded inserts that
ensure your pedals will stay put no matter you throw the bike at.
I’ve had over a year on the Nokian NBX’s, and they are great all-round
choices, as long as they’re not over-inflated. Inflate them to what you
think you should, and then take out 5 psi. You’ll thank yourself.
I’ll be flogging this bike as hard as possible for the next month and
a half or so, so stay tuned, and I’ll let you all know if I’ve actually
figured out the Dual Control levers.
To be continued…
Richard Belson
Note from Matt at Kona - All the Canadian Primos should still have
the original mavic spec (listed in the catalogue), and any bike released "later"
will have the double tracks.
konaworld.com
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