Welcome to Bike Works of Lake Stevens

Amy's ride

Sunday Oct. 28 2007 I was given the opportunity to demo an 08 Kona Kula Deluxe 29'r from Bike Works. We did our ride at Tolt McDonald Park in Carnation, Wa.

The bike I rode was 16" frame with my Crank Bros. pedals. I took a few laps around the cars to get the feel for things. Not only was I on my first 29'r, but my first hardtail to boot!

So after a few parking lot adjustments we were off. As I checked out the looming hill I kept repeating to myself what Scott told me in the parking lot " Ignore what gear you are in and just ride what you are comfortable at." So I put my climbing ego in my pocket and set out to have a good time.

To my surprise I motored up the hill with no problems at all. I might have been in a lower gear than normal but the ride was smooth and my legs felt powerful. I had heard that the drawback with the 29'rs was that the big wheels were harder to climb with. It might have been the efficiency of the hardtail, but I felt I was climbing easier on the 29'r than I was used to with my 5" trail bike I normally ride.

Once on the trail with the larger wheels I was apprehensive negotiating the tight twisty corners at first. I just took them a little slower and didn't have any problems even while being pushed by Scott's 14 year old son. After a while I wasn't even thinking about it any more.

I saw my first log pile and thought twice about it but pushed forward. I was surprised at how easily the bike rolled over the logs and roots. Soon I was looking for anything I could to test those big wheels out on.

On the more open swoopy sections of the trail the bike picked up speed with little effort from my legs. The bike rode very smoothly.

I was impressed with how every bit of effort put in to pedaling translated into forward movement. On lower grade climbing sections I would stand up and just disappear up the trail. The combination of the hardtail efficiency and the big wheels had me flying around the trails.

In conclusion, I enjoyed my ride on the 29'r. I wouldn't hesitate to ride one again given the chance. It will take a few more rides to get 100% comfortable on the bike. The only place I could think it might not be a good ride is climbing tight technical single track. The Shimano shifting felt a bit slow because I normally ride Sram shifters.