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I've knocked up a Kona Dawg Primo page with some spec and a photo - more updates to come soon.
Despite a night on the tiles on Saturday, a text from Coatsy was all it took to convince me to go out for a Sunday afternoon ride to test out the new bike. After a decidedly shakey start, we ended up meeting at 1:00pm at the top of Dyke Road. What with a high potential for becoming dehydrated after Saturday nights antics, we decided to take it pretty easy and have a chilled out ride - a far cry from last Summers' Randonnee training (which we'll be starting again soon for the 2008 event - I'm aiming to beat last years time).
Coatsy had his rather expensive camera with him, so we stopped every so often to take photos of the scenery - it was such a cracking day weather wise that you could see for miles. These stops also gave me ample opportunity to top up on my water intake - I wasn't using my hydration pack so had to rely instead on bottled water.
We headed up to Devils Dyke, where I realised that I hadn't brought any food with me - I bought a "Feast" from the Ice Cream van to provide my only calorie intake until Ditchling Beacon. From here, we headed east towards the Beacon, with the wind behind us.
Upon reaching the Beacon, we stopped for another ice cream break, before heading back on to the South downs Way again to make our way to Lewes, from where we got a train back to Brighton.
It really was a great feeling to be out on a new bike - everything worked so smoothly and I was able to roll for ages due to the smoothness of the bearings. I have always got on really well with Deore shifters, so was a bit weary of the LX ones specced with the Primo, but I'm happy to say they are indeed better, with noticeably crisper shifting, and the cool feature that allows you to downshift more easily from a standing position.
As for the suspension, this was yet to be set up properly when I rode it - there was very little pressure in the rear shock, in fact, and the fork was set up with a bit too much pressure so was very hard - I adjusted both accordingly when I got home - I hope to get more of an idea of the performance of these when I next go out.
OK, so I've done it! Today I purchased a 2007 Kona Dawg Primo. I'd previously seen a few of these in Bike Hut Brighton, reduced to £1400 from the £1900 RRP. I subsequently did a Google product search, which threw up a few at around the £1100 mark, so I knew that they were going cheaper.
Today I decided to go have a look to see if they were still available in there - I was slightly concerned that the 2007 models would get sold out, and I'm really not a fan of the kinked top tube on the 2008 models.
To say I was amazed when I saw them on sale for £1,007 is an understatement. Needless to say, my decision was made and I bought one there and then, again, a 20".. I pick it up on Saturday ; )
I did ask if they wanted to throw in a Park Tools Pizza cutter, but they weren't able to do so - oh well, if you don't ask, you don't get ; )
I'll stick up a spec page / some photos when I get the bike, but it has Fox Float forks, a Fox RP2 rear shock (5 inches travel front and rear), and a combination of LX / XT gearing.
I do have a slight problem in the form of not knowing what to do with my Dawg - it's still in great condition, but I can't justify owning (and thus having to get serviced) two full suspension bikes.
My options are to either stick it on Ebay, or strip down the components to fit to a suitable commuting frame. Of course, I'm open to offers from the readers of this site; practically the entire history of the bike is documented here, so you'll be able to see that it's been looked after and had no expense spared throughout the 3 years I've owned it. Just fill in the contact form to make an offer ; )
As was standard during the last quarter or so of 2007, I've been crap at keeping the site up to date - I've actually been on two rides since the last post, one of which was a very relaxing ride with Dayna from Devils Dyke to Ditchling Beacon, and back in to Brighton.
Dayna suffered a puncture at Saddlescombe Farm, but within about 20 minutes we were on our way. Then, on the ride along the road from Ditchling Beacon towards Hollingbury, his rim tape snapped, causing a puncture that resulted in our having to push for about three miles.
My last ride of 2007 was on Sunday 30th December - Will and I met at Devils Dyke, and this time rode the Chanctonbury Ring / Cissbury Ring ride. This trail was quite well drained in most places, but some were very, very boggy.
I got some Crud Catcher mudguards for Christmas, so fitted these before leaving, and also wore my new Endura gloves, also for Christmas. After being so pleased with my Specialized Body Geometry gloves, I was on the look out for an equivalent model with long fingers, but couldn't find any that looked satisfactorily warm / breathable / padded, so opted for the Enduras.
Overall, I was very happy with the gloves, which were indeed more breathable than the Konas that I had a few years back. The mudguards also proved to be very useful on the ride; although I'm not keen on the aesthetics of them, they serve a useful enough function to be fitted at this type of year.
Great result from the recent service at Freedom Bikes - nothing needed replacing, save for the rear brake pads - so, the cost of the full service - £65 - bargain, considering I'd budgetted £150. The only problem is, I've been seriously considering buying a 2007 Kona Dawg Primo - this is a cool bluey colour (don't like the colours of the other models), and is kitted out with some pretty top notch componentry. Plus, there are 5" of travel at each end ; )
The Dawg has been such a great bike that I wouldn't hesitate to get another; however, the 2008 models have a swoopy top tube design that I'm not keen on. Therefore, it has to be a 2007 model if I'm to get one, and the added bonus is that they're now heavily discounted. To make things worse, my company run a ride-to-work scheme so I could have this much cheaper than the discounted price.
So, my problem is, how do I justify buying a new bike when my current one is running so well that nothing needs replacing after 6 months of riding? My feeling is that I will do it, but I'm just not sure what to do with the other one. Decisions, decisions!
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