Ride Me (Kona Caldera)

Member Name: huddro

Product:	Kona Caldera
Date:	21/02/01 (1485 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: rigid frame is very repsonsive

Disadvantages: makes your legs ache

Following a heavy Saturday night out, you know the type far too much beer followed by a heavy curry, what could be better than waking early on a cold wet Sunday morning, getting into some tight lycra, and getting covered in mud!!!!

Exactly, you just can’t beat Mountain Biking and if you are going to ride you may as well get yourself the right tools for the job. For those of you who have never ridden off road before please don’t read this bike review and rush out with your months wages only to find that two weeks later you would rather stay in bed on a Sunday with a bacon sandwich and the papers as the bike shops don’t tend to do refunds!

The Kona Caldera is a bike for all abilities from beginner to expert, if cross country riding is for you then this bike will take you wherever you want to go, well so long as you have the legs for it!

My Caldera is a 97 model in gleaming black, well not quite so gleaming now more sort of black with mud accessories, hey who wants to be cleaning their bike when they could be riding! Kona have changed the specification on the later models so I will try to give you pointers to this throughout the review.

The Company
Kona are a Canadian company who have been building bikes for more years than I would care to remember, I think I read somewhere that they started in 1988. They’re frames are renowned for their durability, and this company was the first to introduce a sloping top tube giving more clearance for the rider over the frame, this is useful for the nervous beginner who slams on their brakes too hard! (Think about it) and combined with other style changes, mentioned later, gives the expert rider more feeling for the bike.

The Frame
Kona utilised double-butted chromoly frames in their production of the Caldera, the other choice on the market being aluminium. Steel is inherently stronger so the tubes on the frame can be narrower and thinner walled thus cutt
ing weight. Along with this weight reduction steel gives a stiffer ride and personally I feel better feedback through the frame.

The double butting gives stronger more flexible joints and the welding by the guys at Kona is as tough as they come.

Kona also utilise the sloping top tube as I mentioned above, the other major design development coupled to this was to lower the seat stays giving a smaller rear triangle. This helps to stiffen the frame at the back where it is needed most, making for a very fast responsive frame.

Aluminium though has taken over the market, it is cheaper to produce and easier to work with. Its lightness benefits the rider, although for me the flex experienced with the aluminium frames does not provide the ride experience of the steel. The 2000 Caldera is now produced in aluminium and the frame painted a bright red rather than the black of mine. Some people may prefer this, but whatever the colour a little tip to preserve the finish, put electricians tape on the frame at the points where your cables touch, this will prevent the cables chafing the paint off.

Be careful when you buy your bike the size of frame you require is very important the bench mark is to stand flat footed astride the bike and you should have a minimum of 3” of clearance between the top tube and your self. Too small a frame and you will feel cramped too big and you will not be able to control the bike…and for you guys that can result in a very painful accident.


The Mechanics
Any mountain bike worth its salt uses Shimano specified parts for the mechanics. These come in several levels with Alivio being the bottom level entry, followed by STX-RC then LX, XT and finally the Rolls Royce of mechanics XTR.

Most reviewers will tell you that the best combination of mechanics is to have the front and rear the same, this is similar to people who say you must drink red wine with beef. Forget it unles
s you are going to jump your bike off a mountain side, race it, and generally ride more than about 20 hours a week you do not need the highest spec mechanics. On the flip side of the coin the Olivio running gear will last about as long as it takes you to get your bike out of the shed!

The most common spec is a combination of STX-RC/LX, it is tough equipment and sold at a reasonable cost.

The Caldera is equipped with a combination of STX-RC for the front mechanics and XT for the rear mechanics, I upgraded to the LX level at the front of the bike just to give me the extra security of slightly tougher kit, and the bike shop was offering a free upgrade so why not!

The XT rear mech provides a very slick change through the gears and combined with the rapid-fire levers allows absolute control. One word of warning finding a mechanic who can set these gears up to your satisfaction after a service can be very difficult. When you find a local bike shop with a good mechanic be nice to him and hope he never leaves!

The main thing to check is the bottom bracket, this is the bit that holds the front cogs and pedal assembly together and supports your weight when you apply the power. Many bike companies cut costs and fit a low spec bottom bracket, ensure your bike is fitted with at least a Shimano UN72 which should last you around 500 miles of hard use.

The standard pedals on the bike are Richie clip less, the type whereby you have a cleat on the bottom of your shoe that clips into a binding. If you have never ridden with clip less pedals before expect to fall off a few times as you come to a stop and cannot unclip…..I have always found it best to choose an area where a lot of people could see me to do this!!! On the plus side the clip less pedal allow you to apply power on the upstroke as well as the down stroke of the pedals giving that bit extra power to get up those hills.


The front forks on the 97 model
are Judy T2 long travel forks which give a plush ride once ridden in and can be adjusted for rebound. The current model is fitted with Marzocchi Z-5 Bomber forks. The specifications of these two sets of forks are very similar and both provide a good ride absorbing the bigger hits on the trail rather than jarring through your arms and shoulders.

When buying a bike most shops will offer upgrades to the hardware on the bike either free as part of the deal or at a discounted rate, it’s always worth asking.

The Ride
Ah now the fun bit getting out there and riding!!!

The Caldera provides a superb ride. I ride mainly on bridleways and footpaths through Epping Forest that provide a variety of surfaces from sand through to woodchip although the common factor always seems to be mud!

This bike can handle anything I throw at it: fast downhill riding, single track with tight turns, or a little bit of total off road through the trees. Equipped with Mavic 220 rims and Mythos IRC tyres the grip is always available and the Avid 2 brakes bring the bike to a stop in the shortest distance, very useful for those encounters with the extended dog lead …..

It is worth upgrading the saddle though; my Caldera came fitted with a Selle Italia that can only be defined as about as comfortable as sitting on a razor blade! The current model comes fitted with a Kona in house seat which looks a little more comfortable but I guess comfort just depends on the shape of your bum.

Riding this bike is fun it is light responsive and can cope with a lot more than its rider! The frame provides a good riding position and that is important for those longer day rides.

One word of warning this bike seems to have a built in nettle radar on more than one occasion a dog or horse has caused me to swerve and brake hard resulting in the inevitable crash and I always come off into nettles!!!!

Conclusion
In the Caldera Kona
have produced a light (26.9lbs) cross-country rigid framed mountain bike. As I mentioned earlier this bike is forgiving enough for beginners and responsive enough for expert riders. Whether you want a quiet ride through the forest or to race cross-country this bike is for you.

Mine has seen many miles of muddy trail and with regular servicing (once a year) keeps going and going, and will probably last a lot longer than its rider.

You can visit Kona at www.Konaworld.com to see the full range of bikes but for an affordable bike that you will never grow out of the Caldera is the one. The big news being that Kona have just reduced the prices across their entire range so the Caldera is even better value

Just Get Out and Ride

Summary: