The wide tires and three-speed internal hub gears mean you don't have to worry about dodging potholes (ok, small ones) or remembering to shift before you stop. They both have fenders to keep the grime off of you and backpedal rear brakes.
Are they fast? No, probably not. Statistics tell us most people are only going a couple miles, so who needs road-bike fast? Did you ever see people in cars circle for that close parking spot in front of the grocery store? The basket on that Africabike Three will fit a gallon of milk or package of diapers and get you there faster.
Africabike Three
The rear rack is integrated into the (new this year) aluminum step-through frame. It comes with a ring lock (aka wheel lock), front basket and a bell. The tires are puncture resistant.
Specs (from Kona):
| Frame Material | Kona 7005 Aluminum Butted |
| Sizes | 18" |
| Fork | Kona Project Two |
| Crankarms | ProWheel Z005 |
| Chainrings | ProWheel 36T |
| B/B | CH |
| Pedals | VP-560 |
| Chain | KMC Z410 |
| Freewheel | Shimano SM-Gear 18T |
| F/D | N/A |
| R/D | N/A |
| Shifters | Shimano Twist Shifter |
| Brake Calipers | Shimano BR-M422 (FR) Coaster (RR) |
| Brake Levers | Shimano BL-M421 (front only) |
| Headset | CH |
| Handlebar | Kona Riser |
| Stem | Kona Control |
| Seatpost | Kona Thumb |
| Seat Clamp | Kona Clamp |
| Grips | Velo |
| Saddle | Kona Plush |
| Front Hub | KT |
| Rear Hub | Shimano Nexus 3spd Internal |
| Spokes | Stainless 14g |
| Rims | Shining A-6N |
| Front Tire | Kenda K922, puncture resistant |
| Rear Tire | Kenda K922, puncture resistant |
| Paint Color | White or Black |
| Extras | Kickstand, Handlebar Mount Basket, Fenders, Chain Cover, Bell |
Bike
The simple name will lead to "Who's on First?" conversations, I'm sure. It doesn't have a rack, but you could add one. It's simple and tough. Kona went with a non-quill stem which is too bad, but it would look great if you added riser handlebars anyhow.
Specs (from Kona):
| Frame Material | Kona 7005 Aluminum Butted |
| Sizes | 14", 16", 18", 20", 22" |
| Fork | Kona Project Two |
| Crankarms | FSA |
| Chainrings | 38T |
| B/B | FSA |
| Pedals | Shimano UN-26 |
| Chain | KMC Z610 RB |
| Freewheel | Shimano SM-Gear 16T |
| F/D | N/A |
| R/D | N/A |
| Shifters | Shimano Twist Shifter |
| Brake Calipers | Tektro 849 AL (FR) Coaster (RR) |
| Brake Levers | Tektro TS-384A |
| Headset | FSA |
| Handlebar | Kona Aluminum Riser |
| Stem | Kona Control |
| Seatpost | Kona Thumb |
| Seat Clamp | Kona Clamp |
| Grips | Velo |
| Saddle | Kona Plush |
| Front Hub | KT |
| Rear Hub | Shimano Nexus 3spd Internal |
| Spokes | Stainless 14g |
| Rims | Shining MT-20 |
| Front Tire | Kenda Komfort 26 x 1.95 |
| Rear Tire | Kenda Komfort 26 x 1.95 |
| Paint Color | Black |
| Extras | Fenders, Kona Bell |
3 comments:
Kona has some great bikes at reasonable prices, including those two:
- Africa Bike
- Bike
- Paddy Wagon (which I have and love)
- Band Wagon
- Honky Tonk
- Ute
- Humu
- Sutra
- the 'Dew' line
- 'Zing' and 'Jake' lines
Tom left out one of the most important features of the Africabike. For every 2 Africabikes sold, Kona will donate a bike to people in Africa: http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=africabike_three
I'm a cyclist who has some serious commuter miles logged. I've got about 2500 miles on my cannondale 6 roadie, 3500 on a diamondback pos MTN bike,, and before it got stolen, my kona dew plus had 1350. I bought an africabike to replace it.
It is comfortable, smooth riding, and trouble free/simple. My tip to you, if you buy one, slime the hell out of both tires. Changing a flat on this is like changing a car tire. It's a heavy bike and you will hit things and they will stick in the tires and with two fenders you won't notice. SLIME IT! Or they will find you rotting with your groceries on teh side of the road because changing these tires is not road bike easy.
The seat post that comes with this bike bends backwards if you are like me and weigh 190 and are 6'2 and need the seat post to be all the way up. If that happens to you I'd suggest you try out Kona's warranty process. I never had a defect from them in two bike except my seat post bending and it's so slight I think I'll let it go for now and then upgrade seats later if it gets out of hand.
You can do dirt roads on this bike but leave the singletrack alone.
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