The Kona Dew Range

All five members of the Kona Dew range represent great value street hybrid bikes, from a well-respected manufacturer, with tons of style. A Kona bike always gets noticed.

First and foremost aimed and fitted out for street riding – commuting to work, or out-and-about on the lanes at the weekend – they will also let you get onto the paths and gentle trails when you want, which is what hybrid bike riding is all about. How do the models compare?

All are built onto frames formed from the same Kona 7005 Aluminium, butted for strength. The nicely sloped top tube gives you greater (safer) standover clearance and means that every one of the models is unisex.  All have eyelets to allow you to fit mudguards, which I think are de rigeur for a commuter bike in this country.

All bikes in the Kona Dew range run on 700 mm road (rather than mountain bike) wheels, and all carry Kona’s own Project Two fork; steel on the two lower models and alloy on the rest. They all have triple chainsets for maximum flexibility – useful ranges for hills and cruising.

Apart from these features, there are upgrades to the drivetrain, brakes and rims/tyres as you go up the range, as you would expect.

There’s an impressive range of sizes too, and the colour finishes for 2012 are really stunning I think.

The models

Here’s a quick summary of the various models – click through for more detailed reviews:-

The Kona Dew City is the entry-level model of the Dew range. There’s a no-nonsense look to this bike – Kona’s alloy frame fitted with a robust Chromoly steel fork to take plenty of knocks, 21 gears from basic, but sound, Shimano gears, 35mm tyres and Tektro V-brakes for efficient, comfortable, low-maintenance cycling. 

It’s difficult to see where you would go to get a better package for £350 really. Commuting to work or college, or just for getting out into the countryside, the Dew City has a lot to recommend it.

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The second model in the range is the Kona Dew itself. For another £50, the original Dew shows a couple of upgrades from the Dew City.

You now get 24 gears, the front derailleur being slightly improved. The V-brakes are smarter and neater, the alloy pedals should give you better grip and the alloy handlebar will get the weight down a bit ( although Kona don’t publish the weights of their bikes, in common with many others). There’s a coice of colours too – black or a really smart 2-tone blue.

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Next up the range is the Kona Dew Plus. A bit of a jump in price – £150 – but there are some big changes here over the basic Dew.

First and perhaps the most obvious are the disc brakes. Shimano hydraulic units will give you great stopping power in all weathers, while protecting your rims from wear.

The front fork is now aluminium, delivering a further saving in weight and the rear derailleur is upgraded to a Shimano Deore model – a really good mid-quality unit for greater smoothness and reliability. Still 24 gears, but with better RapidFire shifters as well. Again you get a choice of colours between black and green.

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The fourth model in the Dew range is the Kona Dew Deluxe. Another pretty steep jump in price of £200 over the Dew Plus, the investment this time going principally into the wheels.

Much nicer Alex rims, fitted with 32mm, rather than 35mm, tyres mean that the Deluxe will be far more at ease covering the miles at speed, whether on a fast commute or an extended weekend ride.

You might also see subtle changes to the frame – a tapered top tube makes for a very elegant bike indeed. And it’s finished in a rather beautiful light metallic green.

There are 27 gears on the Deluxe, with an improvement to the front derailleur. It keeps the Shimano hydraulic discs.

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Top-of-the-range is the Kona Dr Dew. Another £200 buys you quite a range of further improvements.

The wheels show another upgrade, still shod with 32mm Continental tyres for performance on the road.

A nicer Deore LX rear derailleur, coupled with larger chainrings, reinforces the idea that the Doctor is going to suit those with a need for speed.

The sleek saddle , flatter handlebar and light, grippy pedals all help to give you a bike with as much performance as ……………………………………………………………………most riders will ever need in a fast hybrid.

Conclusion

All in all, the Kona Dew range offers a wide range of price and specifications. The entry level models are straightforward, no-nonsense street hybrids with basic but robust outfitting at a great price – £350 for the Dew City looks like a great entry price to me.

With a bigger budget you will of course get more sophistication and quality in the components, together with disc brake options if you want. But the top-of-the-range Dr Dew still comes in at well under the £1000 mark.

No matter which model you go for, they all have the Kona cachet and subtle good looks.

	Kona Dew City	Kona Dew	Kona Dew Plus	Kona Dew Deluxe	Kona Dr Dew
Frame	Kona 7005 Aluminium Butted	Kona 7005 Aluminium Butted	Kona 7005 Aluminium Butted	Kona 7005 Aluminium Butted	Kona 7005 Aluminium Butted
Fork	Kona Project Two Chromoly Steel	Kona Project Two Chromoly Steel	Kona Project Two Aluminium	Kona Project Two Aluminium	Kona Project Two Aluminium
Front Mech	Shimano Tourney	Shimano Altus	Shimano Altus	Shimano Alivio	Shimano R453
Rear Mech	Shimano Altus SGS	Shimano Altus SGS	Shimano Deore SGS	Shimano Deore SGS	Shimano Deore LX Trekking SGS
Shifters	Shimano EZ Fire Integrated	Shimano EZ Fire Integrated	Shimano RapidFire Plus	Shimano Alivio	Shimano SLR-440 RapidFire Plus
Chainrings	48/38/28t	48/38/28t	48/38/28t	48/38/28t	50/39/30t
Cassette	Shimano Tourney 14-28t, 7-Speed	Shimano HG40 11-34t, 8-Speed	Shimano HG40 11-34t, 8-Speed	Shimano HG30 11-32t, 9-Speed	Shimano HG50 11-32t, 9-Speed
Gears	21	24	24	27	27
Pedals	VP872 Composite	Wellgo LU-A9 Alloy	Wellgo LU-A9 Alloy	Wellgo LU-A9 Alloy	Victor VP-198 Alloy
Brakes	Tektro 837AL Alloy V-Brake	Tektro M530 Alloy Mini V-Brake	Shimano M446 Hydraulic Disc	Shimano M445 Hydraulic Disc	Shimano M446 Hydraulic Disc
Rims	Shining MT20 36H Stainless Spokes	Shining MT20 36H Stainless Spokes	Shining MT20 36H Stainless Spokes	Alex DC-25 32H Stainless Spokes	Freedom Ryder 2 32H Stainless Spokes
Tyres	Kenda K-935 700x35C	Kenda K-935 700x35C	Kenda K-935 700x35C	Continental CityRIDE 700x32C	Continental CityRIDE 700x32C
Handlebar	Kona Riser Bell	Kona Aluminium Riser Bell	Kona Aluminium Riser Bell	Kona Aluminium Riser Bell	Kona Deluxe Energy Bell
Stem	Kona Control	Kona Control	Kona Control	Kona Control	Kona Deluxe Road
Saddle	Kona Comfort Kona Thumb Alloy Post	Kona Comfort Kona Thumb Alloy Post	Kona Comfort Kona Thumb Alloy Post	Kona Comfort Kona Thumb Alloy Post	WTB Valcon Comp Kona Double Clamp Alloy Post
Sizes	46cm, 49cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm, 61cm	46cm, 49cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm, 61cm	46cm, 49cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm, 61cm	46cm, 49cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm, 61cm	46cm, 49cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm, 61cm
Colour	Silver Metallic	Black, or Dark Blue	Black, or Green	Green Metallic	Charcoal Metallic
Price	£350	£400	£550	£750	£950

 

Alternatives you might like to have a look at:-

• Specialized Sirrus

• Bianchi Camaleonte