gus6464

Well interesting indeed the Thunder Burt fit in the rear. Has rougly 5mm of clearance on the sides and a ton in the front for good mud shedding. Rim is a DT Swiss 20mm wide internal.

iozhik

Looks pretty darn sweet.

Konas is where it's at. I am still holding on to my 2015 Kona Rove. Steel frame, about 15 kg heavy, but still the best commuter/gravel/touring bike I've had

gus6464

Ordered the rest of my bits for my Rove build. Had an issue with the PF30 Rival crank which was literally 3mm too short for the Wheels Mfg BSA30 BB. Luckily I found a brand new GPX Rival crank on ebay for $70.

Going with some Hope orange bling for the headset, seatcollar, and stem spacers.

Going with this tire combo for the offroad config:
Rear - 650x2.1 Thunder Burt
Front - 650x2.1 Racing Ralph

I really want to run an internal dropper seatpost and have been seriously contemplating drilling a small hole on the seat tube to run the housing.

gus6464

Build started:

Needs drivetrain and brakes installed but here it is with some burly rubber.


The TB and RR combo is going to be great. RR is basically a TB with bigger side and middle knobs so perfect for a front tire.
TB


RR

pbass

Lookin' good! I dig the orange accents with the seat clamp, etc. What bars are those? I put Cowbells on mine (didn't care for the stock Kona road bars).
On a related note, I rented a 2019 Rove NRB when I was traveling recently. Same size as mine. The ST rides so much better . . .

gus6464

Thanks. The bar is a Cowchipper in size 46cm. I am just waiting for Shimano flat to post mount adapters and decided on trying out the new PNW Coast dropper seatpost which has tunable suspension. Waiting on PNW to get the external version in stock.

pbass

Oh man, jealous - I've been eyeing a PNW dropper for my Rove as well, but my bike budget is blown for a while. It is literally the only thing I would want to change about mine - everything else is dialed. I look forward to reading about how you like it on this bike.

coatseast

How's it working out. I'm 5'10 and a half with a 30"+ inseam and too am in between a 52 and 54. I liked the 52 on the test ride but not sure if that was long enough. I do want to have some maneuverability, hence liking the shorter size. But don't want to be cramped (knees, foot strike) etc.

Thanks for any insight.

bvhara

Great looking bike, Gus. l'd love run these tyres on my 2017 Rove ST but need to know whether it can run 650b wheels and whether tyre clearance on 2017 chainstays is the same as 2019/2020. Mine has stock 700 wheels with 32cc gatorskins which are great for commuting., but I want to set it up for bikepacking trip on Old Ghost Road and Heaphy Track in New Zealand later this year.

Does anyone know whether:

1. 650b wheels will fit 2017 frame?
2. tyre clearance of chain stays is the same or different in 2017 and 2019/20 frames; ie would 650x2.1 TB clear the 2017 frame?
3. Anything else I need to consider when modding my 2017 ST for bikepacking

biglmbass

Per a press release from Kona on August 31, 2017, 650b will fit in a 2017 frame. It just doesn't indicate how big/wide you can go. As a new member here, I don't have a high enough post count to post a link. Therefore Google these exact words: KONA ROVE ST… NOW WITH THRU-AXLES.... (it's the first search result)

I'd be curious to know what the max size is for 700c tire/wheels for the current frame is?

gus6464

700x32

jwalther

I ran 38s with no problem on the current frame.

biglmbass

The current aluminum Rove comes with 700x37, FWIW

82Aircooled

I have a 2018 Rove ST and I run 700C 36 and 650b 47C Serendos, love them both

bvhara

Hi biglmbass, thanks for your post The bike you link to is the 2018 Kona Rove ST, which does have thru axles. Mine is the 2017 Kona Rove ST, which doesn't have thru axles (see official Kona website; Like you I don't have enough posts to paste links. A subsequent poster on this thread has the 2018 model and said 650 x 47 fit his bike. But to be sure they'd fit the 2017 model I'm still keen to hear from anyone with it who has tried and had success, before I risk blowing my money on new wheels and tyres. Frame builders can and do make changes year to year and there's been a general move towards gravel bikes being able to accommodate bigger tyres over the past few years.

D-Fuzz

I seem to remember the BB shell & chainstays changed on the 2018+ bikes to accommodate wider tires. I had a 2014 Rove which would be similar to your 2017 and I don't recall being able to run anything very wide. That was one of the reasons I sold it. I think the Sutra was more geared toward the bigger tires back then and the Rove was still gravel-lite.

bvhara

Thanks D-Fuzz, I suspected as much. Might have to sell and upgrade like you. Ideally, I'd like my bike to be a fun commute, which my Kona Rove ST is, and also be able to be a comfy bike packer, ie take fatter tyres, which it isn't

D-Fuzz

I have two sets of wheels & tires for my Rove NRB. I use the OEM wheels with the WTB Horizons for commuting and it is a great set up. I also have a set of Easton EA70 AX wheels that I use for gravel & adventure riding. I have a road bike that I ride for longer distances, but for general rips around town and commuting, I find the Horizons to work great.