Kona Roundabout
09-26-14, 06:09 AM
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Kona Roundabout
Just curious if anyone out there uses this bike as a regular commuter. I work at a shop and we have a couple of these. While I don't live in a very "bike-commutery" area, it always surprises me that more people don't take interest in this model, as it is beautiful. cromo frame, 1x9 drivetrain, color-match fenders, comes with a rack, mixte setup. Tell me this isn't a good looking stock commuter!
KONAWORLD
In 2014 and 2015 they replaced the roundabout with the coco, which has disc brakes and black fender. Still pretty cool but not as pretty as the roundabout.
Am I alone in thinking this bike is so sweet? I would buy the large because N+1 but I don't want to be wife-1 by filling my house with more bicycles. lol
KONAWORLD
In 2014 and 2015 they replaced the roundabout with the coco, which has disc brakes and black fender. Still pretty cool but not as pretty as the roundabout.
Am I alone in thinking this bike is so sweet? I would buy the large because N+1 but I don't want to be wife-1 by filling my house with more bicycles. lol
09-26-14, 07:46 AM
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Like you I think these were/are great bikes. The problem I see is colour. First root beer brown, then grey, then dark green, not the most appealing. My sister in law bought one and she seems to like it, though she does not commute.
09-26-14, 07:52 AM
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That Roundabout looks nice to me! I don't think 1x9 (or even 1x7 or 1x8) drivetrains get the respect they deserve.
A color matching rack would've been sweet.
-Hub
t:HubSpanner
A color matching rack would've been sweet.
-Hub
t:HubSpanner
09-26-14, 09:18 AM
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When I lived in the flat lands of Iowa I had a 1x6 commuter that I modified with a wide ratio of gears (tall, high-gear, low, low gear). That worked great until I moved to Colorado. I very quickly added a widely spaced triple crank up front. Twenty-two years later I think I could get by with a 1x9 or 1x11 for commuting if the spread of ratios is wide enough.
09-26-14, 09:21 AM
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I'm sure it works fine but I find it stodgy
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09-27-14, 08:41 AM
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I'd ride it, but that rear rack would need to be replaced by something more purpose built.
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09-27-14, 09:08 AM
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It's been a while since I've worked in a shop (OK, longer than I care to admit) but I found quality commuters a tough sell. Good commuters with high quality components are not inexpensive. Plus a lot of commuters are fairly savvy about fixing up a bike so they may not need to shell out a relatively large amount of money for a commuting bike. Also people who are willing to spend money on a commuter tend to overlap with people who just like to bike so they may have a 2d bike available or they are willing to pay for a bike that does double duty.
09-27-14, 09:18 AM
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09-27-14, 10:17 AM
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I like the Mixte frame but then again, it's not steel. You'll find alot of steel mixte's from the 80's on ebay and in good condition. I love the new blue color and that's my favorite.
