Clankbang

Poorly written tittle

Kona Rove St vs Salsa Vaya Apex

I need help deciding on a new bike.
I have settled on the two in the title. Mainly because of relaxed riding position steel frames and availability.

I find my self leaning toward the Salsa but, I'm affraid it is more because I have drunk the koolaid and like the Idea of a Salsa. Honestly the Kona seems like a better bike for less money.
I have ridden the Kona but have yet to throw my leg over the Salsa.

I really can't find a lot of opinions on the 2018 Rove st, I am thinking this is due the the NRBs over shadowing the minor changes of the Rove St.

I am looking forward to the internet's opinion on this.


One more thing to note.

The Vaya will most likely be purchased from REI due to their return policy and dividend.

The Rove would be purchased from a cool Simi Local Bike Shop with a tap room!

TenGrainBread 

The Rove is a better bike in just about every way.

It has a step up in the drivetrain to Rival over the Vaya's Apex.
Better brakes (flat mount TRPs instead of BB7s).
1x11 instead of 2x10.
Thru axles front and rear, where the Vaya only has front.

The Vaya has the carbon fork but is still a beast in the weight department. I wouldn't be surprised if weights were similar between both.

I used to sell Vayas at the shop I worked at. And I own a ti Vaya. The Kona is a better bike.

Gconan

I test rode the Kona steel and I thought it was a very good bike. I almost bought it but I had no stand over height and they did not have the next size down to try. I never got to try the salsa.

Clankbang

Great replies.. Thank you!

I did notice that the Vaya has a geometry that is slightly more like that of a mountain bike; with the seat a little more over the back wheel. What does this really mean though? I'm guessing it would be most noticed when carrying wieght, which is something that will be infrequent for me.

My biggest concern now is with over all build quality and materials. Will both of these bike last 10+ years if cared for? What about rust proofing or is that just bieng paranoid?

TenGrainBread 

I wouldn't describe either bike as having mtb geometry.

Comparing the geometry charts of the two bikes, the geometry is very similar. The head tube and seat tube angles are very close. The main difference is the Vaya has a shorter top tube, by about 2cm. This will make the bike feel slightly more compact, reach-wise. But with a stem swap you can easily customize the reach on either.

Both bikes will last a lifetime if tuned up periodically and not stored outside. The bikes are steel but treated with very durable powder coats. No need to worry about corrosion if you are keeping the bike maintained well. Treat like any other bike.

Clankbang

Geometry:

I guess what I noticed was the shorter seat tube and angled top tube on the Vaya.

shoota 

Rove!

That being said, what about a Jamis Renegade? It's very similar to the Rove and has pretty good standover clearance.

TenGrainBread 

Yeah, that's just for standover. Shouldn't affect the bike handling.

katsup

I have a Vaya and it is a nice bike, just heavy for what it is (~29 lbs for 59cm, steel fork). I am able to keep it moving at around 17-19mph on flat with 35mm tires. It is a durable and stable bike and I have taken it on a little bit of single track and fire roads. I have about 2100 miles on it and the only maintenance has been adjusting the pads on the BB7s so far. I wanted to compare it to the Jamis Renegade and Specialized Sequoia, but for the price I paid for the Vaya, it made my choice easy. I never did find the other two bikes in a ridable size for me to try.

For comparison, my 1990 Trek 520 is ~2 lbs lighter.

Edit: Got curious and weighted my Vaya. With everything except saddle bag and water, it is 28lb even.

tofudog415

I've had the Vaya Apex since November and 1,000 miles, but strongly considered the Rove ST. Unfortunately, couldn't find a Rove in the smaller sizes in my area, so can't comment on the ride qualities. The Rove ST looks really nice in person, though. Also test rode the Jamis Renegade Exploit, Specialized Diverge E5 Comp, Specialized Sequoia Elite, BMC Crossmachine CXA01, Scott Speedster 20, and Marin Lombard Elite. Some things to note about Vaya/Rove differences:

Gearing: The stock Vaya has wider gear range top and bottom, thanks to the 2x setup (48/32 front) and 11-36T cassette. I do a lot of climbing, so I eventually swapped the front rings for 46/30 and the back for 11-40T. (No derailleur modifications/additions needed to do this.) The stock Rove is an uncomplicated 1x, but it has a max low gear of 40/42. Don't think it'll take a larger cassette, so going lower would mean a smaller front.

Tires: Rove appears to clear 40mm, but Vaya can take 50mm. Both have tubeless ready rims and tires. Vaya's 40mm Nanos lean more toward rougher terrain, while Rove's 36mm MSOs are more pavement friendly. Rove officially takes 650B, which is appealing to a shorter rider like me, and Vaya doesn't, though others have done it anyway. I have some toe overlap with the 700c x 40mm tires on the 52cm Vaya, which is occasionally annoying, but mostly acceptable for my kind of riding.

Standover: Being just 5'5", standover was a concern for me. Vaya had the lowest of any of the bikes I tried, thanks to the sloping TT. The bikes I tried with higher top tubes were [ahem] less comfortable to straddle.

Chainstay length: Not sure if this issue is particular to me, but in some of my test rides, I found that the heel of my shoe would rub the chainstays of the bikes with shorter chainstays, like the Renegade. I ride with flat pedals and MTB shoes, so not sure that this would be an issue for slimmer shoes used with clipless pedals. Vaya has pretty long chainstays.

fietsbob

Got a Kona Dealer?, if they have a QBP account they can order Salsa And Surly too...