bikaso

HI,
i found Kona smoke bike 18",online,and wander if it fit me or not.
i measure 5.8 (177 cm).
do you think that could fit for me ?

GamblerGORD53

No way. It's a dumb bike anyway.

veganbikes

It looks like a pretty low end bike, I wouldn't put much money towards it if it does fit. To figure out if it fits you will likely want to actually test ride it. If you found it online I would say no it doesn't fit but if you can test ride it you will know. Generally with the sizes you gave us to guess with I would say no but again test riding will tell you the most.

Plenty of way better new bikes out there or at least plenty of equally low end bikes that are brand new and have all the warranties behind them at the very least and will be pretty equally less reliable.

urbanknight

It's hard to tell until you get to know the exact dimensions that fit you, but that size in that model is in line with your height. Not sure what it's a "dumb bike". It's entry level, but otherwise can get the job done if the price is right.

bikaso

in your opinion i need bigger size than 18" ?

bikaso

i thought that Kona was a good brand for bike?

GamblerGORD53

I didn't say the brand was bad. The said bike has a goofy high BB and goofy top tube slope.
This bike is made for MTB conditions. So it'll be poor on the highway.
This bike is too small. Forget it.

trailangel

Are you 5 ft 8 inches... or are you 5.8 ft tall?

Iride01 

You don't give much to go on. Height alone just puts you in a ballpark of quite a few sizes that might fit you well. But even knowing your inseam, arm length and other things that'll just get us narrowed down to a few sizes that will fit you well instead of might fit you well.

Not knowing anything else 18" seems a tad small.

Kona is a decent enough bike. But the Smoke I think is long out of production. So this is a used bike? Have you checked the prices of new Kona's in a similar model. Perhaps the Dew. On it you should try the medium or large size frames.

https://konaworld.com/dew.cfm

blacknbluebikes 

do some study for yourself here: JensonCalculator

Maelochs

Your best bet is to go to a store and test a few bikes in various sizes. Even in a Walmart or something, take a couple of different sizes of the same bike and sit on each, and get a feel for how they fit.

Every human body has different proportions and most bike frames have a large degree of adjustability. However, getting a bike that fits Well and doesn't need a lot of adaptation (like ultra-long or shot stems or seat posts) is generally a better bike for that rider ....

Thsi review: (https://www.campfirecycling.com/blog...a-smoke-review) indicates that the reviewer was 5'7" and the 18 fit fine. it might be a bit small for you.

A note: everything I have found about that bike online seems to indicate it hasn't been produced for a long time. I wouldn't spend any money on a ten-15-year-old low-end bike because you would probably end up spending more to repair it than it cost to buy .... unless you are factoring that in.

If you are looking for basically an inexpensive 3x8 city cruiser .... buy new. Just think---new cables, a new chain, new tires and new tubes will cost you at least $100, uninstalled, and that is a lowball figure. Nowadays a pair of even cheap tires could cost $80 .... Add brake pads and maybe a few worn or broken bit ans suddenly you are spending as much to revive an old bike as you would to buy a new one ...

I'd expect a couple hundred, at least, to really refit a 10-15-year-old bike ... and the old one is going to fail wherever you didn't spend.

Check out the $300 hybrids at BikesDirect (I am not a paid advertiser or in any way affiliated, just a past customer.) https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/hybrid_bikes.htm

Even a $300 Walmart bike, if you get a rigid frame (do Not get one of those heavy, useless suspension forks) you can get a solid, light-duty bike for not much money.

MattTheHat 

Does it matter? There’s about 1/8” difference between the two.

MattTheHat 

Or a third option. 177cm is 5′ 9.6850“.

bikaso

yes i am 5 ft 8 inches. and sorry if i didn't express my self right

Maelochs

In any case .... a ten-fifteen-year-old bike is Rarely a good investment. Even if it was never ridden at all the tires will have dry-rotted and need replacement. All the grease will have dried and you will need to open up all the bearings and repack or replace them (wheels, headset, and bottom bracket) and if you don't know how, you will have to pay somebody.

MeganCook

That is true, an older bike may require maintenance and repairs, even if it has not been ridden much. Tires, grease, and bearings can deteriorate over time and may need to be replaced. It is important to consider the cost of these repairs when deciding whether an older bike is a good investment.

icemilkcoffee 

I don't know why so many people are chiming in to say this is a bad low end bike.
https://2010.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=smoke


It looks fine to me. It has a cassette rear hub. The real nasty low end bikes have freewheel hubs. Also- it's perfectly fine to buy used bikes. Not everyone has to ride around on expensive new bikes. A bike is a bike. If it shifts and stops well then it's good to go.

Back to the OP's question: 18" is the right size. The website says the 18" has a 30.7" standover while the next size up, the 20" one has 32.1" standover, which is likely too high for the OP.

mstateglfr 

What does highway riding have to do with any of this?

Maelochs

People have explained why it is a low-end bike .... and why a 13-year-old bike is not a good investment for someone who wants to ride, not wrench.

Yes, it is better than the basic Walmart offering .... yes, a cassette hub is stronger than a freewheel hub. And No one said everyone has to ride expensive bikes. If you recognize my name, I am the guy who always explains that when I first went all-bike/car-free, I rode bikes (literally) assembled from bikes picked out of the trash. I don't care what a person rides, or how much it cost, or any of that.

I have put a lot of miles on freewheel hubs, and yes, the axle is better supported in freehub set-ups, I have done thousands of hard miles on freewheel bikes .... including a 1100 mile fully-loaded tour. I have ridden thousands of miles on big-box-store bikes. I don't demean them because of the price tag or the reputation.

What I care about is a person putting money into what seems like an okay used bike, only to end up paying more and more as each week passes, while riding less and less.

If a person is not ready to overhaul a 13-year-old bike, then the person ought not to buy one. A 13-year-old bike which sells for $100 might end up costing more and working less than a cheap, low-end $300 new bike, per mile ridden. And if the person depends on the bike---like myself as a commuter, I needed a bike every day. No show no pay, no home no food---then even more so I would recommend getting something which might not already be worn out.

A quick web search reveals that a cheap replacement tire might cost $30 ... so there is $60 right up front. Add tubes and another $7-$10. That is if the bike has never been ridden (see note above about need to repack bearings ... tube of grease is cheap ... I hope the buyer owns cone wrenches. A cone wrench is only about $6, plus shipping.) The bottom bracket is probably a cartridge which means it cannot be easily repacked ... must be replaced. That's only $13 ... does the buyer have the tools to pull and install the cranks and bottom bracket? That is another $30 ..... brake shoes ... after 13 years whether used or not the bike will need new brake shoes.

Cables and housings? maybe $20 .... but you see how this adds up fast? Plus the buyer has to have the other tools, and the knowledge and desire to do the work ..... plus once all the news stuff is installed, does the buyer know how to index the derailleurs and adjust the brakes? Easy to learn ... but does the buyer want to spend the time and trial-and-error learning?

That's about $150 on top of the sales price, plus some pretty serious wrenching is involved .... and if the buyer took it to a shop, the labor would be more than the parts.

Also, buy never lists the price of the bike ... if it is $40, buy it and buy two more. Combine the good parts and have one good bike. I see one on EBay for $400 ... which is probably more than it sold for new.

My entire point here is to get a person happily riding a reliable bike. There are many routes to that destination ... and I have outlined (in detail) the pitfalls of buying a 13-year old (or older) used bike.

I know these things because I have owned so many beat-down, torn-up old bikes.

I am not saying "Don't buy it." I am saying, "Here are some of the things you might want to consider .... "

As I said ... all i get out of this is getting a person riding happily on a safe, reliable bike. However the person gets there (barring theft) and on whatever bike, is pretty much good, in my opinion

icemilkcoffee 

It's highly unlikely that all these things need to be replaced. These bikes have sealed bearing hubs and sealed bearing BB's so there is no need to repack anything. And there is no need for cone wrenches neither because there are no cones to adjust. 13 year old brake shoes are not as good as new, but they do stop the bike. Every single bike I have is running on 13+ year old brake shoes and they stop well enough for my daily commute. Cable and housing do wear out on high mileage bikes, but this type of casual bike seldom rack up all that much mileage. Also, you can drip lube inside shift cables and extend their lives by quite a bit.
In any event, the OP might just want a bike for occasional jaunt to the park with the kids, and not for 20 mile-a-day rain-or-shine commute. A 13 year old bike is perfectly fine for that purpose. And if he really is going for the latter, then he might as well get acquainted with fixing his own bikes because he'll have to do that even if you put him on a shiny new expensive bike.

Chuck Naill

I like this bike as a good campus, grocery, errands, flat trails, and country, gravel roads without getting a mud stripe up your back. You don't need bike shoes or bike outfit. Sounds like a commonsense bike and plus it is steel. Kona is an excellent brand.

urbanknight

Not necessarily. The geometry looks to be about the right size for people around your height.

bikaso

thank you all for your comments

bikaso

i would send you the link of the bike but i am not allowed

Maelochs

You will have ten posts in no time .... reply to this post (feel free to tell me to shut up ) and you will almost be there.

Please keep us informed on this.

I will clarify---Not every old bike has every problem. I have dealt with so many old bikes, and seen these issues so many times (I learned about old bottom bracket grease when the pedals seized miles from home and I had to walk with a bike with a locked rear wheel (which I didn't know how to fix in those days, I learned through suffering ) that I tend to recall all the things which might go wrong.

it is possible that the bike is super-low-mileage and was stored is such a climate that every part is perfect. I'd doubt it .... but who knows?

If you know enough about bikes that you can tell if it has been abused or not, know what a notchy headset or hardened brake shoes or rusty cables feel like .... then it is a simple, steel-framed bike which could last a long time. The wheels might be true, the spokes properly tensioned, the bearing grease fresh enough .....and maybe you have enough mechanic skill to fix any little thing which might need a little care.


It Could be a good deal ... depends on price and condition.

In my experience people who buy low-end bikes tend to use them hard and maintain them little .... and often store them out behind the garage where the elements take their toll .... and I don't retract a single warning I have given here. But only you can see the bike.

As to your first question .... yeah, it either already should fit or could be adjusted to fit someone who is 5'8".

Please keep us updated. It is always nice to hear how this stories play out, particularly after we have all put so much energy into debating it;

Thanks, and I hope you get the bike which works for you.