Originally Posted by
greatscott
Nice bike, the Kona Sutra was one of my two top choices for a touring bike I got about 2 months ago; after looking at around 12 to 15 touring bikes in that price range, I settled on the Masi Giramondo 700c, it had more of the stuff I was looking for in a touring bike. But man, I was bouncing back and forth between those two.
The Giramondo is also a really nice bike, but, yup, you guessed it, I prefer the Sutra. While the Tubus racks on the Giramondo are first rate, the tire and wheels seem inferior because they only have 32-spokes and the Kenda Quick tires are too wide and aren't as nice. They're also QR, which aren't as stiff or durable as the TAs on the Sutra.
It's still a nice bike, but to keep it at that price-point with the Tubus racks they had too make too many compromises IMO.