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New bike - Surly Straggler v Kona Rove DL

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New bike - Surly Straggler v Kona Rove DL

Old 03-29-23, 10:41 AM
  #1  
kidadam
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New bike - Surly Straggler v Kona Rove DL

I'm picking up a new bike this year and I narrowed it down to:

Surly Straggler 700c https://surlybikes.com/bikes/straggler
Kona Rove DL 650b https://www.konaworld.com/rove_dl.cfm

Both are the same price from my dealer. I was really leaning Surly (haven't actually rode it) but it turns out it's on back order until end of August. The Kona is in stock.

Mostly gravel roads and trails plus commute.

What do you choose and why?
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Old 03-29-23, 09:03 PM
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dwmckee
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Kona! You can ride it now, and the Surly is kind of... well... boring; and with BB7 cable brake calipers on the Surly at that price? It is like ignoring 15 years of technology advancement; that is just a rip-off.

But at that price, the Jamis Steel Renegade S3 blows them both away with GRX components (with Shimano GRX full hydraulics!), high quality Reynolds steel frame and a very nice carbon fork instead of a steel one that would quickly beat you to regrets. Renegade® - Jamis® Bikes (jamisbikes.com)

Or as another alternative the VAAST A/1 at about the same price is worth consideration as well. GRX components like the Jamis but with a Magnesium frame that rides almost like carbon. Magnesium is 1/3 lighter than aluminum, 2x stronger than Titanium and 20x more dampening than steel which makes it fantastic for gravel. I rode a VAAST A/1 for half the summer last year and I found it to be the absolute best gravel bike for under $2,000. I have owner a steel Renegade for a while too and loved it as well but I found the VAAST is 'vastly' more comfortable for gravel. A/1 | allroad bicycles | vaast bikes

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Old 03-29-23, 09:31 PM
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Whichever one is lighter. If it were me I'd go for the Kona because I think compact geometry looks better for anything off-road.
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