Kona Dr. Good Review

I’ve had this bike (official product page) since December 2010 so I think I have had enough time cycling it to be able to post a review.

My Beloved Kona Dr. Good, kitted out for the commute

Prior to riding this bike I’d been on a Free Radicalised, Electra Townie which is a fantastic bike (currently sitting in the shed disassembled from the house move in February). However it seemed too heavy for the daily commute when I wasn’t using it as my primary transport any longer. I’m lucky to have a great LBS (Local Bike Shop, in case you’re wondering what that oft used TLA is) in Moycullen Bike Works who don’t push you when you go in for a chat. Garry (MBW) was initially suggesting the Norco XFR 4 (as he also rides a Norco XFR among other bikes) which appealed with the relaxed frame and front suspension. I was considering the front suspension due to my wrists being painful for several weeks after a tumble on my older Raleigh hybrid and the roads along the route from Moycullen to Dangan (Galway) being in such a shocking state of disrepair. Eric (MBW) also had a Kona 2011 catalogue and knows of my interest in internal hubs as he did the wonderful conversion on my Electra Townie. That was it, the Dr Good was perfect for me as soon as I saw it in there; internal hub, front disc brake and rear roller brake on a relaxed frame. Depending on the Sterling exchange rate you’ll pay about €700 for it (that’s the price I paid).

The struts fixing the rack to the frame, re-using supplied mounting clips to affix to the rack itself

Six months on, it remains the perfect bike for me. I’ve made three modifcations to the bike; replaced the handlebar stem, added a rear pannier rack and mudguards. The rack and mudguards are obvious, it’s a commuting bike in wet and mucky West of Ireland. Fitting the rack and mudguards weren’t entirely straightforward. The rack has struts which are supposed to screw onto the frame but weren’t an exact fit. This meant a bit of fiddling to find a way to attach them but got the job done in the end. The front mudguard was difficult to fit due to the disc brake.

Front Mudguard Struts Attached to Front Fork

Mudguard struts affixed 'high' on the front fork.

Replacement Handlebar Stem

The disc brake calliper assembly mounts on the forks where the mudguard struts would normally go. So, I had to mount the struts higher on the fork meaning taking a hacksaw to the struts.I’d recommend, on reflection, buying a mudguard that doesn’t have mounting struts but secures to the top of the fork solely. The stem replacement is less obvious and relates to my preference to sit as upright as possible on a bike. The factory stem is non-adjustable so your handlebars will always be in a fixed location, relative to where you sit, at a fixed height. I bought a replacement stem which supports a variable angle of adjustment for about €35. It took about 5-10 minutes to fit to the bike.

Riding the bike is a joy, it’s light and the internal hub gears are perfect for urban cycling. The wheels are 700 x 32 so there’s a nice balance between grip and lower rolling resistance. I’m perfectly happy with the stock tyres (Continental CityRIDE 700x32C) which stand up to commuting just fine. I haven’t had too many punctures (around 5 in 7 months of cycling, covering ~1300km) and anyone who knows the Galway City streets, knows they are in poor repair and frequently littered with broken glass. The handlebars supplied (Handplant Bar) are reminiscent of a cruiser and extremely comfortable. The only maintenance I’ve had to do on the bike (aside from oiling the chain and punctures) is:

Push the rear wheel back in the dropouts as the chain stretched out
Adjust the tension on the rear brake cable as it stretched
Adjust the gear cable again due to stretching
Replace the rear tube (see the next paragraph)

There is one significant issue that I did encounter though. It occurred in the past week as it happens and was when I found myself needing to do a roadside tube replacement on the rear wheel. With an internally geared hub you have a cable connected to the wheel hub. The Shimano 7 speed hub with a roller brake (it’s a drum brake) fitted you have another cable connected (on the opposite side of the hub to the gear cable) – see the images on this Inter 7 product page and you should understand what it looks like. What this means is you can’t simply lift the wheel from the dropout and slide the tubes on and off. After a lot of head scratching I figured out that you could remove the roller brake assembly from the hub and so remove the tube. I suspect a lot of people would not be comfortable with this level of disassembly. This isn’t a defect on the part of Kona’s design obviously, nor is it really Shimano’s issue. It’s a downside to the configuration which makes the bike really simple (the roller brake is very effective in all weather conditions, like the front disc brake) but you do pay a price in the ease of maintenance for this convenience. It’s not a big deal when you know about it – knowing about it is key though and it’s not going to be common knowledge.

I love cycling and this is a great commuter bike. Kona sell a wide selection of frame sizes so you can get this bike in a size that’s just right for you and that makes a huge, huge difference to comfort and safety.

Disclosure: The nature of blog reviews these days is that the independence of the author is now questioned by default. So here goes; I have no relationship with Kona, Norco, Xtracycle, Electra or Shimano. In all cases, bar Norco, I’m simply a consumer who bought one of their bikes through a reseller (I haven’t bought anything from Norco I just looked at some of their bikes from the XFR and VFR ranges). I’ve spoken in glowing terms about Moycullen Bike Works here and in person to lots of people (I think the quality of Eric’s work as a mechanic is second to none and say that). I get on really well with Eric and Garry from the shop and see them around Galway a lot. When I lived in Moycullen I would often stop by and chat about cycling. I’ve had work on my bikes done by them and bought the Dr Good as well as various accessories. On pretty much every purchase from them I’ve been given some sort of discount, ranging from €2 or €3 on accessories to reduced labour costs on repairs. On the Dr Good, Eric quoted the price as around €700 when converting from Sterling and we left it at that when I paid. I’ve never asked for (directly or indirectly) a discount or any other consideration (neither asked/offered) so I can’t see anything that would suggest me ‘shilling’ for them. I take ‘€20 is grand’ when the register says €22 as the norm of small business dealings in Ireland. I’m happy to discuss any queries if I’ve left anything out.

http://twitter.com/JohnRoux John ROUX

Hi, James. I bought myself a Dr Good too. Your review really helped me decide on this bike over similar models.

With autumn coming, the issue of fenders becomes pressing, and I’m hesitating on some brands and types, and the cause of this hesitation is the front disc. From your pictures I see how you adapted yours, but I’d be interested in having more details: the type you chose, the tools you needed and the process of tuning them to fit your bike.
http://jamesgallagher.ie James Gallagher

Hi John, the fenders that I bought were generic ones from my LBS, I can’t remember the brand but they’re very, very similar to http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25794. They’re made of plastic and the wire struts fasten to the fender via little metal tags – you pass the strut through a hole on the metal tag. Have a look at http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_275821_categoryId_212655_langId_-1?cm_sp=Intelligent_Offer-_-Product_Details_Zone_1-_-Blank&iozone=PDPz1 for a close up (I’m finding it hard to describe it). Move the fender around on the struts until you’re happy with the position and then fasten a nut on the outside of the tag to clamp the strut in place. That’s quite useful if you find you need to adjust them again later. The only tools I needed were a spanner for the fastening nut and a hacksaw to trim the excess off the strut. I lined everything up when fitting it and used the hacksaw to mark the strut where I wanted to cut. Removed everything and then cut through – if you do something similar, don’t try to cut the strut while it’s still mounted on the bike. It seems convenient but is a bad idea. I’m not 100% happy with the result on the front – I’ve hit the front of my shoe against the struts a couple of times but they do the job of keeping mud off me well. If I was doing it again then I’d look at a different type of fender I think. I like the look of http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25796 as they look easier to fit but I don’t know if they would fit the Dr. Good well.
http://twitter.com/JohnRoux John ROUX

Thanks for your very detailed reply!

I’ve read mixed comments on the type of fenders you would rather use, mostly due to the fact that they cover much less of the wheel than the SKS Bluemels or similar. I was planning on buying Bluemels, see if they fit like you attached them, or try to bend the left-side struts so they don’t get in the way of the brake (I’ve since asked on a French cycling forum and have been showed pictures of successful “creative” bending of this particular product).
Egindinm

I would expect a quick release on the front wheel on a bike at this price. For me this is a real problem as I have to transport my bike in the cargo compartment of my station wagon
Egindinm

I would expect a quick release on the front wheel on a bike at this price. For me this is a real problem as I have to transport my bike in the cargo compartment of my station wagon
http://twitter.com/JohnRoux John ROUX

Well, I understand your criticism based on your needs, but the fact that the bike has no quick-release on any part (seat post or wheels) was actually positive from my point of view: I use my bike in an urban environment, and even though I try never to leave it unguarded for too long, it sometimes has to spend the day attached somewhere in the street. Having no quick release means I can be a little more confident the seat or front wheel won’t be missing when I come back at the end of the day.
http://twitter.com/JohnRoux John ROUX

A quick follow-up on our recent exchange: based on the advice of my LBS, I’ve chosen SKS Chromoplastics that I attached in exactly the same way you did. They’ve been doing pretty fine for the first few rainy days.
http://jamesgallagher.ie James

I wouldn’t agree with that as I just see quick release as a security issue. I would also wonder if you would have an issue with the force generated by the disc brake and the ability of a quick release rod to withstand that force. But I can see how loading and unloading the bike would be a pain. Have you looked at a bike carrier for your car – might be more convenient in the long term?
http://jamesgallagher.ie James Gallagher

That’s excellent to hear. Despite my annoyance at the less than neat result, I can’t fault them for keeping the street water off me. It has been really wet here in Galway this year and the roads are in a poorer state (yay, massive recession!) but I’m not getting muck or grit flying up at me.
Senorando

Hey James, thanks for your review. It was instrumental in my decision to pick one up this week. Put a rack and fenders on right away; will wait to make a determination on things like stem and saddle. Ride on!
http://jamesgallagher.ie James Gallagher

Excellent, I hope you enjoy riding it. I think it’s a great commuter and I’m happily using it pretty much every work day.
Lmcpcun

Hi James
Love your review. I’m actually from Galway, but living in Canada, so I know the commute you are making. I recently broke the frame on my Norco vfr 2 (with internal 8speed nexus). Norco are offering me the new vfr with non-internal gears. My LBS is offering credit so I am looking at other models. My question is how do you find the 7 speed? I found (on my Norco) that I ran out of gears when going down any decent hill. Do you have any similar issues with the kona?
Thanks
Paul
http://jamesgallagher.ie James Gallagher

Hey Paul, hope you’re enjoying Canada? As regards the 7 speed, you’re going to run into the same issue and likely quicker than with the 8 speed. The 8 speed has a higher gear ratio in 8th which will let you push it a bit more :) It’s rare enough that I get to spin out on mine I must admit but I guess you’ll have more open roads to do so in Canada.
Tim Linford

Hi, I am returning to cycling after a long gap. I have put on 1 stone and a half, so mu question is to to with low gears. How does the low gear compare to a typical triple chain-set and dyt’ system? I live in the Scottish Borders, and want to start with some gentle cycling and perhaps get a bit carried away later?
http://jamesgallagher.ie James Gallagher

Really sorry for overlooking your comment Tim. That hub probably won’t let you get too carried away to be honest. According to the Cyclemeter app I use on my iPhone I can hit a top speed of about 32 km/h (20mph) when I’m spinning out on a flat stretch of road. You’re not going to rival a road bike on a good spin. It’s also worth noting that Kona have recently changed the design of this bike somewhat to something much more commuter/utility cyclist oriented so I think it would be even less suited to pushing a higher speed.

James Gallagher

Just some random stuff from me

Posted by James