Kona Satori review

Kona came out with a couple new bikes this year that have really caught my eye and peaked my interest. One of which is the new 130mm travel Satori. I have been riding this bike for about 2 months now, and here is my review.

The Satori has a swing link 4 bar design, that allows the rear triangle to be relatively short (17.3 inch chainstays). This is important because a short rear end makes the bike much easier to manual, bunnyhop, and accelerate hard out of corners. It has a tapered headtube and 142x12mm rear axle to increase overall stiffness. A 68 degree head tube angle makes high speeds and steeps more manageable than your typical trail bike. An extremely important feature to me is the 13.3 inch high bottom bracket. This greatly lowers your overall center of gravity and helps the bike to rail corners extra hard, and feels like you can pop or bunnyhop higher as well.

It comes pretty well equipped for the price with a sram x-7 2x10 build up, a rp2 shock, and a monarch RLT fork. The highlights include a "real" 7inch front rotor with Elixir 5 brakes, and a Maxxis Ardent 2.4 front and 2.25 rear tire combo (my personal favorite for a 29er tire) and ISCG 05 tabs so you can run a proper chain guide. Kona says it wieghs about 30 pounds.

I immediately added a 60mm 0 rise stem and a 31 inch low rise handlebar. I feel the big wheel and big fork often raise the 29er front too high to properly weight the front end for aggressive cornering, so I lower the bars as much as possible with the stem and spacers. I also added a much needed KS dropper post. I still want to build up stronger/stiffer wheels and add a single front 36 tooth ring and a chainguide.

I think the only 2 things worth complaining about will not affect everyone and are mostly a matter of preference. The bike has a direct mount front derailleur and the chainguide mount. It doesn' t need both, and the dual front ring and derailleur were a let down, and could not retain the chain when riding fast in the rough. The Satori also comes spec'ed with a 24 spoke Easton vice wheelset that feels mushy, and soft. They are still straight after two months of abuse, including 3-4 foot drops and plenty of double jumps, etc, but I dont think they could take much more. I am 6'04" and 190 pounds and prefer really stiff wheels.

The bike feels like a balanced and well thought out package. The bottom bracket is really low and you might drag a pedal here and there if your not careful, but it is well worth it. The bike corners really hard and maintains speed effortlessly through the nastiest terrain. It navigates the tightest trails beautifully, and is extremely stable at speed. Brake jack was not an issue, and with a flip of the switch you can have fast firm climbing, or full, damp travel for the descent. I have been thrilled with this bike's climbing, and often clean new technical climbs I haven't been able to before. Then I drop the seat at the top and really surprise everyone with its downhill capability. I have gotten away with jumping it farther and faster than it was probably designed for. It feels much more playful than a 29er should be, and begs to brake late, and be stuffed into corners with excessive speed. Overall I am really happy with the bike. I feel I got a really good value, and a very capable trailbike. It seems that people are constantly surprised by how fast and hard these new 29ers can be ridden. It has inspired my speed and confidence so much that I think I will race a few enduro's on it this summer.

Try one for yourself. Get stoked.

Shuman

Weekend getaway...

Some pics from a covert freeride mission....

The end of 11'

Last year ended with the best weather we could ever ask for. We were on bikes nearly every week of November and December and all those cats that usually nag me about buying a snowmobile were no where to be found. We were rockin T-shirts and sometimes even shorts in the desert til the New year.

I know the word 'progression' gets thrown around a lot, not near as much as it used to, but it is the term that best defines why we do what we do. No matter what your riding style or skill level is, we all want to be faster, smoother, go farther, bigger, steeper and all with more style. 2011 was by far the year in which my riding progressed further than any of the previous 5. You can be sure that it was directly correlated with the fact that it was the year I spent more time in the saddle and traveled more miles than ever before.

That brings me to 2012. Another year of countless hours on any of my bikes, riding anything from Lunch Loops to The Ranch to the torturous rock garden they call a race course in Angel Fire and with any luck some Virgin and Whistler making stops everywhere in between. I just want to RIDE! and I'm looking forward to another great year with the Grassroots crew.

Here is a little video a buddy of mine put together of some December riding in our neighboring state of Utah.

Riding Bikes from Chad Kavander on Vimeo.

Short video of a couple guys riding in Utah. First ride is near Green River, Utah. Second ride is just outside of Moab.
Shot with Canon 5D Mark II and Canon HF S10.
Riders:Andy Klements (first trail)Jesse Ruland (both trails)

Music:'Mountain Man' by Crash Kings

Farmin' a beauty pumptrack in Moab

Que pasa Roots fans, Joel here to report on the latest Flow Farm joint. James, Jeff and I cruised down to Moab a couple weekends ago to put the Flow back in Mark Sevenoff's backyard pumptrack. Mark owns Western Spirit Tours with his wife Ashley. Mark built a track in his backyard a few years back with nothing more than a couple dumper loads of dirt, a wheelbarrow, and a shovel. He decided this fall that it was time for a reworking. He called up James to see what could be done. James fired a few texts off to Jeff and I and we setup a January weekend to get'r done.

We met up at the shop friday morning, loaded up the van, and after a stop at the packie for some Pibbers and Roasted Coffee House for a cuppa joe and some College Delights, we were on our way. James took us on a rad little detour to see some 7000 year old petroglyphs and some cowboy graffitti just behind the all but abandoned town of Thompson off I-70. Definitely worth scoping out on the way to Moab or Green River.

So we roll in to Moab under sunny skies, meet up with Mark at the Western Spirit headquarters, and he takes us to his house to have a look at the job. The four of us toss around some ideas and settle on a plan. His layout was straight out of the Pumptrack Handbook. A simple oval with a direction changer in the middle. We decided we'd keep the general layout in place and add some Roots touches with an extra line on the northwest corner and a revamped direction changer. Time to get to work.

The next morning we went to the Love Muffin for a banger breakfast and the best coffee on the Colorado Plateau. All the while, Mark secured the Bobcat and a couple dumpers of red gold. It should be added that upon first look at the dirt we were skeptical. But after working it, we all agreed that it was some of the best material we'd worked with, not counting the Ranchsauce of course. It packed quickly, and once watered and broomed a bit, hardened to sidewalk cement in no time. We worked until sundown, making some of the finest rollers, berms, and rocket pockets the pumptrack world has ever seen. On-bike testing went really well. There were only a few tweaks made after the track started to break in. And as the sun went behind the cliff walls of town, it just got faster and smoother. Mark's smile was a mile wide as he ripped around his new pumptrack.

As we stood around at dusk admiring our work and getting a feel for Mark's impressions, we collectively decided that his pumptrack had been pimped and that a celebration was in order. We called it a day. We drank beers in Mark's rad garage until the hunger set in. Our hosts had us in for pizza and more beers and the general revelry that ensues when a bunch of diehard riders get together.

The last morning was again spent at the Love Muffin. After which we put the finishing touches on Mark's new track. Then we packed up and hit the road. On the way back to GJ, we took some time to explore some new terrain in the Bookcliffs, north of the highway. James is always on the lookout for the next place to add his touch to the landscape. We talked about new ideas and the dream of building bike parks and trails in the years to come. Grassroots is on the prowl so be on the lookout for the next dirt sculpting masterpiece.

Ya know its gonna be a good one!

Lady Ranch

James and I have been building and riding at the Ranch since Matt bought the property some eight years ago. Back in those early days before we helped Matt build his house, James and I would go camp out at the Ranch and spend the weekends working on trail and trying to ride the new stunts and jumps. Whenever we were there we felt safe like some motherly spirit was watching over us. We decided that it must be Lady Ranch. Not very creative as far as spirit names go, but it fit. We have been through a lot together, Lady Ranch and I. She has excited me with her smooth, flowing lines. And she has terrified me with the unknown, like the mother hawk that pushes her young out of the nest and over the edge. She has taught me to fly like I never thought I could. She will always be Lady Ranch to me and I will always thank her. Never disrespect a lady.-Jeff Erickson

Church of the Holy Huck

Somewhere in Utah...







-Noah

Happy New Year Grassroots & friends!! & Thank you for being friend & riding together! I can"t wait to ride with you guys this year 2012!!

Peace.

By Kazzy Saito