We’ve been working the design team hard here at Kona. Testing, drawing, refining, inventing, creating, coming up with entirely new models, while ensuring existing models are the best they can possibly be. In this series of 2011 Sneak Peeks, we get up close and personal with our product team on the why’s, how’s and wow’s of a few highlight bikes that will be hitting stores in a few months from now. In this installment, we catch up with Team Kona Cyclocross rider, Barry Wicks, offering up the first official, break-it-to-the-world look at our entirely new carbon fiber CX race bike, the 2011 Major Jake.
This is Kona’s first carbon cyclocross race bike, what are the notable benefits?
From a racer’s perspective, the carbon allows us to have a bike that is both lighter and stiffer than the traditional Scandium frame, and has a better ride quality. The Scandium bikes were awesome, they felt very snappy and forgiving, but this new Carbon cross bike takes it to the next level. I am getting to know the bike more and more with every ride I do on it, and it continues to impress me. The steering is more precise, due in part to the over size steer tube, there is absolutely no fork chatter under hard braking. The bike accelerates really well out of tight corners which is very important for cross. The New oversize BB area increases the stiffness to the point where I can just mash on the gas as soon as I get the bike pointed in the right direction and it just goes off like a rocket. All these stiffness increases may have had a negative impact on the ride quality, but that it he beauty of Carbon Fiber, it is as stiff as you want all day long, but just hovers over the lumpy grass and bumps like a pillowy cloud, leaving the rider comfortable and less fatigued and ready to dominate.
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