Hi There,
I consider buying a Kona Dawg but have not decided which one. Is it worth buying the DeeLux or will the Dawg do as well? I could swap the fork of the Dawg for a Z1 Drop off and will still be a considerable amount cheaper than the DeeLux. What are your opinions about this.
beria

Nobody here that wants to help me?
Beria

If it is any help, I have a Bear (the name that the Dawg had at first) and I am quite happy with it. I bought it as a bare frame, though, so I can't address the parts issue.
That said, the frame is excellent, and justifies whatever nice parts you want.
Personally, I'd get the Dawg and upgrade the stuff that matters, and leave the rest alone.

miles

Get the Dawg and upgrade to the parts YOU want rather than taking the Dee-Lux with the spec they want (Koski). That's what i'm doing to my '03 Dawg. Or....deal with the LBS when you your Dawg comes in and see if they'll swap out/upgrade the componants you want for a price before you take delivery.

I have a 2004 Dawg Dee Lux, and also had a hard time deciding as well between the two. I figured the Dawg weighs 32.9 pounds at $1,649 and the Dee Lux at 28.9 pounds $ 2,199.
In addition, the Dawg has a fairly entry level fork. The Primo was out at 28 pounds and $ 2,999.

Anyway, I just figured by the time I got the Dawg to the weight I wanted, I would have spent more money than the Dee Lux.

Of course, I then swapped out the saddle(WTB rocket stealth), pedals(Candy Sl), and brakes(Avid Juicy). (Great deal at LBS)

Hi,

You have to look at what you think is important to you, components wise. I bought a Dawg Primo 03 and I was very happy with my buy. (Even if it cost me but I got a really good deal.........so) It had what I was looking for. I looked at the dee-lux but I wanted the Hayes brakes and the better front/back shock. (The carbon-fiber lever were a bonus and they are very nice.) I normally would not buy the top of the line but I was really happy going for the better package.
One has to keep in mind your budget and at the same time know if your going to use all the toys on your bike.
Besides some the bikes have such incredible array of components on them because some of the bike company's are getting really good deals from the whole salers. Go to cheap and you may regret it.

happy trails :)

Nobody here that wants to help me?
Beria
FWIW, I have a Deluxe, and I think that the extra $ is worth it, as the weight diff is huge, and the shock and fork are *much* more trail-worthy. Most of the componentry is a significant upgrade. But your budget might dictate......

I went with the '03 Dawg for 2 reasons, I like the Green color and it was within my budget at the time. As the last 9 months have gone by, I've been collecting replacement parts as the bargins have come up, so the bike is really becoming what I want it to be.

Ditto what Rob said.