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is an sx trail 1000 euros better than a coiler deluxe?

2K views 38 replies 11 participants last post by  pinknugget 
#1 ·
i want a freeride bike and have my heart set on an SX trail 2 but i was in a sports shop today and they have a 2007 brand new kona coiler deluxe for 1000 euros cheaper than what i could get the SX 2 for,

i weigh 130 pounds and want a freeride bike as my fun bike, head to the downhill park do some jumps with my freeride friends etc nothing huge 5 or 6 feet max nothing too competitive, there would be very few that would not think the SX is a better bike but is it really 1000 euros better??

both have similar travel and weight and ive looked around for info on the kona and havent come across any stories of frame breakage, what do you guys think?
 
#4 ·
is there that much difference between the kona faux link and the horst link? isnt it true that the lifetime warranty on the specialized frames dont cover the rear triangle? where did the SX notoriously fail in the past? the chain stays!!! ive read theyre making them differently now though, to answer the question, no the lifetime warranty on the frame doesnt bother me, i can take my chances with another brand without too much worry,

the kona is an annodized military greeny brown which is not pretty, it gives the bike a rough and ready look which is good because if i chip the paint itll just make the bike more rugged, i am going to read up on the paint problems link though thanks arctic,

you have a point about the sx1, i can get this bike for 100 euros more than the kona, however i hate the colour, plus its gloss like my epic which looks great but seems to chip away if you so much as go over a bump, second it has juicy 3 brakes, i hate juicy 3 brakes!!!! had them on my xc, every ride was a damn screechfest nomatter what i did with them, they would have to go, so codes, hopes, carbons? were talking 300 euros more at least!!

what really turned me off the sx 1 though is the marzocchi 55 tst fork, i havent found that much info about it but what i did find was completely negative, the fork doesnt have much adjustment which i dont mind if it works well but apparently it doesnt work well, not at all, so then what?? after a fork and brake change thats nearly 1000 euros!!!! i would rather take my chances with the 66 rv on the kona,

i dont however know much about free ride bikes, i dont know much about the hayes brakes on the kona, the rotors look a little small, i dont know much about sun rims, or the race face crank, some things id like to upgrade straight away but as it is the kona looks very rideable while the the SX i would have to order in, the only thing the kona has over the SX is the 1000 euros cheaper price tag, that is a lot of money for me and makes the bike very appealing especially with the good reviews it gets on this forum, mmm buying a bike is a damn headache!!!!
 
#6 ·
i have one friend that rides a nikolai, hes a bit nuts although hes a good rider and excellent bike mechanic, i dont know much about those bikes but to look at it it looks more like an all mountain effort rather than a free ride bike, he took it off a 7 foot drop twice to a flat recently and bent the top tube and rear shock cradle on the frame,

the other guy has an old giant downhill bike which must weigh 50 pounds, itll never break though its a tank of a thing which is good because he crashes quite a bit, the guy with the nikolai likes konas he said he had a stinky for a few years which he never had a problem with, of course he would prefer the sx 2 since he works in a bike shop which is a specialized dealer,

i know another guy who is selling his 2007 cannondale perp, its a nice bike but he wants 2800 euros for it, thats 600 more than the coiler and 400 less than the sx2, i havent tried to haggle him down, perhaps i should try
 
#10 ·
the sx trail II is available my local bike shop, they dont have one there but they could order one in for me, it goes for 3700 euros, i have good relations with them and always get a discount so to me it would go for 3200 euros, the coiler is up in the next town in a large sports shop, 2007 but brand new, 2200 euros, if i gave them cash i could probably even haggle them to 2000 euros.
 
#12 ·
mmm, i dont know, the SX may be on another level but with around 200 reviews for the coiler on this website and most of them positive i seem to be able to get a good bike with similar weight and similar travel to the SX plus a bombproof frame for possibly over a grand cheaper than an SX, its something to be considered i think

for what ill be doing with it its probably more than enough bike, ok it could have better componants but since the frame seems very versitile and tough in time i can built it to whatever style im leanng towards
 
#13 ·
You must decide between spending 1000€ today on SX or in following years when you will outgrown entry level bike like Coiler is and will want to upgrade it or sell it. I think that SX is plug and play and forget about new upgrades.:thumbsup: You will just have to take care for FSR bearings (not bushes )and Fox equipment - once per year. Maybe 1 or 2 new rear derailleur but it depends on your riding style and location.:D

Coiler is very good bike but SX is better. Is it 1000€ better? I don't know. Maybe not today. But in a long term, yes in my opinion.
 
#15 ·
The sx trail is not that amazing bike you all say. There's actualy a lot of broken frames pictures around. And then, kona have been doing this frame from a long time, and they're beeing improving it and developing a good bike, and everyone knows how important this is. The bicycle comes with bomb proof equipment. Its's all race face, which is VERY durable, a fox dhx4 in the rear, and a 66 in the front, which is probably the best single crown free ride suspension around. And why can i say all this? I'm from portugal, and i actualy bought one second hand, the one the portuguese champion in Urban DH (Claudio Loureiro) used half season. After a brief talk with him, he actualy said the kona rides better, for example, then a sx trail ou a intense 6.6. It's lighter around corners, good aceleration, high sensitive ending, good pedalling eficciency...amazing. The specialized descends very, very well, but then, it you need to negotiate a hard corner, of if you need to acelarate a little after a curve, it just feels like you're inside a 10 ton truck. It just doesn't go as fluid as i'de like. I could only recomend you to change the rear derailleur, and put a short cage one, and probably the breaks, and this two alterations, if the shop accepts the old parts back, will cost you nothing, and you'll get a bike maintenance and problem free for years. I'm not saying it's the best bike in the world, but it is really one of the best freeriding bikes around. After tried both, i've gone for the kona. No doubt.
 
#16 ·
nice to see an argument made for the Kona, and you obviously dont feel the horst link being far superior to the kona's 4 bar suspension system, the 66 rv on the front of the coiler deluxe has no compression dampening, this is a bit of a put off for me but if the fork works well i can just ride have fun and forget about it
 
#17 ·
You're probably going to buy the Kona, first thinking that it's great and you saved a lot of money. But after 6 months you will realize that it has a 66 which only has externals of a real 66, and el cheapo internals, DHX4.0 instead of DHX5.0, and basicly all other parts of boring mid-level stuff. But the SX Trail 2 would have had high-end parts from the beginning , although not ultra-high-end like Chris King, but high-end nonetheless. The point is that buying the Kona you will save 1000 euros on the short term and think that you were smart, but after 6 months you will be seeking a buyer for that Kona for a bit over 1000 euros and looking for a proper bike, that you could have had from the beginning. It has nothing to do with the brand, you can have a bike of similar quality from Kona if you want, but I think the nearest would be 08 Stinky Air and that would cost you 5000 euros, and it would still have a frame from Kona that no-one apart from beginners appreciates.
 
#18 ·
i think your being a bit harsh, the DHX4 is on a lot of high end bikes from other brands, all it lacks is the bottom out control that the DHX5 has, i weigh 130 pounds and have yet to come close to bottoming my epic so im not too worried about that,

ok the 66 isnt that adjustable but im not a fiddler, i had the fox fork dialed in on my epic on the day i got it and havent touched it since, if i can do the same with the 66 on the kona id be happy,

as for the frame ive never heard or come across a broken coiler frame, i cant say the same about the SX,
as far as the bike being a beginners bike there are well over 150 positive reviews of this bike on here, are you telling me those people are all beginners?

ive posted my predicament in the freeride forum also and ive had positive comments from coiler owners who are far from beginners,

also boring mid level stuff?? this comment i dont really get, i replaced my sram x9 RD with an XTR shadow , both work perfectly i only did it for the weight savings, same with the from FD i went from an lx to XTR, there was nothing wrong or boring with the lx i just did it it for the weight, i wanted my epic to be a light bike, i dont have any interest in saving weight on a 36 pound freeride bike, as long as everything works the way its supposed to ill be happy,

dont forget the SX II has X7 shifters an LX fd and a cheap cassette so its not all bling bling on the SX front either, i havent decided what im going to do yet as i said before ive bought in haste too many times, whatever i get i dont want to have any second guessing or regrets
 
#19 ·
At 130 lbs, frame failure is not going to be an issue, and should not be a deciding point on the purchase. The parts spec on the Kona is decent, but definitely not at the same level as the specialized. Having said that, the parts spec on the SXT isn't that great for the $5000 US retail. The shifters, front der., crankset, chain,cassette, bars, and stem can all be found on bikes almost half the price. What the extra 1000 euros will get you, is: much better geometry, lower leverage shock, superior fork and shock, and better brakes. If thats worth 1000 euros to you, go for it. Your first post indicated that you had your heart set on the SXT, but almost every subsequent post you have been defending the Coiler. Hmmnn....decisions. All I can say is that I have owned both bikes (2006 not 07 Coiler), and my current ride is an SXT.
 
#20 ·
Like always, everybody defends his own bike. I would be very surprised if Sx owner would say to buy Coiler and other way around. And I would be also very surprised if Pro Kona rider will sell you his own bike and tell you that SX is better. As I said before - you will spend those 1000€ eventually - spend it on the bike you like most.
 
#21 ·
mehukatti said:
But after 6 months you will realize that it has a 66 which only has externals of a real 66, and el cheapo internals, DHX4.0 instead of DHX5.0, and basicly all other parts of boring mid-level stuff. But the SX Trail 2
C'mon. There are arguments i can understand. It's my personal preference not to prefer the sx trail. everybody should ALLWAYS try the bike and buy it after. but this ones... mid-level stuff? there's no diference from the dhx 4 to 5, except a bottom out adjustment, and actualy, fox recomends the 4 to DH, since the bottom out in the 5 affects a little the end compression. that's why sometimes you see $5000 bikes with a dhx4. the 66... well, it's a 66. Highly sensitve (be sure, if you buy it, you get the proper spring), maintenance free. of course, not having adjustments is not good for fork personalization, , but i think sx trail comes with a 36 float or van right? no external adjustments at all. and the rest of the equipment, well, it's all race face. it's heavy, but man, you WON'T destroy it. As far as you change the real derraileur to a short or mid cage one, and the brakes to saint or something like it (this is, actualy, personal preference), changes you won't pay, you got a trouble free bike, trust me. I'm not saying it is better, i'm just saying i realy prefer it.

but I think the nearest would be 08 Stinky Air and that would cost you 5000 euros, and it would still have a frame from Kona that no-one apart from beginners appreciates.
No one from beginners? C'MON. this is probably the most sold freeride frame of all time. just count them on any disorder...or ask Robbie Bourdon, maybe...
 
#22 ·
Havent read the entire post (just too darn long:), but I now ride a custom SXT, and my previous bike was a Coiler. The two bikes seem similar with regards to travel and performance, but that isnt quite so. The SXT has a lower BB, and a longer wheelbase. Which makes it more stable than the higher and shorter Coiler. The low BB also makes the SXT very agile and easy to throw around corners and such. The horstlink rear is far plusher, maybe also due to the longer stroke shock of the SXT. The Coilers rear, stiffens up a bit under hard breaking too.
Too me, the SXT simply is a much better frame, so if you can aford it, go for it.
 
#23 ·
at this moment in time, talk of wheel bases suspension jargon shock placement and bottom brackets may not mean to much to me when i get out and ride because im a total noob to free riding,

for the past 8 months or so ive been really into punishing endurance long distance riding which is why i have a light epic, i recently discovered a small downhill park with small jumps and drops etc, they would be small to an experienced freerider , to me they are daunting and dangerous but look a hell of a lot of fun, i know a few guys that go here a bit and i want to join in the fun, both bikes can do this but am i really going to know the difference between riding the coiler and the sx?

that brings me onto another point, im going to have to buy blindly, im not going to get a chance to ride thease bikes properly, the coiler is hanging from the ceiling of an underground sports shop in a shopping mall, the sx ill have to get my lbs to order one in for me and then the most ill get to do is ride it around the car park, 1000 euros is a lot of money which could go towards getting some good armour for myself which will be essential because the terrain here is lethal, nothing but harsh dry sharp rocks, even the smallest spill can tear you to shreds as i painfully found out a few weeks back
 
#24 ·
klean said:
Havent read the entire post (just too darn long:), but I now ride a custom SXT, and my previous bike was a Coiler. The two bikes seem similar with regards to travel and performance, but that isnt quite so. The SXT has a lower BB, and a longer wheelbase. Which makes it more stable than the higher and shorter Coiler. The low BB also makes the SXT very agile and easy to throw around corners and such. The horstlink rear is far plusher, maybe also due to the longer stroke shock of the SXT. The Coilers rear, stiffens up a bit under hard breaking too.
Too me, the SXT simply is a much better frame, so if you can aford it, go for it.
that's quite true. the thing is, they're actually different bikes. The coiler being a agressive all mountain/light freeriding bike, wich accelarates good, feels AMAZING on shores, and is very agile and fast almost anywhere. (at least in the 2007 model, you can change the frame geometry a little bit, lowering the BB and increasing the distance between the wheels, and this atualy make the difference). the sx trail is like a light dh bike. descends very well and has lots of rear travell and amazing absortion. the thing is, i do most all obstacle courses, with ramps, jumps, singletracks, where the agility of the bike based on pedalling eficciency and maneuvrable is really important. and in this situation, it really is better then the sx trail. on the other hand, if a truck took me to mountain and all i had to do is descending at speed, without technical low speed areas, then the sx trail would probably be better. the coiler is a better all around, al around meaning doing everything, while the sx trail is for sure a better downhill bike.

you should decide wich one to buy based on this parameters, not on the equipment or anything else. first, thing very well on what you're pretending to do with it. the best is to try both, or ask your mates what kind of ride and tracks they do, since you'll be riding with them.
 
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